Revival is one of the most exciting times in a Christian’s life, because it is a time when saints pray the glory of God down upon themselves.
Revival:the combination of the Latin word “vive“, meaning alive or living, and the prefix “re“, meaning do again as in repeat and recur.
Revival literally means to come alive again. The implication follows that something must have been dead in us before that needed reviving. Over the years we have fallen away. A fire has been quenched that only the power of God through the Holy Spirit can reignite.
Look around at the world today. If revival is awakening the dead to new life in Christ, we need revival more than the air we breath. Nations are dying in the slums of immorality and apathy. When 300,000 babies can be murdered in their beds, sleeping in the safety of their mother’s wombs, when people spend their entire lives trying to kill others, when an entire entity seeks to undermine and obliterate the morality of a people group through song and visual: we need revival.
We are dying, and I mean that as literally as I can. We are but a vapor on this earth. “Make every moment count” sounds so difficult to do, and it should; it is impossible without revival.
May this be our song, may this be our prayer:
O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. –Habakkuk 2:16
A pastor friend of mine said just last night that revival starts when you draw a circle around yourself, and pray to God to change everything within that circle. Are you prepared to pay the price for revival?
Revival starts in the church! Not in the world. We don’t need to wait for sinners to walk the aisle for revival to begin, we need saints to start hitting their knees and praying revival takes place in their lives.
It’s a fantasy of mine, and I cannot validate it in any biblical way, but I like think that one of the reasons Jesus wept was that He loved Lazarus, and didn’t want to bring him back to such a fallen world. Think about it, the man had to die twice! Lazarus is one of the few human beings to ever die twice. He had already gotten death out of the way, he would soon be with the Father in paradise after Jesus completed His work on earth; now he has to live and die again! If I was Lazarus, I’d be weeping too. I can just hear him saying, “I love my sisters, but I’m about to enter Heaven and be with my Creator, I don’t want to go back.”.
It might have been a hard thing for Jesus to bring someone back who was almost home forever. But, on the other hand… Why would Jesus raise any person to life at all? Does anyone deserve a second chance at life? And why did he revive those from death that He did, and His disciples did after Him? Was there something special about those people that they received another chance to decide eternity having already lived it?
His disciples… think about that. After Jesus died, arose, and ascended into Heaven, those who died would enter eternity in Heaven or Hell. When Jesus’s disciples raised the dead, those people were brought back from eternity and given a second chance to live. But why those people? I’ve begun to study history of every human brought back from the dead and what they did afterwards… It’s difficult to find information about these people, for they did no great deeds by worldly standards, but I’m certain they made a difference for Christ.
Out of all of the people who died, why these? If God raised these certain few to life for His glory, they must have had something miraculous to do for Him. He could’ve raised anyone. Why did He raise them? Who deserves a second chance at life? No one does. Who deserves a single chance at life? No one does, it is only by His grace we live, and His grace continually saves us: from ourselves and from death.
Why did He weep? Yes. Because all that matters is that He wept. If God wanted us to know why, the Bible would’ve said so. But, it didn’t, so we see Christ’s humanity in His ability to feel, and that is all the passage wanted us to clearly know. So, let Him raise you from the dead daily, and ask Him why He weeps. I like to think that He weeps not because we are dead, but that He has to raise us so often when we fall. He hates to see us disobey and fall into the snares of the devil. We die, and He weeps o’r our souls as He raises us to life daily to live for Him anew and again.
We may not often realize this, but silence speaks, sometimes louder than words.
“One of the finest means of communication is saying nothing.” –Adrian Rodgers
Silence can say “I love you”, as much as saying “I love you” can say “I love you”. Not to undermine words, but listening to someone is one of the most important parts of friendship. Everyone wants to be heard. As a friend, I’m really no good if I’m talking all of the time. Listening to someone tells them that you care about what they have to say; more importantly, it tells them that you care about them. I don’t think we listen enough: to our friends, to our parents, (and that works the other way too. Parents don’t listen to their children), and especially to God.
Conversation for human beings has always had two main elements: speaking and listening. Why does a conversation with God only contain one of those elements? It seems to me like prayer has become one sided in our day and age. Think about it. How many times can you recall spending three minutes praying and asking God for this and thanking Him for that? We praise; we repent; we intercede; but do we listen? God wants to hear your voice, but He wants you to hear His as well. We need to listen more.
