The plea for revival has been a periodic petition for believers – and for the church – throughout history.
Many episodes in our Hebrew Scriptures begin with the words: The voice of the Lord had not been heard in the land for a long time.
There are times when God’s chosen people are overwhelmed by events over which they have no control,
discouraged by what has been happening to their faith community,
despondent over the “quality” of life they found themselves living in –
and the cry is quite a natural one – and a universal one.
I dare say no one in this room has never uttered the thought, if not the exact words:
Where are you Lord?
Why me?
Why us?
Like the first time you fell and scraped your knee and ran to your mother to make it better, we openingly, or secretly, mouth the words: Make it better, Lord.
Intervene in our lives, Lord, and make things the way they used to be again.
Revive us, Lord!
Change the way things are, and make it all better.
But, you know, curiously, what they came to find out thousands of years ago,
and what has confirmed every time the cry goes out,
and what scientists can now prove,
revival – change – when it comes, does not come from an outside force –
revival is always something that happens within.
Revive us, Lord! Is an easy prayer to make.
But, personal revival – personal change – personal rejuvenation – personal re-creation – begins in our own self, our own soul.
And, corporate revival – revival of the faith community – revival of a church – begins in our personal selves, our personal souls.
Personal change leads to corporate change.
Personal revival leads to corporate revival.
Personal growth leads to corporate growth.
Personal purpose, personal vision
leads to corporate purpose and corporate vision.
Fortunately for each of us, and fortunately for our church, there are some specific things we can do to bring about revival,
that can bring about rejuvenation,
that can bring about re-creation.
The first thing each of can do to ensure revival to happen is to commit to pray for it to happen.
Like the Psalmist, pray for revival to happen –
for your church,
and for your self.
Pray for revival three times a day.
(There is something purposeful in praying three times a day,
praying three times a day actually changes reality,
praying three times a day actually changes the way your brain sees things.)
Years ago, Norman Vincent Peale enabled countless personal and corporate revivals with the words:
"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
In our day and time, the preacher and personal motivator from Texas, Zig Ziglar, tells us that when we stop our stinkin’ thinkin’
reality actually changes for us and it makes a difference in how we see and approach the whole world around us.
Research being done at the University of Pennsylvania is showing that time and time again,
a person can change their reality by changing their belief system. (Those are my words, not the researchers.)
You can use the word pretend,
or you can use the word play-like,
or you can use the words “Live as though what you wish to happen has already happened,”
and more often than not, what you wished to happen happens,
what you envisioned becomes reality.
So, revival can happen here –
revival can happen to you –
revival can happen to this church –
by 1. Praying for it to happen three times a day.
2. Getting rid of all stinkin’ thinkin’ .
And,
3. Think about how your life could be different if you could get rejuvenated, and revitalized, and reconstituted, and revived.
Think about how your church could be different if we could get rejuvenated, and revitalized, and reconstituted, and revived.
And then try to live your life as though revival has happened –
make personal and family decisions as though revival has happened –
and let us approach our church and its business as though revival has happened.
The history of our faith, and the results of human behavior research has shown time and time again,
we receive what we expect.
We receive what we expect.
One the first lessons of life most of us have learned – and learned well, by the way – is to avoid disappointment, don’t expect very much.
And, the prophecy is fulfilled more often than not.
We receive what we expect.
If we are always expecting the worse to happen, it usually does –
especially when we think it couldn’t get any worse – and just when we think it couldn’t get any worse, it always does, doesn’t it?
But, researchers show us that the other is just as true.
When you look for the best – when you expect good things to happen – you get what you expect.
When you are always looking for the silver lining, you find it.
There is scientific evidence behind Norman Vincent Peale’s assertion: "Change your thoughts and you change your world."
You see part and parcel to our historical faith is the basic belief that faithful people live enthused lives.
Again, the very word enthused means God-filled.
Faithful people are enthused – almost by definition.
It is basic to Christianity that as believers, we are enthused – we are God-filled – God dwells in us – we are a child of God – God lives in us – our bodies are God’s temples.
So now, if you know you are enthused,
if you live as though you are enthused,
you see the world around you in a different way.
If you believe,
if you know,
that you are a child of God everything changes.
You and I are children of God – and, yes, endowed with certain rights and benefits and privileges.
And, the person sitting next to you is child of God, too.
