Bittersweet Resistance

Stirring The Fires of Revival

Cliff Alger — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:10:43 +0000

This week at our church we are having our annual Solemn Assembly, tonight is the final night, and God has just been moving in such an awesome way. Last night while I was praying I began to cry out God for revival in my own life as well as here on the East Coast. As I prayed and called out to God I began to tangibly feel as if my hands and body were on fire and the Lords presence just seemed to wash over me in waves. The Lord mentally took me back to the night that I gave my heart to Jesus ten years ago. I’ll never forget that night as long as I live, I remember sitting in the pews during the preaching of the word and crying almost uncontrollably, I knew that I was missing something in my life and that I needed God! I remember walking forward towards the front altar area of the church when the Pastor gave the altar call and the tangible presence of God just cam upon me so powerfully, I could barely stand! I remember standing there during this incredible experience going “God your real, I can’t believe that your really real! This thing is real!” That night in that little obscure church I met with God and my life was forever changed. I didn’t need someone to try and intellectually prove God to me, I didn’t need to sit through any length of teaching to try and convince me, I believed because I experienced God for myself. There are so many people today who have a head knowledge about God (which is definitely important) but no heart knowledge. That night God manifested Himself to me and captured my heart forever and I have been pursuing Him ever since. The scripture says in Psalm 34:8, “taste and see that the Lord is Good”. It’s an invitation for us to experience God for ourselves, to taste of His goodness. That night God ignited a fire in me that changed the course of my life, and my passion right now is for God to fill me to overflowing, to kindle a greater fire in me than ever before. I am hungry for revival not only in my church and region but also in my own life. Let’s stir up the flames of revival!

Home Depot Revelation

Cliff Alger — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:51:32 +0000

One thing I love about God is that He has an awesome way of surprising us when we least expect it.

Today my Father in-law and I were in Home Depot buying a toolbox and while we were checking out my Father in-law ran into a guy he knew from church. I was just standing there listening to their conversation about church stuff when suddenly this man said something that took both me and my Father in-law by surprise. He was talking about some problems he once had with some church members and he shared with us a revelation that the Lord gave him during this frustrating time, he said that God told him, “if you will look over some of other peoples faults then other people will look over some of yours.”

My Father in-law and I looked at each other like, “whoa, that was heavy!” Man, I’ve really been thinking about that over the last few hours and it’s really been hitting me. How often do we nitpick about everyone else’s faults and shortcomings when the reality is that we know deep down that we’ve got our own? How unforgiving are we when others make mistakes or don’t do things the way that we think they should? It’s easy to point out everyone else’s faults and overlook our own in the meantime isn’t it?

If we will look over some of other peoples faults than maybe other people will look over some of ours. Learn to cut people some slack, give the situation to God and let Him fight your battles for you.

Eternal Life Starts Now

Cliff Alger — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:35:41 +0000

John 10:28, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

I don’t know about you, but when I think about the fact that as a child of God that I have been saved and set free from sin and that Jesus has given me eternal life, it just makes me fall in love with Him over and over again.

It’s like that song that says “when I think about the Lord, how he saved me, how he raised me, how he filled me with the Holy Ghost, how he healed me to the uttermost. When I think about the Lord, how he picked me up and turned me around, how he placed my feet on solid ground. It makes me want to shout!” And man, that just how I feel when I think about how good Jesus has been to me!

Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe because we owed a debt that we could not pay. We have been given something that we absolutely do not deserve. It’s incredible!

If we belong to Christ then eternal life has already begun! I’ve been thinking about that lately, eternal life is not something that only begins when we die and get to heaven, it begins the moment we are born-again – think about that, right now, if you are a believer, you are already living eternally! It doesn’t mean that we are everything that we should be yet, or that we have it all together, it just means that every day we are walking in the grace and mercy of God.

Jesus makes it clear that if we are His sheep (v27) that absolutely no one can snatch us out of His hand!

Confidence to Completion

Cliff Alger — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:17:48 +0000

Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”

This has always been a very encouraging verse for me over the years.

One thing that we have to constantly remind ourselves of is the fact that if God is the one who has begun the great work of salvation in us, which he has, then He is the one who will finish it.

God never starts something that He doesn’t finish. What we need to do is place our full trust and confidence in Him and His power. So often we carry all of the weight and responsibility for bringing the plans and purposes of God to pass in our lives upon ourselves. This passage reminds us that God has begun the work and He will be the one who will complete it. This gives us permission to stop worrying so much.

All we have to do is trust God, be obedient to Him, be patient in the process, and enjoy the ride.