O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years!

— Habakkuk 3:2

There is a great need for a heaven-sent revival by the Holy Spirit of God to sweep across the land. The first thing we can do is pray, and I am glad there are people taking that seriously.

Too often, we forget that America became a nation soon after a spiritual revival, the First Great Awakening. Then in the early 1800s, America experienced a Second Great Awakening, which helped bring about a moral revolution—particularly in addressing the evil of slavery. Now, we are in need of a Third Great Awakening. Will you join me in praying for that to happen? I believe it is America’s only real hope.

People are under the misconception that government will solve all their problems. But I believe that if true change is going to take place, it will start with the people through a genuine revival that eventually moves to the halls of government; not from the government down, but from the people up. God once declared, “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 will forgive their sin and will heal their land!” (2 Chronicles 7:14). May it be in our day!

Question to ponder:
What are the components of a true revival and how does it happen?

…and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He performed in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places…

— Ephesians 1:19-20

Because of Jesus, one day all people will be raised from the dead, either for salvation or damnation. It is not merely a handful of individuals who will be resurrected as was the case in Jesus’ earthly ministry when he said “Talitha cumi,” and a young girl rose from her bed (Mark 5:41), or “Lazarus, come forth,” and Lazarus walked out with his grave clothes still on him (John 11:43-44).

No, Jesus said that all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and come forth in that day. Everyone! And more than that, it will happen instantaneously—in a moment. In the twinkling of an eye, it is all going to be done. Surely, that seems to be utterly incredible. Yet, that is what we are told, and what we are called to believe.

What is the solution to such an apparent impossibility? The apostle Paul said to King Agrippa, “Why is it judged incredible by you, that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8). There is the other dimension. There is the other factor—God—”God raises the dead.”

Question to ponder:
What does it mean to you to know that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead will one day raise you?

The body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.

— 1 Corinthians 15:42

Recently my wife and I visited Butterfly World, a magnificent spectacle of beauty and color in Fort Lauderdale, which houses thousands of butterflies flying freely in an enclosed area. We were each given a little chrysalis in a plastic cup. We observed them. They had already woven their own cerement, created their own winding sheet, built their own coffin. But now they were breaking free. They had utterly transformed themselves. Out comes one wing, and then another. Then they pump up their wings with their own blood and fly off into the sky.

The butterfly is often used as a description of the Resurrection. It certainly is, but it would be a more accurate picture of the resurrection of mankind if we took that chrysalis, ground it to powder, dissolved it in water, mixed it with mud, and splashed it into all the rivers of the world—and then waited for the butterfly to come out. That is the plight of man. Indeed, how shall our bodies ever come together again? Of course, God, who created the world out of nothing, can one day resurrect our bodies, despite the earthly condition of our remains.

Question to ponder:
What does it mean to you to know that one day God will resurrect your body?

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

— Ephesians 4:32

Some Christians are not nice; some cannot even be civil. Many times people try to communicate with their spouses, or with others, but that communication is blocked by a cold and icy wall of resentment, which is the memory in the soul of some previous hurt or slight or wound of some sort. That resentment acts like a thermometer that measures within each one of us the level, the degree, of our lack of forgiveness. Paul tells us, however, in this chapter to be tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us. We are called to forgive, even as we have been forgiven.

Think of all that God has given us—pardon, forgiveness, provision, and adoption into the family of God, care for all of your needs, and the promise that one day we will be with Him forever in paradise.

When we consider God’s gifts to us, it is easier to look kindly on others. When we remember what God has forgiven us for, it is easier to forgive one another. When we consider God’s kindness to us, it is easier to be kind to each other.

Question to ponder:
How can we develop the heart of Christ toward people around us?

Her children rise up and call her blessed; …

— Proverbs 31:28

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) of South Africa was a great theologian and writer. He was one of eight or nine children, all of whom grew up to bless their land as the godliest of people because their godly father and mother led Christian lives and gathered the family together for worship each day.

In her old age, Andrew’s mother was asked her secret by people who marveled that so many children of such tremendous character, integrity, spirituality, and power and influence could have come from one home. Her answer was that she lived the life she wanted her children to live. And central in that life was the regular worship of God, reading the Word, and prayer together in their home.

We see this same principle in the life of Samuel, one of the great saints of the Bible. This mighty spiritual leader began a whole new epic in the life of Israel, but where did he come from? Like Andrew Murray, he had a godly mother. Hannah prayed for a son and God answered her prayer. Also in the first chapter of 1 Samuel you will discover three things about Samuel’s family. First of all, his parents regularly took him with them to worship in the temple. Secondly, his mother and father were praying people. They knew how to pray and to get answers to their prayers. Thirdly, early each morning they gathered together all of the family to worship God in the home. Out of this family life grew Samuel, the prophet, the reformer, the teacher of Israel. His mother Hannah’s prayer helped change a nation.