Not just when we pray, we need to listen when we read His Word, when we sit under preaching or teaching of His Word, and when we go about our normal, daily lives. To truly have communion with The Father, we need to listen to what He has to say. By this, we show Him that we love Him and care about His Word, His commands, and His promises.
Listen to God more, but also, listen to others. The best thing you can do for a friend is to listen to them. Even if you don’t have a particular interest in the topic, just listen. It will strengthen your friendship and let your friend know that you care, and that they can trust you with their words.
Words are powerful. In words, we store information; that information means something to us. Words are our way of relating our feelings. This one may hurt a little, but, whenever you say or do something to upset your friend, listen to their screaming and yelling. When they get defensive over something said or done, listen to them, don’t continue to push a lemon wedge into an open wound.
I can’t speak for every person, and often times this is caused by pride, but when I become defensive and try to justify my actions and myself, I do so because I care so much about people that I don’t want them to think badly of me. So, when someone verbally attacks me, whether in front of my friends, or perhaps they are one of my friends, if I keep silent and take the abuse, I’m sending the message that I don’t care enough about what that person thinks of me to defend myself. However, should I speak up and that person not listen, they are sending the message that they don’t care enough about me to hear what I have to say.
Words are powerful when we use them correctly, but silence is just as powerful. When we can discern, (there’s my favorite word), when to use our words and when to remain silent, we will have discovered the secret of life, the secret of friendship, the secret of relationships. Don’t be afraid to speak, but know when to listen.
Being single on Valentine’s Day is the worst, (intentional exageration for emphasis); it’s never easy, and it’s almost always an awkward experience. For many, it’s awkward because they have no one to go out with: this has never been a problem for me. I’m not a fan of the dating lifestyle, so not having a date for Valentine’s Day isn’t an area of awkwardness for me.
Valentine’s Day is awkward for me because we live in a society that expects and encourages young people to show affection for one another on this day. Our culture says “show love to each other” and “reveal your heart to those you have feelings for”. It’s pressure, and it’s become a mandate for teens and young adults especially. It’s frightening to me, primarily because I don’t want to live in a world where young people are being pushed by social expectation to show love to each other.
A more personal reason for disliking what this holiday has become, is that its setting and everything that occurs on that day makes me uncomfortable. This holiday instigates emotions, negatively in my case, but in all young people; emotions of love and affection, even things as small as admiration. I don’t like these feelings. I don’t know what to do with them. I don’t like the temptation to overstep my bounds, to make an inappropriate comment or aproach; and as a young man, –more importantly, as a weak, fallible human– it’s a real struggle to protect myself from doing something stupid because of the pressure of society.
Valentine’s Day forces me to raise my guard so that I don’t crumble under peer pressure and an atmosphere of openness that compels people to share their feelings. It’s okay to tell someone you love them. Your family members and close friends especially, even your pastor and church staff, or the people at work. But, when to tell “The One”, or someone you think might be “The One”, should be your choice alone. No pressure from society or cultural obligation should cause you to do something out of turn that you may regret later.
God knows when the right time is better than our culture or even ourselves. He will show you when and how to say “I love you”.
Really, why are we being pressed into society’s mold, adhering to its rules set for love, and allowing it to dictate when and how we love? How can we not be swarmed with feelings and emotions on Valentine’s Day when we’re around so many who post and talk about it?
I apologize, but I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day, as a young adult. But, as a child under my parent’s roof, I respect and adhere to their opinions and traditions. No matter how awkward it is for me to face Valentine’s Day, I still go out with my sister. I still give her gifts and attempt to act more gentlemanly than I normally do to treat her like a lady. And, by these examples, hopefully show my younger siblings how to treat a young lady and how to become a gentleman of honor and virtue.
I know it’s a long movie title, I didn’t name the film. We’re visiting the oldies with this review and a class-act actor, Errol Flynn. Some of you may know Flynn from the 1938 film “The Adventures of Robin Hood”. Flynn was an iconic actor for many years, starring in a flurry of films during the span of a rather short career, Flynn set the bar for what a flamboyant, brash, devil-may-care character should be. As a result, he was most often typecast in this particular role.
