I have not been on this site for quite some time. Please pray for me that I am able to fully surrender all of myself to God's Lordship. I need his direction to serve him with the balance of my life. Thanks...
COPI VALDIVIEZ's Posts (3)
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It is really surprising to me that sophisticated people at one time believed the world was flat. Science believed it, preached it, and called it fact. As a result everyone else considered it fact. The good news is science has since discovered that science was wrong and the Earth is not flat.
Today science and popular thinking is in two camps. However, if you only listen to the media and selected educators you will only hear one theory. And it will not be presented as a theory; it is almost always presented as a fact. That the universe started from cosmic dust that was moving so rapidly that the particles collided and caused a big celestial explosion commonly referred to as the Big Bang. From that our universe was formed… all the planets, all the stars, all the solar systems, etc., etc. And somehow as the Earth cooled water showed up as a result of the atmosphere that showed up out of nowhere, and then microbes turned into fish and fish turned into reptiles and mammals, and then land animals, then monkeys and finally man. And it all happened by accident. No one caused it. It just happened.
The fact is, this has not been discovered it has only been theorized. This is not science as there is no proof that this happened. This is why it has not been discovered. Science has not been able to replicate the event in a lab which would be proof that it is possible. Therefore it is a belief system. Some believe this to be true and others do not.
The other camp or belief system that many scientists and educators (including clergy but not including the media) support is Intelligent Design. That someone or something made it all. Just like the shed in your back yard (if you have one). It didn’t evolve from a tree. Someone had to put it together. I am not going to get in to who the designer and creator was or is. I only want to expose how stupid the first idea is. Just look at each thing that is on the Earth that man did not make. Examine how complex they are. Science is only beginning to be able to understand how complex they really are.
So the next time you are watching Public TV or the special on how the Earth was made; ask yourself a question. If it all started with a big bang; where did the cosmic dust come from?
By Copi
When God says "revival" what does he mean? Many people believe it means "Brownsville" or "Azusa Street" on every street in your community. Others use metaphors like the spiritual water line high enough to see people coming to Christ in unprecedented numbers.
I remember the Jesus People movement in southern California (where and when I came to Christ) there was a spiritual atmosphere where it seemed impossible to go anywhere without someone coming up to you asking if you knew Jesus. People were coming to Christ almost everywhere. But after awhile it became the cool thing rather than the real thing; so ended the Jesus People movement revival. But not before thousands and thousands of new believers with fish T-shirts and One Way bumper stickered VW Bugs were filling new churches. Those were the days my friend…
Whether we are a Christian nation or not, or if we have ever been is arguable and irrelevant from my point of view. The question in my mind is- what does God mean when he says he is bringing revival? I don’t want to know what the theologians think. And I don’t want to know what pastors think. I want to know what God thinks.
Understanding that God knows what he is saying let’s define the word.
Revival:
1. Restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, etc.
2. The act of reviving
3. The state of being revived
4. Law. The reestablishment of legal force and effect.
Revive:
1. To activate, set in motion, or take up again; renew
2. To restore to life or consciousness: We revived him with artificial respiration.
3. To make operative or valid again.
4. To quicken or renew in the mind; bring back5. To reanimate or cheer (the spirit, heart, etc., or a person).
6. Chemistry, To restore or reduce to the natural or uncombined state, as a metal.
So let’s make is simple… let’s just say revival is God’s act of reviving (awakening) people who are spiritually asleep. That may mean people inside church buildings on Sunday mornings and people outside.How do individuals wake up when they have been asleep spiritually? It is not through some kind of adversity or tragedy that people come to God. They may be on their last rope, or down as far as they can go, or facing some other catastrophic occurrence that they find themselves powerless against? It’s not from winning the lottery.Let’s face the truth… the pews of our congregations are full of sleepy people. And forgive me for saying so but some are in a coma.Church is now an event or a community like the Rotary Club with god. A sort of country club without a Golf course. Something you do, instead of something we are.What happened? What ever happened to discipleship anyway? I’ll complain about that later.
Let’s look at the Bible. Let’s look at the parts talking about the "last days" before Christ comes again. I think you may agree that we are somewhere between now and when Jesus returns? And if you a pre-tribulation person, you have your "way out" all figured out, so you have nothing to worry about (just kidding, don’t be offended).
As we continue to progress with technological breakthroughs in medicine, communication, transportation, biology, agriculture, and so on, with every breakthrough comes a trade-off of some sort. Air pollution, more production with fewer workers means fewer jobs, people living longer means less money to provide health care services to the unexpected growing number of people still living. The list goes on and on. Whatever Man has made, presents itself with unexpected consequences.
The bottom line is in America we have one of the highest standards of living in the world, but once you get past the big mortgages, and car payments, and all the other trappings of living the high-life, people are still trapped by sin, families are broken and wounded as much or more today than in past generations. Do you have it better today than you did 10 years ago? Is your life better today than it was 10 years ago? How about your mom or dad?
So let’s agree things are not too good and are likely to continue in that direction. How’s that sound? Does is sound true to you?
There have been many people over the last 15 years that have said God is going to bring forth the greatest revival that America has ever seen. So if that is true what will he do to wake us up? Will it be like the Jesus People Movement or Azusa Street again? If you are too young to know what Azusa Street is (Google: Azusa Street Revival). I don’t think so. They were too short lived. And although they affected thousands, this one is going to affect millions. So what is God going to do?
The Christian right is spending all it’s time and money trying to make a non-Christian Government govern by what they believe are Christian principles (that is not to say they necessarily are). So they lobby, spin the truth, and propagandize all in the then name of Jesus, to move the system in the direction they believe is right. As if all Americans should have the same belief system they do.
So what is God going to do?
Let me flip this perspective around. What if God does not want us to change the system? Could God be using this broken, corrupt, sinful, system to change us? Could God’s plan for revival include the progression of our freedoms being slowly taken away by this and future administrations?
Could there be a tsunami of events that converge at the same time causing a catastrophic end of life in America as we know it today? These are turbulent times and almost anything is possible. Would this wake us up? Would that wake up the people in a coma on Sunday morning?
How did the Church in China grow so fast and get so big? By tribulation and oppression. How do we mature in Christ? By tribulation. Without a struggle we cannot increase our strength. So the good news is… revival is coming. The scary news is… revival is coming.
I believe that the result of tribulation and oppression (however God allows it to come) will be what God uses to make his church become the Bride of Christ without spot or wrinkle.
So whatever happened to discipleship? Why did we stop? Obviously we did not all stop, but most congregations stopped doing it or have never done it. Discipleship is one mature discipler pouring his/her life into another, teaching all that he/she knows about living the life. Then the disciple becomes a discipler to someone else in the same way he/she had been discipled.
We need to train up disciples so they can become disciplers and reproduce themselves. We must train up people so they are able to live the life no matter what the circumstances are around them. They need to know God in a very personal and powerful way. They need to be willing to die for Christ and for other believers. They need to be willing to lay their life on the line for the Truth.
This is what being awakened is all about.
Are you awake yet?
I welcome your comments.
