WaitFour

TRUE, or FALSE?  “God won’t give us more than we can handle.”

That’s false.

It is the often misquoted verse 1 Corinthians 10:13  -  ‘No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

The misquote is used as a way to comfort people undergoing the various heartrending trials of life.

However, notice the middle section of the actual verse:  God will not allow you to be TEMPTED beyond what you are able [more than you can stand, or more than you can resist], but will provide a way of escape so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding and overcome the temptation].  The verse is not speaking of the trials we encounter in life, but of the temptations we encounter in life.  The two are not the same.

While we are quick to quote the inaccurate form of the verse when undergoing trials, we seldom quote the accurate form of the verse when undergoing temptation.  Why is that?

In all honesty, it’s because we want to sin.  We like to sin.  We have pet sins that we desire to keep and pamper.  We don’t want a way of escape.  James 1:13-15 explains:  “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 BUT EACH ONE IS TEMPTED WHEN HE IS CARRIED AWAY AND ENTICED BY HIS OWN LUST. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

When we DO want a way of escape, to whom can we turn?  2 Peter 2:9 has the answer:  “…the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation….”  We can turn to God.  God can show us the way out of temptation.

But back to trials….Unfortunately, life itself can generally throw us more than we can handle in terms of trials.  Look at Paul’s own experience as related in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11  -  “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that WE WERE BURDENED EXCESSIVELY, BEYOND OUR STRENGTH, SO THAT WE DESPAIRED EVEN OF LIFE; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”

Paul basically said, “we couldn’t handle it!”  However, he also said that God used their  overwhelming trials to teach them something.  Look at verse 9, “so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.”

Now that I’ve taken away your favorite quote for those undergoing trials, what can you use instead? 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 is wonderful! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”

This verse tells us who God is, what His nature is, what He does for us, and what His purpose is for us. We need just such reminders when undergoing heartrending, overwhelming trials.  The knowledge of these things warms my heart when I am overwhelmed by life:  Christ’s Father is my Father.  He is merciful and compassionate…He cares.  He gives me all the comfort I need, and then He sends me out to comfort others so that they can know His comfort also.  

Revival Needed  -

As we look around us in our nation today, we wonder:

What is going on?

Why is there violence, hatred, immorality, and injustice?

We become cynical and disillusioned because we think that this is a Christian nation.

But it is NOT a Christian nation….  It is a worldly nation, and as such it does what worldly nations do:  They sin. They are dead in their sins.  That is the nature of worldliness:

Ephesians 2:1-5 -  And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

A worldly nation cannot be REVIVED, or brought BACK to life, because it has never BEEN alive.

When we look at Scripture, we see that God judges worldly nations for their cruelty and injustice; however, He also hands down judgements to those who CALL themselves the people of God.  They CLAIM the Name but they do not accurately REPRESENT the Name.  They want the BENEFITS of the kingdom without the RESPONSIBILITY of living like kingdom citizens.  They want the PROVISION and PROTECTION of the King, but they do not want to SUBMIT themselves to Him.  They want to live as though they HAVE NO king.  They want to do things their OWN way.  THEY need to be REVIVED….THEY need to be brought BACK to life.

So as we begin praying for revival, we are not praying for the nation as a whole. The NATION needs an AWAKENING.  And yes, we can pray for that.  However, today we want to focus on prayer for revival.  It is the PEOPLE OF GOD who need to be brought BACK to life…who need REVIVAL.

We are given symptoms of the need for revival in Scripture.  The following are just a few.  Please put a check beside any that might apply to you personally, or to your church.  (NOTE: If you get to the end and have marked some symptoms, then you are in need of revival.  If you get to the end and have NOT marked any symptoms, then you are in need of revival.  Prescription for both:  begin praying!)

Leviticus 26:14-15  -  we won’t listen to or obey God

Deuteronomy 6:5  -  we don’t love God completely

Deuteronomy 6:6-9  - God’s commands aren’t on our hearts or carried into our daily lives at work and at home

Deuteronomy 6:12  -  we have forgotten that God brought us out of slavery

Deuteronomy 6:13-14  -  we serve the same gods as the people around us (we look like the world)

Deuteronomy 6:18  -  we don’t do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight (we don’t have God’s perspective on right and wrong)

Deuteronomy 8:10  -  we don’t praise God for His provision

Deuteronomy 8:12-17  -  comfort has made our hearts proud, so we say, “Look what I’VE accomplished”

Deuteronomy 8:19  -  others gods rule our daily lives and have our devotion (we based our decisions, activities, and schedules on something other than God)

