Revive us Again
Revive us Again
Hosea 14:7-9 (NKJV)
7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, And grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim shall say, 'What have I to do anymore with idols?' I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me."
9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.
Well it’s that time of year again. Actually we have several important events coming up in the next three months. We have Homecoming this year with David Barnes, who spent almost 20 years at Grace Baptist as our guest speaker. I can always remind you of Thanksgiving and Christmas which will be here before you know it. But the event I want to mention is our Revival at the end of the month and here is why. Revival speaks to what takes place inside of our hearts. It is a time for God’s people to have their spiritual batteries recharged so we can appreciate the ‘meaning’ of Christmas and have a proper understanding of how ‘thankful’ we should be as believers. I said that because we all know that if we don’t make the effort to do otherwise, then Thanksgiving and Christmas will be more about the physical food we enjoy than it will be the spiritual food that we need. Hosea tells Israel to return to the Lord. That is important because many times in church life we can become so busy with the business of the church that we can lose sight of why we are there to begin with. You might even say that we can leave and not know we are gone. In fact, some of us not only get busy but we can become exhausted and ultimately ineffective in our efforts for Jesus. We can’t allow that to happen in the times we live in. Let us enjoy the blessings of the season, but let us enjoy it the way God would have us to. Let’s enjoy it with our hearts alive and receptive. Let us pause and take care of our souls before we take care of our stomachs this year. Let him revive us again.
In Christ,
Steve, Holly and Rosie