In 2020 our emphasis is on revival for America with three key words: revive, renew, and redeem. You will begin to see the elements of our website and posts reflect this emphasis. We hope you’ll join us in praying for God to pour out the Holy Spirit with a mighty rushing wind of revival for our nation and around the world.

 

This week’s memory verse:

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (ESV)

 

Meditate and apply:

1. Little words can have big meaning. The first word in this verse is “if.” We can’t skip over this word. “If” means there are conditions that apply. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” Isn’t that a description of our world today? We long for revival. We long for God to heal what’s broken and wrong in our nation and around the world. But to see revival, the people of God must first do four things:
   • Humble ourselves. A humble person is one that is free from arrogance and pride and has an accurate estimate of his/her worth (Ecclesiastes 7:20). From  Psalm 51:17 and Micah 6:8, we learn that what God desires more than anything is a humble spirit which is demonstrated by recognizing one’s sinfulness before a holy God, being obedient to God, and being submissive to God. Humility is the pathway to revival.
   • Pray. From James 4:2, we learn that prayer makes a difference in what happens. If we want to see revival, we need to petition God to send it. Humility is the pathway that leads to revival, but the path starts in prayer. That prayer should be one of repentance and desperation.
     • Every Christian longing to see God move in a mighty way across America needs to spend some time alone with Him in an attitude of repentance. Repentance is a change of the heart and mind accompanied by remorse when one realizes a wrong has been done. It is a deeply seated and thorough turning away from self toward God. It is total and complete surrender to the purposes of God and living within His will. Repentance occurs when there is a radical turning towards Him as we recognize Him as the most important fact of our existence.
     • Praying for revival isn’t just, “Dear God, send a revival.” Christians need to wake up. We have a “head knowledge” about the brokenness and sin that is rampant in our nation, but we don’t have a “heart knowledge.” We’ve become complacent and say, “It’s just the way things are today.” However, things are the way they are because the people of God have become lax. We have not yet come to the point of desperation. We still have plans and programs; we are still going to this conference and that conference trying to find the right sort of thing that will get our people going again. We have not yet reached a place of desperation, which makes me ask, “How bad do things have to be before we reach desperate?” For the nation of Israel, it wasn’t until they were invaded, defeated, and carried off into captivity by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Lord, I pray that you will open the eyes of your people to the desperate state America is in. That we will see the true brokenness and sin that is rampant and that you will give us a burning longing fueled by desperation to see you move mightily in our nation.

Prayers of repentance and desperation are the sort of prayers that precede revival.

• • Seek the face of God. Jeremiah 29:13 says, You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Its time we seek God with all of our hearts. If you feel like you’ve been searching for God, but not finding Him, then how much do you really want to find Him? Is knowing Him your greatest passion? After Jesus’ resurrection, he appears to two disciples along the way to Emmaus. As they walked, they talked about the Scriptures and the disciples didn’t recognize who Jesus was. But when Jesus disappeared, they said, “Did not our heart burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” In Psalm 42, we read, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” Dear brother or sister, does your heart burn within you to truly know God? Is your soul thirsty and dry? Come to the well of living water and seek God with all your heart.

• • Turn from our wicked ways. Perhaps you’re thinking, “I’m not as bad as…” We can all look across the headlines and find someone that is a bigger sinner. Most of us can look as close as our own school, office, church, or even within our family to find someone with bigger sins. (James 2:10) Stop comparing…. just stop it! Instead bring your sins to Jesus and seek His forgiveness and then turn away from doing that wicked thing. You might say, “It was just a little lie” or “I only took this little thing from the office” or “Everyone calls in when they’re not really sick” or “You don’t understand! I have a right to be angry.” My friend, God doesn’t seek little sins and big sins. Your “little” sin is just as big of a deal to Him as someone else’s really big sin. Your “little” sin sent Jesus to the cross just as much as someone else’s really big sin. God does not contribute size to sin. To Him, sin is sin – regardless. We are the ones that rank sins according to “how bad” they are. So whatever sin the Holy Spirit reveals to you, come with a broken and contrite heart before God. Allow that sin to break your heart just as much as it breaks the heart of God. If we are truly broken over our sin, then we will turn away from it and seek the heart of God.

2.    These four things are the conditions needed for God to bring a revival. Our memory verse tells us that when God’s people do these, then He will do His part – which is hearing our prayers of repentance and desperation as well as our petitions for revival, He will forgive our sins, and heal our land. My friend, healing for America will only occur through a revival.

Will you commit to praying with us in 2020 that God will revive His people, renew our faith, and redeem our land? We feel such an urgency and desperation for revival. If God is moving your heart for revival, write your revival prayer in the comments along with your state or country. 

