Only a true revival can heal America—and we can all play a part in it.

Notes:

Focus verse: Nehemiah 1
 
As Christians, we want to see America godly again!
 
Nehemiah is about restoring a nation’s heart to God.
 
A true revival can heal our land and make it godly again.
 
Revival is restoration. It’s coming back to life. It’s waking up spiritually and getting back to living the Christian life.
 
Your spiritual house can be rebuilt.
You can go from rubble to revival. 

2 Corinthians 6:14
 
Acts 17:26
 
Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king.
 
He had to have the greatest discretion, loyalty, and honesty.
 
Revelation 2:5
 
Read Nehemiah 1:1–3
 
Nehemiah was deeply moved.  
 
Read Nehemiah 1:4–7
 
#1 Nehemiah acknowledged the greatness of God.
Nehemiah 1:5
 
When we see God in His greatness, we see our problems in their smallness.
 
#2 Nehemiah reminded God of His promises.
 
A. God will never leave you alone in life.
Isaiah 41:10
 
B. God will get you through whatever you are facing.
 
C. God will provide for your needs.
Philippians 4:19
 
D. God will forgive you of your sins.
1 John 1:9
 
#3 Nehemiah confessed his personal sin.
Nehemiah 1:7
 
Sometimes, prayer changes you and you change things.
 
Nehemiah did not talk about prayer, he just prayed.
Nehemiah 1:6
 
Call out to God. He will give you direction.
Jeremiah 33:3
 
#4 Nehemiah’s request was specific.
Nehemiah 1:10–11
  
Let’s ask God for a spiritual awakening in America.
 
Let’s start with our personal lives and our homes. Everybody plays a part.
Nehemiah 7:3

Harvest Crusade tickets are fully claimed—but it’s not too late to participate and witness what God does on July 11. Invite your loved ones to watch online with you and make sure you join the waitlist in case more tickets become available.

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Read: Ephesians 4:21-25; Colossians 3:9-10

Camden and Callie grinned at each other as Mom pulled the car up to the sandy shores of the lake. They grabbed their shovels, raced to the edge of the sparkling water, and began to create castles with deep moats in the sand.

Suddenly, Camden cried out in pain and covered his eyes. “What’s the matter, sweetie?” Mom asked.

Camden pointed an accusatory finger at his sister. “Callie threw sand in my eyes—on purpose!” Mom carefully rinsed out Camden’s eyes with clean water. “Thanks, Mom.” Camden hurried off to jump into the beckoning water.

“Callie, could you please come here?”

Callie put her pink shovel down and plopped down next to Mom with a sigh.

“What just happened with your brother?” Mom asked.

“Well, I think he got upset because I accidentally threw sand at him.”

Mom’s eyes widened. “Accidentally?”

“Yep!”

“Is that what you would tell Jesus?” Mom asked softly.

Callie looked down. “No. I did throw the sand at him on purpose. I was mad because he started digging next to my castle’s moat and it crumbled. I’m sorry, Mom! I didn’t want to tell the truth and get in trouble.”

“Callie, you belong to Jesus, right?”

Callie smiled wide. “Yes I do!”

“Do you remember those verses in Colossians you memorized a few weeks ago?”

“The ones about not lying to each other because we’ve been made new in Jesus?”

Mom nodded. “Because we belong to Jesus, we have taken off our old selves, just like you’ll take off your sandy beach clothes later. You won’t put the dirty ones back on again tomorrow, will you?”

Callie wrinkled her nose. “No! I’ll put on new clothes!” She sighed. “I see what you mean, Mom. I’m not the same person I used to be. I belong to Jesus now, so I need to put on the new life He’s given me and trust Him to help me be like Him.”

Mom smiled. “Exactly! Now, don’t you think you should go apologize to your brother?”

Callie jumped up. “Yes! And the next time I want to tell a lie, I’ll remember to put on God’s truth instead. I don’t like dirty clothes!”

–Savannah Coleman

How about you? Do you belong to Jesus? If so, He’s forgiven your sin and made you a new person. That means it’s time to take off your old, sinful habits and put on the new life He’s given you. You’ll still feel the urge at times to lie or do other things that are wrong, but you don’t have to do those things anymore. Instead, embrace who you are in Jesus by speaking the truth and doing what’s right.

Today’s key verse: You have taken off those old clothes…Now you are wearing a new life. Colossians 3:9-10 (ERV)

Today’s key thought: Put on your new life

A gorgeous barred owl perched on a tree branch at the end of her driveway — camera in hand, several stunning shots captured. And then, an hour later, sitting with a friend in the depths of a broken relationship. Two encounters, stark in their contrast, and yet Tammy Darling found herself recognizing something profound in the space between them: beauty and pain do not cancel each other out. They coexist. And it takes love — the particular, Christ-shaped kind of love — to see the beauty that lives inside pain and call it out.

In this searching and compassionate episode, Tammy refuses to look away. From the homeless man on the park bench to the woman in the grocery store line carrying fear about her future, she asks the question most of us quietly avoid: how can we stand in awe of the natural beauty of this world and not simultaneously seek out the hidden beauty in the people around us who are suffering? Romans 8:18 reminds us that present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that is coming — but Tammy takes it further, arguing that even now, in the midst of pain, beauty can be found and spoken over those who cannot yet see it in themselves. When love comes alongside pain, beauty is born. And entering someone else's pain is not a burden — it is a privilege.

Today's Bible Verse

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
— Romans 8:18, NIV

Ponder Today

1. Beauty and pain can coexist — even in the same moment. We don't have to choose between marveling at the world's beauty and grieving its brokenness. Holding both at once is a mark of a heart shaped by Christ's compassion.
2. In the eyes of the hurting, there are pools of beauty waiting to be discovered. The pain may go deep, but the beauty goes deeper. Choosing to look — truly look — at people in pain is where that beauty begins to be revealed.
3. Sight brings responsibility. What is seen cannot be unseen. When we recognize the pain and hidden beauty in another person, we are called to speak it, to act on it, and to enter it. Seeing and doing nothing is its own kind of turning away.
4. Love coming alongside pain is how beauty is born. Compassion, empathy, grace, and mercy are not just kind responses to suffering — they are facets of the love that Christ Himself is, and they transform pain into something redemptive.
5. We were commanded, not suggested, to love one another as Christ loved us. John 13:34 uses the word must. We cannot pass by the wounded stranger on the road. Engaging with the pain of others is not optional for those who follow Jesus.

A Prayer for You Today

Dearest Jesus, though we live in a broken and fallen world, there is much beauty to behold. We thank You for the privilege of entering into the pain of others so that Your beauty may shine through, even in the darkest of places. May our days be full of compassion and love for one another. When we are hurt, may we forgive. When we are rejected, may we remember that You were too. When we see the hurting around us, may we choose to engage and ease their pain. May beauty in pain be revealed in all we do and say. In Your precious name, Amen.

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