Revive me, O Lord!

"Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?"
(Psalm 85:6)

The believer who wants true revival throws away his list of favorite excuses for sin. Confession replaces excuses. Commitment replaces compromise.

You might be tempted to say, "But I've confessed, tried, and failed so many times, revival just doesn't last." A skeptic once made a comment to evangelist Billy Sunday in the early 1900s. He tried to make the point that since personal revival wasn't a permanent end-all to temptation, sin, and failure, times of revival weren't really that important. "Revival just doesn't last," the man complained to Billy Sunday one evening. Sunday just smiled and replied, "Well, a bath doesn't last either, but it's good to take one occasionally!"

Has it ever occurred to you that a great word to describe Christianity is exposure? You become a Christian after being exposed as a sinner. You grow as a Christian after being exposed to your need of change in some area. You confess daily sin as it is exposed in your life. You flourish in your walk as a result of being exposed to the Scriptures.

No wonder every Christian is in need of daily revival. We so easily sugarcoat our selfishness and rationalize our rebellion. We manage our sin, but fail to confess it. We conveniently forget how heartbreaking sin is to our heavenly Father.

Revival, then, could be defined as a movement of God's Spirit in the believer's life, which produces both private confession of sin and public obedience to the Scriptures. The priority for our outward behavior is to please God - a priority that will undeniably impact personal relationships, financial decisions, and lifestyle choices. Therefore, revival is not a once-and-done event... it is daily. And it should interrupt your life over and over again.

By the way, you can't plan for revival but you can pray for it. You can't orchestrate it or announce that it is going to happen in a series of meetings the third week of May. All you can do is beg God to give you a heart that confesses and a life that obeys.

So, take His Word daily, ask God to blow on the smoldering embers of your heart, making it burst into flaming affection for Him all over again. While you're at it, remember that revival is not so much about emotion as it is about action.

Don't wait for a week of revival meetings to pray, "Revive me, O Lord"... do it today!

Wisdom for the Heart

Diligently Seeking

There are times when we look, and there are times when we see. There are times when we observe, and there are times when we memorize. There are times when we notice, and there are times when we study. Most of us know what it means to see a new car or a nice little something in the store we would like to have for our own… but do we know what it’s like to see Jesus?

In Acts 26:12-18, Paul recalls his experience on the road (as Saul) to Damascus when he saw the Lord. At the very moment that his eyes were blinded, they were also opened. Jesus, having opened Paul’s eyes, went on to tell him to return to those he used to assist in locking up for being faithful servants to the Lord, and OPEN THEIR EYES the way his had been opened so they too can repent and be forgiven. Paul was obedient. They did try to kill him for it, but because he opened his eyes to what JESUS WANTED OF HIM, he was delivered from it.

You won’t see Jesus if you’re not actively looking for him. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." So not only do we need to be seeking him, but we need to be DILIGENTLY (earnestly, hungrily, and needingly) seeking him and believe that he is a rewarder of such faithful seeking.

God has been calling out to us since the beginning, calling for people to see his hand, to hear his voice, and to seek his face. In 1 Chronicles 22:19 David commanded his people to not only seek God, but to set their hearts and souls on seeking God. In other words, to have their hearts and minds reach out to God as a vital necessity, and THEN to arise and build the sanctuary. Forget just building a place for the Lord, he wanted God to be the ONLY THING on their hearts and minds while they built!

Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.” How many times do we say a prayer, end it with “Amen”, and then sit around twiddling our thumbs waiting for heaven itself to crack open wide, dumping the answer into our lap? Obviously that's not exactly realistic. Here we’re told to SEEK the Lord, and to call on Him while He’s near. We should be seeking Him and calling out to Him, because it’s a necessity that we find Him. It’s once we are there in His presence that we can talk to Him and present our requests to Him.

Let’s say you’re looking for the keys to your car. You remember that the last time you saw them was when you asked your son to hang them on the key rack for you, but the keys are nowhere to be found. You’re running late for something and NEED those keys! You yell out your son's name asking 'where are my keys?', and five minutes later your keys are still nowhere to be found, and you’re still running late. So you hunt down your son. It's now your mission to find him to get what you want. You walk through the house calling his name. After searching for him high and low he hears you calling out his name and responds to your call. You finally sought him out, heard his response, and found him, and when you ask him where your keys are, he is able to show you, and the need is met so you can continue on with what needed done. Seeking God uses the same concept. Call on Him. Call out His name! Shout, cry, and glorify! You’ll know when you've truly found Him because you’ll feel his presence. The more often you seek Him, the less time it will take for Him to recognize your call!

In Hosea 10:12 we read “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” Hosea is instructing us to plant ourselves in the Lord... sow ourselves in righteousness, growing stronger in our walk with him, while we break up our “fallow” (uncultivated, unused, barren) ground... take a garden plow to our hearts to prepare it for a harvest... for it's time to seek the Lord! It’s time to inquire for him and of him, and REQUIRE he accompany you on your journey, seeking him until he comes and teaches you righteousness, and rains out his gift of salvation upon you.

Let’s talk about John and Andrew and what we read about in John chapter 1. They were rewarded for seeking out Jesus. For them it wasn’t enough to listen to John the Baptist. Many would have been content to serve in the shadow him. But when John and Andrew saw Jesus, they left John the Baptist and followed Jesus. If you’ve read John chapter 1 you’ll note the question they had for Jesus. In John 1:38 they said “Rabbi, where dwellest thou?” In other words, “Hey Master, where are you staying?” That was pretty bold! They didn’t ask Jesus to give them a minute of his time, or an opinion, or a message or miracle. They wanted his address. They wanted to hang out with him. They wanted to KNOW him. They wanted to know what caused his head to turn and his heart to burn and his soul to yearn. They wanted to study his eyes and follow his steps. They wanted to SEE him.