Deuteronomy 9:23-24  -  we rebel against God and don’t trust Him

Deuteronomy 29:19  -  we persist in going our own way

Joshua 1:8  -  we neglect the study of God’s Word

Malachi 1:1-14  -  we dishonor God by giving Him less than our best

Malachi 2:7-9  -  we cause others to stumble by not accurately teaching God’s truths

Malachi 2:10-16  -  we divorce our spouses and do not seek to raise up godly offspring

Malachi 2:17  -  we accuse God of injustice

Malachi 3:5  -  we take part in sorcery, adultery, perjury, defrauding laborers of their wages, oppressing widows and orphans, depriving aliens of justice; we don’t fear God

Malachi 3:8-12  -  we rob God by not giving our tithes and offerings

Malachi 3:13-15  -  we say it is futile to serve God (it doesn’t make any difference how we live)

Luke 12:41-48  -  we neglect what God has given us to do; we mistreat others; we are given to self-indulgence and personal excesses, such as drunkenness; we know God’s will but don’t do it; we are not prepared for Christ’s return

1 John 4:20  -  we say we love God, but we hate our brothers

Revelation 2:4-5  -  we have left our first love and are not even aware of how far we have fallen; we are not doing the deeds we did at first     

Revelation 2:14-15  -  we hang onto worldly and ungodly teachings and ways of living, so that we cause others to stumble

Revelation 2:20  -  we tolerate false teachers and false teaching

Revelation 3:1-3  -  although we’re spiritually dead, we think we’re alive; our deeds aren’t complete in the eyes of God; we don’t remember or obey what we’ve received and heard (we walk out of church unchanged); we’re oblivious to the fact that the Lord’s coming is near

Revelation 3:15-19  -  we’re lukewarm and no longer zealous; we think we have no needs (we are unmoved by the Holy Spirit, the Word, or the message in the church service, feeling that it doesn’t really apply to us); we are unaware that we’re spiritually wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked;

Micah 6:8 -  we aren’t doing what is just; we’re unkind and unforgiving; we aren’t walking humbly with God

These symptoms pretty well describe the church in the United States today. We are like the valley full of bones in Ezekiel 37, lifeless and very dry.  Who will REVIVE us? Who will bring us BACK to life?

Ezekiel 37:1-6  - The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. 6 I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Let us begin praying for God to speak His Word to US and put new breath inside of US, so that we too may come BACK to life…so that we will be REVIVED! All great revivals of the past were preceded by prayer.

Let us begin praying with the psalmist:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.  -  Psalm 51:10-13

When the people of God are revived, THEN an awakening of our nation and the world around us can begin:

2 Chronicles 7:14 -  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Rules for texting, typing, speaking, or writing….

2.      Remember that our words can be destructive, or they can bring life:

Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Do all of your words bring life to those who read them or hear them?

Prayer: Lord, help me to speak life-giving words.  “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”  -  Psalm 19:14

Rules for texting, typing, speaking, or writing….

1.      Remember that our words have consequences:

Matthew 12:36-37  -  “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

What careless words have you spoken in the last 24 hours, whether texting, typing, speaking, or writing?

The Restless Heart  -

 “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”  -  St. Augustine

Dan Graves, in an article at christianhistoryinstitute.org, said of Augustine, “Behind Augustine are a succession of desperate searches for fulfillment: excessive pleasures, false religions, philosophy, dissipation and distractions—futilities that left him so weary of himself he could only cry out, ‘How long, O Lord, how long?’ At the very moment when he uttered that cry, circumstances led his eyes to a passage in Romans that showed him he could be freed from sin. Shortly afterward, he was baptized.”  

Ten years later, Augustine began writing Confessions, an autobiographical testimony of his journey with God, having found rest in Him.  The book, a prayer really, consists of 13 chapters and includes the often quoted portion of his prayer, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”

Psalm 62:1,5 -  Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him….  Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

What are the symptoms of a restless heart?  A restless heart is often anxious, discontent, bitter, confused, self-centered, angry, jealous, negative, critical, cynical, dissatisfied, empty, uneasy, busyness, materialistic, greedy, envious, unsettled, or indecisive.  The list could surely be expanded further.  Suffice it to say that a restless heart is not a “happy place”  -  not a place of rest and peace.

A newly hatched baby bird is helpless to satisfy his own hungerings and cravings.  He is completely dependent on the adult bird to fill him up.  He is reaching, stretching, striving, crying out, opening wide his mouth, unable to rest until the adult bird satisfies him.  

