Important Note: It must be noted here as well that Asbury University and other colleges that have begun similar “revival” meetings (because of the Asbury event) are on the Lighthouse Trails contemplative prayer/Spiritual Formation College list, which presents serious concerns in and of itself. If true God-led revival is indeed taking place, the mystical spirituality that these schools have been embracing and transforming students with cannot be ignored any longer. From our point of view, it will not be true revival unless it is dealt with because such a New Age spirituality leads people away from the Gospel and God’s Word and brings them into the audience of “seducing spirits” (which can lead to beliefs such as atheism, humanism, and wokeism).

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Lighthouse Trails:

I have been keeping an eye on the Asbury “revival” (which began on February 8th) since an article appeared in the American Thinker last Tuesday (2/14).1 The title referred to a “hopeful phenomenon,” then focused on a college paper reporter’s account of the Asbury “revival” being unexpected, even though the school was “no stranger to revivals“ according to the article. Please pardon the length of what follows, but it seems a time-sensitive issue with many questions and flags being raised.

The same article then quoted from articles from CBN and local NBC affiliate WLEX, the latter with a headline that “‘God is transforming lives: Revival continues at Asbury University.”2 One initial thought was since when does a modern NBC affiliate in a large city/college town like Lexington run headlines like that? 

There seemed to be a sense that this might be used just like the “Toronto blessing” as something that started small but set off a movement etc. Even the University president commented that books are likely to be written about this while discussing university plans related to commissioning and sending out those there to share their experiences, all of which warranted a closer look.3

Further checking showed that the Collegiate Day of Prayer organization (a group involved with NAR/ IHOP names such as Lou Engle of The Call and which evidently wrote over and over about connecting that collegiate day of prayer event with “revival“ and “spiritual awakening“4) just happened to release a video on February 1st (days before the Asbury “revival” began) announcing that this year’s revival event would take place at Asbury University with speakers such as [NAR-influenced] Francis Chan and [ecumenical “Global Peace” leader] Rick Warren in the very building where “revival” was reported to be occurring!5 One Assemblies of God-related publication from January 25th of this year concerning that event actually had the headline “A Great Collegiate Awakening—It’s Coming.”6

The Collegiate Day of Prayer promotional video (said to have “premiered February 1”) had the following description:

“Let’s ADOPT and saturate EVERY CAMPUS in America in prayer (go to https://web.archive.org/web/20230215010849/http://collegiatedayofprayer.org to adopt a campus) and join us LIVE from Asbury University on Feb 23rd at 8-10pm ET with special guests Rick Warren, Francis Chan, Allen Hood and worship leaders from International House of Prayer (IHOP), Circuit Riders + Black Voices Movement, and Met By Love Worship. Let’s believe God for REVIVAL amongst believers on college campuses and SPIRITUAL AWAKENING amongst the lost. Father, revive the saved and save the lost!!”7

If this isn’t remarkable enough, the video itself actually starts with someone saying: “Fifty years ago, something extraordinary happened on one college campus,” then shows footage watermarked with WLEX and what appears to be the same facility—Hughes Auditorium. After words from Francis Chan, a narrator concludes: “Join us on February 23, live from Asbury University. Lord, do it again.”

None of the initial reporting or principals I recall seeing were mentioning that convergence of events even in passing, often seeming to promote a narrative that appeared to contend that “no one had any idea, no one started this, God’s moving,” and so forth. To wit, an Asbury journalism professor contended in Sunday’s college paper that “Whatever this is or has become, let’s remember that it began with a small group of students who lingered after chapel. This is pure, unplanned, organic. No big-name speakers or musicians, no pyrotechnics, no outreach. This is not a performance.”8

Despite the massive national and international media coverage, few have seemed to have put together that a historically revival-focused school that has claimed to have had others before and a large one 53 years ago—in the very place that this one is reported to have started—just happens to be hosting in that same space a collegiate day of prayer on February 23rd. Even if someone were to allow for the possibility that man’s fingerprints weren’t on this seemingly remarkable alignment of events, how would that explain the lack of sufficiently connecting those dots in so much media coverage or in the comments from the principals involved, including school officials?

Continuing the remarkable sequence of events, the “revival“ term was used in a headline by an Asbury University college newspaper reporter, with a story that was published the same day as the initial chapel service: Wednesday, February 8th.9 The reporter was listed as having interned last summer for the same aforementioned Lexington NBC TV affiliate. Interestingly, WLEX apparently made no reference to that in what appeared to be their initial story and broadcast covering this.

