Revive Us Again

Last week was an incredibly busy one, as we had revival services going on every night at our church. Today I'd like to give a quick snapshot of some of the things the evangelist covered. He started off Monday night talking about mending our nets, the nets being a metaphor for our spiritual walk with God. Sometimes the nets get holes in them from things hidden under the surface of the water. Things we weren't expecting. Sometimes the nets get torn from things caught in them. People you go to church with can hurt your feelings or cause you to want to give up on your service. But most nets get ripped through daily wear. As a fisherman pulls his net back into the boat, the net is constantly rubbing along the lip of the boat and eventually the net will tear and break. Sometimes we get so busy with our service that we also end up with holes in our spiritual life. The important thing to remember is to take those holes and tears to Jesus, because He is the only one that can mend them.

The evangelist also spoke on forgiveness. The greatest forgiveness is when God forgave us of our sins. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 The hardest forgiveness is to forgive ourselves. Sometimes it just seems we can't let go of the things we've done. Remember that, if God loves and forgives you, than you can forgive yourself as well. The most demanding forgiveness is to forgive others. It's important to remember that we don't forgive others because they necessarily deserve it. We forgive them because God forgave us.

One of the most important messages of the week was that we only have so much time to tell others about Christ. I remember hearing a preacher once telling about how he felt the Holy Spirit leading him to speak to someone about the Saviour. He put it off and put it off and then was shocked one day to hear that the man had died of a heart attack. There is no guarantee how long someone has on this earth. If the Holy Spirit is leading you to speak to someone, don't let that chance slip away.

We also only have so much time because Jesus is coming back again. We have no idea when that might happen, but as His children, we are supposed to be using this time for Him. I remember years ago when I was growing up. My mom might leave the house on an errand, and she would give us chores to do until she got back. As soon as she left, we played and had a good time, intending to get the chores done in plenty of time before she returned. Sometimes, though, she got back early when we weren't expecting it. We were caught playing instead of accomplishing the tasks she'd set for us to do. When Jesus comes back, will He find you working for Him? Will you be glad to see Him, or will you hang your head in shame because you never got around to serving Him as you should? Look at what you're doing now. How important will that be when you're facing Him?