Devotional Thought for 2-1-2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Monday, February 1st, 2016. Today is the 32nd Day of 2016.

Today is David Hug’s Birthday and tomorrow will be Floyd Winings’ Birthday!

There are only 334 days left in this year; and, there are only 69 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

Acts 3:19-20a

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…”

Devotional Thought for Today… “The Relationship of Repentance to Revival”

I have had a lot to say about revival, and (Lord willing) I will have much more to say in the days and weeks ahead.

BUT, I am certain that I will not say anything more important than this… there is no such thing as revival without repentance!

The classic passage where we began these devotional thoughts about revival (2nd Chronicles 7:14) is built on the premise that “if my people will… then I will…”

In that passage, God commands four things of us and the fourth is, “turn from their wicked ways…” That is, of course, a clear definition of repentance.

If we will repent, HE will send revival!

I know this sounds trite, but, the one thing we most need to repent of is the fact that we will not repent!

Sure, we are sinners and our sins have been forgiven. But, in our day-to-day process of personal sanctification and spiritual growth, repentance is necessary if we are to experience the fullness of God’s Spirit and a real move of God upon our life.

While there are certainly many things of which many of us are guilty, each of us may also have things in our life of which we must repent.

Repentance is the price of revival. If we repent and actually turn from our wicked ways, we may stand on HIS promises and expect HIM to move upon us and our Church in unusual ways.

Will we really have revival?

We will soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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Devotional Thoughts for Sunday, January 31st, 2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Sunday, January 31st, 2016. Today is the 31st Day of 2016.

There are only 335 days left in this year; and, there are only 70 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

Psalm 85:4-7

4 “Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.”

Devotional Thought for Today… “Do We Really Need to be Revived… Again?”

One of the surprising aspects of revival (and one that often is the cause for not seeing revival) is the “been there… done that” attitude that some have about revival meetings.

This is obviously true because when we (or any other Church of which I am aware) schedules a series of “Revival” meetings, people stay away in droves!

Why do people stay away from revival meetings? Lots of reasons, of course, but the main reason is that they do not see any need of being revived.

We pay for what we think we need, or what we want. As long as we do not think we need, or we do not want, to be revived; we are not willing to “pay” the price of revival. Therefore, there is no possibility of experiencing revival.

Do you sense a need to be revived; are you willing to pay the price for revival: (time, energy, sacrificial giving, etc.?)

God works through HIS Spirit and HIS Word. HE revives HIS people though HIS Spirit and HIS Word.

So the final question is…

Will we really have revival?

We will soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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Devotional for 1-30-2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Saturday, January 30th, 2016. Today is the 30th Day of 2016.

There are only 336 days left in this year; and, there are only 71 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

Psalm 85:4-7
4 “Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.”

Devotional Thought for Today… “How can I know if I need Revival?”

One of the clearest signs of desperately needing revival is that one loses our joy in knowing, worshiping, and serving Jesus! “that YOUR people may rejoice IN YOU…”

JOY is a spiritual condition rather than an emotional one. “Happiness” is an emotion – based on our “happenstance” (happy circumstance); but, “joy” is a spiritual state!

Joy is the immediate product of revival!

So… here is the test: if knowing, worshiping, and serving Jesus does not produce JOY in you, you need REVIVAL!

Many times, even serious followers of Jesus (including Pastors) can get caught up in the trap of “doing our duty” rather than joyously worshiping and serving HIM!

If God grants us revival during the coming months – and, by the way – HE does not need to wait until Bobby gets here to send it; if HE does send revival you can be sure that you will be in a JOYOUS place filled with JOYOUS people!

It is always right to worship and serve Jesus, whether we sense joy or not. BUT, it is a sure sign of the FRESH moving of the Holy Spirit when our life is filled with joy!

Will we really have revival? We will soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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Devotion for Friday, January 29th, 2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Friday, January 29th, 2016. Today is the 29th Day of 2016; and, there are only 72 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

2nd Chronicles 7:14

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

Devotional Thought for Today… “Do We Really Want Revival?”

