My oldest son, Caleb, loves to tinker, especially with tools and machines. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aircraft Maintenance, where he specifically studied jet propulsion. Before entering flight school, he even worked as a technician, building and repairing jet engines for a living.
In retrospect, I suppose, my wife and I should have seen this coming. As a child, he loved to work with his hands, and to take things apart. And when he was a freshman in high school, he brought home a blown up 3.5 horsepower Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engine in a 35 gallon tub, with the expressed purpose of taking it apart and rebuilding it in order that it would run good as new.
Through my son and his interests in such things, I have taken a liking to a television show titled American Restoration on the History Channel. Begun six years ago as a spin-off of the wildly popular Pawn Stars (the hit History Channel series teaching history through a variety of items brought in to a pawn shop), American Restoration is another reality TV series based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It features a man named Rick Dale and his business, called Rick's Restorations, that restores various vintage items to their original condition.
Along the way, they have restored almost everything to a pristine state. A long list is detailed on their web page, and, among other things, includes:
•Air Meters
•Ballpark Turnstiles
•Barber Chairs and Barber Shop Poles
•Bicycles
•Bottling Plant Machinery
•Bumper Cars
•Candy Machines
•Cash Registers
•Coffee Gins
•Coke Chests and Coke Machines
•Diner Booths
•Fire Call Boxes and Fire Hydrants
•Gas Pumps
•Gas Stations
•Golf Carts
•Go Karts
•Gumball Machines
•Ice Boxes
•Ice Cream Vendors
•Juke Boxes
•Malt Makers
•Peanut Machines
•Pedal Cars
•Penny Scales
•Photo Booths
•Picnic Coolers
•Lolly Pop Scales
•Mail Boxes
•Popcorn Machines
•Postal Stamp Machines
•Radios
•Railroad Memorabilia
•Refrigerators
•Safes
•Scales
•Signs
•Amusement Rides
•Soda Fountains
•Stop Lights
•Stoves
•Street Lamps
•Telephone Booths
•Trash Cans
•Washing Machines
•Water Coolers
•and Water Fountains.
In truth, few things are as impressive as an antique that has been fully restored and is now in pristine condition and full working order.
It strikes me that human beings are much the same. We come into this world and then we live out our lives. Along the way, we generally fulfill some worthy purpose. As we do, we also tend to take our share of lumps and bruises in the process. As a result of this, we invariably find ourselves in need of attention.
This is true on many fronts. Certainly, our physical bodies wear down and need attention over time. Older persons tend to visit the Doctor more often than younger persons. But sometimes this is true in other ways as well. Sometimes it is true for our pocketbooks, for our relationships, for our emotions, and even for our minds. And above all, it is true for our souls.
Born with a sinful nature into a fallen world, we are broken and in need of regeneration. This has been made gloriously possible through the vicarious death, burial, and resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, on our behalf. In Christ, the Bible tells us, we are made into new creatures!
And yet, even Christians, restored to a proper relationship with Almighty God through the grace of His Son, can grow weak in the face of temptation and/or weary in the face of difficulty. After all, as the bumper sticker says, Christians are not perfect, only forgiven!
When these times come, we relate well to the words of the Psalmist (85:6) who once said, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” Earlier, he had expressed a similar view (in 80:18-19): “Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”
The word translated “revive” is “tə·ḥay·yê·nū” in the original Hebrew. It only occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible - here in these two passages. But it comes from a root word, “chayah”, that occurs 263 times in the Hebrew Bible, and which generally means “to live, to have life”, but which specifically means “to live prosperously, in victory over sickness, discouragement, faintness, and even death”.
Thus, the Psalmist uses the words “revive us” in the context of a transplanted grape vineyard that once prospered, but is now faltering. Its walls have been broken down; and now, not just insects, but even the wild beasts of the field are plundering and spoiling the vines. The vineyard is in need of immediate attention by the gardener, and the Psalmist is crying out for His (God’s) tender loving care.
The hymn writer, William P. Mackay, also understood what it was like to be in this condition, as is evidenced by these classic words that he first penned back in 1863:
We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus Who died,
And is now gone above.
We praise Thee, O God!
For Thy Spirit of light,
Who hath shown us our Savior,
And scattered our night.
All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.
All glory and praise
To the God of all grace,
Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways.
Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
For these reasons, the opportunities for both the restoration of a broken relationship with God (what the Bible calls “salvation”) and the restoration of a broken fellowship with God (what is often called “revival”), our church, like so many others, holds periodic series of meetings called “Revival” with a guest speaker known as an “Evangelist”.
We will be doing this here in a little over one week: Sunday morning, October 19 – Wednesday night, October 22. I and many others are already praying that God will use this series of meetings to mend whatever needs repairing in the lives of all those who attend. If you are in the area, feel free to attend. Info can be found here: www.firstbaptistlc.org. If you are unable to attend, you can listen to the messages brought by our guest speaker, Dr. Roc Collins, at the same web site.
SOURCES:
Rick’s Restorations is in Las Vegas, NV, and can be found online at: http://www.ricksrestorations.com/.
Hebrew word studies can be found at: http://biblehub.com/text/psalms/80-18.htm and http://biblehub.com/text/psalms/85-6.htm respectively.