#revival #renew #redeem #revivalinAmerica #revivalin2020 #WCM

Now you can receive the weekly memory verse straight to your email inbox. Sign up below.

 

 

Would you consider giving Wellspring a Christmas gift this year? We’re raising fund for some media equipment needed for our ministry.  Click here to make your secure tax-deductible contribution.

T-shirt Fundraiser Event: If you missed getting one of our Christmas designs, be sure to check out all the other designs. We have some great Christian designs based on popular Scriptures that can be a testimony of your faith and a witness to the lost.

New Year’s Day is just around the corner. Revelation 21:5 says that God makes all things new. You can get this shirt for New Year’s Day now. (Click the shirt to go to the store).

Thank you for helping us grow!

Click here to view the Teespring store. 

Click here to view the Spreadshop Store 

#fundraiser #tshirt #WCM #teespring #spreadshop #Revelation21:5 #allthingsnew

BOOKING NOW! Be a host site for the NEW God, Love & Marshmallow Wars Book Tour & Couples Conference:

This event helps couples understand why the daily activities found in the book will equip them to build a stronger marriage and the book provides them with 365 intentional activities to take what they learn at the event and apply it on a daily basis. Through the event, couples will discover the Biblical “why” behind the categories of activities found in the book and the “how” these activities are important to building a stronger marriage. Focus points of the event includes :

• How memorizing scripture together and studying God’s Word together as they study, meditate and apply scriptures related to marriage and life issues will help them develop marriages that honor God.
• Why utilizing fun conversation starters that spark meaningful conversations will keep interest alive as they continually learn new things about each other.
• Why keeping romance alive is essential to intimacy and connectivity.
• How making memories and working together builds relationship investment bonds and how these investment bonds can become the knots that keeps them together through the tough times.
• How they can understand what they are or are not contributing to the marriage as well as how they might be contributing to problems or potential problems within the relationship through the use of targeted, intentional personal reflections
• Why it is important that couples never stop dating and how group dates with Christian friends can be both an encouragement and accountability to their own relationship.

During the event, couples will be given an activity from each focus point to do together, making this event an interactive, fun, and engaging event with practical, hands-on learning. Unlike other couple events that are over when the event ends, couples who attend the GLMW event will be able to apply what they learn when utilizing the book on a daily basis for a year. Since the book is not dated, couples are able to reuse the activities year after year to continue being intentional in strengthening their relationship with each other and with God as they strive to live out God’s design for marriage every day.

Learn more about hosting this event at your church or conference site by clicking here.

About the book: The GLMW book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

#GLMW #couplesevent #GLMWbook #intentionalmarriage #Godlymarriage

Looking for a keynote speaker for your next ministry event? Julia is now booking for 2019 and 2020 Christian events for women’s and couples’ ministries for both small and large events.
Book with us now.

Julia is CEO of Wellspring Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people and couples develop a passionate relationship with God. A public speaker, conference trainer, event planner, and blog writer, Julia is a two-time graduate from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor in Psychology and a masters in Professional Counseling. Saved as a child and raised in church and in a Christian home and private Christian School as a Pastor’s kid, Julia has taught Sunday school, led music, played the piano, served as Children’s Director, and engaged her gifts in many other areas of church life. Previously employed with the Florida Baptist Convention, Julia organized events and led conferences for church ministry assistants. Today, Julia enjoys sharing her journey as a growing Christian with others looking for a deeper connection with God. Through Bible study and her own life experiences, God has given Julia a passion to help couples understand God’s design for marriage while they learn to place God first in their marriage, cultivate meaningful relationships, build intimacy, and address the tougher issues that come in every marriage so that they can experience a marriage that honors and glorifies God. Julia also loves mentoring, teaching, and working with women to help them learn to live as Godly women.

With her history and experience growing up in both small and large churches, Julia enjoys bringing top level quality events to churches of all sizes. Her father largely pastored small churches and therefore she understands that these vital parts of the believing community need to be good stewards of the resources God provides them with. This knowledge inspires her passion for being available with a fresh perspective for those who want to provide their congregations with meaningful spiritual growth opportunities, regardless of size.

To request more information or a booking, 
fill out the online form here.

Or call us at 904.524.8073

#JuliaBruce #speaker #keynote #author

Wellspring receives an 8% commission for any item purchased
at CBD through any of these links. Your cost to purchase any item through an affiliate link is the same as purchasing directly from CBD.

Clicking any affiliate link will open a new browser page and take you to Christian Book Distributor’s website.