Earlier this week, I was asked a great question about Revival. The basic idea of the question was what is it about what we are doing that can make a difference in our lives?

In other words, why would God do something in these upcoming meetings that HE does not do in any regular service of our Church?

That is a great question!

I enjoyed thinking about that!

In my reply, I thought about two things…

First, the increased and focused emphasis on prayer is one of the keys to an unusual move of God.

(I have already discussed “prayer” in this series of devotions, but, let me remind us of some key truths about prayer I shared last Saturday…)

I often say that “Revival is not ‘talked up’ it is ‘prayed down!’”

I am not always right; but, I am right about that!

George Mueller, the famous English Pastor, used to often say, “Prayer can do anything that God can do; and, God can do anything!”

Amen, Dr. Mueller!

Another famous quote about which I often think is this… “Preaching moves the hearts of men, but prayer moves the heart of God.”

Finally, I think the effect of experiencing a focused and protracted period of time being “saturated” in God’s Word is another key to an unusual outpouring of God’s Spirit upon HIS people.

Prayer… Being focused on and saturated in the Word… I think these are the keys to why “Revival” meetings are often used of God to actually bring revival!

Will we really have revival? We will soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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Devotion for Thursday, January 28th, 2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Thursday, January 28th, 2016. Today is the 28th Day of 2016; and, there are only 73 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible.

As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

2nd Chronicles 7:14

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

Devotional Thought for Today… “Do We Really Want Revival?”

We have seen these awesome promises… if we will do four things, God promises to do three things!

Thirdly, HE has promised, “I will heal their land!”

Heal our Land! Can you imagine a new day when sin-sick and morally perverted America would be healed?

That is HIS promise… HIS promise!

We MUST humble ourselves; we MUST pray; we MUST seek God’s face; we must TURN from our wicked ways…

That is an awfully clear description of revival; but, take note… this is not the effect of revival – it is the cause of revival.

REMEMBER: If we will, HE will HEAL OUR LAND!

Will we really have revival? We will soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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Devotion for Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Wednesday, January 27th, 2016. Today is the 27th Day of 2016; and, there are only 74 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

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

Devotional Thought for Today… “Do We Really Want Revival?”

If, and when, want revival bad enough to do the four things God commands, HE will bless us in three specific ways…

Not only will HE, “hear us” HE will forgive our sin!

The MAIN reason we need revival is that we continually battle sin; and, much of the time we lose that battle!

Even though we are saved, our sins still separate us from the blessings of God.

We need the blessings of God; therefore, we need revival!

We do not have to go through our life defeated and discouraged and weighed down with guilt. We can experience God’s forgiveness for our sins…

How?

If we humble ourselves, pray, seek [God’s] face, and turn from our wicked ways…”

Will we really have revival? We shall soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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Devotion for Tuesday, January 26th, 2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Tuesday, January 26th, 2016. Today is the 26th Day of 2016; and, there are only 75 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

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

 Devotional Thought for Today… “Do We Really Want Revival?”

Blessed be the God WHO makes and keeps HIS promises to HIS people!

1st Kings 8:56

“Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant.”

HE says that if we will, HE will!

If we will do four things, HE will do three things…

First, HE will “hear from heaven!”

God will hear us! The One, True, Living God of the Christian Bible will hear us!

HE will hear us when we call; HE will hear us when we cry: HE will hear us when we pray; HE will hear us!

I have often thought about some famous and influential people to whom I would love to speak. I am sure that I will never get to do that; but, I can – and you can – speak to God whenever we choose.

Not only that, but, HE says that HE will “hear” us when we pray!

Sure, I want you and my family and my friends to “hear” what I have to say; but, I really, really, really want God to “hear” what I have to say to HIM!

Yes, yes, yes, I know that God knows everything and therefore HE hears everything; but, that is not what this passage is about. God will “hear” us the way a Judge “hears” a case.