We, too, are helpless to satisfy our own hungerings and cravings.  We need God to fill us up.  We are constantly reaching, stretching, striving, crying out, opening wide our mouths, unable to rest until God satisfies us.  God uses our hungerings and cravings, our restless hearts, to call us to Him  -  to remind us that it is in Him that our souls truly find rest.

For some reason, we have a tendency to rebel against that call  - to run from God rather than draw near to Him.  We constantly strive to find rest and peace, meaning and fulfillment, apart from God:

Jeremiah 6:16  -  This is what the Lord says:  “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

We seek to fill our lives with everything except God, thinking we can extinguish our inner hungerings, but our strivings generally escalate the restlessness of our souls.  

The fact is, we need God. Only He can satisfy.  Only He can bring rest to our souls.  And so He says to us in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, or cease striving, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

When has your soul been restless?

What symptoms characterized your life during that time?

What did you try to do, apart from God, to extinguish those inner hungerings?

What was the result of your striving?

Have you found rest in God?

If so, how?

Are you continuing to rest and trust in Him?

Spring of Joy  -  

 Published in Brightest and Best: A Choice Collection Of New Songs, Duets, Choruses, Invocation And Benediction Hymns For The Sunday School And Meetings Of Prayer And Praise in 1875, the hymn “All the Way My Savior Leads Me” was written by Frances J. Crosby.

 Frances was blinded as an infant, yet she wrote hundreds of hymns during her lifetime.  She viewed her blindness as a special gift from God, equipping her for a special work.  She graciously said of the doctor whose mistake had blinded her, “…he unwittingly did me the greatest favor in the world.”  On another occasion, she said, “How in the world could I have lived such a helpful life had I not been blind?”

 As a child, Frances memorized large portions of Scripture, including most of the Pentateuch, the four Gospels, all of Proverbs and large sections of other books of the Bible.  When she was 85 she said, “This Holy Book has nurtured my entire life.” That nurturing is evident in the words of this hymn when we read the words and note the many references to Scripture:  

Deuteronomy 32:12  -   The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.

Exodus 40:38  -  o the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.

Exodus 16:14-15 -  When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.  Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.

Exodus 17:5-6  -  The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Number 20:11  -  Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

Philippians 4:19 -  And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:28  -  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

John 14:2-3  -  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

1 Corinthians 15:53-55 -  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME

All the way my Savior leads me; What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my guide? Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well; For I know, whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.

 All the way my Savior leads me, Cheers each winding path I tread; Gives me grace for every trial, Feeds me with the living bread. Though my weary steps may falter, And my soul athirst may be, Gushing from the rock before me, Lo! A spring of joy I see; Gushing from the rock before me, Lo! A spring of joy I see.

Superiority....

Luke 18:9-14  -   And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 What is a symptom of pride as expressed in Luke 18:9?

 How did the Pharisee demonstrate that he had a spiritual superiority complex?

 When have you adopted a spiritual superiority complex?

 A spiritual superiority complex isn’t only about religion.  We view all kinds of people with contempt, and treat them (or speak to, or about, them) accordingly.  What kind of people do you tend to view with contempt?

 How does contempt alter the way you treat people?

 How does contempt affect the way you speak to, or about, people?

 What needs to change?

 How will a spiritual superiority complex evidence itself in the home?  In the church?  In the workplace?

 Viewing others with contempt comes from a heart of pride  -  I am greater, smarter, wiser, more experienced, more educated, more anything or everything than you!

 How is this clearly seen in our culture today?

 How is it clearly seen in your own life today?

 How do our unbridled expressions of criticisms, disagreements, or opinions exhibit spiritual superiority complexes (and therefore pride)?

How was the tax collector’s attitude different from that of the Pharisee?

 What should our attitude be according to Luke 18:13-14?

 We have all experienced humbling circumstances  -  those times when God had to knock us down a peg and teach us to be humble.  However, it would be far better if we would incorporate into our lives Jesus’ words in verse 14.  How can we do that?  How can we humble ourselves instead of challenging God to do it for us?

 Which would have a less painful and humiliating outcome  -  humbling ourselves, or being humbled?

John 4:23-24  -  “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We are very concerned with the aesthetics of worship:  musical genres, sound, lighting, tempo, professionalism, vocal abilities, etc.  In fact, we focus almost entirely on these aspects of worship.  However, these are all EXTERNAL aspects of worship  -  something God is much less concerned with than we are.  

 Jesus said that those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and truth.  These are the INTERNAL aspects of worship.  Real worship is real truth (sound doctrine, scriptural truth) combined with real heart (sincerity, affection, emotion, devotion).

