I am desperate for revival? Are you? I guess we should first ask, what is revival? It is turning back to the original, the beginning! We need revival when we get away from the first things.
In Scripture the “law of the first mention” is very important. When God says something the first time in the Scriptures, we must take note. The first mention is the foundation. It must never be discounted. When we get away from the first mention, we must be revived to come back! Back to God’s plan. Back to the first commandments He gave us. Back to His heart. Back to His first words.
We need to forever be coming back to our first love, don’t we? With all the distractions in our lives it’s so easy to get away from our first love for Jesus. There’s nothing more important than being in love with Jesus. This is the hub from which everything else in our life flows out. When we are in love with Jesus, we will love our husbands and children and everyone around us.
Jesus spoke to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:4, 5: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
We must also turn back to the first statutes God gave is in His Word. We must come back to the very first words God spoke to the man and woman He created. Genesis 1:28: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.” God has never rescinded these words. They stand forever. If we discard them because we think we know better, we disobey God’s powerful and living Word. We certainly need a revival in the church to come back to these words, don’t we?
We must come back to marriage oneness. God’s eternal plan for marriage is that we are to be one. God’s first description of marriage is in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” We are not two people living in the same house but living our separate lives. We are joined in flesh, spirit, and vision to work together to build a strong marriage and family. It’s time to come back!
It’s time to come back to God’s heart for children. Malachi 4:4-6: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
This is one of the greatest revivals needed in the church today. Most of the church has no understanding of God’s plan for children. They limit the number of children in their family as much as the secular world. They have as little regard for the blessing of children as the world does. It is time for a revival of fathers and mothers embracing their hearts towards children, to have the same heart that God has toward children.
Are we coming back to the God of the Bible? Many believe in a false God. They believe in a god who is only able to provide for one or two children. Any more would be too much for their god. This is not the God of the Bible.
Are we coming back?
Be blessed today,
Nancy Campbell
Painting: Alfredo Rodriguez * American