In none of her coverage that I saw, nor in the initial local NBC news and CBN reports that I saw, is it brought up even as a matter of course that the Collegiate Day of Prayer event was to be held in the same auditorium on February 23rd, complete with high profile figures involved. Wouldn’t that dot likely have been connected by somebody, even just as an information point? Isn’t it legitimate in the absence of clarity and the persistence of some casting this as “pure, unplanned, organic” to raise questions about the nature of the way the story has unfolded? Wouldn’t that especially be the case if there are some innocent or unaware, such as the young collegians and even some reporters, who were sold the ideas of “revival” / “awakening” as something to be pursued, and then chased after it—perhaps at the subtle prodding of figures who might’ve benefited from the timing?

As a capper, this past weekend, the school president just happened to essentially announce the end of the use of the auditorium for the “revival,“ notably with a timeframe that had as the last focused event there none other than the Collegiate Day of Prayer event, then closing Hughes Auditorium at midnight. As the 1970 event left the auditorium open, one might wonder how this works as far as an arguably building-focused “revival“ as far as man proactively scheduling the end there—again, immediately after holding the featured Collegiate Day of Prayer event that had been scheduled well in advance. Also, what he wrote concerning sending out people from this to share about their experiences just happened to tie back into much of what was talked about by the event planners in many of their publications.10 

Given the college president’s speculation concerning books being written about this event, isn’t it legitimate to observe that this event just might happen to raise the profiles and prospects of Asbury University, the Collegiate Prayer Day event and affiliated planners, Rick Warren, Francis Chan, college reporters, those who first reported on this such as WLEX and CBN, and others involved? That last part in it of itself appears to call for a closer look.

Moreover, it seems time to take a look at “revival” as whole, especially as going by what has gone on in some reports and social media, people can arguably call just about anything they want “revival,” while potentially pillorying and dismissing anyone who dares to apply any level of examination to it. Yet, many might sit by placidly when well-compensated bureaucrats in purportedly Christian bureaucracies and constructs not only appear to have the opportunity to use the event as a springboard for their own plans, but to wrap things up in a time convenient to their logistical priorities. This is notwithstanding the claim that God was “moving” and dictating where and when that was occurring—which in this case just happened to be where a planned event for which many have wanted to get national attention was scheduled to occur mere days later. 

Sincerely, Bob, a long-time Lighthouse Trails reader

---

Endnotes:

1. https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/02/a_strange_but_hopeful_phenomenon_in_kentucky.html.
2. https://www.lex18.com/news/god-is-transforming-lives-revival-continues-at-asbury-university.
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20230218225843/https://www.asbury.edu/outpouring.
4. https://collegiatedayofprayer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CDOP-2022.pdf.
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20230215010849/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUVGQQn4b00
6. https://news.ag.org/News/A-Great-Collegiate-Awakening—-it-s-Coming.
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20230215010849/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUVGQQn4b00.
8. https://www.theasburycollegian.com/2023/02/leave-the-labels-to-history-and-watch-god-work.
9. https://www.theasburycollegian.com/2023/02/revival-strikes-asbury-once-again
10. https://www.asbury.edu/academics/resources/library/archives/history/revivals; https://web.archive.org/web/20230218225843/https://www.asbury.edu/outpouring.

Related Articles:

Global Revival or Global Deception: 10 Critical Warnings From the Titanic to the Church

False Revival Kick-Started by Francis Chan, Rodney Howard Browne, Benny Hinn, Bill Johnson, and Todd White

“True Revival in the Midst of Persecution” – The World Will Not Love “True Revival”

What is True Revival?

(photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission; not a photo from Asbury)

*NAR stands for New Apostolic Reformation and IHOP stands for International House of Prayer. Both are an extreme and heretical arm of the charismatic movement. Type those acronyms into the Lighthouse Trails Research blog search engine (above) to find more information about them.

. . . a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks (40 days) later on Holy Thursday, the memorial of the Lord’s supper the Thursday of Holy Week before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and denial of ego. This event is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, Oriental Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season.1

While the Bible does not give any instruction to practice or participate in Lent, many churches do. In fact, since the contemplative prayer movement has come into full swing, more and more churches are observing Lent. And, in fact, Lent is often being used as the open door to bring contemplative prayer into a church. This is largely done through the multitudes of books from religious publishers who have now become conduits for contemplative spirituality.*

Here are the titles of some books currently on the market that incorporate contemplative into Lent:

Lent and Holy Week (Bridges to Contemplative Living) by Thomas Merton and Jonathan Montaldo

Wonderous Encounters (Scriptures for Lent) by Richard Rohr

A Living Lent: A Contemplative Daily Companion for Lent & Holy Week by Peter Traben Haas