 I like how John Piper puts it:  “Worship must be vital and real in the heart, and worship must rest on a true perception of God. There must be spirit and there must be truth. . . . Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half-full) of artificial admirers . . . . On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship.” 

 So how is your worship?  

Are you more concerned about the external, or the internal?

Is your worship centered on real truth?

Does it include real heart?

 Remember:  Without BOTH heart and truth, worship is either empty or dead. An individual, or church, that is experiencing empty or dead worship is in need of revival!

 Lord, help me to worship You in spirit and in truth.  Help Your church to worship You in spirit and in truth.  Send us revival!

Lest I Forget

Revelation 22:1-5  -  Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

 "The Bible opens with a garden. It closes with a garden. The first is the Paradise that was lost. The last is Paradise regained. And between the two there is a third garden, the garden of Gethsemane. And it is through the unspeakable bitterness and desolation of Gethsemane that we find again the glorious garden through which flows ‘the river of water of life.’ Without Gethsemane no New Jerusalem! Without its mysterious and unfathomable night no blessed sunrise of eternal hope! ‘We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.’" “We are always in dire peril of regarding our redemption lightly. We hold it cheaply. Privileges easily come to be esteemed as rights. And even grace itself can lose the strength of heavenly favour and can be received and used as our due. ‘Gethsemane can I forget?’ Yes, I can; and in the forgetfulness I lose the sacred awe of my redemption, and I miss the real glory of ‘Paradise regained.’ ‘Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price.’ That is the remembrance that keeps the spirit lowly, and that fills the heart with love for Him ‘whose I am,’ and whom I ought to serve.  -  John Henry Jowett  (http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=27120)

 It is easy to forget who we are, where we’ve come from, and what Christ has done for us.  When we forget those things, how are our speech, behavior, activities, attitudes, priorities, and daily choices affected?

 In what ways are you currently exhibiting a tendency to forget who you were when Christ called you and what Christ has done for you?

 How can we continually remind ourselves of what Christ has done for us?

 Lead Me to Calvary by Jennie E. Hussey, 1921

 King of my life, I crown Thee now,

Thine shall the glory be;

Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow,

Lead me to Calvary.

 Refrain:

Lest I forget Gethsemane,

Lest I forget Thine agony;

Lest I forget Thy love for me,

Lead me to Calvary.

 Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid,

Tenderly mourned and wept;

Angels in robes of light arrayed

Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept.

 Let me like Mary, through the gloom,

Come with a gift to Thee;

Show to me now the empty tomb,

Lead me to Calvary.

 May I be willing, Lord, to bear

Daily my cross for Thee;

Even Thy cup of grief to share,

Thou hast borne all for me.

 Fill me, O Lord, with Thy desire

For all that know not Thee

Then touch my lips with holy fire,

To speak of Calvary.

 Jane Evelyn Hussy was born into a Quaker family on 8 February 1874 in Nenniker, N.H. She cared for her invalid sister, while personally battling painful, crippling arthritis. Despite her hardships, she was known to be cheerful and uncomplaining. Her first verses were published when she was 13, and her first hymns were published when she was 24.   Over the years she wrote 150 hymns.  

 The story is told of this hymn that one day, when the painful trial of her arthritis was almost beyond endurance, she prayed, “Please, Lord, make me willing to bear my cross daily, without complaining, because You bore Yours for me.” She then wrote the words to verse 4 of “lead Me To Calvary”, adding the other verses over the next several days.   [Wordwise Hymns, The Cyber Hymnal]

 In order to avoid forgetting what Christ had done for her, Jane Hussey asked God to help her focus on Calvary and Christ’s suffering and death.  She pondered the fact that Christ bore His sufferings for her.  And she asked God to help her share that good news with others.

 Have you asked God to help you focus on Calvary and Christ’s suffering and death?

 How might that help you when you become prideful, unfaithful, negative, or critical?

 Are you asking God to help you share the good news of Jesus with others?

 How can sharing Jesus help us keep our focus on Him?

Words of Life -

John 6:68  -  Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.

 Those words of eternal life are recorded in God’s love letter to us:  the Bible. Should we not read such a precious document  -  one written especially for you and for me? As we read the Bible, are we not overcome with awe at the beauty, pardon, and peace offered by God’s wonderful words?

 Lord, thank You for the beauty of Your wonderful words that teach us faith and duty, that call to us, that woo us to heaven, that offer pardon and peace, that sanctify us forever.  

