Guest Blog written by: Jessica Brown

renewal. revitalization. rededication. revival.

it is one thing to pray for revival.
but when hearts beat to the same rhythmic sound of the One who speaks truth, revival happens.

people must be united in Spirit in order to grow the Kingdom.
as believers and followers of Christ, we can not be divided in what we believe.
nor can we contradict what we profess to be true.

revival can not happen when actions and words do not match.
leaving the lost to mock the Gospel and run further into darkness.

“also the hand of God was on judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the Lord.” – 2 chronicles 30:12

when people passionately love God above all else, then hearts are ignited for the same cause.
when hearts are ignited for the same cause, fire catches.
when fire catches, a blaze burns brightly for all to see.
and when those lost in darkness catch a glimpse of the Light, their hearts are warmed to the Truth of God’s love.

because King Hezekiah honored the Lord with all his heart, his people were able to wholeheartedly do the same.
when we keep our eyes on the One who led the way and follow His commands, we help pave the way for those following behind us.

may we be like the people of judah, uniting with other believers from Christian traditions other than our own. may we be united in heart and spark a revival amongst our generation. and may we follow the path set before us so as not to lead those following behind astray.

Guest Blog written by: Ethan Pettigrew

Something that stuck out to me time and again in today’s passage was that when a king of Judah followed the Lord, the Lord looked out for that king.  Multiple times, God delivered kings from enemies and provided peace throughout the land. 

First in Chapter 12 we see that Rehoboam has not been faithful to God. The king of Egypt came to invade with “countless men” on his side.  As soon as he realized his wrong ways, Rehoboam humbled himself to God and God prevented the certain death of Judah. 
Then in Chapters 13 and 14 we see 2 different kings of Judah with God on their side defeat forces almost, if not, twice their own size.
In Chapter 20 King Jehoshaphat discovers that many nations had joined forces and were on their way to attack Judah.  Jehoshaphat turned to the Lord and begged God for His help because Jehoshaphat knew that was his only option.  Before Judah even got a chance to fight the next day, the opposing nations began to fight amongst themselves.  When the army of Judah reached the battlefield, they discovered that every single soldier had already been killed so they spent the next three days gathering plunder. 
On the other side, we see that God punished kings that did not follow him.  These are kings such as Ahab, who tried to disguise himself on the battlefield and ended up being hit by a poorly aimed arrow and died, or Jehoram who’s intestines fell out before he died. 
As I read these stories, I consistently heard the lyrics of one of my old favorite songs, “…and if our God is for us then who could ever stop us, and if our God is with us then what could stand against.”  Today’s passage proves just how true those words are.  So, if we’re confident in our relationship with God and trust in His all-knowing power, why do we still worry and doubt and get afraid of what the future holds?

Guest Blog written by: Charley Goode

Giving. Greed. Selfishness. Covet. These are all words that came to my mind today when I read 1 Chronicles 29:14-19.  “But me—who am I, and who are these people, that we should presume to be giving something to you?”  I love how David stays so humble throughout all of his songs.  He really had a servant’s heart.  So, when he says “who am I, and who are we?”, that just me shows that he really sees God as someone so much stronger than him and he seems willing for God’s authority.  He then goes to say that everything comes from God.  So he’s saying that it’s a pleasure and a gift to be able to give to God. However, we aren’t really giving him something that’s really ours because, it’s been his all the time. God blesses us with money, food, shelter, etc.  These things are his and as sure as he gave them, he can take them away.  So, I think he’s calling us to use our blessings and our gifts for good not just for our good but for others too.  If we kept this ideal throughout our everyday lives, we really would grow in our faith.  We are called to be servants.  Let’s face it, we are not God.  We don’t get praise.  We don’t get glory.  God does.  As servants, we need to be willing to sacrifice it all for our Lord because, at the end of the day everything we own, is his anyway.  David then goes on to such a powerful statement “we are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope” does that not make your heart and head sink a little bit? We are so lost from God that our days on earth have no hope… It makes me happy when I read this now because, before I knew Christ, I knew that hopeless.  I had no hope for my future or for myself but, now I live sheltered under the glorious light of Jesus Christ.

My friends, run from the shadows. Run into the light. And give, give to the one who supplies it all. Do it all because, he cares for you. Do it all because, he loves you.