The Ignatian Workout for Lent: 40 Days of Prayer, Reflection, and Action by Tim Muldoon

A Lenten Journey – paperback: A Contemplative Devotional On the Passion and Resurrection of Christ by Bill O’Byrne

Sacred Space for Lent

40 Days, 40 Ways: A New Look at Lent by Marcellino D’Ambrosio

Lent With Evelyn Underhill

Journey to the Center: A Lenten Passage by Thomas Keating

Lent and Easter Wisdom by Henri Nouwen

The Lenten Labyrinth by Edward Hays

Lenten Reflections: From the Desert to the Resurrection by Milton Lopes

Sensing God: Learning to Meditate During Lent by Laurence Freeman

While many of these books may be from Catholic or Orthodox publishers, do not think that will keep evangelicals from reading them. As we have mentioned in other documents, Catholic mystic Richard Rohr was told by one of his publishers that his largest reading audience was young evangelical men (todau’s and tomorrow’s pastors).

In addition to the contemplative books that are specifically meant for Lent, there are countless contemplative books that are not solely for Lent or may not even mention Lent but to which Lent-observing churches turn during Lent.

The ritualistic and liturgical nature of Lent observance has become a “perfect” fit for contemplative spirituality; in many cases (maybe most today), where you find Lent being observed, you will also find contemplative spirituality lurking in its shadows (or standing front and center).

Before entering into practices done at a church you may be attending, remember the Bible’s exhortations to seek out God’s truth:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God. (1 John 4:1)

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (Matthew 24:4)

*Contemplative spirituality:  A belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but often wrapped in Christian terminology. The premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all). Common terms used for this movement are “spiritual formation,” “the silence,” “the stillness,” “ancient-wisdom,” “spiritual disciplines,” and many others. During contemplative prayer, a word or phrase is repeated for several minutes with the intention of putting the mind into neutral and removing mental and other distractions. It is said that then one can hear the voice of God.

Related Articles:

Lent and Mennonites?

Evangelicals are making [Catholic contemplative] liturgical traditions their own

Celebrating the Atonement and the Resurrection While Promoting Contemplative – A Profound Contradiction

(photo from bigstockphoto.com; use with permission)

Endnote:

1. From a 2020 page on Wikipedia.

Revival

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Lord sent a spiritual revival among the Evangelical Baptists1 of the Soviet Union. The revival preceded a great assault from the atheistic authorities. Soviet newspapers and magazines spewed an endless flow of articles against believers and the Christian faith, against the Bible and God. Radio, television, and movies were used for anti-religious propaganda. Believers were fired from their jobs, and Christian young people were kept out of educational institutions.

In 1960, the Soviet leader, head of the Communist party, Nikita Khrushchev, announced a twenty-year program of definitively creating communism in the Soviet Union. By 1980, there was not to be a single Christian left, nor one church. All citizens of the USSR would have to become atheists and confess only Communist ideology.

In Evangelical Baptist churches, sermons on salvation were forbidden, and children under the age of sixteen were not to be permitted to be present at church services. As a primary measure, it was also forbidden to baptize young people under the age of thirty. This decision of the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was enforced by the KGB, the police, and other authorities.

Unfortunately, some of the ministers of Evangelical Baptist churches, fearing persecution, accepted these ungodly decrees as the basis for their ministry and actively began to implement them in the church. The churches were going through great testings. Many thousands of believers raised their voices in fervent prayer to the Lord for help and deliverance. The Lord heard those prayers and answered His people, as it is written in His Word: “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law” (Psalm 119:126).

A spiritual awakening began. New churches started to take shape, and groups of believers who refused to compromise with atheism proclaimed the Word of God as the absolute authority in all matters of faith and life. Young people and children attended newly formed congregations whose worship services often took place in crowded private homes or in forests. These meetings were subject to cruel disruption by the KGB and police, with the police beating up believers, and throwing them out of the meeting houses into the snow. Bulldozers were sometimes used to destroy the places where the meetings took place.

The atheistic authorities went to believers’ work places with threats of arrests and trials. But no one could stop the revival, because the Word of God says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:35-37).

By 1966, several hundred independent fundamental Baptist churches had formed. Sixty to seventy percent of the membership of these churches were young people between the ages of fifteen and thirty. The hearts of believers burned with great love toward God, courage, and selflessness in ministry. My poem “Revival” was written in January of 1966, and five months later, in May of 1966, I was arrested in Moscow for taking part in the revival.

