January 28, 2025

God’s Timing is Perfect: Revival is Here

The Lord’s been working on me from the inside out. Being under deadline for goals, especially at year-end, I needed to be reminded to be totally dependent on the Lord. I confess I had moments of working out of my flesh as if it totally depended on me to raise funds and awareness for different ministry clients and even for Blessings Brokers.

This reflection and growth with the Lord has been too sacred for me even to write about. Now is the time. It’s hard to believe it’s been two years.

Some of you may know that I’m blessed to be part of the FOR Charlotte (CLT) Prayer Leader’s Network. We meet monthly and have Regional Prayer Gatherings every other month to pray for our city, churches, pastors, country, world. We pray for revival. We have been praying for revival for years, even when I lived in Charleston and well before I moved to Charlotte in 2015.

In 2022 Wayne Atcheson, a leader at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, published a book called “Asbury Revival.” This book beautifully chronicles the power and influence of the February 1970 Asbury Revival at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY.  When I read that book in November and December, I dog-eared so many pages of practical ways that the students brought revival and characteristics to replicate the revival. One student received a list of the university students and made 3×5 index cards with each name to pray for each of them as the Holy Spirit led. Her act of prayer was about three months before the 24-hour, 8-day revival broke out in February 1970.

At our January 14, 2023, For CLT Regional Prayer Gathering, we prayed Bible scripture. I talked about this book and brought a list of Charlotte churches for us to pray for intentionally. The Holy Spirit was strong as we humbly prayed for our pastors and revival.

On February 8th, 2023, states away at the same Asbury University in Wilmore, KY, the weekly Chapel Service in Hughes Auditorium occurred at 10am like normal. It was the morning after the US Presidential State of the Union. It was two days after the earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria. At 11am the Chapel Service ended, and 15 students stayed to pray. They stayed for hours and texted some of their friends to come back, that the Holy Spirit was working. Those 15 students led to thousands of people experiencing the 2023 Asbury Revival, for two weeks, 24 hours a day/seven days a week.

My friend Emily Adams with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, drove to Kentucky that Friday to experience the Asbury Revival. She came back to Charlotte and spoke a week later.

What I am  communicating is from Emily’s eyewitness experience of His majesty at the Asbury Revival.

There was only one hotel at Wilmore, KY. Emily and her friend arrived at 11:40pm to check in. Then they drove over to Asbury University and arrived at Hughes Auditorium at 1am.

This was powerful. The first thing she noticed was the smell. Emily said the smell in the Hughes Auditorium was that of….. salty tears.

Yes, salty tears. She said there was no tissue left. They had run out from all the crying and repentance. There were rolls of toilet paper at the front altar. The carpet was dark from the wet tear falling.

She said the presence of the Lord was palpable. She witnessed miracles of healing. The singing and testimonies lasted all night. It didn’t stop.

Lord Jesus, I pray for that revival now. Thank You, Lord, for being our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Thank You for stirring us up with your Holy Spirit to repent and come back to You. Thank You for our country and our freedom to worship You.

May revival start with me. In the name of Jesus, By the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Reflection:

How have you experienced revival?

What are your prayers for our country? For you? For your family?

 

 

 

January 14, 2025

The Windshield Is Bigger Than the Rearview Mirror for a Reason

Happy 2nd Week of 2025! Perspective.  At these first sunsets and full moon  of 2025, I am reminded of how much I love sunrises and sunsets. I am in awe of their beauty. Sunrises and sunsets come every day, whether we are ready or not.

As we embark on a brand new, shiny 2025, may we reflect on the good of 2024 and look forward to an even brighter 2025.

May we remember the windshield is much bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason.

Let’s give ourselves some grace.

We have so much to look forward to.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing: now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” —Isaiah 43:19

What are your looking forward to in 2025? What lessons do we want to learn and take away from 2024?

What are you praying for? I encourage you to write a letter to your future self. I just wrote a letter to my 60-year-old self (seven years away) with what I pray will have happened. I will keep it in my Bible.

Be encouraged, friend.
Happy New Year!!!

December 31, 2024

New Year’s Resolutions Revelation

I love the start of a new year. A blank slate. A blank calendar. A year of hope ahead. Redemption.

Then there is the pressure of forming New Year’s Resolutions. As January 1, 2025 approaches, I desired for this year to be different. I’m so excited and expectant for what God will do. Why are resolutions so hard to keep?

According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36 percent of resolution-makers give up by the end of January. Ouch.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “resolution” as the act or process of resolving: a :  the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones b :  the act of answering :  solving c :  the act of determining.

I propose a bolder approach.

Instead of forming resolutions, let’s consider life revelations. What’s the difference?

Webster’s defines revelation as “a :  an act of revealing or communicating divine truth b :  something that is revealed by God to humans.”

A revelation comes from God. A resolution comes straight from us. No wonder my resolutions often fail because they come from my flesh, not necessarily from listening to God.

Let’s start a revolution for the new year.

The minor prophet Habakkuk was in tuned to listening to God. Let’s look at how we can relate Habakkuk with our New Year’s revelations today.   We can change our resolutions to revelations.

In Habakkuk 1 he cried out to God. I love his authenticity, his raw emotion with the Lord.

“’How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?…Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?’”

The Lord listens and answers Habakkuk with a wonderful response.

“Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”

Habakkuk continues to complain and ends it with a declaration:

“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. “ Habakkuk 2:1

‘Then the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:2

 That’s one of my favorite leadership verses in the Bible.

The main revelation revolution lessons we can learn from Habakkuk are to:

1)Humble ourselves, pray and cry out to God. Even it seemed like complaining, Habakkuk was totally real when he told God exactly how he felt and asked God questions. God has big shoulders and can handle our big problems, our dreams, our desires. God listens and answers in His way, in His timing.

2) Strategize and write your revelation and plans on paper. Make them succinct enough that you (or anyone else) can understand them. I would encourage you to post them in your home so that you can refer to them often.

3) Be patient, work, and wait as God continues to work in your life on you and making your revelations come to fruition. God’s timing is perfect. He is never too early and never too late.

May Habakkuk’s story inspire us to start a revolution of New Year’s Revelations.

Happy New Year, friend. The best is yet to come.

Reflect:

What revelation is God revealing to you?

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