Weekly Update

Its homecoming week at Arapahoe, the high school where I do Young Life. Today was the classic "car bash" in the parking lot, with students taking a sledge hammer to a car painted in the rival team's colors. You know you miss your high school days.

Last night was our Annual Littleton Young Life Area Fundraising Banquet. It has been an exhausting week getting ready for it, but it was an encouraging night. I'll write another post about in a few days...

On Tuesday, Brother Yun, one of the major Christian leaders in China, spoke in our chapel. He pretty much just called all of us "Western Christians" out for our lack of faith in the true power of God. Although it wasn't encouraging, it was convicting. I was blown away by the following stats he shared:

"In 1949, there were reportedly 450 million people living in China and only less than a half million Christians. Today there are over 130 million professing Christians in a country that essentially persecutes followers of Christ."

God is moving in China. Its a wake up call to me to pray for America. Below is an excerpt from Brother Yun's best selling autobiography, "Heavenly Man."

"Before I traveled to the West I had absolutely no idea that so many churches were spiritually asleep. I presumed the Western church was strong and vibrant because it had brought the gospel to my country with such incredible faith and tenacity. Many missionaries had shown a powerful example to us by laying down their lives for the sake of Jesus.
On some occasions I've struggled while speaking in Western churches. There seems to be something missing that leaves me feeling terrible inside. Many meetings are cold and lack the fire and presence of God that we have in China.
In the West many Christians have an abundance of material possessions, yet they live in a backslidden state. They have silver and gold, but they don't rise up and walk in Jesus' name. In China we have no possessions to hold us down, so there's nothing preventing us from moving out for the Lord.
...The pursuit of more possessions will never bring revival. ...The first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord. God's word is missing.[Brother Yun memorized a chapter a day from the Bible shortly after he began following Jesus.] Sure there are many preachers and thousands of tapes and videos of Biblical teaching, but so little contains the sharp truth of God's Word. It's the truth that will set you free.
Not only is knowledge of God's Word missing, but obedience to that Word. There's not much action taking place. ...You can never really know the Scriptures until you're willing to be changed by them.
All genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning. When God truly moves in your heart you cannot remain silent. There will be a fire in your bones, like Jeremiah, who said, "His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot." Jeremiah 20:9