Revival

My Savior! How I love Your precious call
To slaves of unbelief, by sin defeated.
You long to bless and have each one delight
In all the joys of our eternal promise.

My Jesus! Mighty is Your matchless love,
Your hands are full of tenderness and kindness,
As constantly You lift to life anew
The sons of earth, to save them from destruction.

Our brethren You have visited once more
With Your pure flame of heaven-sent revival!
For exploits and for suff’ring You inspired
To stand for truth and infinite salvation.

When I behold the vibrant Christian youth
With glowing faces, joyous and exultant,
Their gladness like a boundless ocean’s tide,
Burst forth in ever glorious songs of triumph. . . .

And when I listen to a youthful soul
For the first time, his heart to God uplifting:
Scarce breathing then I reverently pray,
While in my thoughts the sufferers recalling. . . .

I know that not in vain their blood was spilt!
They did not bear the pain and grief for nothing.
For now I see our youth’s pure, fervent love
Their hands stretched out to Christ in supplication.

For the revival burning in our church
And for our youth rejoicing in the Savior—
We may, without misgivings or dismay,
Lay down our very lives in distant prisons.
January 1, 1966
Kiev

---

Related Articles:

A Message to the Church From Former Political/Religious Prisoner, Philip Zodhiates—Persecution, Not Revival, Is Coming! by Philip Zodhiates

Global Revival or Global Deception: 10 Critical Warnings From the Titanic to the Church by Warren B. Smith

What is True Revival? by Cedric Fisher

Church Leaders Calling for “Repentance” and “Revival” May First Need to Repent Themselves

False Unity Growing Among U.S. Pastors – Say “Unity” is Key to Revival

Second photo: A communion and worship service in the persecuted church in 1984 in Kiev, Ukraine (taken from The Gospel in Bonds; from the personal collection of Georgi Vins’ daughter, Natasha Velichkin; used with permission)

And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

I know something about fighting fear because I’ve had a problem with fear all of my life. My dad was sent home from World War II in a hospital ship after attempting suicide, and my Mom was always afraid he would try it again.

Fear is contagious. Children pick up what their parents are feeling. Every night, I had a nightmare about being chased by something horrible, but I didn’t know what it was.

When I was fifteen years old, Mom told me to let Dad know that dinner was ready. I found him lying in bed unconscious from an attempt to commit suicide. Mercifully, we discovered him soon enough, and he recovered at the hospital.

I married a strong, healthy young man, and three years into our marriage, he had a massive heart attack. He needed a quadruple bypass but wasn’t strong enough to get the surgery because of the damage done to his heart. After a year of living with painful and debilitating heart problems, he died. During that year, every day when I was at work, I never knew if I would find him dead on the floor when I came home.

There have been other fearful things in my life, including cancer. The point is, even without persecution, we have to deal with fear. Drastic things can happen suddenly, without warning.

I had to overcome some fear in order to write my book How to Prepare for Hard Times & Persecution because the people who hate Christianity would not appreciate seeing it published. Some of those people work in our government. According to official government documents, I would be classified as an “extremist” and a “potential terrorist” because I am an evangelical Christian; I take what the Bible says about the end times seriously, and I believe that unborn babies should not be killed.1

The Bible says love is an antidote to fear. Therefore, anything we can do to increase our love for God and for one another will help get rid of fear. The Bible says:

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

Our natural human love is inadequate. However, we can ask the Lord to give us His love, to enable us to love the way He does. The Bible says He can do that:

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:5, emphasis added)

God can enable us to do things we would never be able to do in our own strength. We are weak, but He is strong. And He is faithful to help His own. The Bible says:

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (Psalm 73:26)

A good antidote to the fear of what men can do to us is the “fear of the Lord.” This involves more than just reverence. It also includes the fear of God’s punishment. If our love isn’t strong enough to enable us to do what is right, then the fear of the Lord can give us the strength to do it.

According to the Bible, the fear of the Lord also gives us wisdom and understanding. It enables us to be rightly related to God.

It’s good when we can do the right thing because we love God. But when we are unable to do that, then we can recognize God’s power and authority, salute Him, and say, “Yes, Sir!”

After my dad became a Christian, he used to talk about the importance of “taking God seriously.” That includes the fear of the Lord. The Bible talks about how important it is:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. (Psalm 33:18)

The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (Psalm 34:7)

There is a song based on that last Scripture about the angel of the Lord protecting those who fear Him. One night I had to walk through a dangerous neighborhood, and I was afraid. As I walked, I quietly sang that song. I started out feeling afraid, but as I kept singing, the fear decreased. And God protected me.

