Last night in church, my pastor quoted some of Leonard Ravenhill's thoughts on prayer and revival. I've done a lot of reading but realized I've never read any of Ravenhill's writings. So this morning, I decided to search him out (with the help of Google). AW Tozer (who I have read), said Mr Ravenhill (1907-1994) was "...the man sent from God to battle the priests of Baal on their own mountain top, to shame the careless priest at the altar, to face the false prophet, and to warn the people who are being led astray by him."

Here's just a small sampling of some of Leonard Ravenhill's thoughts on the state of the church ...

"There's one thing we need above everything else; it's something we don't talk about these days. We need a mighty avalanche of conviction of sin."

"David had one of the most blessed experiences in the world, and the blessedness was that he was miserable about his sin."

"I'm concerned in my spirit (that) the reason the world goes to hell-fire tonight is because we've (the church) lost Holy Ghost fire."

"I'm sick and tired of (only) reading about church history; let's make (some) by the grace of God!"

"Someone asked me, "Do you pray for the dead?" I said, "No, I preach to them!" I think every pew in every church is death row. Think about that! They're dead! They sing about God; they talk about God, but they're dead! They have no living relationship (with God)."

"You hear people say in church, "Lord, You're welcome!" If the Holy Ghost came to some churches, there would be a stampede to the door."

"Do you go to church to meet God or to hear a sermon about Him? How many come to church expecting a confrontation with Deity?"

"When did you last tip-toe out of the sanctuary? (When) you couldn't say a word to anybody (because) you were so overwhelmed (with the glory of God)."

"He wants to move you into the place where your steadfast and unmovable and always abounding in the love of God. Only a risen, exalted Christ can make that possible. He's got to have pre-eminence in my living... in my thinking... in my time... in my language... in all things, not some things. Everyday (every second) should be holy for a man who has the Holy Ghost."

Have you ever made a new friend and then, as time went on, you realized you had so much more in common than you had initially realized? Maybe your background is similar, maybe you've had similar experiences and have similar interests. Then one day you realize, wow! this person gets me. You can share things with such a friend that you might hesitate to share with others. You can discuss things of mutual interest that may not interest others. We all need a friend like that. I have been very blessed with two such friends. God knows all we have need of and sends people into our lives who can listen, be there for us and encourage us. He also sends people into our lives so we can do the same in return.

No matter how good your friends are; no matter how much they "get it," there is a far better friend. I hope you've met Him. His Name is Jesus. He "gets it." He "gets" you, far better than any human being ever could.

Check out what Nahum discovered about Him:
"The Lord is good, a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands) those who take refuge and trust in Him." (Nahum 1:7 AMP)

God "gets it." He "gets" you.

The Bible also tells us that when Jesus was here on the earth, He experienced the same struggles, temptations, and "stuff" that we do, yet was without sin. Jesus "gets" it. He "gets" you, because He's been there.

Psalm 139 relates the amazing, wonderful truth that He knows everything about me. Jesus knows me better than I know myself. He "gets" it because He sees it all and He's been with me every step of the way... through the good times, the bad times and the times in between. He even sees the stuff on the inside that I don't let others see. He "gets" it because He made me, He is here and He sees it all.

"How precious to me are your thoughts,God!
   How vast is the sum of them!"
(Ps. 139:17 NIV)

He "gets" it. And, you know what else? He wants us to come to Him with all of it, because He "gets" it and He's the One who can help, heal, comfort, love, encourage and cheer us on the best.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)

The Bible describes Jesus as a friend who sticks closer than a brother. No matter how good our friends are here on this earth, Jesus is the best friend we could ever have or want. No one "gets" it quite like He does. No one "gets" me like He does. No one "gets" you like He does.
 
Jesus "gets" it. He "gets" you. He "gets" me.

What an awesome thought! 

