Revival

Reader, we are in difficult times, not only here but
all around the world. Every day we get to watch
crazy, unheard of things from the persecution of
the church to the coming election. Things are not
what we in the west would call, "normal." How-
ever I think it is giving us an opportunity to find
out what really matters and it is a call to prayer.

Here is what I have been praying:

O Breath of Life come sweeping through us
Revive Thy church with life and power.
O Breath of Life, come cleanse renew us
And fit Thy church to meet this hour.

O wind of God, come bend us, break us
Till humbly we confess our need;
Then in Thy tenderness remake us
Revive, restore, for this we plead.

O Breath of love, come breathe within us,
Renewing thought and will and heart.
Come, love of Christ afresh to win us,
Revive Thy church in every part.

Revive us Lord! Is zeal abating
While harvest fields are vast and white?
Revive us Lord the world is waiting,
Equip Thy church to spread the light
Bessie Porter Head  1850-1936

First the revival of the church;
then salvation can come to the
world around us.

Asking

You do not have because you do not ask God...
James 4:2b

True praying involves serious attention and time,
which flesh and blood do not relish. Few people
have such strong fiber that they will make a costly
outlay when inferior work will pass just as well 
in the marketplace.

To be little with God is to be little for God. It takes
much time for the fullness of God to flow into the 
spirit. Short devotions cut the pipe of God's full 
flow. We live shabbily because we pray meagerly. 
This is not a day of prayer. Few men pray. In these 
days of hurry and bustle men will not take the time 
to pray. Prayer is out-of-date, almost a lost art. 
EM Bounds 1835-1913
He was a minister in the American Methodist
Episcopal Church. He served as a captain in the
Confederate Army. Today he's best known for
his many books on prayer, especially,
Power Through Prayer 

Reader, if it was true then, just how more true it is
now. We live in dangerous times full of anxiety--
admit it--and we desperately need a powerful move
of God in this nation.

Without Strength

For when we were without strength, at the right time,
Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die
for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good per-
son one would dare to die--BUT GOD shows His love
for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died
for us

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his
blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the
wrath of God.

For if while we were ENEMIES we were reconciled
to God by the death of His Son, MUCH MORE, now
that we are reconciled, shall we be saved my His life.
Romans 5:6-10

Grace is not looking for good men whom it may ap-
prove, for it is not grace but mere justice to approve
goodness. But it is looking for condemned, guilty,
speechless and helpless men whom it may save, sanc-
tify and glorify. C I Scofield--1843-1921
Scofield was a lawyer and Confederate army officer
before his conversion.

I found several biographies and discovered that just
like John Newton, it took him awhile to actually live
as one who is saved. He discovered in himself total
helplessness to live the Christian life. However, God
took this fleshly lump of clay and worked in Him some-
thing that staggers. He is the CI Scofield that put
together the Scofield Bible that is still cherished today.

https://www.gotquestions.org/C-I-Scofield.html

Reader, the verses above are beyond comprehending,
but try...

Fellowship

...and our fellowship is with the Father and with 
His Son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3b

You must abide in Christ in heaven before you can
descend with heavenly ability to act for Him down
here. The great secret of all blessing is to come from
the Lord. Most Christians go to Him.
AJ--Nothing is known abut him.

Reader, what does it mean that we descend with
heavenly ability? Don't we live down here?
Check out this verse:

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us 
up with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus...
Ephesians 2:6

WOW!

Be Filled

...Be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18b

The promise of the Spirit is not for great or exceptional 
Christians, but for any Christian who yields himself to God. 
Paul addressed everyday Christian believers at Ephesus: 
husband, wife, parent, child, master, slave. He encouraged 
all to live lives full of the divine Holy Spirit, full from within.

What this command to be filled with the Spirit meant in 
Ephesus, it means in England, it means to the one who 
is writing these words in his study at Cambridge, and to 
his brother in Christ who reads them, wherever and when-
ever God has bid him dwell.
Hendley Moule 1841-1920
Moule was a popular leader of the evangelical wing of the
Church of England and a speaker at Keswick conventions.

I must be filled. It is absolutely necessary.
I may be filled. God has made it blessedly possible.
I want to be filled. It is eminently desirable.
I will be filled. It is so blessedly certain.
Andrew Murray 1828-1917
Murray was a South African clergyman who strongly in-
fluenced the missionary movement to South Africa. Today
he is largely remembered for his many devotional books,
still in print and still strong sellers.

Seek Him First

But seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

Once it was a blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was a feeling,
Now it is His Word;
Once His gift I wanted,
Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone.
WM Trumbull

Reader, this is a good word for today!

He Delights In You

How many of you believe that God delights in you?
Most of us feel that He tolerates us on a good day.
I watched a You Tube video this afternoon on this
very subject and rather than trying to summarize it,
I will post it below. Malcolm Smith is one of my
favorite teachers. He can get more out of one verse
of scripture than anyone I know. I once was at a
conference where he taught on one verse for one
hour, at least four times. And, each talk was differ-
ent in its emphasis. What was the verse?

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind 
is stayed on thee:  because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3 King James

"He Delights in you" out of Luke 15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfWp8jF9bLc