Afterwords -- fifty years on
"And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers." (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
March 17, 2023
Dear friends,
In the last newsletter I wrote about revival, and I'd like to add a bit more to that, namely, about what God was doing in my life, and in the lives of many friends in the 1970s. In June 1972, not long after my conversion, a number of us from Virginia Tech traveled to Dallas for "Explo 72." (See photo collage above.) Sponsored by Campus Crusade (now Cru), the event drew over 80,000 people, mostly students and young adults, from all across America to attend what Billy Graham called "a religious Woodstock." It was a week of uplifting music, worship, and teaching. Billy Graham and Bill Bright were key speakers, along with many others. Christ was exalted, and many young people were responding to the gospel at that time, and afterwards.
When I returned to my hometown that summer, a number of us began a street ministry -- called the Son House, the name being taken from Hebrews 3:6 -- to reach out to teens in our town of Culpeper. Quite a few young people, and older folks too, came to trust in the Lord that summer and in the months to follow. We did feel like we were participating in a national revival. We sensed the presence and power of the Lord, drawing people to himself. We knew God was real.
Some from that time, for whatever reasons, no longer walk with the Lord. But cynicism aside, what impresses me is how many -- how many after fifty years -- have kept walking with the Lord since that time. Their lives really were changed, and they went on to live for God's glory and to serve him in their homes, at work, in church, and on the mission field. There were so many wonderful and unexpected changes! I remember when I attended one of my high school class reunions, how one of my now-adult classmates said to me, "If there was anyone we would have voted as 'least likely to become a minister,' it would have been you!" Thanks be to God for such unexpected changes!
Just a few years ago some of us from the Son House ministry gathered for a reunion picnic in Culpeper. We enjoyed being together once again, and gave thanks to the Lord for his work among us. Their picture is posted below as a testimony to remind us that, even fifty years on, "...he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6).
WHAT I'M READING.
-- In the Bible: Proverbs and Revelation.
-- Books: Christian Reflections, by C. S. Lewis; and To Be Near Unto God, by Abraham Kuyper.
-- As to news and op-eds, I regularly read The Dispatch, 1440, The Gospel Coalition website, First Things, Public Discourse, and City Journal.
RECENT ARTICLES.
-- On the importance of assurance of salvation: a teacher had said to his class, “If we measure God’s faithful word to us in Christ only by the presence or absence of works, then despair or delusion will follow.” But a student answered, “I haven’t had assurance for as long as I can remember. I never feel like I do enough, and I know that one day I’ll give an account before God.” Read how this teacher responded.
-- How do we live with so many lies around us? Blaise Pascal once said, “The truth is so obscured these days that only those who love it will find it.” How do we get at the truth? And then, what about leaders who habitually lie?
-- On the lighter side: "The National School Lunch Act of 1946 made school cafeterias widespread, ostensibly rendering the homemade lunch expendable. So what really made lunchboxes take off was less necessity and more the chance for marketing." Read more about a museum dedicated to lunchbox nostalgia.
FINAL QUOTE. "Deliver us Lord, from the formalities that do not have reality. We pray that we may truly have the kind of spiritual reality that we confess in our faith in Jesus Christ." (S. Lewis Johnson, Believers Chapel, Dallas, his prayer before this sermon)
That's it for this week!
Sandy
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
