A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


Showing posts with label God's Restoration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Restoration. Show all posts

July 7, 2023

What Happens When the Bible Is No Longer Publicly Avowed


If you are old enough, you might remember when the school day began with a Bible verse spoken over your school's loud speaker system, and your teacher led the class in a prayer. But the Supreme Court Case Engel v. Vitale (1962) determined that school-sponsored prayer in public schools was unconstitutional. The next year, the case of Abington School District v. Schlemp (1963) limited Bible-reading in public schools, and 17 years later, the Supreme Court ruled in Stone v. Graham (1980) that the presence of the Ten Commandments in schools violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

I don't think you have to be particularly wise to understand that Bible literacy began its slow and inevitable decline in our nation. There might be those who say, "So what? It should be a choice of parents whether their children are subjected to religious practices or teachings". But, I think there is a direct correlation between the moral downslide of our nation [and the Western world], and the Bible being celebrated as the historical foundation of our cultural and yes, even political, way of life. As Kurt Hofer, an author for The American Mind website points out, "We have been made to believe that churches and families (and in some cases parochial schools and universities) alone are the only legitimate vessels of Christian expression". That expression does not belong in the public venue. 

And that's where, in Mr. Hofer's opinion, we have been "snookered". In other words, we have been indoctrinated to believe that the principles and teachings of the Bible have no place in the public realm except inside a building. Our laws proclaim that the Bible is not for public consumption, and is no longer for the moral or intellectual instruction and improvement of a nation and its people. But how has that worked for us? The uncoupling of Biblical virtue [understood to be moral excellence] from society and government, and its consignment to personal faith alone, has resulted in a world that has opened the door to the spirits of Chaos and Lawlessness. 

At this important juncture in the history of the United States, we would do well to remember the admonishment of John Adams, a Founding Father and second President of our country: "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other". This sentiment was shared by those who shaped our Constitutional government, with this warning: no matter how well a constitution is constructed, it will not insure freedom and prosperity unless it is supported by a moral, virtuous population. This goes for our nation and all the nations of the world. Remember, without virtue and moral excellence, we get chaos, disruption, lawlessness, and pandemonium.

Just look around the globe today ... rioters are setting fires all over France; the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) just launched the largest military operation in the West Bank in over 20 years; the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is in the crosshairs of both Russia and Ukraine; the international banking system is on the verge of collapse; the mind-blowing growth of AI threatens the sovereignty of man; a reported 105 million working-age Americans can't find work; the homeless population in our cities is growing and out of control; volcanoes and earthquakes are on the rise; our education system has stolen the ability to critically think from our youth, leading to confusion, anger, and entitlement among many; plus a generation that neither knows or understands our history and the battle for individual freedom that was waged so they could express their views -- even those views that claim to hate all that we stand for. Little do they know that by rejecting a moral Christian foundation, they are subjecting themselves to the chains of tyranny.

But I want to make sure you understand one thing ... Church membership alone will never restore us to a virtuous nation, and God has never asked for that! The purpose of the Bible was to render His instruction on how to live a moral life; lives that were pleasing to Him and could build the foundation of families, societies, nations, and governments that would reflect His standards and principles, making a world that operated like Heaven. But when the Bible is removed from public inspection and influence, the temptation from Evil begins to intrude upon the hearts and minds of men, bringing with it corruption, turmoil, and confusion. These can quickly advance to wickedness, perversion, and depravity when the Bible's standards are absent from a society. And it happens quickly!

In my lifetime, which is just a blink of God's eye, I have seen the innocence of my childhood traded for the grooming of children into a perverse lifestyle. It is incumbent upon those of us who remember the freedom of being an innocent child to stand and fight to return the Bible and its teachings to its honored status in our nation. The future of our children, our culture, and our institution of government will benefit from returning to its guiding principles. We must return to being a virtuous people [and nation] that adhere to the principles of the Bible: to embrace shared morals, and recognize our responsibilities to stand for sacred and timeless decency towards others; protection of the weak; honesty and reliability; and praise for our God who is good and faithful to those who follow His ways. 

