My first job in High School was as a lifeguard at a public swimming pool. I scanned the water looking for signs of distress that I had been trained to identify. When I saw someone who needed help I used my training and skill to rescue them. Over those few years I rescued many who were thankful that I knew what to do.
In 2 Chr. 7:12-16 God tells us the signs He looks for to know when we need His attention to rescue us. We also think of these signs as conditions for Revival.
Verse 14 says:
"If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land." (HCSB)
God hears His children. There are several things that tell us that we are His children. First, His children are called by His Name. Calling ourselves a Christian is more than a title. It means that we identify with Christ and have invited Him into our heart. We call it being born again because we are born into His family by the Holy Spirit. Our lives start over from that point. We have a new name and a new family because we have a new life in Christ.
Our new life includes some new activities. His children humble themselves. Children humble themselves when they make themselves useful through obedience to their father. His children Pray. Children communicate with their parents by talking to them. We talk to our heavenly Father through prayer. His children seek his face. Children need to spend time with their parents in order to see things from their perspective. Today we use the expression, “See where he’s coming from.” To seek someone’s face means to see where he is going.
There is no forgiveness without repentance. In Alice In Wonderland, Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" The Cat answered, "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." Our moral decisions depend on where we want to get to.
God’s desire is to heal His Children. He forgives us when He hears us.
Bret Harte said:
If, of all words of tongue or pen
The saddest are these, "It might have been."
More sad are these we daily see;
"It is, but hadn't ought to be."
When we turn from our ways to God’s way He forgives us and will heal our land with Revival.
Robin
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
The Parable of the Snow
(Matthew 13:1-23)
Late Saturday night it began to snow. As the fluffy white snow fell to the earth some snow fell on the road. Although it was the same snow that fell everywhere else it was considered hazardous and the road crews were soon out removing it. They plowed and salted and plowed again until all that was left was a salty, sandy slush along the sides of the road. The roads are always the first place people look to see how much snow we have. But snow on the roads only gets in the way and is the first place we want it removed.
Some snow fell on the roof tops but it did not stay long. The wind blew some away and exposed part of the roof. When the sun came out it shone through the thin layer of snow and heated the roof to melt away the rest of the snow. Even though snow on the roof is sometimes considered the prettiest of all snow it is gone before we can really appreciate it.
Some snow fell in the yards in reach of all the children. As soon as they saw it they gathered up their winter clothes, put on their boots, and ran outside to play in the snow. For a while, there was laughter and squeals as they made snowballs, and snowmen, and used their sleds to slide down every clear hill they could find. The snow was fun but the fun was temporary. Snow men and sleds turn our attention away from the danger snow can be in other places. We can become distracted or lost in snow. Or, we can use it for our own purpose but even that only lasts a short time.
Some snow fell on the fields. The fields were beautiful in a blanket of snow. As the snow melted the moisture seeped down into the soil until it reached the hard winter wheat that was waiting for the snow to arrive. The blanket of snow kept the moisture in place allowing the wheat to soak in it and begin to grow. As the winter ends and the snow melts you can see the green tops coming out of the ground. The wheat will grow through spring and in the heat of summer it will be ready to harvest.
What kind of snow is your faith? The snow on the roads was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The snow on the roof was shallow and melted quickly with the heat of the sun. The snow on the yard was fun for a time but when the fun was over so was the snow. The snow in the fields made the wheat grow. Wheat becomes flour to give us life for many days to come. It fills and satisfies us in many ways, like the wheat roll I had for breakfast.
Dr. Robin H. Cowin
Late Saturday night it began to snow. As the fluffy white snow fell to the earth some snow fell on the road. Although it was the same snow that fell everywhere else it was considered hazardous and the road crews were soon out removing it. They plowed and salted and plowed again until all that was left was a salty, sandy slush along the sides of the road. The roads are always the first place people look to see how much snow we have. But snow on the roads only gets in the way and is the first place we want it removed.
Some snow fell on the roof tops but it did not stay long. The wind blew some away and exposed part of the roof. When the sun came out it shone through the thin layer of snow and heated the roof to melt away the rest of the snow. Even though snow on the roof is sometimes considered the prettiest of all snow it is gone before we can really appreciate it.
Some snow fell in the yards in reach of all the children. As soon as they saw it they gathered up their winter clothes, put on their boots, and ran outside to play in the snow. For a while, there was laughter and squeals as they made snowballs, and snowmen, and used their sleds to slide down every clear hill they could find. The snow was fun but the fun was temporary. Snow men and sleds turn our attention away from the danger snow can be in other places. We can become distracted or lost in snow. Or, we can use it for our own purpose but even that only lasts a short time.
Some snow fell on the fields. The fields were beautiful in a blanket of snow. As the snow melted the moisture seeped down into the soil until it reached the hard winter wheat that was waiting for the snow to arrive. The blanket of snow kept the moisture in place allowing the wheat to soak in it and begin to grow. As the winter ends and the snow melts you can see the green tops coming out of the ground. The wheat will grow through spring and in the heat of summer it will be ready to harvest.
What kind of snow is your faith? The snow on the roads was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The snow on the roof was shallow and melted quickly with the heat of the sun. The snow on the yard was fun for a time but when the fun was over so was the snow. The snow in the fields made the wheat grow. Wheat becomes flour to give us life for many days to come. It fills and satisfies us in many ways, like the wheat roll I had for breakfast.
Dr. Robin H. Cowin
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