And the person in the car ahead of you is a child of God, too.
And the person in the check out line is a child of God, too.
And the person taking a nap on the street is a child of God, too.
And the person who is dying a miserable death because of no access to adequate health care, is a child of God, too.
And the person sitting in prison is a child of God, too.
And the people sitting at the next table in the restaurant are children of God too.
And it goes on and on, all God’s children are we.
And as people of faith, we are enthused, yes, and we have certain responsibilities –
responsibilities illustrated by stories and parables Jesus told –
you remember some of them:
the sermon on the mount,
the story about the good Samaritan,
the last judgement.
The Gospel of Luke tells us about a Jesus that is very clear about our life-purpose.
Here, Jesus gives us the answers for our final exam.
To our routinized ears it is shocking to hear that in the end, when all is said and done,
it doesn’t matter how many sermons you may have heard,
it doesn’t matter how many times you have read the Bible cover to cover,
it doesn’t matter how faithful your prayers have been.
What does matter is whether you get it or not –
whether the word of God has gotten through to you or not –
whether you live here and now in these times as though the Kingdom of God had come –
whether you believe yourself to be a child of God,
whether you understand yourself to be enthused.
For if you do believe yourself to be enthused – a child of God –
you will stop and help the injured,
the destitute,
the powerless,
the poor,
the lonely,
the sick. . . .
This is what enthused people do.
People that do these things often life in a different world than we do, don’t they?
They see things differently.
We even make up language to describe people behaving in such ways.
But, that’s what enthused people do.
That’s what Jesus said.
That’s what our Bible gives witness to.
That’s what revived believers do.
That’s what rejuvenated believers do.
That’s what revived churches do.
That’s what rejuvenated churches do.
Revive us, Lord!
Lets all pray the prayer.
Lets start now.
What’s the prayer? Revive us, Lord!
Pray it over and over again: three times a day.
When we do, reality will begin to change for us.
Get rid of stinkin’ thinkin’ and change the way you think.
And start living as though you are revived,
live as though you are rejuvenated,
live as though you are resuscitated.
And you will know a new life,
a new reality,
in which you know yourself to be enthused –
a child of God.
Revive us, Lord!
So your people can dance and sing!
Amen.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Revive us, Lord . . . . so your people can laugh and sing!
Revive us, Lord . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
Psalm 85:6
About this time year in 1926 some men met in the living room of a nearby home.
They had been watching the construction of the new church building on Turner Avenue and they were meeting to make plans for a proper dedication the building and inviting people to the very first service there.
There was excitement in the air – as there usually is when people begin something new.
The Presbytery had identified a few elders that had moved into the new suburban community of Drexel Hill and had determined that there should be a Presbyterian presence there to give witness to the presence of God in the developing community.
It had been just a few months since a congregation in Chester County had decided there was no longer reason to own and operate a separate building for their use, and voted to sell the building and join another nearby Presbyterian Church.
The sale of that building provided enough money for the Presbytery to purchase this property and construct the building we are in this very day.
As time went on, the population of the new community was very Presbyterian-prone.
For the next 30 years, all nearby Presbyterian churches were filled to capacity – and beyond.
Here, within 15 years, the congregation need the space and built the big sanctuary building with a big open fellowship hall underneath.
15 years later another addition was constructed that added much needed classroom space, a larger fellowship hall, offices and a commercial kitchen.
Membership here swelled to some 750 and this church was known as a pillar of the community.
Then, by the late 1950's and early 1960's a distinct shift in the population was noticed.
Folks simply did not see their new neighborhood in the same way their old neighbor was seen.
Before, families stayed in the neighborhoods they were born in.
For the most part, neighborhoods were stable.
But, many folks that had moved to Drexel Hill had moved out of stable neighborhoods and found that it was much easier to do it again.
And so they did.
The main-line attracted more and more of them as the Drexel Hill migration began to communities from Ardmore to Malvern.
And, the large houses they moved out of, attracted other families moving out of the city – large families – families of Roman Catholic persuasion.
The number of Presbyterians was on a decline, and the number of Roman Catholics increased – significantly.
Of course, many, many things changed in our society as well.
Churches became less and less the hub of family life – as families would stay home and eat TV dinners in front of their new televisions –
and sit on the front porch only on occasion –
and hardly ever venture out to visit friends or neighbors.
