Here’s a report of a renewal going on right now in the United Methodist Church through Aldersgate Renewal Ministries. The report comes from David F. Watson:

I know many people who are praying for renewal in the UMC and beyond, and we should continue to do this. But what we need also to understand is that renewal is happening now. You just have to know where to look for it. And in the UMC it’s happening through Aldersgate Renewal Ministries. Thanks be to God.

<Read the whole article>

Response: Read David’s entire report of a recent conference sponsored by Aldersgate Renewal Ministries. It is really encouraging. We really do need to pray for a continuing renewal in the UMC. Wouldn’t it be great to see these mainliners on fire again and add spiritual gifting and power to churches all across the heartland that have been declining for years.

These folks already know how to reach out with social programs. Can you imagine what would happen if life changing healing and miracles were added on to what they are doing now? This is what our cities need in America- to be on fire with the Holy Spirit instead of racial strife. Praise God and bring on the renewal! Time for you intercessors to get busy.              

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” Matthew 5:44

Here’s a video of a Christian child, 10 year old Myriam, forgiving ISIS even though her family has lost everything because of the terrorist group.  She said:

“I will only ask God to forgive them.

Now comes the news that the video and several others like it have gone viral in the Middle East demonstrating the teaching of Jesus to ‘love your enemies’ in a culture where ‘eye for an eye’ is the normal response. From Christianity Today:

To date, more than 1 million people have seen her witness online. [Full video at the bottom]

SAT-7’s 5 channels reach an audience of 15 million in North Africa and the Middle East, though it’s impossible to measure how many people watched Myriam. However, numbers can be tracked through the social media campaign, which has reached 25 times its normal audience, with subtitles of the video provided in English, Spanish, Turkish, and Chinese. Word spread not only through SAT-7 affiliates, but also in the local secular press.

Pan-Arabic al-Arabia praised Myriam for confronting ISIS with love. “Everyone who listens to her is astounded,” echoed the Egyptian Youm 7. Leading Lebanese daily al-Nahar called for the clip to be shown in the nation’s schools as a lesson in humanity.

<Read the whole article>

Response: What a lesson in faith! File this story in the  “for such is the Kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16) category. They are far better Christians than I.

Most of us in America wonder what kind of ‘Christians’ these displaced Iraqis really are. Since they mostly attend Catholic and Orthodox affiliated churches many of us have an erroneous impression that they might only be so-called ‘cultural Christians.’ Maybe that is why so few of us are upset or up in arms when we read the reports of their persecution and death. But hundreds of thousands of these Near Eastern Christians have lost everything for their faith and thousands have paid the ultimate price as martyrs. They actually have a greater right to bear the name of Christ than many of us living in safe and comfortable communities in the West.

The video above should transform our thinking about these fellow believers. I know of several missionaries and relief personnel loosely connected with my home church which are working among these refugees in Iraq. The word and reports we receive from them is that there is real revival going on among these folks with abundant healing and miracles in their midst. Please keep praying for these bothers and sisters and those who are ministering in their midst.           

The weather was miserable and the rain was pouring down on Ottawa, Canada but so was the Holy Spirit. Thousands came and hundreds went away saved. But even more were reached around the world though a live webstream. A remarkable story:

The reach of Rock the River this weekend was not limited to the banks of the Ottawa River.

That thousands came and hundreds accepted Christ as Lord and Savior was an answer to so many prayers in the Ottawa-Gatineau metro area.

But around the world, logging into a live webstream, hundreds more made decisions by watching the artists, testimonies and Gospel message from Franklin Graham.

Thousands of people watched Rock the River in over 70 countries, from as far away as Malaysia, Phillipines, Hong Kong, Finland and Singapore.

<Read the whole account on billygraham.org>

(VCC Mercy Warehouse-Kelly Lynn Photography)

God is moving and bringing major revivals all around the world and nearly on every continent except in the Western countries of North America and Europe. Even in Europe there is revival among the Roma (Gypsies) people.

But in the USA some are asking if the glory has departed. Others are boldly proclaiming God’s judgment every time a natural disaster happens or there’s a mass murder event. Still others including myself are observing that America could use a new awakening in order to bring us back from the brink.

However, what I am really expecting right now are diverse moves of God in individual churches and communities all across America and Canada. Most of these moves will probably never reach a level where they will ever be acknowledged by the main stream media but thousands of people and maybe even millions could ultimately be touched by some move or another –a few hundred at a time.

Here’s an example of what I am looking for- a move of God in a regular church that started with intercession and healing: “God’s Big Move in a Small Town”

Another example in the making: Here at VCC Laguna Niguel (CA) there are some remarkable things happening. We have a 20,000 sf warehouse where we provide food and clothing for over a 1000 poor and jobless in South OC. In the last 3 months or so over 150 people have been saved along with hundreds of healings happening right in the middle of the warehouse. In fact it is the healings and the miracles that are leading to the conversions.

Now it is spilling over into our regular worship services and at least someone is healed at nearly every service. I would not call it revival but it sure is great and our expectations have been escalating.

Also I attend a marketplace prayer group once a week at VCC where we pray for each others jobs, businesses, and pray for those who need jobs and greater opportunities. We are now seeing answers to prayer and miraculous testimonies every week while the business climate of our county has been poor and in the midst of recession. Personally I have had several nearly impossible answers to prayer when it comes to my job and business. Believe me when I say that my expectations and those of all who attend these meetings have certainly escalated since I started attending the prayer services 3 years ago.

