Revive Us Again

"Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?"

Psalm 85:6

The psalmist penned this rhetorical question he believed God would answer in the affirmative.  During a time of prayer last night the Holy Spirit brought this verse to remembrance and shed light on the subject of revival.  God is the source of all life, and He has promised to provide eternal life to all who repent and trust in Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour.  Having been born again by the Gospel, we are spiritually made alive by the Holy Spirit within us.  One fruit of the Holy Spirit is joy, and therefore rejoicing ought to mark our lives and personalities as children of God.

During my Christian pilgrimage I have enjoyed fellowship with people of various backgrounds and different doctrinal points of emphasis.  Some are especially enamoured with the subject of "revival" and a fervent desire to see or experience a revival of religion.  Some read solid books like Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill (yes, it is in my library!) and read of notable revivals which have occurred over the years all over the globe.  They pray often for revival as a cure for all ills, something that happens "out there" when revival is needed in our own hearts first.  See what the psalmist said:  "Revive us again!"  Like the new life God gives us, revival is not enduring and perpetual.  We will always need revival again even as our physical bodies daily need to drink water.  Would to God He revive us, but revival must never be our desired end:  God must be our end, for in Him is life, fruitfulness, and salvation.  Jesus Christ must be our chief and only pursuit, and we will find ourselves revived when we follow Him.

Do you desire revival?  Why might that be?  Would you ask revival for yourself, for others, or for God's sake?  Is it so people will be more committed or serious in their Christian walks or so masses will descend upon church gatherings begging, "What must I do to be saved?"  Revival is not something to helplessly long for but is ours when we respond to Jesus Christ in faith.  There have been times even the world took notice of the move of the Holy Spirit in the church with wonderment, but genuine revival is not measured by numbers of converts, increased church attendance, interviews, or news articles.  Revivals among God's people occur when they, in brokenness for sin repent, cleanse themselves of idols, seek the LORD, and walk humbly before God in obedience.  Prayer paves the way for revival but it is not a formulaic means to some experience.  It is not increased church attendance or faithful servants which are the results of revival, but as Psalm 85:6 says it is rejoicing in God!  What else should our redeemed lives be but joyful praise and thanksgiving unto our God?

Consider Psalm 85:7-9 as the song continues:  "Show us Your mercy, LORD, and grant us Your salvation. ⁸ I will hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. ⁹ Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land."  Has God forgotten to be merciful?  Is He incapable of saving or delivering those who fear God and cry out to Him?  Of course not!  Verse 8 contains a warning we ought all to take to heart, that after we have been born again we would turn back to folly.  When we turn back to folly it is little wonder we are cold, listless, paralysed, and hopeless.  Imagine that, a hopeless Christian!  Friends, we have all been there; I have been there.  God will revive all those who fear and seek Him.  His salvation is near to us "...that glory may dwell in our land."  Who is more glorious than our God?

Acceptable Words

"The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse."

Proverbs 10:32

The meaning of words can shift over time, but thankfully God's Word will endure forever.  In today's vernacular the word "acceptable" can by synonymous with passable, even just sliding by.  The Hebrew word translated into English is defined by the Strong's concordance as: "delight, (be) acceptable, delight, desire, favour, (good) pleasure."  By this definition, "acceptable" words are in agreement with the righteous, Almighty God.  A heart made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ will be revealed with righteous speech.

The same word is used by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12:10-11:  "The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright--words of truth. ¹¹ The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd."  Acceptable words of the wise are described as "upright" and "words of truth."  God is the sole source of righteousness and truth.  These acceptable words are compared to goads and nails, purposefully designed items to perform work.  The Word of God prompts us to move forward in directions unfamiliar to our flesh, and it is also constructive like nails which hold together building materials.

These upright words of truth are given by one Shepherd, none other than Jesus Christ.  David identified God as his shepherd in Psalm 23, and Jesus said in John 10:11-15:  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.¹⁵ As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He laid down His life so we could be saved and redeemed.  Jesus always spoke acceptable words, and as His followers we can and ought to do the same!

Why Not Today?

I've been on hiatus from regularly playing golf this year, and a couple weeks ago I began getting "back in the swing."  It's always a bit of a slog to work through the lack of rhythm, physical fatigue, and bad habits which accompany a extended layoff.  I started golfing in my youth because it was fun, and I have reached an age where it is also an effective exercise.  Walking the course is a great way to stay active and challenge yourself at the same time - which is even more challenging when constantly duffing, hooking, and slicing everywhere!

Just recently I was talking to friends about how Gammy (my Grandma - but don't ever call her that!) over the age of 65 had a hole-in-one.  Over the years I have had a couple of pitches roll in and a few approaches bounce off the stick, but I never really came close to an ace.  Someone in the conversation added how a woman had three holes-in-one in a single round!  When standing in the tee box addressing the ball I started thinking, "Why not today?  Sure, I've never had a hole-in-one, but why not today?"  And then I promptly shanked a tee-shot to the left or sent an approach shot over the green.