 Wonderful Words of Life by Philip P Bliss

 Sing them over again to me, Wonderful words of life, Let me more of their beauty see, Wonderful words of life; Words of life and beauty Teach me faith and duty.

 Refrain: Beautiful words, wonderful words, Wonderful words of life; Beautiful words, wonderful words, Wonderful words of life.

 Christ, the blessed One, gives to all Wonderful words of life; Sinner, list to the loving call, Wonderful words of life; All so freely given, Wooing us to heaven.

 Sweetly echo the Gospel call, Wonderful words of life; Offer pardon and peace to all, Wonderful words of life; Jesus, only Savior, Sanctify us forever.

 Philip Bliss was born in a log cabin in Pennsylvania in 1838.  His parents were dedicated Christians, who passed on a love for the Bible and daily family prayers, as well as a passion for singing.

 At the age of ten, Philip heard the piano for the first time, and his desire to become a musician began to grow.   As an eleven year old, he left home to make a living, spending the next five years working in logging and lumber camps and sawmills.  At the age of twelve, he made his first public confession of Christ and joined a Baptist church.  Between jobs, he attended school, spending some of his money on musical education. During this time he also participated in Methodist camp meetings and revival services.  

 At the age of seventeen, Bliss went to Bradford City, Pennsylvania and obtained his teaching credentials, after which he became the new schoolmaster at Hartsville, New York.  During his time there, he received vocal training from J. G. Towner, who took Bliss to a musical convention where he met William B. Bradbury, noted composer of sacred music.  Bradbury influenced Bliss to be a music teacher.  

 Accepting a teaching position in the Rome, Pennsylvania Academy, Bliss met Lucy Young, a poet and musician, who became his wife.   Bliss continued his musical education and also conducted singing schools as a traveling teacher.  1864 he went to Chicago to work for the musician Dr. George F. Root.  Bliss engaged in conducting musical Institutes, and in composing Sunday School melodies.  His first song was published in 1865.  Between 1865 and 1873, Bliss held musical conventions, singing schools, and sacred concerts.  During this time, he also wrote a number of hymns and Sunday school melodies.  

 In 1869, Bliss met and began singing for D. L. Moody. He also met Major Daniel W. Whittle, who recommended Bliss for the position of choir director at the First Congregational Church in Chicago, where the Blisses moved in 1870.  In 1874 he joined D. W. Whittle, devoting himself to evangelical work as Whittle’s song evangelist and children’s worker.  Bliss compiled a revival song book entitled Gospel Songs, which brought in $30,000, all of which he gave to Whittle for their evangelistic efforts.

 In November, 1876, one month before his untimely death, Bliss sang at a ministers’ meeting conducted by D. L. Moody in Chicago. At that meeting, he introduced a new song for which he had just written the music:  It is Well with My Soul.  

 One month later, Bliss rode the Pacific Express train through a blinding snowstorm on the way back to Chicago with his wife.  As they approached Ashtabula, Ohio, the trestle bridge over which they were passing collapsed, plunging the train into the ravine below, where it burst into flames.  Bliss managed to crawl safely through a window; however, he returned to the fiery train to try to save his wife after discovering she was still inside the train.  Both Bliss and his wife, along with 90 other passengers, lost their lives in the blaze.

 Bliss’ trunk had been sent to Chicago separately and had arrived safely.  The trunk contained the last music that he had written before his death for the hymn “He Knows” written by Mary G. Brainard.  It also contained many hymn-poems for which he had not yet written the music.  One of those was My Redeemer, for which James McGranahan wrote the music.  

 Bliss was a prolific song writer.  Some of his more famous works are:  Almost Persuaded, Dare to be a Daniel, Free from the Law, Hallelujah ‘Tis Done!, Hallelujah, What a Saviour!, Hold the Fort, I Gave My Life for Thee (music), It is Well with My Soul (music), Jesus Loves Even Me, Let the Lower Lights Be Burning, The Light of the World is Jesus, Man of Sorrows What a Name, Once for All, Sing Them Over Again to Me, The Whole World Was Lost in the Darkness of Sin, Whosoever Will, and Wonderful Words of Life.  

 http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biobliss.html

http://hymnary.org/person/Bliss_Philip

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Bliss

https://hymnstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/wonderful-words-of-life/

In Need of  Revival – Left Behind

 Revelation 2:4-5  -  But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

 We can know we are in need of revival when we have left our first love.

What does that mean?

 The Lord says in verse 5, “…repent and do the deeds you did at first.”  Why does He say that?