Christmas Items at Christian Book Distributors:

Here are a sample of items from CBD. We are an affiliate of CBD and receive an 8% commission on any product you purchase through these links which we then use to advance our ministry. If you need a Christian gift or looking for Christian Christmas decorations, go to CBD through any link below and search their website for books, Bibles, gifts, decor, and more.

Overcomer, Blu-ray/DVD/Digital By Provident Films From the creators of War Room, Courageous and Fireproof. Basketball coach John Harrison’s high school team is crushed by the closing of the town’s largest employer. Hundreds of families move, leaving him running a struggling cross-country program. But then he meets Hannah and begins helping this unlikely runner attempt the impossible in the year’s biggest race. Starring Alex Kendrick, Priscilla Shirer, and Aryn Wright-Thompson. Rated PG. Dove approved (12+). Approx. 119 minutes. Blu-ray Exclusives: The Heart of Overcomer Creating the Opening Drone Shot Working with the Kendricks Post-Production Behind-the-Scenes: Editing, Scoring, Coloring, and Sound Design “Enough” (Lyric Video) Featuring Koryn Hawthorne Don’t Mess with the Editors Special Features: The Making of Overcomer Bloopers 10 Minutes of Additional Scenes Commentary with Director Alex Kendrick and Producer Stephen Kendrick Overcomer in 60 Seconds The Theme of Identity The Power of Forgiveness “Overcomer” (Lip Sync Music Video) Featuring Mandisa and More! Other Features: Audio: English, French (PAR), Spanish, Thai Subtitles: English, English (SDH), Spanish, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Tagalog, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese

Waiting on God By Charles F. Stanley / Howard Books Are you waiting for God to answer your prayers? Does time tick by without any hint that things will change? You’re not alone! Drawing on personal experiences and biblical principles, Stanley offers a practical and encouraging guide to making the most of the “delays” and following God’s lead to the blessings he has planned for you.

Letters to the Church By Francis Chan / David C Cook If God had it His way, what would our churches look like? In his most powerful book yet, Pastor Francis Chan digs deep into biblical truths, reflections on his own failures and dreams, and stories of ordinary people God is using to change the world. As Chan says, “We’ve strayed so far from what God calls Church. We all know it. We know that what we’re experiencing is radically different from the Church in Scripture. For decades, church leaders like myself have lost sight of the inherent mystery of the Church. We have trained people sitting in the pews to become addicted to lesser things. It’s time for that to change.” When Jesus returns, will He find us caring for His Bride-even more than for our own lives? Letters to the Church reminds us of how powerful, how glorious the Church once was … and calls us to once again be the Church God intended us to be. Bonus Videos: The 4 videos from Francis Chan’s BASIC Study series (Fellowship, Communion, Teaching, Prayer) are included here as additional material for you to feel free to use in your church. They are not part of the “Letters to the Church” series.

A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer By John Piper / Crossway Is your soul so stuffed with worldly desires that you have little room left for God? Piper invites you to turn from materialism and sharpen your appetite for God through prayer and fasting. His exploration of fasting will help you understand how this ancient biblical practice can nourish your spiritual life and satisfy your longings. 201 pages, softcover from Crossway.

Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity, and the Things We’ve Made Up By Francis Chan & Preston Sprinkle / David C Cook In Erasing Hell, Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle take on the topic of hell and our eternal destiny, with a sense of humility and a deep respect for the inspired Word of God. They will address questions such as “Will everyone be saved?” and “Does God Get What He Wants in the End?” as well as reviewing in depth, everything Jesus said about Hell. Chan and Sprinkle lay all the evidence on the table and present all the facts from Scripture, so that people can decide what to believe for themselves.

Double Blessing: How to Get It. How to Give It. By Mark Batterson / Multnomah New York Times bestselling author and pastor Mark Batterson believes the key to radically increasing your faith, joy, and abundance can be found in these three words: Flip the blessing. His discovery started with a simple experiment. Whenever he received a blessing, he would give a similar blessing away. If someone paid him a compliment or gave him a gift or went out of their way to help him, he would return the favor by doing something similar for someone else. We flip the blessing by blessing others in the way God has blessed us. That’s how the blessing becomes a double blessing. It turns giving into a game–one we can’t win because God will always outgive us! It’s an ancient truth found within the Abrahamic covenant: “I will bless you…and you will be a blessing.” In other words, we are blessed to bless. In a day and age where the idea of blessing has been reduced to a hashtag (#blessed), Batteron challenges readers to pursue true, God-glorifying blessing and experience an exponential impact by participating in the double blessing. Don’t settle for half of what God offers. Discover how you can both get it and give it.