When I first came here, a visit with one of the pillars of the church relayed to me concern that a former pastor here, Jack Harvey, expressed to him sometime in the late 60's.
The way things are going, the pastor lamented, we won’t even have a church in a few years.
– and, he went on, There is nothing I can do to stop it from happening!
The handwriting has been on the wall for some time now.
Five years ago we were given a unique opportunity few churches ever have.
Upon his death, Fred Davis left the church a considerable sum of money.
To honor Fred’s passion for his church, The Session embarked upon a major campaign to make the church more visible in the community.
Consider effort and time and money was spent to make the building more visible to passers-by. Trees and bushes were removed. The church was painted and cleaned up. Nearly every room, every nook and cranny was cleaned out, renovated and spruced up.
Outreach is #1 was introduced and hundreds of thousands of people encountered our church through tv ads, post cards, newspaper ads and articles and community events.
A new sign was erected to proclaim messages of faith to thousands of people driving by the church each day on State Road.
And the financial market crashed.
Given the expenses it took just operate and maintain our program and building, it became evident that what money that was left in the Fred Davis fund would run out within months.
The congregation was notified of this and prayers were sought over a year ago.
During our Annual Meeting in January of this year, the Session announced that all indications were that the money would run out before the end of this year – stay tuned for the exact date.
The Session – and many of you – continued to pray for guidance.
After much discussion and prayer the Session made a radical proposal:
to get out from under the overwhelming costs of operating and maintaining this building –
costs that way out of proportion of our use of the building –
see if we could sell the building and lease back space more appropriate to our use.
Correspondence, telephone calls, and meetings ensued as Presbytery staff and committees were consulted about whether it could be done and how it might be done.
A Realtor with experience in marketing church properties was found and credentialed.
A proposal made and a congregational meeting was held in June wherein the vote was unanimous to list the building for sale.
My experience in this Presbytery over the past 20 years or so led me to believe that there was an active market for church buildings.
But, most were skeptical and didn’t believe me.
Seeing a for sale sign in front of a church can be an unsettling experience.
I wanted to get the word out that it was our building that was for sale – the church was not for sale.
Within days of the sign going up a full price offer was tendered to purchase the building.
The offer was from another church seeking to move out of the city and expand its program and reach.
With 250 members, they had immediate plans about how they would use the space and bring life and purpose back to the rooms of the building.
They were willing to work with us to ensure that we would have the time and resources to ascertain what God intends for us to in the years ahead.
So, the sale includes a negotiated arrangement to lease-back certain space for our exclusive use – using this chapel room, the large Sunday school room, the smaller office room and a couple of rooms down stairs.
Because of the way we have asked the agreement to be structured,
it is a three year lease with no cash outlay by us at any time during the year –
and includes the heat and utilities.
Some of the funds could be used to renovate the rooms and make them useful to us, and
the bulk of the money would be invested in an endowment with the Presbytery that would provide us with around some $60,000 in annual income.
And, we are out from under the expense of owning, operating and maintaining the building –
which are expected to be around $87,000 this year alone.
Clearly, God is not finished with this church yet!
There is more sacred work to be done.
On my way here this morning, I passed a church that had a sign out in front.
The message on the sign read: When a door closes, God always opens another.
When a door closes, God always opens another.
Should the sale of this building be approved during the meeting this morning, our task begins to give answer to the question: Now what?
In a very real way, we have been given a reprieve.
We have been given another opportunity.
What are we to do with the next three years?
Where is that new door and what does it open to?
Let the prayer of the Psalmist be our prayer: Revive us, O Lord . . . !
This our Bible verse of the day – let it be the Bible verse for the days ahead.
Let us be open to be aware of the God-nudges that will lead us into a clearer picture of what we are to do – and what we are to become.
Let our prayer be that of the Psalmist:
Revive us, O Lord . . . !
And, for the same reason as the Psalmist –
so we can laugh and sing!
For too long, we have been living in the doldrums . . .
It doesn’t have to that way.
God does not intend for any of us to live down-in-the-dumps.
God wants us all to spend our days laughing and singing.
Our Sacred writings proclaim a way of living for folks who are down and out –
changing your attitudes –
changing your way of looking at things can lead to a life of laughter and song!
Revive us, Lord . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
Amen.
so your people can laugh and sing!
Psalm 85:6
About this time year in 1926 some men met in the living room of a nearby home.