So, how did Jesus answer the disciples? He said “Come and see.” He didn’t say “come and glance” or “come and peek”, he said “Come and SEE”. Bring your bifocals and binoculars... this is no time for side glances or occasional peeks. Like Hebrews 12:2 says, we need to be looking unto Jesus, the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith! The fisherman fixes eyes on the boat. The shopper fixes eyes on the sale. The girl fixes eyes on the boy. The disciple fixes eyes on the Savior!

Now, how does God want to be sought? According to Deuteronomy 4:29 He wants us to seek with all our hearts, seeking as though we’re drawing our final breath in need of finding a life line if we want another, using our hearts, our minds, our lives, truly SEEKING Him as a necessity for living. In that same verse He tells us if we do seek Him like that, we WILL indeed find Him.

So, when will we find the Lord, and what will He do when we find Him? According to Jeremiah 29:13-14, the Lord tells us we’ll seek Him and find Him when we search for Him with all our hearts, and not only will we find Him, but He’ll bring us back from captivity... when we find Him He’ll release us from the things holding us captive so we can enjoy our time with Him instead of being bound by the things going on in our lives.

Matthew 7:7 tells us “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” And in Lamentations 3:25 we’re reminded “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” We need to be hopefully and expectantly waiting on Him, seeking Him with that necessity and longing, and of course on the authority He gives us in His word.

Most have heard the story of Zacchaeus. He was far from being a big guy. He was small, so small he couldn’t see over the crowd that lined the street the day Jesus came to Jericho. Of course the crowd might have let him elbow his way up to the front, except that he was a tax collector... so he wasn’t exactly the most liked man in the crowd. But good ole Zacchaeus had a hunger in his heart to SEE Jesus.

It wasn’t enough for him to stand at the back of the crowd. It wasn’t enough to peer through a cardboard telescope. It wasn't enough to listen to someone else describe the parade of the Messiah. Zacchaeus wanted to SEE Jesus with his own eyes. So what did he do? All dressed up in his best three piece Armani suit and brand new Italian loafers, he shimmied up a tree in hopes of seeing Christ.

Zacchaeus was in earnest. He was willing to (literally) go out on a limb in his search for something to trust. Psalm 9:10 says “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Those who have experience and a familiar acquaintance with the Lord and His mercy, those that lean on Him and put 100% trust in Him, those that know the authority we have through His word and stand firm on it, seeking His face through it... it is those faithful few that are TRULY seeking him, that he will not forsake or abandon.

Those who seek the Lord are rewarded for their eagerness and effort when we find Him. Psalm 27:4 tells us we will dwell with Him, seeing his beauty firsthand. Psalm 34:4 reminds us He’ll deliver us from our fears. Psalm 105:4 assures us that He lends us His strength. Psalm 119:2 tells us we shall be happy and blessed, and Ephesians 2:18 tells us that God listens to us.

Would YOU go out on a limb like Zacchaeus did to see Jesus? Not everyone would if put in that situation while juggling a full schedule. They may be willing to pull out the binoculars to avoid the overwhelming crowd or even just read about it the next day in the paper to save on gas by not making the long drive there.

So we reviewed Zacchaeus, and his willingness to crawl out on a limb among the crowd of people. In Matthew there’s another story about a crowd, only this story involves a rich young ruler. Only, unlike the crowd Zacchaeus was up against, this crowd had no problem parting to make room for him. When he found out Jesus was in the area, he called for his limo, cruised across town and approached the carpenter with a question. Matthew 19:16 says he asked “Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” This guy was a bottom line sort of fellow. He jumps in with 'Let’s get right to the issue. Your schedule is busy, so is mine. Tell me how I can get saved and I’ll leave you alone.' No time for formalities or conversations... he just wanted the quick fix so he could get back to his day with an easy ticket to heaven.

There was nothing wrong with his question, but there was a problem with his heart. Contrast his desire with the desire of Zacchaeus: “Can I make it up that tree to SEE him?” Or even compare it to John and Andrew asking “Where are you staying?”

See the difference? The rich young ruler wanted medicine. The others wanted the Physician. The ruler wanted an answer to the quiz. They wanted the Teacher. He was in a hurry. They had all the time in the world. He settled for a cup of coffee at the drive-thru window. They wouldn’t settle for anything less than a full course meal at the banquet table. They wanted more than salvation. They wanted the Savior. They wanted to SEE Jesus.

Psalm 69:32 says “the humble shall see this and be glad; and your heart shall live that seek God.” We’re inquiring in Him... we’re requiring ourselves to be involved with Him, and because of that our hearts and souls will be revived through the hardships and turmoil of our lives and we’ll live to fellowship with Him again and again until the day we join up with Him for eternity!

Scripture tells us how to go about our search as we seek Him. 2 Peter 3:14 says “wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless.” At our Savior’s coming we should already be daily striving to have complete assurance that we are not only born again, but also in complete confidence that we are free from fears and conflicts. In our daily repentance and quest for peace our search begins.

2 Timothy 2:15 says “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We should be studying and eager to present ourselves to God through our tests of trials without being ashamed, because regardless of the level we are each individually on in our walk with God, we all have much more to learn as we ask Him to correctly and accurately guide us in handling and spreading to others the goodness He has given us in His word.

DILIGENTLY – what a great word! Be diligent in your search! Be hungry in your quest, relentless in your journey. Step away from puny pursuits of possessions, positions, and people pleasing and SEEK your King! Do as John and Andrew did: ask for his address. Do as Matthew: invite Jesus into your house. Imitate Zacchaeus and risk whatever it takes to SEE Jesus!