Revival

As a young man studying art, we were instructed to paint or draw a “still-life.” For the uninitiated, that simply means drawing a bowl of fruit or flowers or some such. It was ‘still’ alright, but it wasn’t life. It simply represented life. I particularly attempted to do ‘super-realism’ opposed to surreal or abstract art. No matter how much you try to make ‘still-life’ appear real, it is simply art: a two dimensional attempt to represent life.

My home church is in ‘revival’ this week. Again, for the uninitiated, that means we meet each night at church for worship & an encouraging, challenging message. We ask God to revive our hearts & lives. It’s a fresh infusion of His power & vision.

My Grandma’s church used to have ‘brush arbor meetin’s.’ Some denominations join with other churches for ‘ole time camp meetin’s.’ Again, these are to sense a fresh awareness of God & hear His message.

A ‘revival’ meeting differs from a ‘crusade’ in that the meetings are primarily to encourage Christians to walk closer to Christ & share His message of love with the world. A ‘crusade’ is where there are meetings & worship & the emphasis is to share the message of Christ with people who are seeking. (Think Billy Graham Crusade.)

I have personally been involved in over 160 revivals, crusades or mission trips where I have seen God do some fantastic things. To be honest, what may be more exciting than seeing someone physically healed or seeing a large number of people come to a service is when God actually changes lives.

We have one more night left in our ‘revival’ & I’ll have to say I’ve really heard from God this week. The speaker has been forthright & honest with no intent on manipulation or coercion. We’ve been inspired. Tired, broken hearts have been renewed. This old heart gets tired sometimes and, frankly, I’m thankful it wasn’t just another meeting or service. It’s been revival.

The Psalmist said, “Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?” Psalm 85:6 NLT. Do you ever feel in need of reviving? Thankfully we don’t have to go to a ‘revival meeting’ to meet with God & sense spiritual revival. Simply call on Him & seek His face. The only catch is you have to have His life within you to be revived. Otherwise, it’s simply still-life: a two dimensional representation of life!

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Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org cell 870-217-9376