 Genuine love is demonstrative.  It shows. It lets others know its love by choosing to act in loving ways.  Our love for God is no different.  Genuine love for God spills over into loving behavior, loving deeds.

 Is your love for God currently spilling over into loving behavior?

How did you show your love for God when you first became a believer?

Do you have that same zeal today  -  that same desire to openly demonstrate your love for Him through the daily choices that you make?

 If you aren’t sure about your answers to these questions, take a look at “40 Evidences That You May Have Left Your First Love” by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth (author of nineteen books including Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free) at the following website:   https://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/40-evidences-left-your-first-love/

 What insight do you gain about your relationship with Christ as you look at her list of “40 evidences that you may have left your first love”?

Again, what is the solution to the problem that the Lord gives in Revelation 2:5?

 Notice that returning to your first love requires a personal choice (repent) and personal effort (do the deeds you did at first).  

 Are you willing to make that choice?

Are you willing to put forth that effort?

In Need of  Revival – Forgetful

 Revelation 1:4-8  -  ‘John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.  8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

 We have already seen from that a critical spirit is one symptom that we are in need of revival.  These verses from Revelation 1 reveal another symptom:  a bad memory.  We have forgotten…

 …who Jesus is  -  the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth, the One who has glory and dominion forever and ever, the Alpha and the Omega.

 …what Jesus has done for us -  loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.

 …the purpose Jesus has for us  -  to be a kingdom, priests to our God and Father.

 …what Jesus is going to do -  come with the clouds, every eye seeing Him, all peoples mourning over Him.

 Forgetting those things affects how we live, what we say, and the daily choices we make.  It affects our priorities and our faithfulness, our testimony, and our witness.  We will see more about that as we go through the letters to the churches in Revelation. In the meantime, ponder the following questions:

 How long has it been since you meditated on who Jesus actually is?

As you meditate on who He is, has it led you to praise Him?

Has it called you to give Him first place in your life?

Has it drawn you closer to Him so that you are more faithful?

What would you say are signs of greater faithfulness?

Do you think often of what Jesus has done for you?

How does thinking of what He has done for you affect how you want to live for Him?

Do you understand the purpose Jesus has for you?

What does it mean to be a kingdom and priest to God?

In what ways are you ministering to the needs of others?

Are you interceding for others in prayer?

Are you faithfully representing God to the people around you?

Are you sharing the good news of Jesus and teaching them God’s Word?

Are you daily mindful of the fact that Jesus is going to come again?

What is it about His coming that will cause all peoples to mourn over Him?

What is an appropriate response for you to have today as you ponder these things?

In Need of Revival – A Critical Spirit

 “One of the most difficult defilements of the spirit to deal with is the critical spirit. A critical spirit has its root in pride. Because of the 'plank' of pride in our own eye we are not capable of dealing with the 'speck' of need in someone else. We are often like the Pharisee who, completely unconscious of his own need prayed "God, I thank you that I am not like other men" (Luke 18:11). We are quick to see - and to speak of - the faults of others, but slow to see our own needs. How sweetly we relish the opportunity to speak critically of someone else - even when we are unsure of the facts. We forget that "a man who stirs up dissension among brothers" by criticizing one to another is one of the "six things which the Lord hates" (Proverbs 6:16-19)”  -  Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

 Do you have a critical spirit?

Are you quick to see the faults of others, but slow to see your own faults?

Are you aware that speaking critically of others stirs up dissension  -  something which God hates?

Did you know that speaking critically of others is a symptom of pride?

 What is the cure for a critical spirit?

 1.  Giving thanks:

 Colossians 3:16  -  Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

 2.  Blessing and praying for others:

 Luke 6:27-29  -  “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

 3.  Serve others with a loving attitude:

 Galatians 5:13  -  For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

 4.  Look for ways to encourage others:

 Hebrews 3:13  -  But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

 The sins of pride and criticism definitely harden us.  Once we are hardened, it is difficult to hear God’s voice…difficult to hear Him call us to revival.  Today is a good day to confess those sins so that our hearts may be softened.

30 Days of Prayer for Revival -

Day 30.  “You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there’s a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it.”  –  Leonard Ravenhill

Psalm 85:6  -  Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?

 O Lord, will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?  Revive us so that all may see and be drawn to You.  Others are watching our lives, dear Lord.  Cleanse and purify us so that others may see Jesus in us.  Help us to live for Christ both day and night.  Help us to be faithful, brave, and true, leading the lost to life and light.

  Let Others See Jesus in You by B B McKinney

  While passing thro’ this world of sin, And others your life shall view,

Be clean and pure without, within, Let other see Jesus in you.