Well, today turned out to be the day.  All those awful shots were quickly forgotten on the 17th hole at the Windsor Country golf club (120 yard par 3) as I watched my ball sail high off my Vokey wedge, drop with a smack on the green, and disappear into the cup.  It's something I always knew was theoretically possible but I never imagined what it would be like to happen.  My exuberant shouts attracted a pair about to tee off on the 12th hole, and I still had my hands raised over my head as it was confirmed the ball had gone in.  I shouted, "I guess there's a first time for everything!" and then began the satisfying walk to retrieve the ball.

As I walked toward the green with a ridiculous grin I couldn't seem to shake off, my thoughts went to what I was telling myself before I made the shot:  why not today?  It occurred to me there are all sorts of accomplishments we have never experienced in the past but by God's grace could experience today.  Making a hole-in-one was exciting, but what if today is the day when you share the Gospel and as a result a person is born again?  Now that would be really exciting!  How many things God has planned for us that we are completely unaware of, circumstances and opportunities which can forever change our perspective.  Asking "Why not today?" is irrelevant in relation to a golf hole-in-one if I do not play golf, and I cannot expect people to respond to the Gospel (from me) unless I make a practice of declaring and living in light of it.

Take heart friends:  there were many shots I executed poorly in today's round of golf, but I wasn't without hope because I kept on.  I've seen videos of people mid-round throwing their gear in the lake because they were so over it.  As long as we keep following Jesus there is always unfailing hope for us, because our hope is in Him.  Let's keep sharing the Good News.  Let's keep taking our best shot in obeying Him.  Sometimes we will miss the mark.  We will falter and fail at times along the way, but Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Don't be discouraged or give up because times are difficult:  keep on going, keep on trusting, keep on obeying our LORD and Saviour Jesus.  It is He who will help us accomplish things we never dared to imagine was possible.

Clean Inside and Out

Growing up it was common for us to do chores on a Saturday.  In addition to household duties like laundry, washing up after dinner, sweeping the floor, mowing the lawn, vacuuming carpet, or cleaning bathrooms, sometimes we would have different tasks like washing the cars, trimming ivy off the fence, or removing fly screens from the windows, scrubbing, and spraying them down.  I was always impressed by my mum's ability to clean a window.  I would use the same Windex, paper towels, and press until it squeaked like she did, but it seemed I had to do it over and over until it looked half as good as her first go.

As the sun streamed through the sliding glass doors into the dining room yesterday, it was obvious the glass needed a good clean.  I pulled out the trusty Windex and proceeded to clean each door two times each side - because I knew full well that even with rotating the towel I couldn't remove the dust and film with a single pass.  After wiping the windows thoroughly, I was left scratching my head how a concentrated beam of sunlight showed small swirls and dust on the glass.  I cleaned one side and then the opposite side appeared streaked.  I walked outside again to clean the other side, and the side I just cleaned would be revealed as smudged too!  Though not perfect, in the end I finally called it good enough and walked away.  The doors look way better than they used to.

This window cleaning experience started me thinking about a particular glass surface which is my least favourite to clean:  the inside of a car windscreen (windshield, for my American readers if you hadn't guessed).  The outside of the windscreen is easy to clean because it is fully exposed and has a gentle slope.  Once the windscreen wiper blades are raised it is no problem to access the whole surface.  But the inside is a completely different story.  Bird droppings and dust is no problem compared to the greasy film which quickly smears the inside of the glass.  The glass angles away from the seat, the rear-view mirror is easily knocked, and over spray drifts onto the dash.  Many times I figured I had done a thorough job, only to discover through the light of the sun the film remained!  No matter how good your cleaning products, the amount of effort spent, or the time invested in cleaning windows, they will soon be dirty again.  I still remember what my mum would be quick to say after a job was done, "See how good that looks?  Doesn't it feel great to look through a clean window?"  Yeah, yeah, I would say to myself.  But she was right.

The LORD provided me a good lesson through my cleaning experience yesterday:  the light of God's word easily exposes the sin in our hearts.  Looking at the windscreen as my life, I can say it is easier in many cases to clean up outer appearances rather than deal with the wickedness inside my heart.  The inside is a lot harder to clean than the outside, but both need careful consideration and attention.  A primary difference between windscreens and hearts is when it comes to hearts the outer is often an indication of the inner, even as our words express thoughts hidden to everyone else but God.  Another huge difference is we are not able by our efforts alone to wash our minds, bodies, or hearts clean from sin.  The only way we can be washed is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, for His blood cleanses us from all sin and imputes to us His righteousness.  Having been born again we are to embrace our own personal sanctification and we do this by examining our hearts, words, and actions in the light of God's Word.  When there are the equivalent of bird droppings on the outside or a greasy film within, God provides the cleansing when we confess our sins and we are to walk in light of it.

How important it is for us to walk in the light as He is in the light!  Jesus is the Light of the World, and He has a unique skill at revealing the faults no one else is privy to.  Like the Law of Moses beams of sunlight have no ability to cleanse us, but Jesus is able to forgive sins.  1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  How good it is to be clean, to be free from the curse of sin!  Praise the LORD He has washed us and how His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.  In light of our holy God and having eyes to see, we are to be clean inside and out for His glory.  Then His light will shine from us with glory undimmed, vessels of honour in whom He delights.