At a service during the last weekend at Beulah you’ll find the tabernacle filled to capacity. A group of 1400-1500 different people from many walks of life are engaged in one activity, worshipping the “Living God”. What a mighty throng those assembled represent. This congregation represents hundreds upon hundreds of Bible believing, God fearing men and women.

This year, as in other years, the camp evangelists were used by God to challenge and stimulate us. Life changes occurred. We were reminded of how God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The thought that it is only through Christ our sins are forgiven and only through Him we have the hope of spending eternity with God was reinforced. As I reflect upon the services, and “the Beulah experience,” one thought continues to pervade my mind; that thought being “With God anything is possible.”

During the first weekend of Beulah, we learned that our provincial government had accepted a change in the traditional definition of marriage. We were dismayed and silently cried out, “Why? How could this be? Someone must do something.” As the week progressed, we awoke one morning to the news that terrorists had bombed sections of London. Again, we were dismayed and whispered “Why? How could this happen? Someone must do something.”

First, it should come as no surprise to us that evil exists, or that bad things happen to both good and bad people. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We also know from the Bible that sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result, and this is the heartbreaker, the perfect relationship that man enjoyed with God was broken. Adam and Eve were punished, the serpent was punished, and now sin is the order of the day in this world.

God tells us that we are aliens in this world. As Christians we are but visitors. We are according to John 15:19, “not of the world.” Something new and exciting has transpired in our lives. We have been reborn. If, and I believe many of you have accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, you have Jesus in your life your are no longer serving the Master of Death and Darkness. You now serve a risen Saviour, the Master of Life and Light. He is in our hearts today.

As a result of sin bad things happen to both good and bad people; however, we don’t have to simply lie down and take it. We don’t have to adopt a fatalistic lifestyle. We serve a God who can do anything. We serve the all-powerful, all knowing, all present God of the universe. He is our Creator. There is hope! Hope of change! Hope of revival and renewal in our midst!

What is needed in our lives is an ever present, ever active faith in the Saviour of mankind, Jesus Christ. Jesus changed the world, and he is still changing it today.
In Sunday school we teach our children the song, “I’m in the Lord’s Army.” When my wife and I were teaching our oldest girl this song (she’s now 3½), she learned the song very quickly but changed the words a bit. She’d sing, “I am the Lord’s army” not “I’m in the Lord’s army.” We thought it was cute. As I have had time to reflect on her word change, I am awe struck at how profound a statement it was and continues to be. “I am the Lord’s army”, and so are you, and you, and you. God wants each of us to serve Him not with a “laissez faire” attitude, but with grit and determination. We are to serve Him with a heart and life that has an insatiable appetite and thirst for all the things of God. All this so that the Good News that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost may be shared with as many people as possible. All this so that souls may be won for the kingdom of heaven.

Where do I begin? How can I do my part in seeing the world changed? I believe it all begins and ends with this sentence… “We must have an active relationship with God.” This constitutes a variety of spiritual disciplines. Keith Drury, in his book “Unveiled Faces”, talks about many spiritual disciplines, such as fasting and Scripture reading. Yet where is a good starting point for me? I believe its prayer.

In the Bible, when did change occur for the good? It happened when men and women had their eyes on God and were serious about living for Him. It happened when people prayed. Elijah demonstrated this in the contest with the 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:1-40 and his subsequent victory. He also prayed for rain in 1 Kings 18:41-46. God heard the prayer and He answered with rain. In the book of Joel 2:15-17, the prophet is calling for a prayer meeting. Their sins have been confessed. Now the people must pray. During the last 300 years darkness has been beaten back when people, like John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Finney, paid attention to God and prayed. These men prayed for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This outpouring was so amazing that lives were touched and changed radically. In our lifetime, our world has slipped toward Satan at an alarming rate. Why? The world has slipped because the giant, that is Christianity, has been asleep. We have forgotten God. We’re too willing to look the other way and not get involved. We don’t get involved because we don’t like the smell or the dirt that’s involved.

William Cowper has written, “And Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.”

At a service during the last weekend at Beulah you’ll find the tabernacle filled to capacity. A group of 1400-1500 different people from many walks of life are engaged in one activity, worshipping the “Living God”. What a mighty throng those assembled represent. This congregation represents hundreds upon hundreds of Bible believing, God fearing men and women. So, when does change begin? It begins right now. This very moment God can change our world; revival and renewal can come. Will you join with me in claiming the victory for our lives? Will you claim Christ Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? Will you actively seek Him out in a daily walk with Him? If the Lord has stirred your hearts today, join your voices with mine, and let us actually cry out to God by saying, “Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. Forever and ever. Amen."