Another antidote to fear is keeping the big picture in mind—eternity. This world is not really our home. We are citizens of the kingdom of God. Our true home is Heaven, and our true king is Almighty God.
The apostle Paul said we are “ambassadors” for Jesus Christ:

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Think about what it means to be an ambassador. You have to leave your native land and live in another country, surrounded by people whose customs and values are different from yours. They may even be cruel and barbaric. You are only there temporarily, representing the government of your own country. At some point, your ruler will call you back to your native land.

The book Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan describes us as being pilgrims on a journey through this world, on our way to Heaven. An old spiritual hymn has the same theme. Sometimes I sing this song when I read distressing news about what is going on in the world:

POOR WAYFARING STRANGER
(19th century)

I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Traveling through this world of woe
But there’s no trouble, toil or danger
In that bright land to which I go.

It helps to remember that our time here on earth is only temporary and that this world is passing away. Here are two Scripture passages that give us the eternal perspective. I often think about this. The one from the book of Revelation is one of my favorite passages in the Bible:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. (Revelation 21:4 5)

Sometimes worship can dispel fear. About twenty years ago, a mammogram showed signs of possible cancer in both of my breasts, and I had to get a biopsy done. I asked my surgeon to use a local anesthesia because that is less stressful to the body, and he agreed to do so. I wound up with two doctors cutting on me at the same time (one working on each breast). Evidently, they forgot I was awake because they were talking about seeing things that looked like cancer.

That was a frightening situation. The more they talked, the greater my fear became. Then I remembered a Scripture passage:

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1)

They were playing music in the operating room. I asked them to turn it off, which they did. Then I began to sing a worship song based on Scripture. By the time I finished singing the first line of that song, the fear just drained away.

All during that procedure, I kept on singing. One of the nurses knew the songs, and she sang along with me. I was at peace, focused on God instead of my ailing body. I was thinking about God’s love and faithfulness instead of worrying about my future. (As a result of that biopsy, I had a double radical mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy. The hardships I went through brought me closer to God. Being faced with your mortality changes your priorities, and it makes you know that you need God.)

No matter what happens to us, God is always worthy of our praise. The Bible says:

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. (Psalm 34:3)

When we “magnify” the Lord, we don’t make Him bigger. He is already much greater than we can possibly comprehend. What we do is make ourselves more capable of recognizing His greatness. When we do that, God seems larger to us, which makes our problems seem smaller by comparison. Here are some Scriptures that remind us of how great and mighty our God is:

Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. (Isaiah 66:1)

I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. (Isaiah 46:9-10)

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. (Psalm 19:1)

One thing that can cause fear is sins we have not dealt with. That puts a barrier between us and God, which makes it more difficult for us to turn to Him and to trust Him. Therefore, it is good to habitually invite God to search our hearts and show us if there is anything we need to repent of. King David said:

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:12-14)

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

America has become a sex-saturated society. As a result, much of our entertainment contains things intended to incite lust. So do many commercials. Jesus warned us:

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)

Obviously, that principle applies to women as well as to men. Our society takes such things lightly, but God takes them very seriously:

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness [lustful], Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance [contentions], emulations [jealousy], wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

We know that nobody is going to be perfect this side of Heaven. We will sin. The point is, when we sin, are we distressed about it? Do we repent? Do we make a serious effort to stop doing it? Do we keep asking God to help us overcome it? Are we doing it more and more and getting hardened to it? Or are we doing it less and less? What direction are we moving in?

When it comes to repenting from sins, abortion can be a real stumbling block because the world keeps telling us that what a pregnant woman has inside her is not a baby. The problem is, how can you repent for something you think is not a sin?

This is a strange double standard because the world will put Americans in jail for destroying an eagle’s egg. They know there is a baby eagle in there. Everybody knows that a pregnant cat has kittens inside her, and a pregnant dog has puppies inside her.

The world tells us that what a pregnant woman has inside her is only a “fetus.” Well, the word “fetus” is just a Latin word that means “child.” Doctors like using Latin terms for things.

There are many photos of babies in the womb who are sucking their thumbs. They are obviously babies and not blobs of tissue. Even sonograms can be clear enough to show that.

The Bible makes it obvious that what a woman carries inside her is a baby. In the Gospel of Luke, we are told that Mary became pregnant supernaturally when the Holy Spirit came upon her. Then she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist.

As soon as Mary walked into the room, carrying her recently conceived baby in her womb, the baby inside Elizabeth’s womb recognized Jesus and leaped for joy. We are also told that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was still inside his mother’s womb:

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. (Luke 1:41-44, emphasis added)

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. (Luke 1:15, emphasis added)

God can call a person to ministry before they are born. We see this with the prophet Jeremiah. God told him:

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

If you have had an abortion or have encouraged anybody else to have one, then please repent. God will forgive you. He loves you.

