“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”
– Proverbs 25:11
Hi James and Ellen ,
What does revival mean to you when revival is being used in the context of renewal, restoration, revitalization, etc. in the Christ-follower family of guys, gals and kids? A couple of Baptist churches that are located near where your grandmaa and grandpaa are now living – which is Gainesville, Georgia, promote each year a time of revival. Do you think that a revival – when revival is being used in the context of regeneration, renaissance, recovery, etc., can be a programmed, predestined occurence in the life of a guy, gal or kid – who is not yet a Christ-follower, that has God – as God the Spirit, leading the guy, gal or kid to and through the faith/grace door into the Christ-follower family of guys, gals and kids? Do you think that a revival – when revival is being used in the context of rebirth, reawakening, restoration, etc. that is being driven by preprogrammed, ordained dictates of God – as God the Father, will take place more often in the life of an individual guy, gal or kid or do you think that a revival will take place more often in a variety of communal settings where lives of guys, gals and kids are corporately affected in a clearly dramatic way? Your grandpaa leans towards revivals being shared events where an array of God – as God the Spirit, driven life changes take place spontaneously or organically versus revivals being singular guy, gal or kid happenings where an unprompted God – as God the Spirit, driven life change takes place. A couple of months ago – when your grandpaa was in San Pedro de la Laguna, Guatemala as the project leader for two short term ministry teams, your grandpaa saw guys, gals and kids make decisions of faith that had these guys, gals and kids joining the universal Christ-follower family of guys, gals and kids. About a month or so before your grandpaa had the Beavercreek, Ohio and the McKinney, Texas short term ministry teams meet up with him in Guatemala, a tropical depression – that had been named Agatha, spent days over western Guatemala – which is San Pedro’s side of Guatemala, causing all kinds of havoc. A mudslide that was triggered by Agatha obliterated about forty homes that were located on the outskirts of San Pedro while literally swallowing up a ten year gal. San Pedro is located on Lake Atitlan. San Antonio Palopó is another community that is located on Lake Atitlan. San Antonio is located across Lake Atitlan from San Pedro. Twenty guys, gals and kids who were living in houses on the outskirts of San Antonio were killed by a mudslide caused by Agatha’s torrential rainfall. Because of all the rain that Agatha dumped for days over western Guatemala resulting in the death of at least 165 guys, gals and kids and over 110 guys, gals and kids still missing when your grandpaa arrived in Guatemala, some guys, gals and kids who are living in the San Pedro area were being led by God – as God the Spirit, to seriously think about or reflect on what dying would be like if . . . the afternoon that the Beavercreek, Ohio short term ministry team went to the basketball court that is located next to San Pedro’s market to do open air ministry activities, guys, gals and kids who lived in San Pedro or in areas around San Pedro came one after another out of the market area to go to a guy or gal who was on the short term ministry team from Beavercreek to ask the guy or gal to go through with him or her the Cinco Pasos Hacia la Vida (Five Steps to Life) tract as the tract clearly spells out the steps to become a Christ-follower guy, gal or kid.
A revival took place around 2,700 years ago. God’s specially chosen guys and gals – who were the Israelite people group guys and gals, had become divided into southern and northern kingdoms. Hezekiah – in 715 B.C., became king over the guys and gals who lived in Isreal’s southern kingdom. Seven years earlier – in 722 B.C., the northern kingdom was overrun by the Assyrian people group’s army. The guys, gals and kids who were living in the southern kingdom – an area that was known as Judah, probably still had when Hezekiah was positioned as their king a lot of angst regarding what happened to the northern kingdom. Hezekiah also had one of God’s ace spokesmen already in place when he became an anointed Judah king. Hezekiah was a good dude to begin with but . . . it had to have helped to have Isaiah – who really did have a direct hotline to God – as God the Father, coming alongside Hezekiah as a mentor coach, for Hezekiah to have a revival take place at some point in his 29 year tenure as a Judah king. A couple of things that Hezekiah did – that probably had Isaiah’s fingerprints all over them, that led to the revival that took place during his kingship was reinstituting singing the psalm songs and hymns that David scribed and the compiling of the proverbial statements that Solomon had spoken. Proverbs 25 begins several chapters of additional proverbs that Solomon made – which Hezekiah uncovered, which were added to the Proverbs Book. A number of these proverbs that Solomon said and which Hezekiah included in the Proverbs Book are in the context that a king may be given glory if he reveals absolute truth, administers fair justice, unconditionally submits himself to God, does not consciously exalt himself and intentionally keeps himself from perverted guys and gals.
Verse 11 – “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”, to your grandpaa should be a core life verse – that comes from knowledge, for every single Christ-follower guy, gal and kid to apply to their lives. Your grandmaa is very good at using golden apple words to help revive the life of a guy, gal or kid to follow God.
Proverbs 25 (1088)