March 17, 2023
Friday
Speak Up for Revival
Ezekiel 2: 1-10
7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.”
After one hundred years of Protestantism and in the wake of the Thirty Years’ War, Philipp Jakob Spener, a German pastor, called people back to regular Bible study, prayer, and piety. The Church had grown cold, and many Christians had become indifferent. Spener exhorted people to trust God completely and to produce good works. He felt pastors should rededicate themselves to ministering the Word of God to their people, and that youth should be well-instructed in Scripture.
For all this, Spener was frequently attacked, yet the revival begun under his ministry—called Pietism—touched Christianity in a way felt to this day.
It seems odd we’d be attacked for calling people back to God, back to Bible study, prayer, faith, and good works. Yet we live in a culture increasingly opposed to spiritual revival. Don’t be intimidated. God is able to protect us when we take a stand for Him. We need revival in our lands, and it won’t come unless it begins in us.
A point to ponder…
If we succeed in getting the people to seek eagerly and diligently in the book of life for their joy, their spiritual life will be wonderfully strengthened and they will become altogether different people.
Philipp Spener
Read the Bible through in a year
I love you!!!
© 2000-2023 B. Michael Goerlich