They had been watching the construction of the new church building on Turner Avenue and they were meeting to make plans for a proper dedication the building and inviting people to the very first service there.
There was excitement in the air – as there usually is when people begin something new.
The Presbytery had identified a few elders that had moved into the new suburban community of Drexel Hill and had determined that there should be a Presbyterian presence there to give witness to the presence of God in the developing community.
It had been just a few months since a congregation in Chester County had decided there was no longer reason to own and operate a separate building for their use, and voted to sell the building and join another nearby Presbyterian Church.
The sale of that building provided enough money for the Presbytery to purchase this property and construct the building we are in this very day.
As time went on, the population of the new community was very Presbyterian-prone.
For the next 30 years, all nearby Presbyterian churches were filled to capacity – and beyond.
Here, within 15 years, the congregation need the space and built the big sanctuary building with a big open fellowship hall underneath.
15 years later another addition was constructed that added much needed classroom space, a larger fellowship hall, offices and a commercial kitchen.
Membership here swelled to some 750 and this church was known as a pillar of the community.
Then, by the late 1950's and early 1960's a distinct shift in the population was noticed.
Folks simply did not see their new neighborhood in the same way their old neighbor was seen.
Before, families stayed in the neighborhoods they were born in.
For the most part, neighborhoods were stable.
But, many folks that had moved to Drexel Hill had moved out of stable neighborhoods and found that it was much easier to do it again.
And so they did.
The main-line attracted more and more of them as the Drexel Hill migration began to communities from Ardmore to Malvern.
And, the large houses they moved out of, attracted other families moving out of the city – large families – families of Roman Catholic persuasion.
The number of Presbyterians was on a decline, and the number of Roman Catholics increased – significantly.
Of course, many, many things changed in our society as well.
Churches became less and less the hub of family life – as families would stay home and eat TV dinners in front of their new televisions –
and sit on the front porch only on occasion –
and hardly ever venture out to visit friends or neighbors.
When I first came here, a visit with one of the pillars of the church relayed to me concern that a former pastor here, Jack Harvey, expressed to him sometime in the late 60's.
The way things are going, the pastor lamented, we won’t even have a church in a few years.
– and, he went on, There is nothing I can do to stop it from happening!
The handwriting has been on the wall for some time now.
Five years ago we were given a unique opportunity few churches ever have.
Upon his death, Fred Davis left the church a considerable sum of money.
To honor Fred’s passion for his church, The Session embarked upon a major campaign to make the church more visible in the community.
Consider effort and time and money was spent to make the building more visible to passers-by. Trees and bushes were removed. The church was painted and cleaned up. Nearly every room, every nook and cranny was cleaned out, renovated and spruced up.
Outreach is #1 was introduced and hundreds of thousands of people encountered our church through tv ads, post cards, newspaper ads and articles and community events.
A new sign was erected to proclaim messages of faith to thousands of people driving by the church each day on State Road.
And the financial market crashed.
Given the expenses it took just operate and maintain our program and building, it became evident that what money that was left in the Fred Davis fund would run out within months.
The congregation was notified of this and prayers were sought over a year ago.
During our Annual Meeting in January of this year, the Session announced that all indications were that the money would run out before the end of this year – stay tuned for the exact date.
The Session – and many of you – continued to pray for guidance.
After much discussion and prayer the Session made a radical proposal:
to get out from under the overwhelming costs of operating and maintaining this building –
costs that way out of proportion of our use of the building –
see if we could sell the building and lease back space more appropriate to our use.
Correspondence, telephone calls, and meetings ensued as Presbytery staff and committees were consulted about whether it could be done and how it might be done.
A Realtor with experience in marketing church properties was found and credentialed.
A proposal made and a congregational meeting was held in June wherein the vote was unanimous to list the building for sale.
My experience in this Presbytery over the past 20 years or so led me to believe that there was an active market for church buildings.
But, most were skeptical and didn’t believe me.
Seeing a for sale sign in front of a church can be an unsettling experience.
I wanted to get the word out that it was our building that was for sale – the church was not for sale.
Within days of the sign going up a full price offer was tendered to purchase the building.
The offer was from another church seeking to move out of the city and expand its program and reach.
With 250 members, they had immediate plans about how they would use the space and bring life and purpose back to the rooms of the building.