  Your life’s a book before their eyes, They’re reading it thro’ and thro’,

Say, does it point them to the skies, Do others see Jesus in you?

  What joy ‘twill be at set of sun, In mansions beyond the blue,

To find some souls that you have won; Let others see Jesus in you.

  The live for Christ both day and night, Be faithful, be brave, and true,

And lead the lost to life and light; Let others see Jesus in you.

  Chorus:

Let others see Jesus in you, Let others see Jesus in you;

Keep telling the story, be faithful and true, Let others see Jesus in you.

  Can others see Jesus in you?

Does the level of holiness and purity of your life allow others to see Jesus?

Are you pointing people to Jesus by the things you say and the things you do?

Who have you won to Jesus in the last year?

Do you constantly and consistently live for Christ, or for yourself?

Are you being faithful to Christ?

Why is that important?

30 Days of Prayer for Revival -

Day 29. "During true revival, thousands of lost people are suddenly swept into the Kingdom of God. Scenes of the lost coming to the Savior in great, and unprecedented numbers, are common." -  Henry Blackaby

 Psalm 23:3 -  He restores my soul;  He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

 Lord, restore my soul.  Guide me in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. As you restore me, teach me to pray. Help me to constantly abide in You. Grant me power in prayer, power in serving, and power in witnessing.  Use me, O Lord, as an instrument of Your peace.  Speak through me to those around me who need to know You and need to know Your peace.  

  Teach Me To Pray by Albert S. Reitz

  Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;

This is my heart-cry day unto day;

I long to know Thy will and Thy way;

Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.

  Living in Thee, Lord, and Thou in me,

Constant abiding, this is my plea;

Grant me Thy power, boundless and free,

Power with men and power with Thee.

  Power in prayer, Lord, power in prayer,

Here ‘mid earth’s sin and sorrow and care,

Men lost and dying, souls in despair;

O give me power, power in prayer!

  My weakened will, Lord, Thou canst renew;

My sinful nature Thou canst subdue;

Fill me just now with power anew;

Power to pray and power to do!

  Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;

Thou art my pattern day unto day;

Thou art my surety, now and for aye;

Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.

  Albert Simpson Reitz was born in Kansas in 1879, the son of a Methodist minister.  After his own ordination, Reitz pastored various Baptist churches in Wisconsin and California.  Throughout his lifetime, he wrote over 100 hymns that were published.  

 Little other biographical information can be found about Albert Simpson Reitz, but the words of his songs live on today.  The hymn “Teach Me To Pray” is reminiscent of Luke 11:1, where the disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”  

 A beautiful and heartfelt prayer, the hymn begins with “Teach me to pray, Lord….”  The prayer pleads with God to give renewed power to constantly abide in Him, to witness to others, to pray effectively for the lost, to subdue the personal sinful nature, to obey God, and to follow Christ’s example.  

 Is this your prayer today?

 https://wordwisehymns.com/2011/04/22/teach-me-to-pray/

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/r/e/i/reitz_as.htm

https://separateholy.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/albert-s-reitz-birth-jan-20-1879/

http://barryshymns.blogspot.com/

30 Days of Prayer for Revival -

Day 28.  “The story of Christian reformation, revival, and renaissance underscores that the darkest hour is often just before the dawn, so we should always be people of hope and prayer, not gloom and defeatism. God the Holy Spirit can turn the situation around in five minutes.” -   Os Guinness

 Psalm 119:49-50  -  Remember the word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me.

 O Savior, our Comfort and our Hope, we lift our prayers to You.  During these dark days, may Your Word revive us.  Expand Your church.  Grant us power and love to share Your light  - power and love to live and, if necessary, die for You..

  Send Me, O Lord, Send Me by Ross Coggins

  O God of might, O Son of light,

O Holy Spirit sweet,

Thy church expand till all shall stand

At Jesus’ pierced feet.

Let all who once Thy Son disowned

Rejoice to see Him now enthroned.

Yet while one straying soul there be,

Send me, O Lord, send me.

  With holy fire my heart inspire

Thy Spirit’s sword to wield;

With borrowed might I’ll take

Thy light, Till darkness’ doom be sealed.

If others stop to count the cost,

For fear of earthly treasures lost,

I’ll count it gain to die for Thee;

Send, O Lord, send me.

  O that in me my Lord may see

A Bearer of the name;

That all may see His love so free

From age to age the same.

Be this my everlasting song,

He took upon Himself my wrong,

And cried while facing Calvary,

“Send Me, O Lord, send Me.”

