It was on a Tuesday somebody touched me...

Revival: 1.) a renewed attention to or interest in something, 2.) an often highly emotional evangelistic meeting or series of meetings

This is some of what Webster's has to say about revival. Actually, these two definitions fit the revival that's going on this week at Rock Springs Baptist quite nicely. Revival, to me, has always a designated week during the year that is filled with going to/from church, praying, singing, visiting, fellow-shipping, preaching, and seeing people saved. To be honest I'm really not so sure that it ever meant much more than that up until about 12 years ago.

On a Tuesday night during summer revival I got a hold of the one thing that makes a revival happen and thrive. I got the Holy Spirit and the gift of salvation. Not just a gift, the gift. The only gift that truly holds any value in this world. The greatest gift of all. My gift. Sure, lots of people have received this amazing gift, but none are exactly the same as mine. The most special thing about this FREE gift is that it's only enough for me; I can't give any of it to anyone else because God designed it to just be enough for one individual. Don't worry though, God isn't stingy with his gift-giving. He set aside enough individual doses of the salvation for each and every human being on Earth and those to come. He created this world with me and and you in mind and was keeping me and you in mind when he sent His only Son to die on a rugged cross so that me and you could call Heaven our home after our life on Earth is finished. Pretty amazing, huh?

You see, God offered the gift of salvation to me and I accepted it. There wasn't any bargaining, money transactions, or time spent setting up a payment schedule. Remember, I said this gift from God was a FREE gift. All I did was claim Jesus as my Savior and put my trust and faith in God that He would one day make a home on Heaven for me. The great thing about this gift is that it never runs out or has to be returned, instead, it only seems to get better and better as I grow older. I just can't get over the fact that God loves me so much and wants to be with me at all times. He's truly an amazing God and values His relationship with each of His children.

Today revival means so much more than just going to church 14 times during the week, singing song after song after song, and hearing sermons from many preachers. Revival means that I can go back to that Tuesday night almost 12 years and know without a doubt that God still loves me and is still promising a home in Heaven for me when my body dies. It's a time for me to draw closer to my Lord and renew my spirit that so often gets beat down in this world. And, one of the most exciting and worthwhile times during revival is the opportunity to welcome new members of the family of Christ into the fold; to see someone saved is probably the most miraculous, happy, uplifting, and feel-good-to-the-soul moments that can be experienced in this life, and I'm thankful to have had two of these moments during this week's revival and confident that God has much more in store for the remaining services.

Just like the song says, "It was on a Tuesday somebody touched me; It must have been the hand of the Lord!"... what was your day?