Our lives rarely bring us to a place of quietness and peace. We struggle through one day after another, our hearts beseiged by the noise and distractions of this world. We rush through the busy-ness of the day and collapse into bed a night with a sigh, too tired to enjoy the stillness the night brings. At least that's how the rhythm of my life seems to beat at times.

The busy-ness of life and the worries of the day sometimes work in unison to disturb our hamony and peace. This is not the way God wants us to live. He wants us to seek out those times of quietness and refreshing in His presence. His desire is to lead us by the still waters and into fields of grace and peace.

Isaiah introduced the Messiah, Jesus, as the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6.)He is the Source of our peace with the Father and the Source of peace within. True peace, a real lasting peace, can only come from Him. As we spend those wonderful times of quiet listening to His voice, His peace will begin to fill our hearts.

Isaiah also declared, "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace..." (Isaiah 55:12) The previous verse shows how this peace can be ours. It comes by spending time with the Lord and hearing His voice.

The prophet also relates the promise of this peace. "For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream..." (Isaiah 66:12). Isaiah 26:3-4 tells us that the Lord will keep us in perfect peace as we keep our hearts and minds on Him.

Horatio Spafford, author of the well-known hymn, 'It Is Well With My Soul,'
 came to know this blessed "peace like a river" following many tragedies in his life. That river of peace is ours to freely enjoy today and every day. May it flow through us and enable us to rise above the cares of life and continualy seek those quiet and awesome moments in the presence of the Prince of Peace.

Missionary Amy Carmichael sought that quietness an peace, praying..

"O Thou who art my quietness, my deep repose,
My rest from strife of tongues, my holy hill,
Fair is Thy pavilion, where I hold me still.
Back let them fall from me, my clamorous foes,
Confusions multiplied;
From crowding things of sense I flee, and Thee I hide.
Until this tyranny be overpast,
Thy hand will hold me fast;
What though the tumult of the storm increase,
Grant to Thy servant strength, O Lord, and bless with peace."
 
O Lord, bring us to that place of quietness and peace in Your presence.

Have you ever wondered what it was like for Adam and Eve to walk with God in the garden at the end of each day? What did they talk about? What riches of His truth and depths of His love did He reveal to them?

Have you ever wondered what is was like for Moses to meet with God on the mountain top? We know what they talked about. God revealed to Moses the riches of His truth and depths of His love.

Have you ever wondered what it was like for the disciples to sit at a table with Jesus and enjoy a meal with Him? Some of those conversations are recorded for us in Scripture. He, again, revealed the riches of His truth and depths of His love.

Have you ever wondered if you could enjoy such closeness with God?

I have heard even preachers say that the level of intimacy Adam and Eve enjoyed with God in the garden can never be ours this side of heaven. Their reasoning is that we have been tainted by sin and therefore cannot enjoy such close communion with our holy Creator.

If that's true, then what did Calvary accomplish? Did the blood of Christ accomplish only redemption for us, or did He achieve something more?

Ephesians 2:13 reveals that it was so much more. "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."

That doesn't say God is keeping us at arms length. It says we have been brought NEAR by the blood of Christ.

Psalm 91 speaks of the "secret place of the most High" and the "shadow of the Almighty." Only those who are close to Him can abide there.

In John 15, Jesus calls those who obey Him "friends." Psalm 16 shows that God wants us to experience fulness of joy in His presence.
 
The truth is, God loves us so much that it broke His heart to see the wall of separation between us and Him, caused by our sin. He longed so much to have relationship with us and to see us set free that He gave His only Son to die in our place, the greatest expression of love in history. This is a God who waits for us to come to Him.

Just a few years ago, I discovered something that forever changed my relationship with the Lord. He actually enjoys my company! Have you ever thought about that? God, the Creator of the universe, the Holy One, enjoys your company!

Have you ever wondered...?

Take some time out to spend time with the Lord today and every day, enjoying His company as He enjoys yours. You may be surprised at the depths of love and riches of truth He will reveal to your heart, just as He did with those who met Him in the garden and on the mountain top.

