I’ve been involved in the lives of six generations of people, and although that makes me feel a little more than aged it also brings me great joy when I reminisce on the days of Great Grandma Florence, Mommaw Vada, Aunts, Uncles and my own Mother and Father; and now watch as beneath my generation are two more. I am blessed. The generations have not been without heartache and woe but praise God each have been filled with strong Christian witnesses that I can look to for strength when I struggle in the these days of wickedness and woe. So when I read the following passage in Judges 2 it breaks my heart more than a little.
Judges 2:8-11
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim:
The new generation that God brought into the Promised Land, whom He had told “I will never break my covenant with you,” (Judges 2:1b), that generation waited one generation to break away from Him.
The same held true in America. Leaving their country for a land that would promise religious freedom, it took only a few generations for the decline of American spirituality. A great revival in 1857 in New York brought a new hope to the children of God and spread near and far, but not until a crash of the economy. It’s been about that long again, maybe a little more since America has felt the hand of God heavy in leadership and family. As I read the history of the great New York revival my heart longed for that leadership to be in place again today.
It started with one man hired as a missionary to the inner cities of New York. Jeremiah Lanphier, a 48 year old businessman, who was moved by the spiritual plight of the masses, began to visit homes, passing out literature, praying and encouraging others to do the same. A noon time prayer meeting of a few men turned into thousands and thousands across America. Not for preaching, but for praising and praying for the souls of friends and family.
Oh for that fire to ignite in America now…
It has to start somewhere. A recent happening in our county is a countywide Christian fellowship which stirs my heart with great joy. Because I can see the fringe of a mighty fire if we keep seeking Jesus as a unified body of Christ. Letting our churches be “our” churches but incorporating a time of fellowship between all churches to come together to praise God and pray for our friends and family. November 28th is the next event at the Brooksville Church.
If we lead believing… I believe there will be followers. And the body of Christ, the brothers and sisters in His name will grow. It gives me great hope, I hope it encourages you too!