Revive Us Again

Surely his salvation is at hand 

for those who fear him,

that his glory may dwell in our land.

Will you not revive us again,

so that your people may rejoice in you?

Psalm 85:9

God, can we have civil conversation in our land again? Can you revive us to a state of dignity? This story gives me hope that God is at work reviving God’s people.

 

In 1856 at the age of seventeen, William MacKay left his Scottish home to attend college. His mother gave him a Bible on which she wrote his name and Scripture verses. At college he began well. But eventually he drifted far from the way he had been raised. He began drinking heavily. At a low point, he carelessly pawned the Bible using the money to buy whiskey

Years later, MacKay completed medical training and worked in a city hospital where he had a dying man as a patient. The patient knew he would soon die and began to urgently request that the hospital staff get a book in his apartment. He needed that book brought to him. “I need my book, I need my book!” was his dying request.

The doctor went to the apartment, curious to find out what “book” had been so precious that holding it again had been a dying man’s greatest desire. His search uncovered a Bible.  Inside the front cover, in his mother’s hand, was his own name.  It had been years since he had seen it, but there could be no mistake. Someone had reclaimed the Bible from that pawn shop, and it had become a priceless treasure to a dying man.

Returning to his hospital office, with the Bible worn and weathered, he could still see the texts his mother had marked for him to read. He read them all night in his medical office, and by the next morning, his life was changed for good from a state of immorality to a state of salvation.

He left the medical profession, went to a theological college, and became a minister serving the Prospect Street Presbyterian Church, in Hull, Scotland. His best-known hymn, still familiar today, is “Revive Us Again

Adapted from an article by David T. Myers

A Moment of Grace

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith

—and this is not from yourselves, 

it is the gift of God

Ephesians 2:8

Brayden Harrington may not be a name you remember, but he shared a moment of grace. Brayden has a serious stutter issue. Children with that issue are often the subject of teasing by others which may leave them feeling isolated and alone. They may choose to be alone to avoid humiliation. They may not offer an answer to a question by the teacher even they know the answer. Often added to that is the embarrassment of being removed from the classroom for speech therapy. 

Brayden, however  had a moment of grace. When Joe Biden was in New Hampshire he met Brayden and they spent time together. Brayden was shown how to mark a paper so that when he had to read aloud it was easier. The moment of grace wasn't so much that he was shown something new or different. It was that someone with the same disability took time to share in their experiences. As Biden put it, "We belong to the same club". 

When Brayden shared that moment of grace on national television, it was a gift of God for all who were watching. It's not that Brayden read something flawlessly, he didn't. The gift of God for us was that he chose to share that moment of grace.

Isn't this how God's gift of grace is shared? Isn't it when a Christian unconditionally accepts another just as that person is? The power of spending a moment of grace with someone may be a transforming moment for him or her. 

Power of the Word

The Word is near to you

on your lips and in your heart

Romans 10:8

Communication is a major issue when driving a special needs school bus. Some children don't comprehend what you are saying while others can't clearly articulate what they are trying to say. Some understand what you are saying but have difficult behaviors they can't control. Some are living through or have had traumatic experiences and express their anger or pain in socially unacceptable ways. 

Communication is a major issue with Paul. Paul expects that God’s Word actually gets inside of people. It is not just spoken, but is a power that changes hearts and lives. In Paul’s day the heart is where the physical, intellectual and spiritual life, including the will, emotions, and desires, while the mouth gives expression to what is in the heart. Thus, on your lips and in your heart.

Words like believing and faith suggest agreeing to something -- whether or not that can be belief is demonstrated as true. Paul’s claim is that the good news actually changes people. For one thing, it brings people together where long-time distinctions no longer apply.

For example, substitute the word “trust” everywhere you read the word “believe” in the Romans 10:8-13. Paul’s words give a slightly different meaning. What might it mean to actually trust that God raised Jesus from the dead, and not simply to believe it? Or to trust in God and not only to believe about God?

Belief in our hearts does not make us people who say the right words. It makes us people like Abraham and Sarah (Romans 4:13-25), who hope against hope and do not weaken or waver in facing today's great challenges. It makes us people who believe and trust God in the core of our being. It makes us people who believe and trust that God is a God of life, and no matter how rough things are God will hear when we cry out.

Do you believe that? Do you trust that?

Battered by Waves

              By this time the boat, battered by the waves, 

was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

Matthew 14:24

One of my adventures was a 50 mile Boy Scout canoe trip on Chesuncook Lake, ME. The 16 year old scout in my canoe was actually a paddle washer, meaning I worked and he merely dipped his paddle in the water. On our second day, a strong wind came up at our backs. The next day on our return trip, the wind was a strong headwind. I kept telling him to paddle harder or the wind would turn the canoe sideways and we might be swamped. Nothing changed, so I prayed, "Lord, motivate this scout". Unexpectedly a strong gust turned the canoe sideways, a wave broke over us, and the scout got soaked. Suddenly the Spirit moved within the scout who paddled as though his life depended on it for the rest of the day.

It's been a busy day for Jesus. Jesus hears about John's death and tries to go by boat to a quiet place. The crowds follow him so he lands and heals their sick. The crowds are hungry, so he feeds them loaves and fish. He tells the disciples to get in the boat, go on ahead and meet him on the other side while he prays on the mountain. Now it's nearly dawn, the wind has come up and the boat has been battered by waves all night. The exhausted disciples have been struggling to be afloat. Jesus approaches the boat telling the disciples its him. Peter's not sure so says to Jesus, "if its you tell me to come to you on the water." Jesus does, and a frightened Peter steps out onto the chaotic sea and begins sinking. Peter says, "Lord save me." Jesus reaches out his hand and rescues him.

Who is Jesus is? The one who reaches to us as we struggle to stay afloat when we feel as though we are endlessly battered by waves. The one who reaches to us in our storms of life.

Praying with the Spirit

 

"Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness,"

Romans 8:26.

My morning worship includes a prayer time for people I know who are in need of healing, guidance, strength, and wisdom. I pray for the Red Sox, the Patriots, and the Celtics. I also include a prayer for our church that "God may restore her fortunes like the watercourses of the Negeb." (Ps. 126:4). I pray these prayers in confidence that God hears them and the Spirit intercedes according to the will of God. My prayer form follows A.C.T.S. Adoration, Confession,Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Thus, when Paul says, "the Spirit helps us pray when we do not know what to pray,"(Romans 8:26), I don't know what I don't want. 

James Dunn, a British New Testament scholar, says Paul's grammar in verse 26 defines the scripture differently than we usually think of it. He says it's not that we know what we need and merely lack the right words for asking it. As he says, we "do not know what to want," let alone how to ask for it. So to clarify "what to want", the Spirit intercedes, aligning prayer on our behalf to the will of God for us. Then in verses 28-30, Paul adds that the Spirit intercedes for us in the present, the past, and the future. 

For me it worked this way. In a recent conversation with a friend about aging and crossing the "big 80", the topic of what's next arose. What is there left to do in this decade which I may well not complete? I had no idea what I wanted to do let alone even know how to pray about it. Then my friend said, "take stock of the life you have lived and consider what you still want to do, say, or experience in this life." The Spirit interceded in my weakness.

The Good News is that, by God's Grace, the Spirit intercedes aligning us all with God's love.