As a Revival Preacher I often look to the Scriptures for fresh Verses to buttress what I try to do for our Lord. Better yet, I pray, what the Lord does through me.

I recently found one, a “new” Verse to me. And it has blessed my heart this morning here in a motel room in midtown Atlanta, Georgia.

“And they that shall be of Thee shall build the old waste places: Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and Thou shalt be called, The Repairer of the breach, The Restorer of paths to dwell in.” Isaiah 58:12

To be “of the Lord” one must be born-again. That is evident. But what (according to this Verse) the Believer must then do, or what he will do, is very significant.

He (or she) will “build the old waste places!”

Wow!

Have I allowed formerly precious Truths and habits of life to fall into “trash bin” of my life? To become “waste places?”

If so, I need to “build,” actually to “rebuild!”

That’s called Revival!

Learning how to do such rebuilding … then doing it!

But if I can rebuild those waste places, God will do something! 

He will do several things in fact! 

He will “raise up the foundations.”

And “repair the breach.”

And become a “Restorer” that last Clause says.

Wow!

The first step is mine … “build the old waste places.”

That desire, that effort then unleashes the great Power of God!

And He will … “Raise up the foundations of many generations; and be called, The Repairer of the breach, The Restorer of paths to dwell in.”

Have a little personal Revival there in your heart today.

Follow through on your part of Isaiah 58:12 … IF you are “of the Lord.”

Enough said …

Dr. Mike Bagwell

.

I was reading last week, and the author (an old Puritan) compared our thoughts to a blossoming fruit tree! In his illustration, each blossom was a thought. But (as is true in nature) every single blossom did not yield fruit. (Fruit being analogous to our actions, deeds.) But one never knows which blossom will yield fruit and which will not.

The moral of the story … keep every blossom in your life (in your head) wholesome, lovely, fragrant! Because some of them will eventually become fruit; meaning deeds, maybe even habits and lifestyles!

This prompted to consider Genesis 6:5. Where the “blossoms” of this world had all become ugly, sinful! And God was forced (to be true to His Character, a Holy God) to judge the whole world!

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Today check your thought life.

Do not live the Genesis 6:5 paradigm!

Rather, try this …

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK on these things.” Philippians 4:8

Let’s be the right kind of fruit-bearing trees to the Glory of God!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

.

Yes, the first Line of the 45th Psalm uses that very verb, “inditing.”

But what does it mean?

Here’s the first Sentence in the Verse, King James Version … “My heart is inditing a good matter.”

First, let me mention that the Object of this inditing is the noun “matter.” This is simply spelled “dabar” in Hebrew. It’s a word found 1,439 times in the Bible. and over 800 of those times it is translated “word.” Very often as the “Word” of God!

I really think the Psalmist is referring to the Words that proceed out of the Mouth of God. He has been “inditing” Scripture!

Now to our verb … “inditing” is “rachash” in Hebrew. (Accent the second syllable when pronouncing it.)

To complicate matters, the verb is only used one time in all the Bible, obviously right here!

But its lexicon meaning is … “to keep (something) moving!” Actually “to stir” something. In other words, producing life and vibrancy and enthusiasm!

Let’s put together the verb and its object … “inditing a matter, inditing a word.”

“My heart is inditing a good matter.”

And if this Word is God’s Word, Holy Writ, it is here catalogued as “good!” Amen to that! The GOOD (“tob” in Hebrew) Word of God! (“Wealthy, precious beautiful,” a few of the translations of that term in the King James Version of the Bible!)

And now the subject of the Sentence … the Psalmist himself! His heart, his mind, his soul!

And as he (wisely) ponders, recalls, meditates upon the Word of God … His heart is stirred, his mind is warmed, his soul is refreshed!

Now let’s all stop and immediately go to our Bibles!

Spend some time “in” the Word and see if you are not (also) “stirred!”

Excited!

Invigorated!

Yes, the Bible is indeed a living Book!

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

.