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“The only way to change a society is to change the people within that society, and the only Person who can bring about supernatural change in human experience is Jesus Christ.”
The preceding quote is from Dr. Howard Hendricks of Dallas Theological Seminary. He made that statement in a message on the Great Commission and making disciples.
I quote him here because such a statement demonstrates that if the United States is to be healed, it won’t be primarily through politics or government. It will be through the healing and saving power of Jesus Christ the Lord.
Political solutions can never penetrate the heart of a person. Only the Holy Spirit can do that by regenerating human beings and giving them the gifts of repentance and faith in Christ alone for salvation. It follows that it will only be when millions of Americans come to Christ that this nation will truly begin its healing.
In church history, the only time millions of people are saved in a relatively short period of time is when God gives a Great Spiritual Awakening—a time when the proclamation of God’s Word and the Gospel lead millions to repent and believe. It is a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit to bring salvation to the masses.
Such awakenings in the past have brought about the conversion of millions. These awakenings—the supernatural change of people from the inside out—have also resulted in sweeping cultural changes for the good. The greatest example is the Great Awakening of 1740 under the preaching of George Whitefield and many other faithful men of the Word.
America’s problem is not economic. That is just a symptom of the deeper, spiritual problem of a nation that wants to thumb its nose at Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. The main issue in all political debates should be the shameful fact that this nation allows the murder of millions of babies each year. We have allowed a culture of death and not of life, and God will not bless that.
Please join me in daily praying that God would send another Great Awakening to the United States of America. May this awakening be accompanied by Great Reformation in the churches—a reformation where those churchs get back to the authority, truthfulness, and sufficiency of the Bible as the inspired Word of God.
America will not change until the people change. America must be healed from the inside out, as its people are healed from the inside out.
God bless you and keep you.
Glen Averill
December 05 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Prayer to the Living God is the greatest privilege you have as a child of God, one who is born again and redeemed by His blood, righteousness, and grace.
One verse in particular shows you that your prayers should not be shallow, heartless, and routine.
Psalm 62:8 says:
“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
This verse paints the picture of a person who is completely absorbed in crying out to God for help. This person cries out to God for himself and for others. This believer “pours out his heart before God.”
I have to confess that my times alone with God in prayer are often not like that. So many times, I get alone with God, open His Word, and begin to pray without concentration, without focus, without giving all my heart to Him. Many times I don’t feel anything at all.
Also, when the Psalmist says you should “pour out your heart,” it seems he is saying that you should just open up your mind and heart and let it all out.
Sometimes I’m afraid we think we need to hold in our heartaches and pains because it would be somehow sinful to express doubts and fears when we are in prayer. In this verse, God is telling His people to share with Him the very depths of their hearts. Don’t hold anything back.
There is nothing you can say or do in prayer that will catch God off-guard, or that will embarras Him. Why wouldn’t you want to share all your heart and soul with Jesus Christ in prayer. He alone has all power and strength and wisdom to help you, no matter what you are facing. If you are afraid, tell Him. If you are hurting so much that you don’t think you can go on, tell Him.
I’m not saying that every single minute of your prayer time needs to be so intense that you think you might pass out, but put some heart into it.
Trust Him, pour out your heart to Him, and He will help you. You may not understand at first how He is helping you, but have faith that He is.
Until next time, God bless and strengthen you!
Glen Averill
July 19 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments Off
I’m wondering if any of you out there can relate to my situation.
Our son has cerebral palsy. He is very high-functioning, goes to high school full-time, and does a lot on his own. Still, it does take a lot of time getting him dressed and ready for school in the mornings, and to getting him to bed at night. If I were to get a job again, it would probably mean we would have to hire someone to do these things for Sean.
With his daily needs, and with his ongoing medical appointments, I have found it very difficult to maintain a career, or to work outside the home at all. My free hours are when Sean is in school—from about 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. There aren’t too many “jobs” that fit into that time window.
Please don’t misunderstand me. We love our son, and love being there for him. We just don’t know how to handle the job challenges related to this.
Although we do have some helpers coming in after school for Sean, either me or my wife usually have to be here to direct what needs to be done.
How do parents of special needs children manage to keep a career going?
In our case, my wife works full-time in the medical profession, but we could use the additional income that I could generate if I could find the right work situation. Of course, we have continued to pray that God would provide the right thing for us, but so far, nothing has happened. I have been unemployed now for three years. I had to leave my last job because Sean had a major surgery and needed to go to therapy every day for three months.
Not too long ago, I looked on the internet for support groups for parents with special needs children. I found nothing. I also looked in our local metro area, and found very little. I would especially like to find support groups relating to career planning when you have a special needs child.
I would love to visit with parents who have found a way to generate real income from home, or who have a job situtation that allows them the flexibility to still care for their special needs kids. I will keep you informed in this blog as to what happens with my search for help.