You might find it helpful to read Psalm 51. David wrote it after the prophet Nathan confronted him about committing adultery with Bathsheba and setting up her husband Uriah to be killed, which in essence was murdering him. The Bible says that David had a heart for God, and he repented (1 Kings 11:4). In the Gospels, Jesus is called the “son of David” (Matthew 9:27, 15:22; Mark 10:47-48).

One thing that can cause fear is the fact that occultism is becoming mainstream. Satanists and witches desire to put spells and curses on Christians. In case you think such things are not real, the Bible says they are:

And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. (Exodus 7:10-12)

Notice that Aaron did something supernatural in the power of God, and then Pharoah’s sorcerers did the same kind of thing, using “enchantments” (spells). However, Pharoah’s sorcerers were not able to harm Moses or Aaron because Aaron’s serpent ate (“swallowed”) the serpents of the sorcerers.

The bad news is that occult power is very real. The good news is that God is infinitely greater, and He takes care of His own. He is willing and able to protect us.

When you drive down a country road, you can go off that road on either side and wind up in a ditch. When it comes to the occult, we can fall into two ditches.

One ditch is to deny the existence and power of the devil and his demons. This means denying the Bible because Jesus is often shown casting out demons. And according to Mark 16:17, Jesus gave those who believe in Him the power to cast out demons. We see a number of examples of this in the Book of Acts.

The other ditch is to “see a demon behind every bush,” as the saying goes. Here’s an example from my life. I’m overweight. One day, I was eating a candy bar, and a woman who claimed to have a deliverance ministry tried to cast a “demon of chocolate” out of me. That kind of nonsense gives Christians a bad name.

When God confronts the devil, it is not like a wrestling match. It is more like squashing a bug with your finger, or flicking a fly off your shoulder. Almighty God has absolute power over the devil. God allows him to do some things, but the devil is on a leash, and eventually he will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10). Look at what Jesus said:

But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. (Luke 11:20, emphasis added)

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19, emphasis added)

We see a physical example of this when the apostle Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake. The natives knew this snake was deadly, and they expected Paul to die, but it didn’t harm him at all:

And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. (Acts 28:3-6, emphasis added)

What happened to Paul demonstrates God’s protection from deadly physical things. However, the “power of the enemy” means spiritual dangers as well as physical ones. God is able to protect us from curses and spells.

God protects us. However, the Bible also tells us we should protect ourselves by putting on the “armor of God.” We are to be active, not passive:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

According to this passage, we are not to be passive. God expects us to love the truth, have faith, get the Word of God in us (develop a working knowledge of the Bible by reading it and studying it), and pray “always.” Obviously, we can’t be on our knees praying all day long, but we can have a spirit of prayer. We can be aware of God and stay in communication with Him throughout the day.

Before my husband died, we could be in the same room, doing different things, and not talking to one another. However, we felt one another’s presence. We were aware of the other person even when we were intensely focused on something else. There was an awareness of the one we love, and it was easy to talk from time to time.

We can be the same way with God. We can have times of intense prayer, but we can also talk with Him as we go about our daily routines—when we are cooking, or walking somewhere, or driving, or eating a meal.
God has ways of communicating with us. One of them is bringing Scriptures to mind. Another is nudging us, like a sheep dog nudges the sheep to get them to go where they need to be:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)

A good example of God leading us (or nudging us) is the Christian mother whose son is a soldier in Afghanistan. One night she wakes up, feeling an urgent need to pray for her boy, so she prays her heart out for him. Then several weeks later, she gets a letter from her son, saying that his unit was ambushed. Some men were killed, and others were wounded, but he was not harmed. The mother looks at the date when the ambush occurred, and she realizes it happened during the time she was praying for her boy.

The Bible tells us to “cast” our cares (fears, anxieties, worries, and concerns) on God because He cares for us (loves us and takes good care of us). That means giving our cares to God, and leaving them with Him—not taking them back again:

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

This is easier said than done. We have to learn how to do it. Like many things in life, it takes practice. We can ask God to enable us to do it, to give us the grace for it, and to help us appropriate and work with the grace He gives us.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. (Colossians 3:15, emphasis added)

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18, emphasis added)

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16, emphasis added)

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:15, emphasis added)

---

To order copies of Fighting Fear in a Fearful Day in booklet format, click here.