  Ross Coggins was born in 1928.  He was a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as associate director of student work for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, as missionary to Indonesia for five years, and as communications associate for the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission for seven years.  He later left the mission field to work with U.S. foreign aid agencies. He had great compassion for the poor and strove to improve their plight in meaningful and lasting ways.

 His poem “Send Me, O Lord, Send Me” was written in 1956 and was only one of hundreds of poems he wrote, though this one was the best known among Baptists.  He is also known for his 1976 poem “The Development Set,” a satire on the self-serving lifestyle of some aid professionals.  

 As you read this hymn, a prayer really, is it your desire to see God’s church expand?

Are you willing for God to send you out to seek the lost?

Are you ready to carry God’s light to others whatever the cost?

Can others see the love of God in you?

As you bear His name, are you mindful of what Christ did for you at Calvary?

 https://baptistnews.com/article/send-me-o-lord-send-me-author-ross-coggins-dies/#.WPU8bWe1vIU

https://abpnews.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/send-me-o-lord-send-me-author-ross-coggins-dies/

30 Days of Prayer for Revival -

Day 27.  “Study the history of revival. God has always sent revival in the darkest days. Oh, for a mighty, sweeping revival today!”  –  Adrian Rogers

 Hebrews 12:1  - Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

 Lord, the days are dark, but certainly You have sent revival in the darkest of days in times past. Send now a mighty, sweeping revival! Help us to lay aside every encumbrance…everything that hinders…every sin which so easily entangles us.  Set us on fire for Your Word, for witnessing, for living for You.  Lord, may Your light shine through us to the world around us.

 Set My Soul Afire by Gene Bartlett

  Set my soul afire, Lord, for Thy holy Word.

Burn it deep within me, let Your voice be heard;

Millions grope in darkness, ii this day and hour.

I will be Your witness, fill me with Thy pow’r.

  Chorus:

Set my soul afire, Lord, set my soul afire.

Make my life a witness of Thy saving pow’r.

Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word.

Set my soul afire, Lord, Set my soul afire.

  Set my soul afire, Lord, for the lost in sin.

Give to me a passion as I seek to win;

Help me not to falter, never let me fail,

Fill me with Thy Spirit, let Thy will prevail.

  Set my soul afire, Lord, in my daily life.

Far too long I’ve wondered in this day of strife;

Nothing else will matter but to live for Thee.

I will be Your witness as You live in me.

  Gene Bartlett, a nationally known writer of contemporary church music, was born in Arkansas in 1918. Educated at John Brown University and Oklahoma Baptist University, he went on to serve as minister of music at various Baptist churches in Arkansas and Oklahoma.  He also served as director of the church music department for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and as music director at Falls Creek from 1954-80.

 The son of Eugene Bartlett, Sr., a song writer who was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association in 1973, Gene Bartlett was also a hymn writer.  He wrote 400 songs, 200 of which were published, during a music career that spanned 40 years.  He credited his wife for assisting him in the writing of much of his music.  Like his father, Bartlett was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2000.

 Bartlett was inspired by hymn writer B. B. McKinney, who gave him this advice:  “…write something every day. You may not get it published, but write every day.  In turn, Bartlett gave some advice to other beginning composers of Christian music:  “Study the Bible. Study aspects of Christian living. And, of course, you need to study the English language or whatever language you are going to write in."  In Bartlett’s own words, he “wrote for people’s needs and for the kids at Falls Creek (a Baptist camp in Oklahoma).”  His over-riding desire was to lead in true worship and praise.  

 This hymn, “Set My Soul Afire, Lord”, is a prayer for revival.  It requests real revival that brings renewed interest in God’s Word, ears open to God’s voice, concern for the lost, realization of the need for God’s Spirit and power, and a passion to witness to others on a daily basis through both life and words.  The song also expresses a commitment to be that witness.

 As you seek revival, do you also seek a renewed interest in God’s Word?

Are you listening to what God has to say to you?

Do you have a growing concern for the lost?

Do you recognize your need for God’s Spirit and power?

How fiery is your passion to witness to others on a daily basis through your life and words?

Are you committed to be God’s witness to the people around you?

 Lord, fill me with Your Spirit.  Let Your will prevail.

 http://www.hymnary.org/text/set_my_soul_afire_lord_for_thy_holy_word

http://follow-jesus-camp.blogspot.com/2015/11/set-my-soul-afire-lord-hymn-written-by.html

http://originofsongs.blogspot.com/2013/08/victory-in-jesus.html

http://newsok.com/article/2160053