We’ve tried several of the MLM and network marketing companies and never made a dime. I’ve written an ebook, but nobody knows it exists. I don’t know how to promote myself and I’m feeling very discouraged about my career history in journalism, Christian ministry, and legal assistant/investigative work. None of my professional background seems to count for anything in this job market.
If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I’m very open to listening. Please reply to this post or give me a call at 913-593-1850.
Thanks and God bless and keep you all.
Glen Averill
December 29 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
If you are a parent, have your ever bent down and held your little child, to comfort that child when he is hurting or sad?
That is exactly the picture we have in Psalm 40:1 when we see God, our Heavenly Father, bending down to hear the cries of His children. Listen to this verse:
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.”
Maybe you’ve had times in your life when it seemed that there was not another human being on the planet who cared about your pain and sorrow. Maybe you are going through such a time right now.
It could be that even those who deeply love you and care about you simply don’t know how to help.
Please take comfort in the truth in Psalm 40:1. Your Heavenly Father is always there, and always willing to bend down and put His arms around you. He will always listen to your cries and He will never forsake you.
Yes, there are times when it seems like He is ignoring you, but He is actually just making you seek Him even more. He wants you to be in the habit of crying out to Him.
God will hear your cries about the big things and about the little things. Nothing is insignificant in His eyes. He cares.
The most remarkable thing about this truth is the fact that God not only cares, but He is the only one who can truly help you. His help may come in any of a thousand ways, but if you cry out to Him, He will help you. He may help you through other people, but He will strengthen you.
Notice that the Psalm writer said he had “waited patiently” for the Lord. The implication is that God did not answer immediately when the Pslamist cried out. If the Lord does not answer you the first time, keep crying out.
This is a matter of faith. Will you trust Him or not?
God wants you to seek Him with all your heart. He says so in Jeremiah 29:13,
“And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Keep on looking to Him.
Until next time, God bless and keep you,
Glen Averill
September 07 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
There was once a television commercial that said something like this:
“A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
I believe that is right. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s also a terrible thing to pollute. Lots of people are concerned about air pollution and water pollution. Those things are bad, but not as bad as “mind” pollution.
So, how do you pollute your mind?
You pollute your mind by allowing it to be filled with all the garbage the world has to offer. In the media and on the street you see every kind of wickedness. If you allow your mind to be saturated with this garbage, you will suffer.
That is why I Peter 1:13 says,
“Therefore, stir up your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
God never intended you to be passive when it comes to your mind. He wants you to fill your mind with His Word, and not the vain philosophies of a lost and sinful world.
If you let your mind coast in neutral, the enemy will make sure it is saturated with evil. I’m not saying that you are going out and looking for wickedness. It comes looking for you.
You can’t totally avoid the world, the flesh, and the devil. You are bombarded by the lies and ungodliness every day. So what hope do you have to survive it all?
Your only hope is to fill up your mind with Scripture. Listen to what the Bible says about the power of God’s Word:
“For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (NASV)
The Word of God, hidden in your mind, will help to counteract what the enemy throws at you. Memorize the Bible, meditate on it, pray through it. It will deepen your communion with Jesus Christ.
You might also want to limit television watching and newspaper reading. There is some good in these media outlets, but there is also a lot of bad.
For a free ebook that talks about how you can live life with joy, just click on THE SOURCE OF JOY.
God bless and keep you today and forever.
Glen Averill
July 12 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
There was a cross in the sky!
While mowing the lawn the other day, I glanced up at the sky. A number of jet airplanes were flying around and the contrails of two of the jets left a perfect cross in the eastern sky.
This was a beautiful image to see above the Kansas City area where I live. But then, something started to happen. As the winds blew, the image of the cross began to fade a little more each moment. After an hour or so, the cross was completely gone.
You’ve probably guessed where I’m going with this. Yes, that cross vanishing from the sky represents the picture of what seems to be happening in our beloved nation.
Just like the cross was quite vivid and clear in the sky, so also, the name and honor of Jesus Christ was once clear and prevalent in our society. And, just like the cross in the sky began to fade out of site, so also has the name of Christ faded from a place of honor in America.
I’m definitely not saying that His name is gone totally from this nation. He is God Almighty, and nobody will ever erase Him from His Sovereign Reign. But to me it is sad to see the name of Christ being removed from every arena of public life in this nation.
Many schools, courts, government agencies, and other organizations seem to work very hard to strip Jesus Christ from their programs and statements.
When I was a child, we always had a Christmas sing-along program around the holidays. We sang the fun songs, but we also sang things like Joy to the World, Silent Night, and other Christ-exalting music. Nowadays, when I go to our children’s Christmas programs, I never hear the name of Christ mentioned even once.