Endnote
1. Jack Minor, “Military Warned ‘Evangelicals’ No. 1 Threat: Christians Targeted Ahead of Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Quaida, KKK” (WorldNetDaily, April 5, 2013, www.wnd.com/2014/04/military-warned-evangelicals-no-1-threat); Steve Ahle, “Colorado State Police and Homeland Security Target Christians As Anti-Patriots” (April 6, 2013, http://beforeitsnews.com/economics-and-politics/2013/04/breaking-news-colorado-state-police-and-homeland-security-target-christians-as-anti-patriots-2451594.html); Leigh Jones, “Army Reserve Presentation Calls Christians ‘Extremists’” (World Magazine, April 5, 2013, www.worldmag.com/2013/04/army_reserve_presentation_calls_christians_extremists); “Pro-Lifers Should Be Concerned About Obama Assassination List: Judge Napolitano” (February 6, 2013, Life Site News, www.lifesitenews.com/news/will-pro-life-errorists-be-names-to-obamas-assassination-list); Michael Snyder, “72 Types Of Americans That Are Considered ‘Potential Terrorists’ In Official Government Documents” (The Truth, August 26, 2013.http://thetruthwins.com/archives/72-types-of-americans-that-are-considered-potential-terrorists-in-official-government-documents).

(photo from the cover of Maria Kneas’ booklet, Fighting Fear in a Fearful Day; from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)

With the Asbury “revival” spreading into various other colleges and universities (and even churches), and with so much talk about revival today, one question that needs to be asked is, what kind of Christian will the majority of today’s Christian institutions produce through their revivals and their discipling of these recipients? Given that most, if not all, of the schools that are picking up on Asbury’s recent “revival” have been on the Lighthouse Trails contemplative-promoting college list for a number of years, we are compelled to examine how this contemplative influence will define the framework of the “fruit” of today’s college “revivals.”

Background

For those who are unfamiliar with the term contemplative spirituality (aka Spiritual Formation), we will explain briefly. Contemplative spirituality is founded on and rooted in a mystical-based belief that God dwells in all people; but as contemplative pioneer and Catholic monk Thomas Merton said, God’s in there (in each person), but most just don’t realize it. Thomas Merton is long gone, but books like emergent church leader Leonard Sweet’s Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There keep Merton’s panentheistic message going. How do we awaken this realization that God is already in each person? Through contemplative prayer. The practice itself involves repeating a word or phrase (or focusing on the breath/breath prayers) for a number of minutes until basically the mind is put into neutral (an altered state of consciousness), and as the contemplative teaching goes, once that “silent space” is reached, the participant can now hear the voice of God who will show him through esoteric experiences that God is at one with him. Contemplative teachers like Richard Foster (Celebration of Discipline author) say that anyone can practice this prayer method (even atheists and Buddhists) and get the same result of oneness with divinity. Those who are very familiar with the Bible know there is nowhere in Scripture that supports this New Age mystical practice.

How does this tie in with today’s Christian colleges and universities? In our 2013 report (updated in 2022), Epidemic of Apostasy: How Christian Colleges Must Incorporate “Spiritual Formation” to Become Accredited, we not only explain but also document how the majority of Christian higher education schools (seminaries, universities, colleges) have incorporated Spiritual Formation (i.e., contemplative spirituality) into the lives of their students and their schools to varying degrees.

It is easy to prove two things: first, that contemplative spirituality is a New Age-type spiritual belief system that negates the Gospel because if God is already in every human being, there was no point in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross to save humanity because humanity would already be divine and not need saving.

Second, this New Age-type spiritual belief system has infiltrated most Christian colleges and universities.

If some reading this are not sure why we equate contemplative spirituality with the term Spiritual Formation, we recommend reading our article, “Is Your Church Doing Spiritual Formation? (Important Reasons Why They Shouldn’t).” In a nutshell, Spiritual Formation teachers say that Spiritual Formation “refers to the process by which believers become more fully conformed and united to Christ.”1 But a closer look (which we have done extensively for 21 years) shows that this “process” through which the Spiritual Formation movement operates draws its energy and life from contemplative prayer. In other words, remove contemplative prayer from the current Spiritual Formation movement, and you won’t have a movement anymore. It would be like removing the Eucharist and the Mass from the Catholic Church and you wouldn’t have a Roman Catholic Church anymore.

