MARCH 22, 2010

Scripture Reading

Psalm 85:6-"Wilt thou not revive us again:

that thy people may rejoice in thee?" ( emphasis added ).

Psalm 138:7-"Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine

hand against the wrath of mine enemies,

and thy right hand shall save me."

A man died in his sleep. His wife asked the barber to shave her husband's face prior to his burial. Taking a candle, the barber climbed the stairs to the bedroom and found the body. He placed the candle on the man's chest so he could see while shaving the man's face. He finished the man's face nearest to where he stood and needed to get to the other side, but the bed had been shoved tightly against the wall. Weighing his options, the barber decided the best solution was to remove his shoes and to crawl over the corpse so he could see. As he crawled across the man's body, he absently placed his knee in the man's midsection. When he rested his weight on the midsection, the dead man rose and blew out the candle.

Startled, the barber ran downstairs and dashed out of the house in his stocking feet. "He's alive! He's alive!" he shouted. Upstairs, family members found the extinguished candle lying on the bed and the barber's shoes lying on the floor. Figuring out what had happened, they went to the terrified barber and said, "The man isn't alive. He had wind, but he didn't have breath."

The word revive means "to breathe life into." It describes the refreshing, life-giving breath of God. Unfortunately, it's possible for us to go through the motions and to do right things apart from God's power. Yes, we may have wind and not have breath!

Perhaps your heart has grown cool toward the things of God. Maybe your Christian life has become mechanical. David and his associates needed a fresh touch. He prayed for revival, and so can we!

INVITATION: Sing the hymn "Breathe on Me, Breath of God." Pray as the Lord leads.

-Harold Vaughan-