Anyone with eyes to see can discern that our nation has drastically changed in the 60 years since the Supreme Court removed the Bible [and its invitation to prayer] from our schools. Do we need any more evidence that we need to reverse the direction we are headed, and return the influence of the Bible to our culture? I applaud and praise the Lord for the signs He is showing us that He is on the move. Through recent Supreme Court rulings; movies like "The Sound of Freedom" and TV shows like "The Chosen"; parents standing up at School Board meetings to protect what their children are being taught -- these are all encroaching [in the spirit] upon the influential mountains of government, entertainment and education. God is fighting with us to take back the dominion we are to hold for the Kingdom of God on earth. Reconcile Your people to You, once again, Father! Establish us as a righteous nation, and guide us into becoming a virtuous land! We repent for being lax and not protecting all that you have given us, and we declare that we are ready to do the hard work to reclaim our destiny! May You smile upon us as a favored nation once again. Amen!

Job 12:23-25   He makes nations great, and he destroys them; He enlarges nations, and leads them away. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

  

February 27, 2023

REVIVAL: Understanding It in Scripture and Our Culture (Part 1)

 

This blog post is an effort to have a frank and honest discussion about the spirit of Revival that is appearing across our land. It is not an attempt to disregard or dishonor the experiences of the hundreds of thousands, [and hopefully, millions] of people who are being touched by God. Instead it is in response to my spirit's desire to be connected to God's heart regarding Revival. I want to know how He defines it and what we should be expecting to see in regenerated lives. So I will be looking at what Revival looks like in the Bible, and how it has been received, cultivated, and then spread throughout our culture. There's much to consider and learn!

Revival is in the air! Across the nation, university campuses are displaying the Presence of God as we see an unprecedented number of young people coming together and experiencing a spiritual awakening, and then sharing their testimonies of encountering God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. And Revival is being declared, as these gatherings are spreading from campus to campus, and drawing in adults, families, and yes, even the curious.

There is talk that this could be the next Great Awakening in America. Yet, even in the midst of this proclamation of spiritual revival, there are the cynics and the naysayers, questioning the authenticity of the outpouring of the Spirit on these events. In an effort to keep an open mind and discern God's voice in all the media coverage, testimonies, and criticisms, I want to be able to see evidence of His transformation in the lives of these amazing young adults experiencing this phenomenon. Not being there in person, I don't feel I can make a judgment as to the veracity of whether everyone is truly experiencing God, but the fact that their voices are ringing out all over our troubled nation, speaking of God, and the power of Revival, is surely something to be rejoicing! And I'm willing to be patient to see what God wants to do!

As my good friend, Steve Harmon, posted on his Facebook page, "[Why can't we] just be happy that people are meeting Jesus for the first time? That people are reconnecting with God's love for the first time in years after falling away? That people are getting free from depression? People are getting healed from years of debilitating disease? That families and friends are reconciling? That hunger for God is now there that wasn't there before? That religious baggage is being shed?... And so much more". I join Steve in asking the question, Why in the world would any Believer not want all this? And I will add to his question, one of my own: Isn't this what we've been praying for? Haven't we been praying for 2 Chronicles 7:14 to become a reality? Aren't we seeing these college campuses praying and seeking God's face, and that He will hear from Heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land? And before you react too quickly ... yes, I know that part of that Scripture requires that they turn from their wicked ways, and yes, we will have to see if that becomes a transparent and lasting consequence of this revival. But for now, can we [at least] celebrate this good news that is so much better than the barrage of ugliness, lawlessness, and evil that has permeated our news cycles in the recent past?

Yes, I am praying that this spirit of revival continues and grows and spreads across this nation and to the farthest corners of the world! I pray that what is happening in the lives of all these people is more than "Emotionalism", as one Christian podcast host expressed, because emotion and feelings come from our soul, and can often be mistaken for a spiritual awakening. But I am also celebrating the testimony of two college students at Cedarville University in Ohio, where revival has broken out. Cedarville is known for its academic excellence, Biblical education, and Christ-centered campus life. So, I applaud one of their College faculty members for cautioning the students not to remain secluded in their worship of God, but to go out and spread the Gospel. That, I believe, is what will be the determining factor of the success of this revival. 

And it is what I believe has always been the desire of God's heart from the moment He created man... to spread the Good News of His existence and love for us. And so, I want to begin this two-part blog post by looking at the concept and reality of Revival in Scripture -- both in the Old and New Testament. How does God define Revival and how does Scripture describe what it looks like? And then in Part Two, we'll take a look at how it has been experienced in our culture and take a closer look at what God is doing in this latest picture of Revival.

