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Is there any better time for revival than Christmas? Throughout Biblical history there were many revivals as God sent prophets and leaders to pronounce the people’s waywardness and sound the alarm for a return to God and obedience to His will. Then over 2000 years ago He sent His own Son to revive us all! What a great blessing as the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will to all men.” This was the ultimate revival started by one miracle birth magnified in a multitude of miracles through spiritual rebirth. Praise God, each one who receives the precious gift of Jesus’ sacrifice, attains new life.

Is there any better time for revival than Christmas? When after 7 years of war our troops persevere for the restoration of Iraqi self government and a free society. Families are separated, many for years as tours of duty are extended. Terrorists plot to kill and maim all for the cause of hate. Weapons of mass destruction are sought after by terrorist nations bent on world domination. Life is devalued and discarded without conscience and in the name of religion.

Is there any better time for revival than Christmas? When around the world recession has depressed income, eliminated jobs, reduced asset values and dried up capital. Real estate projects have stalled, major industrial projects delayed, and businesses drastically contracted. Billions are pumped into an ailing economy by governments desperate to reverse the decline.

Is there any better time for revival than Christmas? When politicians blinded by power have sold their souls for profit. Business people corrupted by greed have abused the investment system until it collapsed from excess and graft. Educators and academia have failed to teach the foundational values essential to a free and democratic nation. Citizens feel angry and victimized by those in positions of leadership who shirk their fiduciary responsibility and seek to pass the blame. Yet they too have succumbed to the same blindness that pervades our leadership. Arrogance, self absorption, and the lack of character, common sense and integrity plague our society and institutions.

Is there any better time for revival than Christmas? When the earth groans, the seas roar and people cry out in despair. Around the country people suffer great losses from hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, floods, fires and drought. Worldwide people are starving and dying from disease and exposure.

Christmas is the time for revival! Christ is the hope and light of the world. The baby Jesus lay in a manger foreshadowing his sacrificial life and death. In the Jewish sacrificial system, lambs were placed in a manger to be examined and only those proved perfect were worthy of sacrifice. Jesus was the only perfect sacrifice who atoned once for all. Through Him heaven comes down on earth and only through Him is there perfect peace and true prosperity.

Christmas is the time for revival! When His light shines through us on the lives of others, we too work miracles. When they see our commitment to putting others’ needs before our own, and experience our good works that change for better the situations of the suffering, then they too see the light and are revived. When leaders humble themselves and adapt the servant leader model of Christ, our institutions can be revived, our government restored to trust, and our nation healed of the many social ills it suffers.

Christmas is the time for revival! As one pastor said, “there is no recession in heaven!” Christ commanded us to pray for God’s will on earth as in heaven. Prayers of the faithful are effective to bring about His will in the little things as well as the grand. This Christmas allow the light of Christ to shine in your heart and through your life. With every word of comfort and encouragement, with every act of compassion and care, with every plan that advances the kingdom, revival is realized. Through the power of the Holy Spirit our faith is activated to fan the flame of Christmas revival every day of the year.