When I was growing up in the 70s, the watchword among independent Baptists was separation. And with good reason. Many of my mentors were men who had come out of denominations that denied the inerrancy of Scripture, miracles of the Bible, and even the virgin birth of Christ.

We are surrounded by the work of God’s creative genius. The Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1). The engineering precision of the universe continues to be uncovered by the advance of science.

On August 9, 1975, I stood on the platform of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Fairfax, Virginia, and waited for my bride-to-be to walk down the aisle.

Anyone with a Bible can verify the most amazing facts of human history, as well as the foundational truths of what we can know about God and eternity. He can do this by examining the prophecies made in the Old Testament Scriptures, indisputably written centuries before He was born, that were fulfilled in the coming and ministry of Jesus.

Many of us pray for revival. But what, specifically, do we mean by the phrase “pray for revival”?

We’ve all had ideas of what the ideal romance is. When you were younger, it may have been images of a knight in shining armor, bravely rescuing the princess.

I love my Bible! The more I consider it, the more I realize God loved me enough to give me a letter of love–filled with power, correction, guidance, and grace. It is a wonderful book, echoing the words of David when he spoke about the sword of Goliath, “There is none like it, give it me.” Truly there is none like it!

In less than one year’s time, the Welsh Revival of 1904–1905 saw 100,000 people saved. This great moving of God’s Spirit came through the preaching of a twenty-six-year-old preacher named Evan Roberts, who had prayed for revival for eleven years. So many were converted and evidenced truly-changed lives in such a short time span that the nation of Wales even became known for a time as “The Land of Revival.”

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart (Where?) Down in my heart (Where?) Down in my heart. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart (Where?) Down in my heart to stay.” I have the joy of the Lord in my heart, but do I enjoy what I have?

A growing Christian should practice perpetual gratitude. In this verse, we see that we should give thanks in everything. This means even in the worst situations we should give thanks because it is the will of God.