Of course, we’re all familiar with the movement to use the phrase, “Happy Holidays,” or “Holiday Celebration,” rather than “Merry Christmas.”
Where does it all stop?
- Will the day come when churches can no longer legally have the name of Christ in their titles?
- Is there a time coming when people can no longer “legally” share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with other people?
- How do we as true Christians begin to uphold the name of Christ and all that He stands for?
The number one way to win this battle is the same way we win any battle. We must pray fervently. We must pray for another Great Awakening like this nation has seen in the past. My prayer is that this next awakening, this next outpouring of the Holy Spirit, will be greater than any the world has ever seen.
Entering into arguments with those who hate the name of Christ—is not the answer. The first move is to commit ourselves to constant prayer for our nation and the world. Please pray that billions around the world will be brought to Christ as the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin and opens their eyes to the free gift of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Only as the Spirit of God begins to work will we be able to engage people in a loving manner and not have them turn away and reject us. The Holy Spirit must move first, then we can follow. Yes, we do have to speak up. We do have to share the truth lovingly and boldly. But first, we must saturate heaven with our prayers for God’s grace and power to give us opportunities to make new friends and love them in Christ.
From the Scriptures, we have the certain knowledge that the day is coming when Jesus Christ Himself (not an image of the cross) will appear vividly and powerfully in the sky. O how we long for that day. He will forever put an end to sin and death and suffering for His children. All the host of the redeemed will honor and worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit forever.
But until that day, He has directed us to “make disciples.” Let’s prayerfully be about the Father’s business, as spelled out in Matthew 28:18-20.
Yours in Christ and for His glory, Glen Averill
June 02 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
“The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate,” according to Jospeh Priestley, an 18th- Century theologian and educator, (italics mine.)
Sounds like we need to keep our communication simple!
In our fourth and final article on taking a RISK for the Lord, we’ll look at the K in the acrostic. K stands for KEEP IT SIMPLE.
So far in this series we’ve looked at RISK as: Rejoice in the Lord, Imagine God’s possibilities for you, and Share the message. Now we want to examine what it means to Keep the message simple.
Now, the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ is simple to understand, but at the same time it is so profound that you could spend eternity trying to understand it and not even come close. How could a Holy God allow His innocent, sinless Son to take your punishment on the cross? But that is exactly what He did. Then He raised Jesus from the dead and put His stamp of approval on Him forever and ever.
When talking to others about the gospel, it is so vital to keep your words simple and understandable. When someone is curious about the Savior, it is not the time to unload an entire theological discourse on them.
- Take it slow.
- Take it one step at a time.
- See if the person has any idea what sin really is, according to God’s Word.
- Are they curious about Christ simply because He seems so mysterious? Or are they truly starting to have Holy Spirit conviction for sin and guilt?
- Find youself a clear and simple gospel presentation method, learn it well, and don’t always try to share the whole thing in one evening.
- Bring a person along. Share seeds of truth. (But be prepared to share the whole message at any time.)
The Holy Spirit does not always convict and save a person in a single day. Often, the Spirit of God has worked in that person’s soul for many years. When you meet that person, you don’t know where they are in the process.
Therefore, love that person, whether you ever share the gospel with them or not. Care for that person. Have a genuine and sincere interest in them. It may be that many others have planted gospel seeds in that person. You may plant more seeds, or God may give you the blessed privilege of leading them to Christ and seeing them born again.
PRAY that God would give you opportunity to share your testimony and the reason for your faith in Jesus Christ as the only Way, Truth and Life.
A lot more could be said about how to KEEP IT SIMPLE, but then I would be breaking my own rule and I would NOT be keeping it simple.
For more ideas on the sharing the gospel and on how to rejoice in the Lord, check out my ebook The Source of Joy by visiting this link: THE SOURCE OF JOY.
God bless and keep you today and forever. Glen Averill
May 03 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Dear Friends,
I just discovered a wonderful online prayer ministry at http://prayway.com.
It’s free to register as a member on this site and you can post your own prayer requests and pray for the requests of others. The ministry is non-denominational but solidly built on faith and hope in Christ.
Prayway.com is always looking for praying Christians to join the ministry and lift up the thousands of requests and praises that come in each day. The requests are conveniently divided into categories like “pray for the nations,” or “employment and financial needs.”
The site is very easy to navigate and there are topical forums in which you can participate and learn great things from other believers.
I strongly urge you to check out this prayer ministry at http://prayway.com, and consider getting involved. After you have prayed for a certain number of requests, you will receive a free T-shirt and bumper sticker. The site also links you to many valuable Christian resources around the world.
Just a few minutes a day on prayway.com can change your life and the lives of countless believers and non-believers around the world. Most of us have the time to pray for our normal, everyday, local requests. And we have time to spend a few minutes each day on prayway.com.