Moving forward to our current topic, a 1941 film in which Errol Flynn portrays the character of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, or General Custer, as he is most commonly called. Given Flynn’s track record, you can guess what kind of Custer he portrayed.
This film was not historically accurate, which is, in a way both a good and a bad thing. On the one hand, I rather enjoy watching the acting out of real events as they would’ve happened. On the other hand, sometimes history gets redundant, and it’s difficult to keep a movie interesting if everyone knows what’s coming all the time.
Now, there will be very little need for me to micro-analyze this film as many of you have not seen it, and if you do see it, won’t do so with a review in mind. The purpose of this review is to simply have another study area for the topic of worldview in media, and the classics have yet to be touched upon…until today.
WORLDVIEW
This may be the only area of critique, as it concerns the direct purpose of this review. Custer, in this movie is a man of passion: passion for his country, passion to fight and serve. Once he reaches the pinnacle of his army success he lives an average life of an average man. But the restlessness nearly kills him.
This movie is the story of a man who fights for honor and glory. Sure, he fights for a free country, but his motives are all wrong. Custer is a man that lives for the moment, one who is filled with visions of war and vengeance. He’s a spiteful character. Whether his motives are good or no, his methods are wrong.
In terms of the character of Custer, he views the world all wrong. We love him because he’s a hero, he fights for the little guy. But, simply because we can stand behind and cheer for him, that doesn’t make him right. He bends the rules and breaks the laws in ways that he ends up being justified for, and the end justifies the means for Custer.
He plays a similar character to that of Robin Hood, but Robin wasn’t a drunkard, he didn’t fight or kill for pleasure. Custer is portrayed as a hardcore soldier, and he is generally a good man. But, even Custer falls into a trap. He is taken out of the way in order for a conspiracy to take place that will wipe out the Indians.
He’s played and ends up throwing himself into death for glory as his last stroke to spite the twisted bureaucrats. The strange thing is, he knows he’ll die, so he dies in selfishness; leaving his wife, disobeying his authority, and depriving the US of a fearsome general. He dies for glory, and dies alone, friendless in the world. His wife he abandons, his mates, who can hardly be deemed friends, he dies alongside or leaves to die in battles of their own.
It’s a sad ending to a twisted and, at times, stupid tale of love of and war. Custer dies a glorious death, Mrs. Custer dies of a broken heart, and Custer ends up loosing what he had fought so hard for: his good name and the integrity of his word of honor.
I enjoyed it as a film, though I still think it’s stupid, but as a worldview… Custer is not a man I would in any way aspire to be save one. He was a man of conviction and stood fast upon what he believed, unshaken to the point of idiocy, brash and daring unto death. Had he a better cause for which to fight, Custer would’ve been one of the greatest heroes of all time.
So, watch it if you will. Enjoy the story for what it is, knowing that it isn’t historically accurate. But, think about who the man is, what he stands for, and how he lived his life.
Valentine’s Day, what can we say…? Valentine’s Day was named after a priest who performed weddings, even when the state outlawed them. He believed so strongly in marriage and family that he risked his own life for the future and happiness of others. Valentine was a young man who opposed the government because its laws were contrary to his beliefs. He stood up for what he believed, in spite of the odds against him.
Was he right to stand against the government? Is it right to stand against those that have been placed in authority over us? Aren’t we told to respect authority, and obey those over us? How then can we justify Valentine’s lawlessness? Not with love; love is not a motive worth sinning for. Love isn’t a reason to disobey both God and Man. So, why did Valentine do what he did? Not for love, but because he felt called of God to do the things he did.
What was Valentine fighting for? In a sense, it was for Christ’s sake. The family is a picture of the Trinity and exemplifies the God-head in its functionality, (in a perfect world). But mostly, Valentine was fighting for the freedom to act upon conviction. Valentine wasn’t opposing just a government or law, he stood up against the idea that soldiers fight better if they are not preoccupied with their families. Valentine argued that their families were the reason the soldiers fought: to protect them, and to be able to come back to them and find them safe.
Valentine was a driven man, he passed through many dangers simply to perform marriages. He viewed the institution of marriage as something sacred and holy, so much so that he was willing to die for it. Valentine believed in God, in marriage, and in family. He set the example for us today, and yet we treat his day like a joke. This day, named after Saint Valentine has become one of obligation and carnal love.