Question to ponder:
What can you do to make your home more godly?

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.

— Proverbs 22:1

In the Bible a name represents the person, just as it does in the third of the Ten Commandments—”Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”

We are all concerned for the reputation of our good name. We have laws against those that would besmirch our name because they are besmirching us. And for those who hold God in contempt and drag Him in the mud, there is a penalty. God says, ” … for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes His name in vain.” There is no menace here. It is simply a statement of a fact.

Ultimately, having a good name comes from putting our faith in Jesus. A good reputation comes from good and sound living. If we are known for our honesty, hard work, kind words, helpfulness, and generosity, we will have a good name among people. It takes time and effort. It also takes a moment to ruin a reputation. We should be as zealous for God’s reputation as we are for our own.

Question to ponder:
What type of reputation before others do you think you have? What can we do to honor God and His good name?

Remember therefore from where you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your candlestick from its place, unless you repent.

— Revelation 2:5

Remember the threefold prescription of our Savior: remember, repent, and return. May God grant that we might remember our first love and from whence we are fallen. What a tragic term “fallen” is. You are a fallen woman … a fallen man. You have fallen from your first love. Repent from your spiritual apathy. Return to your first love for Jesus. Remember … Repent … Return.

It took the precious blood of Christ to forgive our sins, and nothing less than that will suffice. We cannot be redeemed by contrition or repentance alone, but we cannot be redeemed without them. This is the plain teaching of the Scriptures.

If we can catch ourselves and repent from the “small sins”—such as an unkind word or a covetous thought or a missed opportunity to witness or serve, then the return is not so hard. If we do not heed the Holy Spirit and instead we let things slide, we become backslidden, and the return is much harder. If we live in daily repentance, we will continue in His light.

Question to ponder:
Have you lost love for Christ and zeal for His work? What can you do to remember, repent, and return?

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

— Genesis 3:6

Many young people today have been enticed to taste the forbidden fruit of sexual immorality. They have been told that it is good, fun, and freeing. As they have followed the siren song of the age right into the marshy swamplands of impurity, they have suffered the consequences, such as seeing their bodies eaten up with sores and sickness, and their souls reduced and shriveled up. “Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death” (James 1:15).

In the 1980s, AIDS devastated much of the homosexual community, cutting in half the life span of many men. This is the tragic, natural consequence of their unnatural acts, which God clearly tells us to avoid. So maybe God truly wants the best for us and isn’t such an ogre after all. Maybe every good gift and perfect gift does come down from above, and not up from beneath with a hook in it and Satan at the other end of the line.

As Leslie Unruh, founder of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, points out, there is no condom available to prevent a broken heart. God created sex, and when we play by His rules, things go better for everyone.

Question to ponder:
How can we help the people who have suffered so greatly from believing the lies of the sexual revolution?

The earth belongs to the Lord, and its fullness, the world, and those who dwell in it.

— Psalm 24:1

A key principle of Christian stewardship that is taught throughout the Bible is the principle of the “first fruits.” God has said that the first fruits belong to Him. This means that we demonstrate our acknowledgement that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof by returning unto Him what He requires, namely the first fruits of all that He gives to us. Not the middle fruits or the last fruits, and not after “I see if I am going to have something left over” to give. No, we start by, in faith, giving to Him the first fruits.

Here are the five principles of stewardship:

• The earth is the Lord’s.
• God wants us before our wealth.
• We are to bring the first fruits of all that we receive.
• They are defined in the test of the tithe.
• If we pass the test, there are great blessings in store for us.

Question to ponder:
Have you tried to give to the Lord generously of your time, your talents, and your material blessings?

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

— Matthew 6:12

Jay Adams, a Christian psychologist, tells about a couple, Sue and Wilbur, who came for counseling. She was quite angry and was there because her doctor told her to come. (She had an ulcer).

Reaching down into a shopping bag-sized purse, she pulled out an 8 ½” x 11″ manuscript, about an inch thick, with single-spaced, type-written text on both sides of the page. She slapped it down on the desk and said, “That’s why I am here.”

Wilbur said, “Oh.” He picked it up to see what it was. When he opened it, he saw a careful documentation of every slight, every hurt, every word, every deed he had committed against her for thirteen years—which, by the way, proved in subsequent visits to be an exceedingly accurate report.

She said, “That is what is giving me ulcers.”

The counselor said, “I want you to know, young lady, that it has been many a year since I have met anyone—she began to smile and Wilbur slid down even farther in his seat—as hostile and as resentful as you are!” With that, Wilbur sort of sat up a little bit straighter. The counselor said, “This is a record not only of the faults your husband has committed against you, but also of the sin you have committed against him and against God and against your own body, for which you are now paying a price.”

It is God’s job to avenge, and it is because we serve a just God that we can leave it to Him. Forgiveness is never easy, but it is right.

Question to ponder:
Is there anybody toward whom you are harboring resentment? What can you do today to make it right?