The “Fruit” of Becoming a Contemplative College

One of the things we find interesting about the current “wokeism” movement that is infecting numerous Christian colleges and universities today is that we often hear some news source or pastor or other Christian figure ask, “How did all these schools become woke so fast.” What much of the church leadership is not doing is “connecting the dots.” One of the “fruits” of a school going contemplative is “wokeism.” Some of the other “fruits,” (which actually help define “Christian wokeism”) of the contemplative movement are:

1. A move from a biblical creation view to a more humanistic evolutionary opinion. This explains why so many young people attending contemplative schools come away four years later as atheists, leaving behind the faith of their youth and their parents.
2. Moving away from an exclusive view that Jesus is the only door to salvation and embracing a more inclusive idea that all paths lead to God.
3. A spiritual outlook that takes on Buddhist and/or New Age-type characteristics.
4. Changing morality views from a conservative stance to a more liberal stance (which spills over into the political arena as well – e.g., abortion).
5. A relaxed, even embracing, view on homosexuality and other sexual deviances.
6. Social justice taking the place of biblical true justice.
7. Dismissing the idea that Israel and the Jews have a significant role in Bible prophecy for the endtimes which often leads to antisemitic sympathies.
8. A diminishing view on the inerrancy of the Bible.

Basically, when a school goes contemplative, in time, they will begin to embrace many of the “fruits” listed above including wokeism, and parents and some faculty will be scratching their heads wondering how in the world this happened when all along the process started a few decades ago. It really has been a success story for the devil because very few schools, very few pastors, and very few Christian leaders have ever addressed the problems and serious error of the contemplative movement and either promoted it or remained silent. An example of promoting it is Rick Warren who began promoting it in his 1995 book, The Purpose Driven Church and continued promoting it in The Purpose Driven Life (two books which have influenced millions). As for those who have remained silent, it’s a known fact that remaining silent on critical issues is all it takes for evil to prosper.

There may be skeptics who see the list above and say, “prove it.” Well, we believe we have with the ongoing, industrious efforts of 21 years of providing documentation, articles, booklets, lectures, books, and news stories that back up everything on this list. And, if you examine any Christian school that is now “woke,” that school will have an historical acceptance of Spiritual Formation.

The Outcome of a Contemplative “Revival” May Shock Many Conservative Evangelicals

So given that the schools that are currently experiencing an overflow of the Asbury “revival” are also Spiritual Formation-advocating institutions, what could be the potential outcome of such a revival? Instead of thousands of young people coming to or returning to a biblical faith, very possibly what will happen is thousands of young people will become contemplative mystics and follow in the footsteps of their contemplative leaders, pastors, and professors. And before you know it, they will be trying to imitate mystics such as Catholic contemplative panentheist Richard Rohr. That’s not far-fetched. Afterall, one of Rohr’s publishers told him that his biggest readership is young evangelical men.2 And today, there are now countless “evangelical” pastors and authors who indeed are following in the footsteps of Rohr (e.g., Tim Mackie and Tyler Staton) hoping to raise up a generation of young contemplative mystics. Some may remember our 2018 article “YWAM—Wants Every YWAMer to Practice Contemplative Prayer!”

If what we are saying is true about the “fruit” of contemplative prayer, certain evangelical leaders and pastors, who are hoping to raise up a generation of conservative-minded young people and repeat what happened in the 1970s with the Jesus movement, may be in for a rude awakening when the generation of young people who might be the result of a contemplative revival end up quite differently than what they had hoped for. And instead of strengthening and increasing biblical faith and morality in this country, these seemingly naïve pastors and leaders may actually be aiding and abetting the opposite outcome. Rather than raising up a generation of biblical Christians, it may raise up a zealous generation with the characteristics listed above.

In Conclusion

Before Christian pastors and leaders get too excited about supposed revival happening in Christian colleges and universities, and reminiscing over the ’70s Jesus movement through films like Jesus Revolution, isn’t it time they step up to the plate, admit their mishap in ignoring a critical situation that has now gotten completely out of hand? Isn’t it time they denounce contemplative spirituality/Spiritual Formation and call it for what it is? Or have too many of them already tasted the esoteric “delights” of mystical ecstasy themselves that pied pipers like Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen, Brennan Manning, and Richard Rohr have tantalized the evangelical church with? If that is the case, and if we are facing another twenty years of contemplative spirituality holding hostage the church, then Karl Rahner, who is quoted in the beginning of this article, will be right, and the Christian of the future will indeed be a mystic or he will be nothing. And if that happens, then a generation of mystics will indeed come into play.

Endnotes:

1.Even Howard, Three Temptations of Spiritual Formation (Christianity Today, 12/9/2002)

2. https://anchor.fm/the-liturgists-podcast/episodes/Episode-35—The-Cosmic-Christ-with-Richard-Rohr-eutfpj.

(photo from istockphoto.com; used with permission)