January 15 To Overcome

Luke 11:4b “And lead us not into temptation.”
 
Ephesians 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
 
BEFORE continuing further in Luke, we are stopping to grow into a deeper understanding of prayer’s power to revive. To do so, I will be quoting excerpts from a book called “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. As the title says, it relates the history of God initiating revival into his people to draw them into salvation, to give life to his church and to change cultures. Note, too, that “revival” is basically defined as turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God. In our day, “revival” has come to mean a series of gatherings to hear the gospel preached. Sadly it has come to mean a human-organized event and not Spirit-empowered salvation to revive mankind from sin’s death.
   Sin’s death is mankind’s problem, isn’t it? Paul’s words to the Ephesians is an essential Christian lesson. Our nature is to sin, to think and act against God’s commands. In our sin, we are objects of God’s wrath. We all need reviving into Jesus’ salvation. Without revival, we live very difficult, empty lives on earth. Without revival, we perish eternally. More pointedly, McDow & Reid write of places the culture “leads us into temptation”.
 
From social media to smart phones, from bloggers to hackers, we live in arguably the most dramatic time of change in human history. News from anywhere on the earth can be accessed immediately, offering the possibility of spreading the gospel in ways never known before. But even as our digital age affords the opportunity to connect globally, there still resides in the heart of every person a hunger for God and a desire for more than a social network and a Google search. (Underline mine.) People still want to know God and to see Him move. The question for us today is less, “How will He move in our time?” It is more, “Can we see Him at work today, and can we put ourselves in a position where God can use us for His glory?”
 
These questions can be answered in part by asking the questions: “How has God moved in the past, and what can we learn from how He has moved previously to be ready for His fresh wind to blow in our time?”  
  
   The problems strive against us, don’t they? The world intrudes into our souls to lead us into temptation and to keep us away from our Creator. Tomorrow, we’ll look at how God has moved to draw people out of sin and into him, so you are still able to gather today in his church to pray.
 
Prayer: Father, I know my chief problem is sin. It keeps me from you. Teach me to pray for revival, trusting you will bring new life where sin’s death now reigns. In Jesus’ name, amen.