The wave of change!

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The third great awakening took place during the late 1850s into the beginning of the 1900s. It was during this era that the wave of revivals sweeping America began spreading throughout the world. The era saw the abolition of slavery, women’s right to vote, and the end of child labor in factories.

George Mueller began a movement of orphanages and Christian schools, and amazingly, was accused of raising the poor out of their ‘station in life’ as he educated over 120,000 children.

Elsewhere in Great Britian, William Booth’s Salvation Army outreach was birthed out of the third great awakening. His concern for rampant alcoholism led to the prohibition movement of the 1930s. Riding on a wagon through the streets, Booth called on alcoholics to stop drinking and come to faith in Jesus. His success led former drunks to coin the phrase, “I’m on the wagon”.

Meanwhile, in China, Hudson Taylor led an evangelical movement in the Far East, another arm of the “awakening”. And D.L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, and R.A. Torrey were leading revivals throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

D.L. Moody rarely spoke of His Baptism in the Spirit which took place in New York just after his church was burned down in the great Chicago fire of 1871. It radically changed his ministry, earning him the moniker, “Crazy Moody.” Yet, his preaching brought thousands to faith, and Moody Bible Institute in Chicago has educated thousands more for ministry since its birth.

The third great awakening saw God radically empowering believers by His Spirit to usher in a harvest in their generation which continues to impact society today.

Will you allow the Spirit of God to radically transform your life? This day and hour, when it seems so dark — is our time to shine; to be the beacon of light to this world that so needs the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus.

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Does it ever happen to you – that something terribly simplistic just suddenly becomes clear? I realized something about us the other day. We, humans, are such addictive creatures.

This verse in Nehemiah connects the observance of a Holy day with the joy of the Lord. Our identity as “saints” (literally, “holy ones”), called to be holy, means we are and ought to be set apart from the world. But does that mean a solemn and joyless life of boredom as some have been led to believe? I have heard statements like, “I’m miserable, but at least I’m holy!” No, to be simultaneously holy and miserable is “oxymoronic” (if I may coin an adjective). It contradicts the very Spirit of God!

In 70 AD Jerusalem finally fell to the mighty Roman army led by Titus after a long siege. To commemorate the Roman victory over the Jewish rebellion, an arch was erected in Rome known to this day as the Arch of Titus. This famous arch depicts the fall of the Temple and its artifacts paraded in a processional described by the historian Josephus’ in his account, “The Jewish War.”

Genesis 24 recounts the marriage of Issac and Rebekah. As the offering of Isaac by his father Abraham was a clear picture or type of our Heavenly Father’s offering of His Son Yeshua, we may also view this marriage as a picture or type of Yeshua’s marriage to his Bride.

I just read an interesting article discussing how the current crisis is spawning worry and anxiety syndrome amongst many people. An emotional environment is sweeping the land. The effects may be subtle, but they’re serious. Do we want to contribute to this?

In Israel, we often see goats and sheep roaming the countryside. Driving through rural Israel often involves suddenly stopping to allow a herd of sheep or goats to cross the road. But interestingly, I have never seen “sheep kill” on the side of the road in all the years that I’ve lived in Israel. It’s because sheep don’t roam without a shepherd!

Set my mind on things above where my life is hidden with Christ…

…every problem, every issue, every fear, every practical matter concerning nature and flesh, to be reckoned in the light of a spiritual identity, a reality which I cannot see, a Heaven which is somewhere outside my universe. And Paul says, “Seek that!” How do I do that? How do I stretch my attention into the Heavenly realm…set my mind on things above?