Point is, looking back I can see that God is moving in our midst and has been for some time but there is nothing happening at VCC that couldn’t and shouldn’t be happening everywhere else in America. However we still have a long ways to go.

When we send mission teams to India, Cambodia, Asia, Africa or elsewhere they experience a different level of the miraculous and nearly everyone they pray for are healed. We are not there yet back at home in South OC but it is sure better than it use to be.

Still it is a lot like Nazareth- only a few healings at a time. But I can see the faith rising and with it the expectations of our people. It is time for the faith and expectations of Christians in America, who seem to be on the defensive right now (Chick-fil-A et al), to rise above our surrounding dominant secular culture and allow God to move among us in a fresh way. Let’s move out of Nazareth and head back towards Azusa St. and Wales.           

Right now the The Bay of the Holy Spirit Revival is meeting in the Orlando Florida area at Calvary Assembly of God in Winter Park. It is going so well that additional dates have been added on to the schedule.

British evangelist Nathan Morris and John Kilpatrick (pastor of the 1990s Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Fla.) are leading the meetings and have been associated with these on-going revival meetings since its beginnings in July 2010.

<Here’s a link to an article about what is happening in Orlando>

In 2012 the Bay revival is going on the road and m ay be coming to a location near you. Here’s a link to their current schedule. Meetings have already been set this year for Florida, Arizona, Texas, New Jersey, Alabama, Missouri, Michigan, Georgia, and Louisiana with probably more to come.

We covered the original meetings with several posts in 2010. Mostly about the miraculous healing of Delia Knox.

Here’s a history of the Bay of the Holy Spirit Revival according to their website:

Church of His Presence in Daphne, Alabama hosted “Open the Heavens Conference 2010.” On the last night, July 23rd, British Evangelist, Nathan Morris, was ministering as God’s Presence was ushered in. Notable healings took place and children began to be touched by the power of God. Pastor John Kilpatrick, former pastor and overseer of the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, FL, stated it felt like Father’s Day 1995 when that historic revival began.

A spontaneous decision was made to extend the meetings at the Daphne Civic Center to see what God would do. Nathan and Shake the Nations team cancelled their flights to Hawaii scheduled for that weekend. Since then, attendance has grown as people have traveled from across America and other countries. To accommodate the crowds and meet regularly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, the revival meetings were moved to the Mobile Convention Center in Mobile, AL.

This move of God has been called the Bay of the Holy Spirit Revival. Historically, Mobile Bay was named on early Spanish maps Bahía del Espíritu Santo, (Bay of The Holy Spirit). In 2008 a memorial historical sign commemorating the name Bay of the Holy Spirit was approved by the Alabama Historical Association and a Commendation was signed by Governor Bob Riley.

Since that miraculous night of July 23rd, hundreds have given their lives to Christ and been delivered by the power of God. Extraordinary miracles and healings are continuing each night. We are seeing the lame walk, the blind see, deaf ears open and diverse terminal illnesses healed.

We will be watching for any updates concerning these on-going revival meetings that have now gone on the road across America in 2012.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Greenland is that big island on the world map in the north between Canada and Iceland. The land mass is huge but only 58,000 or so live there and most of them are native Inuit (88%), many of which have immigrated from Canadian islands.

There has been a Christian mission there for over 40 years with very little success. Now God is reaching out to the Inuit people and for the first time ever they are now beginning to outnumber the Europeans in church. A remarkable story:

“God’s Love Melting Hearts in Icy Greenland”

Response: Another people and nation where God is sovereignly moving and calling out and harvesting his people.

It occurs to me that this might be just the beginning. After a strong core of Inuit Christians are established in Greenland then the islands and north country of Canada could be next. It is really remarkable that a brother from Singapore is instrumental in this move.

Look for the Asian Church, especially the Chinese and Korean Christians, to rise up and bring revival all around the world. Particularly in places where Americans and Europeans are not able to go or not all that welcome.           

    (by hickory hardscrabble via Flickr)

According to Jamie Work, pastor of Candies Creek Baptist Church in Charleston, Tenn.:

God turned an “11-day summit into a six-week revival” at Candies Creek, and the revival is continuing.
“As a result of corporate prayer and repentance, God is birthing us into a brand-new church.”

In his testimony before the SBC Executive Committee, Pastor Work told how Candies Creek spent weeks in prayer before the initial April 10-20 revival meetings at the church. As a result, the Holy Spirit birthed a move of God that resulted in over 25 hours of public confession of sin:

“We are still dealing with what God has been saying to us. Our world has been turned upside down.”

Also the church itself ended up confessing its corporate sin.  The following were some of the sins covered:

prayerlessness; superficiality with God and one another; failure to practice biblical, redemptive church discipline; lukewarmness (a lack of commitment); preoccupation with mammon (money and stuff); and programmatic worship (non-Spirit led).

Though the revival meetings officially ended after six weeks, regular prayer meetings continue to be well attended by the members. Pastor Work says that as a result of the move:

Candies Creek will “push all ministries off the table and put prayer in the center. Then, we will rebuild our ministries around prayer.”

We need to take people deeper into their walk with the Lord in order to get them into a deeper relationship with each other.”

As a result of their experience, Pastor work put forth a resolution before the recent SBC conference in Phoenix,Arizona seeking revival across all of America beginning with prayer and repentance.