Hymn Lyrics Source: http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/r/e/reviveus.htm.
In retrospect, I suppose, my wife and I should have seen this coming. As a child, he loved to work with his hands, and to take things apart. And when he was a freshman in high school, he brought home a blown up 3.5 horsepower Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engine in a 35 gallon tub, with the expressed purpose of taking it apart and rebuilding it in order that it would run good as new.
Through my son and his interests in such things, I have taken a liking to a television show titled American Restoration on the History Channel. Begun six years ago as a spin-off of the wildly popular Pawn Stars (the hit History Channel series teaching history through a variety of items brought in to a pawn shop), American Restoration is another reality TV series based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It features a man named Rick Dale and his business, called Rick's Restorations, that restores various vintage items to their original condition.
Along the way, they have restored almost everything to a pristine state. A long list is detailed on their web page, and, among other things, includes:
•Air Meters
•Ballpark Turnstiles
•Barber Chairs and Barber Shop Poles
•Bicycles
•Bottling Plant Machinery
•Bumper Cars
•Candy Machines
•Cash Registers
•Coffee Gins
•Coke Chests and Coke Machines
•Diner Booths
•Fire Call Boxes and Fire Hydrants
•Gas Pumps
•Gas Stations
•Golf Carts
•Go Karts
•Gumball Machines
•Ice Boxes
•Ice Cream Vendors
•Juke Boxes
•Malt Makers
•Peanut Machines
•Pedal Cars
•Penny Scales
•Photo Booths
•Picnic Coolers
•Lolly Pop Scales
•Mail Boxes
•Popcorn Machines
•Postal Stamp Machines
•Radios
•Railroad Memorabilia
•Refrigerators
•Safes
•Scales
•Signs
•Amusement Rides
•Soda Fountains
•Stop Lights
•Stoves
•Street Lamps
•Telephone Booths
•Trash Cans
•Washing Machines
•Water Coolers
•and Water Fountains.
In truth, few things are as impressive as an antique that has been fully restored and is now in pristine condition and full working order.
It strikes me that human beings are much the same. We come into this world and then we live out our lives. Along the way, we generally fulfill some worthy purpose. As we do, we also tend to take our share of lumps and bruises in the process. As a result of this, we invariably find ourselves in need of attention.
This is true on many fronts. Certainly, our physical bodies wear down and need attention over time. Older persons tend to visit the Doctor more often than younger persons. But sometimes this is true in other ways as well. Sometimes it is true for our pocketbooks, for our relationships, for our emotions, and even for our minds. And above all, it is true for our souls.
Born with a sinful nature into a fallen world, we are broken and in need of regeneration. This has been made gloriously possible through the vicarious death, burial, and resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, on our behalf. In Christ, the Bible tells us, we are made into new creatures!
And yet, even Christians, restored to a proper relationship with Almighty God through the grace of His Son, can grow weak in the face of temptation and/or weary in the face of difficulty. After all, as the bumper sticker says, Christians are not perfect, only forgiven!
When these times come, we relate well to the words of the Psalmist (85:6) who once said, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” Earlier, he had expressed a similar view (in 80:18-19): “Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”
The word translated “revive” is “tə·ḥay·yê·nū” in the original Hebrew. It only occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible - here in these two passages. But it comes from a root word, “chayah”, that occurs 263 times in the Hebrew Bible, and which generally means “to live, to have life”, but which specifically means “to live prosperously, in victory over sickness, discouragement, faintness, and even death”.
Thus, the Psalmist uses the words “revive us” in the context of a transplanted grape vineyard that once prospered, but is now faltering. Its walls have been broken down; and now, not just insects, but even the wild beasts of the field are plundering and spoiling the vines. The vineyard is in need of immediate attention by the gardener, and the Psalmist is crying out for His (God’s) tender loving care.
The hymn writer, William P. Mackay, also understood what it was like to be in this condition, as is evidenced by these classic words that he first penned back in 1863:
We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus Who died,
And is now gone above.
We praise Thee, O God!
For Thy Spirit of light,
Who hath shown us our Savior,
And scattered our night.
All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.
All glory and praise
To the God of all grace,
Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways.
Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
For these reasons, the opportunities for both the restoration of a broken relationship with God (what the Bible calls “salvation”) and the restoration of a broken fellowship with God (what is often called “revival”), our church, like so many others, holds periodic series of meetings called “Revival” with a guest speaker known as an “Evangelist”.
We will be doing this here in a little over one week: Sunday morning, October 19 – Wednesday night, October 22. I and many others are already praying that God will use this series of meetings to mend whatever needs repairing in the lives of all those who attend. If you are in the area, feel free to attend. Info can be found here: www.firstbaptistlc.org. If you are unable to attend, you can listen to the messages brought by our guest speaker, Dr. Roc Collins, at the same web site.
SOURCES:
Rick’s Restorations is in Las Vegas, NV, and can be found online at: http://www.ricksrestorations.com/.
Hebrew word studies can be found at: http://biblehub.com/text/psalms/80-18.htm and http://biblehub.com/text/psalms/85-6.htm respectively.
Hymn Lyrics Source: http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/r/e/reviveus.htm.