Falling Away or End Time Revival?

 No matter how weak you feel right now, you can rely on God's strength.
God has brought you this far in his love. He wants to be your helper and friend for the whole of your life.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. Ps 23:6 NRSV

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Php 1:6 NLT

God has a very special plan for his people.

When we look around us, we no longer see a Christian civilisation. It is hard to see how God is in control of this world.

In families and nations that took the Christian faith for granted 100 years ago, we see all kinds of other worldviews and ways of thinking.

Many faithful Christians see an urgent need for revival, but others don't believe because they point to Bible passages that warn of apostasy.

Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another.
And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. Mt 24:10–12 NRSV

The apostasy has long been underway in Western countries. Before the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, atheism was almost unknown. In formerly Christian countries, we see how biblical laws are increasingly being disregarded and abolished.

There are some Bible readers who claim, ‘So if apostasy prevails, we should not expect revival.’

But this is not the case. In this age of increasing unbelief, God has brought about the most amazing revivals of all time.

In 1727, a prayer movement began in Herrnhut, Germany. Under the leadership of Count von Zinzendorf, faithful Christians prayed around the clock for 100 years without ceasing.

The awakened Christians in Herrnhut sent missionaries all over the world.

It was through these missionaries that John Wesley came to a living faith. John and Charles Wesley became fires for Jesus. Their ministry transformed England.

The influence of Zinzendorf and Wesley reached North America, where amazing revivals emerged and shaped the whole culture.

In 20th century Russia, communist atheism became dominant, but they could not extinguish God's light. A persecuted underground church caught fire and a hidden revival was unstoppable.

The communists in China and the Muslims in Indonesia tried in vain to suppress powerful Christian revivals.

For 300 years we have seen apostasy and revival manifest simultaneously.

In the midst of the deepest darkness, God keeps producing new life in this difficult world. The devil wants to stifle God's life in you and around you, but God is still at work.

God is still the almighty God, the God of love and dramatic miracles.

The Egyptian Pharaoh wanted to exterminate the Hebrew babies, but Moses was saved by his own daughter.

Herod wanted to kill God's Son as an infant. All the babies in Bethlehem were slaughtered, but God had a plan for Jesus, and Herod could not overrule God's plan.

What does God want to say to you in this difficult time?

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV