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In 1995, Lisa and I, along with the church we pastored, were going through some tremendous difficulties. It looked as though we would not be able to stay in our pastorate, and even the existence of the church was at stake. In the darkest hour, God used a prophetic word to give us hope for what God planned to do. Lisa and I were inspired to stick it out. We were so hopeful, in fact, that we expected the church to grow by the hundreds in short order.

Here’s what’s crazy about that expectation: God has not yet fulfilled that word by growing our church to the size that was prophesied, but he did the miracles needed to keep us afloat in the short run. Here’s a truth this situation points to: The strongest believers I know manage to keep the tension between faith for the long haul and remaining expectant for God to move at any given moment. 

Be the man or woman God is looking for

“Don’t be that guy.” It’s a phrase that has been used to warn us off from behavior that is antisocial, weird, or annoying. It warns us from being the person who stands out for doing something different from the norm. Don’t be the guy who walks out of the men’s room trailing toilet paper. Don’t be the guy who has to prove how many pushups he can do during your LifeGroup meeting. Unfortunately, our fear of standing out as different from the norm can also keep us from standing out in ways that are positive. Instead of distinguishing ourselves by over-and-above accomplishments, we just blend in and accept the status quo. 

In the history of God’s interaction with humanity, God has always looked for people who are willing to stand out from the pack. When God wants to restore a nation or a group of people, he always looks for a man or woman who will be different. This dynamic introduces some real challenges to us in today’s society.

This morning, the leader of a Bible discussion asked me if I’d seen church people who abuse the concept of a believer’s spiritual authority. The simple answer, of course, is, “Yes, I’ve seen some crazy stuff!” In fact, I’ve seen people think they have authority to stop the power of death all over the world! But just saying I’ve seen that kind of extreme would send the message that we better avoid too much focus on our authority. That would be a shame, because I think the other extreme is even more prevalent.

What is the predominant extreme when it comes to a believer’s spiritual authority?

Does God have a solution to your problems?

The Hallmark Channel has really tapped into much of America’s desire for wholesome entertainment that touches the heart. And at no time of the year do they capitalize on their successful movie formula like they do during the Christmas season.

Of course, Hallmark really has a formula for their movies: money, the big city, and corporate America are all bad. They exist in tension with the small town, the family business, and the spirit of Christmas. And usually the fiancé, who is a part of all that is bad and with whom the female protagonist has had a relationship for multiple years, loses out to the hometown guy with whom it is love at first (sometimes second) sight. Then, there is the crisis that almost wrecks the new relationship, but it gets resolved and the young lady is rescued. I guess the suspense that keeps Hallmark fans watching movie after movie comes from variations on the theme. Maybe the down-home guy is really rich but the damsel in distress has already been shot with Cupid’s arrow before she discovers that. At any rate, the primary story is the same. Wow! I’m really tempted right now to tie this in with the prominent, continuously repeated Western culture storyline that is actually a reflection of God’s story of redemption—but I won’t!

So why am I even talking about Hallmark movies and their Countdown to Christmas theme?

Thanksgiving—the act of really giving thanks to God, not just eating turkey—may be the key to the breakthrough you’ve been looking for. Why is thanksgiving so important? It’s your ticket into the presence of God. The Bible tells us in Psalm 100:4 that we are to “enter his gates with thanksgiving.”

“Could I get you started with something to drink?” she asks. “Diet Coke, please,” I respond to our spunky server. “Perfect,” she replies cheerfully. A few minutes later: “Have we decided what we want to order?” “I'd like a cheeseburger,…

Lisa and I had no clue what God was doing. We just didn’t understand what was happening in our lives and in our church. When God called us to Pennsylvania in 1992, we had the strongest conviction possible we were…

I grew up in a family that took spiritual things for granted, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that at a very early age I had a profound spiritual experience. When I was about 3 years old, I thought that Jesus had come to see me when I was sick. While I was having what I considered a personal time with Jesus I kept telling my mother, “Mommy, don’t come in the room!” When it was finally OK for her to come in, I told her, “Jesus came to see me, and he told me, ‘Eddie, I love you, and all the angels in heaven are singing a song just for you.’” Was that real? I guess you can decide that for yourself, but my mother was convinced it was real, I know that for sure. She was so convinced that when my dad came home she was crying, convinced that since I had such an experience with Jesus, I must have been close to dying! 

If you have ever lived in an arid or semi-arid climate, you know how precious water is. Or maybe you don’t! What I mean by that remark is that in some of the drier regions of our country, fountains, water parks, and green golf courses seem to abound. But such use of a seeming abundance of water is, to a great degree, made possible by the preservation of the water they do have. When the rains come, a system of waterways and reservoirs retain water for future use.

Revival can be much like that rain. It doesn’t happen all the time. Revival is not a continuous state, as much as some people like to claim it is. Revival is a season of refreshing, an outpouring of God’s Spirit that has a fairly definite beginning and end. The results of revival don’t have to be temporary, though. The aftereffects of revival can actually be more powerful than the effects experienced in the revival itself! I’ll have to write more on that dynamic in a later post. The point I’m emphasizing, though, is that there must be some reservoir for the aftereffects to be available post revival. Fortunately, we don’t have to fret over what the reservoir might be, or try to come up with an elaborate scheme for revival benefit preservation.

God’s simple plan for preserving the benefits of revival is this:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

I love 2 Chronicles 7:14. I believe it’s powerful in its promise. It gives me hope for the healing of an entire nation. But it’s not enough. Preachers have proclaimed 2 Chronicles 7:14 as a promise from God that if only the church in America would do what it says, then America would be healed. But that’s not true.