Remember, earnest and faithful prayer, based on Scripture, is the most powerful ministry in the universe.
Join me again tomorrow when we’ll conclude our series of articles on what it means to take a RISK for the Lord!
God bless and keep you, Glen Averill and Joy in Christ.
April 24 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
We have been looking at what it means to take a RISK for the Lord. We’ve learned that R stands for Rejoice in the Lord, and I stands for Imagine God’s possibilities for you.
Today we’ll look at the S in the acrostic. S stands for Share the Message!
As Christians, we are called to share the good news about Jesus Christ. But that doesn’t mean that we go out and bombard our friends and neighbors with the Gospel. We should pray for wisdom and discernment from God the Holy Spirit so we’ll know what to share and when to share it.
I have found these four foundational actions to be vital in sharing the faith:
- Take a genuine interest in other people.
- Start praying specifically for those people.
- Don’t always share the entire gospel message in one sitting.
- Plant seeds of biblical truth and ask God to bless and increase those seeds.
If you have a sincere interest in other people—if you care about them with no hidden agenda—then you gain their trust and their true friendship. If that never leads to sharing the gospel, then let it alone.
Make a list of family and friends that need to trust Christ and pray for them every day. Prayer must be the beginning, middle, and end of any witnessing you do. It is only God the Holy Spirit who can open a person’s heart to the truth of God’s Word.
In the third point, remember that you seldom have the opportunity to share the entire gospel message in one sitting with a person. Live your life abiding in Christ, and trust Him to give you opportunities to share bits and pieces of the message of life.
When you plant seeds of truth in a person’s heart, just like planting seeds in your garden, you have to be patient. You don’t plant a tomato seed and have tomatoes the next day. Be patient and keep praying. The man who led me to the Lord took several months before he shared the gospel. He made me his genuine friend, really cared about me, and trusted the Lord to give him opportunities to share Christ.
Of course, you may meet a person in whom the Lord has been working and who is on the verge of trusting Christ. When that happens, thank God and share all you can. But even then, people can only absorb so much at one time. Just like in the nutritional world, it’s better to eat several small meals throughout the day than it is to eat a huge meal all at once.
Tomorrow we’ll look at the last letter in RISK: and we’ll learn that we need to Keep it Simple.
May God bless and strengthen you today and forever. Glen Averill
April 17 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
We have been looking at the acrostic RISK, and discussing what it means to take a RISK for the Lord. Today, we’ll focus in on the second letter, I.
The first letter stands for Rejoice in the Lord. The letter “I” represents, “Imagine what God can do through your life.”
I once heard Zig Ziglar say that the most powerful nation in the world is not the United States of America. It is not China. It is not Russia.
Zig said the most powerul nation is “Imagi-nation.”
We must be careful here because the imagination is a tool, and it can be used for good or evil. If you spend your time imagining wicked things, you will end up doing evil things. If you spend that same time imagining good and holy things, in Christ, you will act on those things.
So, in taking a RISK for the Lord, you are, first of all, Rejoicing in the Lord every day. Then you are spending time Imagining what God will do with your life. You are not saved in isolation. God saved you for a purpose. He saved you to serve other people. You serve those people inside the church and outside the church.
Take a look at your skills, your finances, your spiritual gifts, your personality. Begin by serving in every area of the kingdom that you can. It won’t be long until you begin to see where God wants you to spend the bulk of your time.
In general, all believers are commissioned to “make disciples” of Jesus Christ. But within that major mission, you and I must find where we fit best.
One way to do that is to review your life and evaluate what has brought you the most joy in the Lord. Was it teaching a Bible class? Was it personal evangelism? Was it administering church business? Was it working on the foreign mission field? Was it working on the sound system in the church? Was it helping out at the Rescue Mission? What sets your heart on fire for the Lord? And don’t limit yourself to just one thing.
I can’t tell you what this is, or what God has for your life. Only you can determine this as you seek Him and begin to imagine the possibilities. Nor am I saying that you necessarily need to leave your profession and do something in “ministry.” Some of the most effective people I know, serve Christ in the midst of where God has placed them. I know a man who has a great business, but he also has a wonderful prison ministry that helps him glorify Christ.
Imagine what He might want you to do, right where you are. There once was a young man by the name of David. He was simply delivering lunch to his brothers on the battlefield one day. But God had an additional purpose for David. This young man, in the strength of God, destroyed a giant named Goliath. His obedience to God led to much greater things as well.
What giant does God want you to slay? Imagine His possibilities for you. Maybe you will plant some seeds of Gospel truth that will lead a young man or woman to Christ. Maybe that person will become an effective leader in a church. The possibilities are endless.
Join us next time when we will consider the S in RISK. S stands for “Share the Message.”
God bless and keep you now and forever! Glen Averill
April 15 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
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