First of all, I'd like to refer to an excellent paper written by Ervin Budiselic, a Doctor of Theology from Croatia. He is a Biblical scholar and describes himself as being "interested in reading the Bible as one unified story, Jewish roots of Christian faith, and the topic of discipleship". He has written on the concept of Revival in both the Old and New Testaments -- how it can be seen as different, yet in harmony. I will try to summarize his thesis and then give you his examples of the difference. Dr. Budiselic explains that there can be confusion over the meaning of the word "revival", and differences of opinions as to whether "revival" and "awakening" are the same or different. These are just the kinds of semantic arguments that the devil can use to sow disharmony into a movement of God. So I'm going to try to keep it simple, yet accurate, in looking at what the Bible tells us.

As I did my own research on the meaning of revival in the Old Testament, it comes from the Hebrew root word chayah, "to live", or "having life", and connoting the bringing back to life of something that was dead. There are several instances of the national spiritual revival of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. As bibleq.net notes, two of the most important happened in the reigns of King Hezekiah and King Josiah. King Hezekiah came to the throne in Jerusalem at age 25 (2 Chron 29:1) after the disastrous rule of his father Ahaz. On the first day of his reign Hezekiah initiated a reform of the temple building and temple worship. In particular, he called the nation to once again celebrate the Passover (2 Chronicles 30). Scripture tells us, So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 


King Josiah became king when he was eight years old (2 Kings 22:1), and ordered the repair of the temple in Jerusalem when he was 18 (2 Kings 22:3-7). During the repairs, the “book of the law” was discovered (2 Kings 22:8) — probably Deuteronomy — thus causing Josiah to learn of many areas where reform was needed. His reforms are described in 2 Kings 23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35, including a great Passover celebration, surpassing that of Hezekiah. Scripture says, No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 35:18). Both of these instances point to bringing life back to dead commandments from the Lord; making alive again what has become dead and forgotten.

And what I found especially interesting was that a myriad of scholars expounded on the difference between the terms Revival and Awakening. No wonder Christians struggle over the pronouncement of true Revival. The consensus among academic Christians seems to be that "revival" connects to our sovereign God’s activity through the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians, [reviving of their consecrated spirits to the desire and need for God], and the term “awakening” describing God’s activity in the lives of non-Christians, which can be  reflected in personal convictions, conversion, and becoming "born again." 

But I actually found a different understanding [nearly the opposite] as I studied the meanings of these words in the Bible. While "revive" and "revival" have the Old Testament connotation of bringing to life something that was dead, the word "awake" or "awakening" in the Old Testament is the word uwr in Hebrew, meaning "rousing" someone to action, or awakening out of ordinary sleep. It expresses the idea of "being excited" or "stirred up". In the New Testament Greek, the word for awakening is diakaiosune, and it denotes an attribute of God. It is found in the sayings of the Lord Jesus of whatever is right or just [in itself] that conforms to the revealed will of God; whatever has been appointed by God to be acknowledged and obeyed by man.

So, let's take these definitions as understood in Scripture and see if we can agree on the following explanation ... the concept of revival in the Old Testament [on a purely semantic level] can't align with revival [seen as awakening] in the New Testament because before Jesus, the concept of revival was that Israel was bringing back to life what was dead and lost in YHWH. They were praying for renewal and recovery of His commandments, precepts, and covering. 

In the New Testament, Jesus has come, died, and been resurrected and the Christians are praying for laborers in the harvest and for the arrival of Jesus's kingdom and His righteousness. And a very important part of His example for the new Christians was receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit in order to proclaim the Gospel which is accompanied by signs and wonders. Salvation is theirs by Jesus going to the Cross and their belief in His redemptive gift. An "awakening" is the result of receiving His Spirit [after being born again] and being roused and stirred up to action to spread the Gospel messages of Salvation and Kingdom.

This is a very oversimplified explanation of what and why we should be seeking understanding from God as we continue to see the beautiful sight of people declaring Revival across the nation. I don't really care if it's called a Revival or another Great Awakening. Ultimately, it is my prayer that this movement continues to grow and mature as people move from worshiping and "feeling" the Presence of God to being excited to go out and proclaim and spread the Gospel of Salvation to the Lost and the Gospel of the Kingdom to all who are redeemed and called children of God. We need to have hearts that seek to understand Scripture and God's heart, but we don't need to get hung up on personal theology and doctrine. As my friend Steve Harmon asked so sincerely, "Shouldn't we desire to see Jesus do amazing things in people's lives"? Whether, through these spiritual gatherings, He is bringing a born again life to a new convert, or rousing the spirits of the already redeemed, IT'S ALL GOOD! Let us rejoice that He's moving in the hearts of men! Let us pray for more! And let us see the manifestation of His signs and wonders on the earth!

#revival #greatawakening #revivalinamerica 

Psalm 85:6   Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?