They were willing to work with us to ensure that we would have the time and resources to ascertain what God intends for us to in the years ahead.
So, the sale includes a negotiated arrangement to lease-back certain space for our exclusive use – using this chapel room, the large Sunday school room, the smaller office room and a couple of rooms down stairs.
Because of the way we have asked the agreement to be structured,
it is a three year lease with no cash outlay by us at any time during the year –
and includes the heat and utilities.
Some of the funds could be used to renovate the rooms and make them useful to us, and
the bulk of the money would be invested in an endowment with the Presbytery that would provide us with around some $60,000 in annual income.
And, we are out from under the expense of owning, operating and maintaining the building –
which are expected to be around $87,000 this year alone.
Clearly, God is not finished with this church yet!
There is more sacred work to be done.
On my way here this morning, I passed a church that had a sign out in front.
The message on the sign read: When a door closes, God always opens another.
When a door closes, God always opens another.
Should the sale of this building be approved during the meeting this morning, our task begins to give answer to the question: Now what?
In a very real way, we have been given a reprieve.
We have been given another opportunity.
What are we to do with the next three years?
Where is that new door and what does it open to?
Let the prayer of the Psalmist be our prayer: Revive us, O Lord . . . !
This our Bible verse of the day – let it be the Bible verse for the days ahead.
Let us be open to be aware of the God-nudges that will lead us into a clearer picture of what we are to do – and what we are to become.
Let our prayer be that of the Psalmist:
Revive us, O Lord . . . !
And, for the same reason as the Psalmist –
so we can laugh and sing!
For too long, we have been living in the doldrums . . .
It doesn’t have to that way.
God does not intend for any of us to live down-in-the-dumps.
God wants us all to spend our days laughing and singing.
Our Sacred writings proclaim a way of living for folks who are down and out –
changing your attitudes –
changing your way of looking at things can lead to a life of laughter and song!
Revive us, Lord . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
Amen.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Revive Us, Lord! 08-23-2009
Our Bible verse for the day is the same as it was last week –
and what it should be every day for days ahead.
Psalm 85:6: Revive us, Lord . . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
This is worth memorizing:
Revive us, Lord . . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
It is worth praying every morning, noon and night:
Revive us, Lord . . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
Interestingly, the purpose for revival is so people can laugh and sing again.
This interesting and basic purpose for life is often overlooked and ignored, isn’t it?
But, it has been part and parcel of our faith for thousands of years.
These words were sung by people of faith at least 500 years before the birth of Jesus – and continue to be sung and read to this day.
It was meant that we should enjoy the time given to us.
Every single Sunday our worship service begins with the words “This is the day the Lord has made, let rejoice and be glad!” – another song sung by people of faith for thousands of years.
Years later, after the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the Apostle Paul gave three instructions to a group of believers who were interested in starting a new church in Thessalonia:
He wrote:
1. rejoice always
2. pray without ceasing
3. give thanks in all circumstances
You see, for Paul and for those first believes, the Church is the people who invite each other to rejoice together.
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstance.
You might have expected Paul to put prayer first, you know: 'the Church is the people who pray together';
but he does not.
It's joy that comes first.
And, whether or not this occurred to Paul, it's profoundly important.
Unless we're filled with joy we really cannot pray.
And unless we pray we cannot give thanks"
You see, people of faith have known all along what modern research is confirming over and over again:
there is power in proclamation –
there is power in suggestion –
there is power in attitude.
Especially in the face of difficulties and unbearable circumstances, rejoicing –
laughing and singing – leads to revival –
leads to changed reality –
leads to God’s purpose for our lives.
Some you will remember Alan Paton.
Alan Paton wrote a book years ago that immediately hit the best-seller charts and is still read in classrooms today, Cry, The Beloved Country containing stories of his beloved
South Africa.
In the book Alan Paton relays a story about an old South African pastor, Stephen Kumalo, has gone to Johannesburg to find his son Jonathan.
When he finds him, Jonathan is in jail for killing a white lawyer named Arthur Jarvis, who was an advocate of black rights and had written a book about the urgency for justice in that hate-filled country.
Kumalo then goes to the elder Jarvis, the lawyer's father, to apologize for his son's crime.
Instead of refusing to see him or berating him for Jonathan's deed, Jarvis receives him kindly.
He has been reading the manuscript of his son's book, and it has spoken to him of what must be done.
