Dear Friends,
There have been five momentous occasions in my spiritual life. First when in 1962 I knelt before my cot while attending a Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Conference in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and yielded my life to Jesus asking Him to be my Lord and Savior.
The second occasion was when in the early 80's I was introduced to the classic book Disciple by Juan Carlos Ortiz who later would make three visits to churches I pastored and whose friendship and teaching greatly impacted my understanding of spiritual leadership.
The third took place in a corn field at a Creation Festival in central Pa., where noted author and speaker, Tony Campolo, challenged me to a more radical form of discipleship. His message so impacted my life that I later invited him to make several visits to the church I was serving in Red Bank, N.J.
The fourth occasion took place while I was on a personal retreat at a spiritual retreat center in Oil City, Pa., where I happened to eavesdrop on a men’s retreat that was also occupying the facility for the weekend. I was there by myself to spend some personal time with the Lord, and I knew nothing about the men’s retreat that would also be sharing the facility.
Although I didn’t know the speaker at the time, I was immediately drawn to him as I listened as he shared Christ’s love with the men at the retreat. Only later did I discover the speaker was the late Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel Church movement. I would later spend 13 years of my ministry serving two Calvary Chapel Churches.
And the last occasion of spiritual significance took place just this past Saturday as Jean and I joined with thousands of others to watch and listen to the live stream event in Washington called “The Return.” “The Return” was a weekend event calling people from all over the country to meet together to repent and pray for the healing of our nation. Thousands of people from all over our land gathered at the foot of the Washington Monument to hear speakers share their hopes for peace and unity while praying for a nation whose fabric has been ripped apart by political, social, and racial unrest. Well known speakers like James Dobson (Focus on the Family), Ben Carson (Secretary of Health), Franklin Graham (son of the late Billy Graham and founder of Samaritan’s Purse), and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, author of the bestselling book, the Harbinger, were just a few of the many leaders, who participated in the event
No political correctness, no innocuous religion platitudes, no partisan politics, but simply prayer and the proclamation of the Word of God calling God’s people to return to the principles and practices that have made our nation great.
Over and over again, speakers reminded the gathering of the biblical promise proclaimed in a 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
It was a moving experience for Jean and I, and at one point I was so overcome with emotion that I just broke down and began to weep uncontrollably. It was during a message by the keynote speaker, Jonathan Cahn, who along with other church leaders, had planned and coordinated the event.
If you were unable to listen in, I would encourage you to google Harvest.org to view any or all of the weekend events. I would particularly encourage you to listen to Jonathan Cahn’s presentation which begins one hour and fifty-nine minutes into the Saturday morning event.
As believers, we can play a significant role in the healing of our nation. Let's all commit to fasting and falling on our knees as we pray that God would heal our land. Let us pray that through God's power we would put aside all hatred or rancor we may hold for those with whom we disagree, and pray for the healing of our land during these contentious times.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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