USA Stands with Israel shared this photo on their FB wall this morning, saying, "Farmers from the community of Kfar Maimon in southern Israel presented huge pumpkins in a Beersheba market over the weekend, noting that the unusual vegetables were grown using old-time agricultural techniques and a special ingredient – Gaza rockets." Although that area of southern Israel has been under constant terrorist attack for years, farmers were able to produce a bumper crop of pumpkins and other vegetables.

As I read that, I thought of what Joseph said. "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good..." (Genesis 50).

For us as belivers in Christ, Romans 8:28's promise stands whether we like or current situation or not. Terrorist rocket fire and personal difficulties are obviously not pleasant but God is in control always. He has a plan and His plan is to work ALL things together for our good.

The plans of the enemy will come to nothing but God's plans ALWAYS work out the way He intends... for our good and His glory.

Baggage, Bondage  
      and Baloney

 


What do those 3 things have in common?

Well, every person on the planet has dealt with at least one of them. Many of us have encountered all 3 and almost everyone is currently battling with one or all of them.

Baggage, Bondage and Baloney are the biggest barriers to walking in freedom each of us face. Carrying the baggage leads to chains of bondage, which leads to believing the baloney.

Baggage
Image for a moment, a beautiful crisp spring morning. A chorus of birds awakes to serenade the sunrise. The world has taken on a fresh, new glow of green. You see before you a grassy meadow dotted with wildflowers of breathtaking hues stretching upward to greet the sun. With a song in your heart and praise on your lips, you skip through the meadow lightly and easily, warmed by the gentle morning brilliance of the sun and feeling blessed to be alive in this moment.

Now imagine standing in that meadow as angry thunderclouds roll across the sky. The world is draped in blackness and wind shrills across the meadow, biting into your skin. You shiver as rain pelts down on your back. You want to hurry to safety and shelter but you’re weighed down by your big, old suitcase filled with rocks.

Each rock represents a moment in your existence - moments that caused you pain; moments that caused you suffering; moments that made you weep; moments that left you scarred.

Bent almost double from the weight as you struggle to drag that suitcase along, you look up long enough to see there are others on the far side of the meadow enjoying the golden rays of the sun, singing and playing freely among the flowers. They call out to you, “Leave the rocks behind! Come and join us!”

You long to get there to enjoy the freedom and the light but your load is too heavy. Those rocks of hurt have become so much a part of who you are, you just can’t leave them behind.
 
Next: Bondage

Bondage
As we noted in part one, carring around all that baggage leads to bondage. Most of us, if we're honest, have to admit that we've been in some kind of bondage so one thing or another at some point in our lives and maybe are still in that bondage.

What kinds of bondage do Christains become entangled with? Christians are not immune to suffering with addictions, habits, and fears. Christians, no matter how good we may try to appear on the outside, still battle the flesh, no matter how long we've had a personal relationship with Christ.
 
The more rocks we carry around, the more hurts we hang on to, the more likely it is that we will become chained to the things that we think bring us some kind of relief from having to think about the past. 

Whatever bondage we walk in, we choose it (and, yes, it is a choice)because it clouds our vision just enough so that we don't have to look at what we have become for a little while.

Next: Baloney

Baloney
Baloney. That word is often used to describe nonsense or false statements. The baggage we carry around leads us into bondage which leads us into believing the baloney.

"Baloney? What baloney?" you ask. Well, the baloney the enemy of our souls wants us to believe so we will keep on hauling around the baggage and remain in bondage.

You've heard his whispers, just like I have.

"You're no good."

"God can't use you."

"Look how you messed up here, here and there."

"God doesn't care about you any more."

"It's too late for you."

You've heard it. I've heard it. We've all heard it. Baloney. No matter what lies the enemy (and maybe other people) have told you, its all BALONEY.

Next: Victory