Learning that Kumalo's little church in the village of Ndotsheni needs a new house of worship, old man Jarvis vows to build it for them.
He also promises to send great earthmoving equipment and build a dam for the village, so that the people will have a year-round water supply.
Now, word of that promise got around fast.
The very rumor of what is to be done sends a shock wave of hope through the populace of Ndotsheni.
There will be water for irrigation.
They can raise cattle.
There will be food and milk for the children, so that the young will no longer drift off to the cities to find work.
There will be laughter and singing and dancing again.
Then Alan Paton writes: Nothing has happened yet;
yet it is as if it has.
"Although nothing has happened yet, yet something is here already." Everything is changed.
There is power in proclamation.
This is the day the lord has made is not an insignificant statement.
Revive us, Lord . . . . so your people can laugh and sing is not an idle prayer –
when you do live your days laughing and singing,
when you do rejoice,
when you do see joy in all things and all circumstances,
change happens,
revival takes place.
and what it should be every day for days ahead.
Psalm 85:6: Revive us, Lord . . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
This is worth memorizing:
Revive us, Lord . . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
It is worth praying every morning, noon and night:
Revive us, Lord . . . . .
so your people can laugh and sing!
Interestingly, the purpose for revival is so people can laugh and sing again.
This interesting and basic purpose for life is often overlooked and ignored, isn’t it?
But, it has been part and parcel of our faith for thousands of years.
These words were sung by people of faith at least 500 years before the birth of Jesus – and continue to be sung and read to this day.
It was meant that we should enjoy the time given to us.
Every single Sunday our worship service begins with the words “This is the day the Lord has made, let rejoice and be glad!” – another song sung by people of faith for thousands of years.
Years later, after the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the Apostle Paul gave three instructions to a group of believers who were interested in starting a new church in Thessalonia:
He wrote:
1. rejoice always
2. pray without ceasing
3. give thanks in all circumstances
You see, for Paul and for those first believes, the Church is the people who invite each other to rejoice together.
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstance.
You might have expected Paul to put prayer first, you know: 'the Church is the people who pray together';
but he does not.
It's joy that comes first.
And, whether or not this occurred to Paul, it's profoundly important.
Unless we're filled with joy we really cannot pray.
And unless we pray we cannot give thanks"
You see, people of faith have known all along what modern research is confirming over and over again:
there is power in proclamation –
there is power in suggestion –
there is power in attitude.
Especially in the face of difficulties and unbearable circumstances, rejoicing –
laughing and singing – leads to revival –
leads to changed reality –
leads to God’s purpose for our lives.
Some you will remember Alan Paton.
Alan Paton wrote a book years ago that immediately hit the best-seller charts and is still read in classrooms today, Cry, The Beloved Country containing stories of his beloved
South Africa.
In the book Alan Paton relays a story about an old South African pastor, Stephen Kumalo, has gone to Johannesburg to find his son Jonathan.
When he finds him, Jonathan is in jail for killing a white lawyer named Arthur Jarvis, who was an advocate of black rights and had written a book about the urgency for justice in that hate-filled country.
Kumalo then goes to the elder Jarvis, the lawyer's father, to apologize for his son's crime.
Instead of refusing to see him or berating him for Jonathan's deed, Jarvis receives him kindly.
He has been reading the manuscript of his son's book, and it has spoken to him of what must be done.
Learning that Kumalo's little church in the village of Ndotsheni needs a new house of worship, old man Jarvis vows to build it for them.
He also promises to send great earthmoving equipment and build a dam for the village, so that the people will have a year-round water supply.
Now, word of that promise got around fast.
The very rumor of what is to be done sends a shock wave of hope through the populace of Ndotsheni.
There will be water for irrigation.
They can raise cattle.
There will be food and milk for the children, so that the young will no longer drift off to the cities to find work.
There will be laughter and singing and dancing again.
Then Alan Paton writes: Nothing has happened yet;
yet it is as if it has.
"Although nothing has happened yet, yet something is here already." Everything is changed.
There is power in proclamation.
This is the day the lord has made is not an insignificant statement.
Revive us, Lord . . . . so your people can laugh and sing is not an idle prayer –
when you do live your days laughing and singing,
when you do rejoice,
when you do see joy in all things and all circumstances,
change happens,
revival takes place.
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