For some, it is a day that we have to buy candy for spouses, friends, or, (if you’re a homeschooler), siblings. For others, Valentines Day is an excuse to go on a date, to celebrate love and relationships. Really though, that’s not what it’s all about. Valentines Day is about marriage, family, and God’s love, not Man’s love. We’re celebrating the wrong thing in the wrong way with the wrong mindset(attitude).
There are many traditions of Valentine’s Day that can benefit young adults, teens, and even younger children by teaching them the values of chivalry, etiquette, and just overall how to be a gentleman or a lady. Those are all good principals, but that’s not the heart of this holiday. So, if you’re single like me, remember that Valentine’s Day is primarily about family, not Cupid, not boy/girl, not even love: it’s about family. So, enjoy it for what it is to you now, until you can enjoy it with a family of your own someday.
Yes, I’ve already posted about the movie “Providence”. No, it is not Movie Review Monday. Yes, “Providence” hit theaters yesterday and not today. No, it is not Valentines Day yet, (I have a different post about romance for that day).
Here it is, my official review for Providence. My first review wasn’t very review-like, and was the first movie review I ever posted. Since then, my reviews have morphed from technical and quality, to worldview and message. Being that “Providence” made its theater debut yesterday, and my brother stars in the film, I felt it prudent to give you a better review of this new Christian film.
STORY
This story was, in a word, magnificent. I love a good love story; and when I say “good”, I mean really good. This love story was biblical, it was realistic, and it was moving. I say biblical: the mastery of this tale of love was in its exemplification of 1 Corinthians 13.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth…
—1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
The character of Mitchell showed true charity, true love, in that he believed: when belief failed, he hoped, when hope failed, he endured, holding onto God and trusting that Love, God’s love would never fail. In terms of the story and how it portrayed perfect love, even in fallible humans, this movie was excellent!
Story= 9 of 10 stars!
MESSAGE
The message of this movie was difficult to pin, as there were so many good messages central to the story. One of the key messages was: love never gives up on you. But, ultimately it wasn’t just the love of this man for this woman, but God’s love for both of them. God brought them together in the end; and though we knew it was coming since the beginning, it was still emotional and very surprising. It does not play out the way you imagine it to, yet it shows God strong in the lives of human beings.
The message was good, but I felt like they could’ve tapped into it so much more if they weren’t so focused on the love story. Love alone isn’t a great reason to make a movie, but God’s love and the miracle of redemption is. Again, I would’ve liked for them to dive into the aspect of redemption more than they did, but it was still a great message.
Message= 7 of 10 stars
WORLDVIEW
This is the key, the focal point of all of my movie reviews. In what way does this film make you view the world? Every film imposes a certain perspective upon its audience, so what is “Providence” propogating?
Being that the theme of the movie stems from a biblical definition of love, and many of its key elements are scripture based, we can safely say that this film is coming from a biblical starting point. However, if that was all it took to determine worldview, things like “Exodus: God’s and Kings” and “Noah”, would be considered to have a biblical worldview, but clearly they do not.
What determines a worldview?
Good and bad: what are they? Are they represented correctly? Does good or bad win out in the end? Are there clearly defined lines of morality, right and wrong? Does the film acknowledge God to be who He is or represent Him in an accurate way? All of these factor into worldview, and far more than these simple principles have to be considered when analyzing the worldview of a film.
In terms of good and bad, where the characters stood, and the theme, (redemption), this film was true to itself, the Bible, and gave a strong encouragement and challenge to believers to trust God with their hearts.
Worldview= 8 of 10 stars
TECHNICAL
I was at the premiere for “Providence” and met many of the cast and crew. I always hate to take things to technicalities when reviewing a film in which my friends and family acted and helped create… But, the biggest thing for me was the music. The music in a silent film needs to drive the story foreward as much if not more than the acting and videography. In “Providence”, the music selections were good, but I felt they could’ve been better, more selective and precise to the passing of years and the times and seasons.
Also, several of the audio transitions were abrupt to the point of being downright choppy. I get that this can be used as a method of drawing attention back to what’s on screen, and also quickly change the mood of the film. But, in a way, it was more of a distraction than a creative use of a transition.