If we will, HE will… and, if we will obey the four commandments in this text, HE will hear us!

Will we really have revival? We shall soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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Devotional for Monday, January 25th, 2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Monday, January 25th, 2016.

Today is my oldest Grandson’s 15th Birthday! Happy Birthday TYLER!

Today is the 25th Day of 2016; and, there are only 76 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

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

Devotional Thought for Today… “Do We Really Want Revival?”

The fourth commandment God gives us is to, “turn from their wicked ways…”

This is, of course, the biblical definition of repentance. If we are willing to truly repent of our sins, God may grant us an authentic heaven-sent revival!

“May” that is. If we repent, there is no absolute guarantee that God will send revival; BUT, if we do not repent, we are absolutely guaranteed that God will not send revival!

“Humble themselves, and pray and turn from their wicked ways…”

Revival is not cheap! It will cost us a lot! Primarily, it will cost us our sinful ways.

Here’s another great old anonymous quote for you… “Either sin will keep us from revival, or revival will keep us from sin!”

Will we really have revival? We will soon see!

Carpe Diem!

 

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Devotional for Sunday, January 24th, 2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Loretta Vaughan’s Birthday!

Today is Fred and Karen Wicker’s Anniversary!

Today is Sunday, January 24th, 2016.

Today is the 24th Day of 2016; and, there are only 77 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

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

Devotional Thought for Today… “Do We Really Want Revival?”

The third commandment God gives us is, “seek MY face…”

There has been (and still is) some misunderstanding about what this means.

In Old Testament times, such as when King Solomon dedicated the Temple, people who sought the favor of the King would watch his reaction as they spoke. They could tell from his countenance whether or not he was favorable to them and their request of him.

They would literally, “seek his face.”

Here is what God is telling us… we must humble ourselves; we must pray; and, we must seek to know HIS will and do HIS will in all things.

What does HE desire? What is HIS will?

We must seek HIS face in all things. God does all that HE does for HIS glory and our good!

Father knows best!

Will we really have revival? We shall soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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Devotional for Saturday, January 23rd, 2016

A Word from THE WORD

Good Morning Happy Church,

Today is Saturday, January 23rd, 2016.

Today is the 23rd Day of 2016; and, there are only 78 Days Left until Our Spring Revival Begins!

We will begin the Revival Meetings on Saturday, April 9th with a Banquet and Sermon at 6pm.

Sunday, April 10th, we will hear Bro Bobby at 10am and again at 6pm.

Monday and Tuesday, April 11th and 12, we will hear Bro Bobby at 7pm each night!

Please clear your schedule to attend as many of these meetings as possible. As I often say, “The two things you have to invest to be blessed is your Attendance and your Attention!”

Please be in prayer for Dr. Bobby and Sandra Boyles as they travel here and back. Pray that God will pour out HIS SPIRIT on us as never before!

Pray for the salvation of the lost; repentance and renewal in the life of God’s people; new people to become part of our Church Family; the calling out of ministers and missionaries; a spiritual awakening in our area; and, for Jesus Christ to be glorified in all that we do!

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

Devotional Thought for Today… “Do We Really Want Revival?”

The second of the four things God commands of us if we really want revival is that we pray!

I often say that “Revival is not ‘talked up’ it is ‘prayed down!’”

I am not always right; but, I am right about that!

George Mueller, the famous English Pastor, used to often say, “Prayer can do anything that God can do; and, God can do anything!”

Amen, Dr. Mueller!

We are asking that all of us pray much for the upcoming revival meetings. We will be asking some of our members to host and lead “Revival Focused Prayer Meetings” both at our Church and in some of our homes.

Another famous quote about which I often think is this… “Preaching moves the hearts of men, but prayer moves the heart of God.”

Beloved Ones, please pray. Pray that God will grant us revival in our hearts, our homes, our Church, and in our Nation!

We will really have revival? We will soon see!

Carpe Diem!

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