Day 10: Deeper Still


Tuesday, January 26th, 2016   

Revive FLORIDA




Today I caught myself singing this old hymn:


There's a New Name Written Down in Glory

by C. Austin Miles, 1910, Public Domain

"There's a new name written down in glory,
And it's mine, Oh yes it's mine!
The white robed angel tells the story,
"A sinner has come home."
There's a new name written down in glory,
And it's mine, Oh yes it's mine!
With my sins forgiven I am bound for Heaven
Never more to roam."








Do you remember the moment
you gave your life to Christ?
What was that like?  For me,
my life was totally transformed!

I walked into a church empty and downcast and came out filled to overflowing with the joy of the LORD.  When I left work on Friday, I was miserable.  When I returned on Monday, I was gloriously content!

Exactly one month after I gave my heart to Jesus, my boss called me into his office and asked me to close the door behind me.

"Oh no!"  I thought.  "This can't be good!"  

"I have to ask you something."  he said.
"What did you do 30 days ago that changed your life?
You're not the person I hired!  You're so happy!
I look at you and you're glowing!  I have to know
what it is that's produced such a change in you."

This was a manager in a big, fortune 500 company.
There was no way to sugar-coat the answer.



"Well Bob," I responded, "I found out God was real and I asked
Jesus into my heart to lead and guide me through life."

"Ahhhhh!" he said.  "I should have known.  
That happened to my sister and brother-in-law as well."

To revive  is to restore life to something;
to resuscitate it; to bring it back around;  to wake it up!



It's funny that as Christians we often don't think we need reviving.  We think we're good the way we are.  Hey!  I'm born-again.  I gave my life to Christ years ago.  I go to church every week.  I serve.
I tithe.  I read the Bible.  I lead a home group.   I love Jesus!

But God wants to go DEEPER!


About 8 months ago, God started doing something unusual. He's constantly telling me He loves me -- sometimes more than once. Day after day after day He says it again and again. "I love you Gail."

At first I didn't get it.
"I know that LORD!"  I'd respond. 
"And I love you too!"



But He was relentless.  He never stopped. Everyday, without fail,  He'd says it again and again. At times I had to wonder, "What's going on?"

It didn't take me long to realize that God was doing something. I wasn't sure what it was, but I know His voice and I knew He was telling me the same thing over and over for a purpose.

He wanted to take me DEEPER ~
Deeper in Him ~ Closer to His heart.


There are 2 Vital Components to Revival:

1.  The Christian is restored, revitalized, re-energized in Christ.
     The Church is awakened in the most wonderful way.

2.  The Lost are found.

God comes so near that lives are totally changed. 
When that happens, signs and wonders manifest.


On my way home tonight, I stopped at Starbucks to check my emails and sip on a Chai. On my way in the door, I saw an old Pastor friend of mine I hadn't seen in months.  He smiled and waved to me so I stopped by his table to say hello.  He introduced me to his wife and another local minister.


"What have you been up to, Gail?"  He inquired.

Talk about an OPEN DOOR.
I proceeded to fill them in about Revive FLORIDA.
As I told them story after story, I noticed something unusual --



They were captivated.
They were enamored with my stories.  
I realized that I was bubbling over
and they were drinking it all up. 

Okay... let me make something clear here.  When people are captivated, it's always a sign that the Holy Spirit has taken center stage and is woo-ing them.  It's the Holy Spirit that has their attention, not me.  I get so excited when that happens because I can feel myself overflowing with Him.


Finally my stories came to an end.

"Oh my!"  I said  "My girlfriend and I were just talking about this --
 I can't stop taling about Jesus!  I've been born-again AGAIN!"


I looked around the table at their faces and posed this question:
"Isn't that what REVIVAL is supposed to be about?"

If you had asked me a month before Revive came to town if I thought I needed reviving
I would have responded, "I'm already in the deep end of the pool."  Seriously, I was at
a GREAT place in the LORD.

I guess I didn't know 
that God's love 
was even DEEPER that that.



Treading water with a smile
Gail
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