Not Safe: Discovering God’s Dangerous Plan for Your Life By Mark Batterson / Zondervan As believers, we may feel tempted to “play it safe”—but God wants to make us dangerous on his behalf! In this inspiring message based on his book All In, Batterson explains that “holding the fort” was never Jesus’ plan for his followers. Instead, he dares you to choose a radical life of spiritual surrender—beginning today. 160 pages, hardcover from Zondervan.

Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God By Mark Batterson / Multnomah God still speaks today. His voice and guidance wasn’t only for the saints and prophets of old, but for followers of Jesus now. In Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God, author and pastor Mark Batterson shares seven ways that God communicates with His followers, if they’ll stop to listen. Through the tools of Scripture, Doors, Dreams, People, Promptings, and Pain, God weaves divine messages of love, encouragement and insight, into our lives every day. Hardcover.

Zondervan’s 2020 Church and Nonprofit Tax & Financial Guide By D. Busby, V. Laue, M. Martin & J. Van Drunen / Zondervan One of the few resources offering advice to churches and nonprofit organizations on issues of financial accountability, receiving and maintaining tax-exempt status, and charitable gifts. Also includes a thorough description of tax laws, sample policies and procedures with easy techniques for simplifying them, insights on medical expense reimbursements, sound compensation planning, and examples of required IRS filings. 224 pages, softcover.

Zondervan’s 2020 Minister’s Tax and Financial Guide By D. Busby, V. Laue, M. Martin & J. Van Drunen / Zondervan If you find April 15 taxing in more ways than one, let this easy-to-follow manual come to the rescue! The 2020 edition features a line-by-line explanation of Form 1040 and recent changes in the tax code—with valuable hints about how to reduce next year’s bill. Also includes guidance on compensation, retirement, and ways to maximize business expense reimbursements. 192 pages, softcover.

2020 Multiple Blessings Create It Planner By Caroline Simas Simas / Perfect Timing Inc Multiple Blessings Create-It Planner lets you plan out your schedule the way you want with pages for reminders, lists, monthly goals and special dates. Blank calendar grids in a perpetual 12-month format lets you start on any month you choose in weekly and monthly views. Includes additional space for project tracking, contact and password info, and drawing make this all-in-one planner a must-have! Details: Colorful art design by Caroline Simas 120+ coordinating stickers Color-coordinating elastic band closure 218 pages of premium paper. Spiral bound, Linen-embossed hardcover Measures 7″ x 9″

2020 Planner Too Blessed to be Stressed By Debora Coty / Barbour Publishing Ideal for personal or home use, the 2020 Too Blessed to be Stressed 15-month engagement planner, features memorable quotes from Debora M. Coty’s heartwarming devotional, Too Blessed to be Stressed, as well as specially selected Scripture quotations. Other features include: Weekly, monthly, and year-at-a-glance calendars 17 months of inspiring readings from inspirational humorist Debora M. Coty Pages for monthly goal-setting 17 months of planning – August 2019 – January 2021 Address book for frequent contacts Color coordinating pages Elastic belly band to all your notes contained Scripture from various translations Hardcover  4.375” x 7.25”

2020 Mornings with Jesus By Zondervan Begin each day with Jesus . . . and get to know him as your Redeemer, Friend, and Faithful One! Designed to take just five minutes every morning, these 365 engaging readings include Scripture verses, meditations from 13 different authors, and challenging “Faith Steps” meant to inspire and encourage you in your daily walk. 379 pages, softcover from Zondervan.

One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land, Member Book By Priscilla Shirer / Lifeway One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land – Member Book by Priscilla Shirer provides a personal study experience five days a week plus viewer guides for the group video sessions of this discussion-driven women’s Bible study. Priscilla encourages participants to fully engage in the abundant life God has waiting for those who will allow Him to take the lead in daily living. One in a Million is an opportunity for you to experience your deliverance from strongholds, to conquer your wilderness living, and to claim your God-given inheritance. 6 Sessions. Includes Leader Guide.

Before Amen: The Power of Simple Prayer (Study Guide) By Max Lucado / Thomas Nelson In Before Amen, Max Lucado, a self-professed “recovering prayer wimp,” reveals his personal struggles with prayer. He will show you how he discovered that prayer is not a privilege for the pious or the art of a chosen few but a simple tool all believers have been given to have a conversation with God. Through the use of a simple, easy-to-remember, pocket-sized prayer that he distilled from the prayers in the Bible, he will lead your church members in building a prayer life that is stronger, better and deeper. Designed to be used with the Before Amen 4-session small group DVD study, this study guide includes leader helps, discussion questions, conversation starters, and between-session activities to enhance your understanding and application of Max’s teaching. First Lesson Free! PDF Study Guide

God, Love, and Marshmallow Wars: 365 Daily Challenges to Grow Your Marriage

By Julia M. Bruce / WestBow Press