Sunday, February 6, 2011

Revival Starts With You

"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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." -- 2 Chronicles 7:14

The fingers are pointing before anyone finishes reading this verse. Judgment has begun and it is someone else's fault. Here in the Deep South, the culprits are those folks out in California and all those liberal Democrats. Most folks are in church every Sunday morning in this part of the country and the ones that aren't certainly know they should be.

The thing they, and many others, are missing is that revival for the church starts with the individual. It spreads from there. Revival, or reawakening, doesn't happen first with large groups of people. And it doesn't not happen because of one group or another. Revival starts with one person and then moves from individual to individual. That means taking a hard and sometimes difficult look in the mirror.

Following God is more than condemning abortion. It's certainly more than judging homosexuals or drug addicts or criminals. Following God starts with a loving, kind and compassionate heart for ALL people. It doesn't involve hoarding money or deciding who deserves Jesusves.

Loving Jesus involves giving more than we get in order to be blessed more than we could ever imagine. It means doing what we thought was impossible and loving people others deem as worthless. Being a Christian isn't about judging and condeming. It doesn't involve political parties and which church pew belongs to who on Sunday morning. Loving Jesus pushes us out of our comfort zone, out of our focus on ourselves, and toward people who are hurting and angry, lost and alone. Those are the people Jesus expects us to love.

We all want a revival in this great country of ours. We want people to turn back toward God and seek Him with all their hearts, minds and souls. It starts with you and me following Jesus on a path that's different from where we ever intended to go. Are you willing?