Technical= 7 of 10 stars
OVERALL
I appreciated how the story went in an unexpected direction, and how it was God, not the will of either to seek love, that brought the two together in the end.
For the beauty with which this love story was portrayed, for the excellence of the acting, and for the heart and passion behind everyone who was a part of this film, I would highly recommend you go and see it in theaters and definitely purchase this film when it becomes available on DVD.
This is summary of everything I’ve posted thus far about the accident with the bus, living without the bus, and the situation with obtaining a new bus. Yes, it will be targeted primarily toward those reading from my family’s Facebook following who have yet to discover my blog. So, if you see several links to other posts and information that you’ve seen, it’s all part of the plan. Hey, even if you’ve already read most of this information, there will be some that you have not, and very recent updates as well. Here goes.Alright, so, in November of last year, the bus got into a slight wreck, a fender-bender really. We were on a two lane, rural road and the guy in the truck in front of us was lost. He saw a turn late, and stopped abruptly to pull over and find out where he was. Well, he stopped too quickly and oncoming traffic didn’t allow him to turn as quickly. Dad knew the bus couldn’t stop in time, and pulled into the left lane to avoid a collision, because to pull right would land us in a ditch. Well, the fellow was turning left and we caught the left corner of his truck with the front, right corner of our bus doing about 15 mph.
Long story short, we limped to the next concert and made do until a driver from a shop in Wisconsin could fly down to where we were to pick the bus up. Now, the costs of repairs were insanely high due to the fact that the parts for the bus are no longer manufactured. 60,000+ dollars wasn’t worth it to us or the insurance company, so they totaled it.
We are officially homeless. For months now we have been living out of hotels and friends houses, just getting by and making it from one concert to the next. Now, down to the news part: what are we going to do? Well, we have a bus in Virginia that we are attempting to purchase, but things keep happening to halt that process.
We have been having trouble with insurance companies and whatnot, but the short of it is that we do not have the bus yet, but are attempting to get it. The bus we are looking to get is a shell and ready to convert into a home, however, there is literally nothing inside of this shell. We will basically be building a house to go inside of our bus, building it as we travel. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but it isn’t where any of us saw our family being on our 20th ministry anniversary year.
It’s going to be crazy, but extremely fun. I’ll be keeping you updated as we go along, and you can read all about everything that has been happening in further detail in my posts: “The Bus Wreck Story“, “Homeless For The Holidays“, and “Life Happens“.
For those of you who were referenced to my blog from Facebook, I will have a full post of updates on the bus situation and links to my other posts about the same, tomorrow morning. So, check back here tomorrow to learn more about what’s going on with the Allen Family.
Tag-teaming my previous post we’re gonna run with what happens when you run with it.
Wherever you are, wherever you’re going, God is there; but what happens when you move? When we take that step of faith, unsure of what we’re supposed to be doing for God, but we know that we should be doing, what happens then? We jump in, take two steps forward and ten back, then we take eight steps forward and try again. It’s terrifying to step out into the unknown without receiving a for-sure word from God to do what we’re doing. Sometimes God tells us that we need to move, but He doesn’t always say where to right away. In these cases, we step out in faith and watch the giants of fear, uncertainty, and impossibility fall to the ground.
If God tells us to move, why should we fear? He promises to never leave us or forsake us if we are stepping out on troubled waters, trusting in Him.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Look at where it says “and, lo, I am with you alway…” That’s the promise. The condition is that we must go. Most Christians miss this, but if we don’t go, we don’t have this promise, we can’t claim it unless we live it.
But, if we go, we trust that even though we will probably fall flat on our faces on really hard concrete sidewalks, He is there to pick us up, dust us off, and set us back on the path. Even when life punches us in the face with the force of a running bull, He is there to wipe the blood from our faces, dry our tears, and hold us until we are able to walk again. He promises: I am with you always, if you are with me.(paraphrase)
There is no one on earth God loves more than you. Think about that, it’s true of every living human, however small or large. Now, trust, believe. When you step out upon the raging waves of life, He is right there with you. The giants of trouble in our lives fall away like crumbling statues from bygone ages. Just believe. I know that’s Santa’s catch line, but God was in the gift giving business long before ol’ Saint Nick.
the anonymous novelist 