A Cardiac Revolution
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“Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? Show us Thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us Thy salvation.” Psalm 85:6
The hour was never more urgent than now for followers of Christ to honestly come to terms with the claims of Christ. Certainly the need is great for a spiritual awakening in our land, but first there must be a revival in the hearts of God’s people, and a renewal of the Church which now slumbers in a carnal stupor ~ intoxicated with affluence, and seemingly oblivious to the fact that for many in our nation she has lost her influence.
We are in desperate need of a cardiac revolution; a turning of our hearts fully unto the Lord; a reordering of our lives fully to His purposes.
Oh, sure, we have (in the words of Christianity Today) “our great cathedrals, our paradigm-breaking mega-churches with ultra-cool satellite campuses, and our trend-setting postmodern un-churches.” We have multi-media worship sets, pop-star worship leaders; stand-up comedian pastors, with high-tech video tools that let Hollywood illustrate the sermon.
Why, there’s a church for every appetite known to man, and yet despite this abundance of religious options – this smorgasbord of spiritual selections — those who live within sight of these very worship centers admit their souls are still hungry and impoverished.
Are we a people dressed and ready for service? Is the Church in a state of preparedness for the epic events that loom large on the near horizon? Do we have what it takes to deliver the goods when desperate conditions drive men and women to our doors, looking for real answers to serious problems?
O Lord, revive us! Turn our hearts back to You in a cardiac revolution!
The questions you have presented in this devotion/reflection have haunted me for several years now. It seems that we practice the “form of godliness” more than godliness. Please do not misunderstand, I do not wish to attempt to resurrect the past as it pertains to church and our worship, but I do want to rediscover the “spirit” of the past. I can accept change, but it must not take us into mere formalities. We have not yet “learned” to worsip (through technologies, drama, singing or preaching) as God intends us to worship. The kind of worship of which I speak comes from within the soul. It can be reflected through most every one of the tools now being used…only if it is alive within…somewhere deep in mankinds heart. And I know that in many cases it is, but only a revival such as that which you call for will really make us (the church) what it we be…affecting our world more completely.
We the parts that make up the Body of Christ are the church. the church is not a building but us, those that have been laid on the cornerstone. We are the living stones that God is building on Christ . there is no other foundation that we as Christians are supposed to be on but Christ and God the Master craftsman whose workmanship we are. He created us not we Him and we do all need to return to the One who gave to us Life.
Our God, He IS an Awesome God.
Keep writing words such as this in the power of the Holy Spirit, James. We knew you back when you were just a young man with a beautiful new bride. It is always a joy to see God still working through you and using you. We are teaching a Discipleship Class now. Many of our students are new Christians, but more are grey haired believers who the church failed to disciple. We are using some of the same materials from that old True Vine Growth manual. God bless and use you.
We knew you back many years ago in Grand Prairie when you were a very young man with a beautiful new bride. Rejoice to see God using you today as you write words in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are teaching a Discipleship Class now. Many of our sudents are new Christians, but even more are grey haired believers that the church failed to disciple in the last 40 years. Yet, they too are hungry, growing and maturing in God’s truth, and rising up. We are even using a few things from that old True Vine Growth Manual. God bless you and use you for His Glory.
The answer to your (rhetorical) questions is “yes” we’re in trouble and “no” we’re not ready for the challenges that are facing us in America today. Christian nations and empires have fallen before. That territory must be reconquered in each generation through the work of the Spirit of God.
However, there is a key problem, and thus key solution, that we should emphasize. God gave us each other, the church, as our checks, balance, and backup. But the church only works when it is allowed to work, and you put your finger on some of the problems. We separate into groups centered around fleshly similarities instead of around Christ, therefore missing the breadth and depth of Christian fellowship and experience. In the process, we miss the opportunity to show divine love for other Christians who are different than us. In addition, we divide Christians again into tribes and assign one tribe the work of the temple while banishing the other tribe to the fields.
God has given us everything we need for life and godliness, but we, like our non-Christian friends, refuse to take the gift in front of us.
See my website for more indepth discussion. Good word, brother.
Hello, the picture you have displayed (Hearts of Fire) is ownership of Linda Sannuti the creator of this image. I do not see any credits noting that the image is by Linda Sannuti.
We do not mind you using this image, but the right thing to do is to credit the creator of the image. That is called professional journalism. Please do the right thing and give the credits for this image to Linda Sannuti. This I would think would be the Christian thing to do.
Hello, If you hold your mouse cursor over the image you will see a pop up that reads: “hearts of fire by Linda Sannuti at fineartamerica.com”