I am back in an airport as I begin to gather my thoughts for this week. We have packed a lot into the first six days, traversing through six different countries in as many days! I know that we have an amazing banquet prepared for us when the Kingdom of God has fully come, but I have to say, I have sampled food from numerous cultures in the last six days and some of it was pretty close to a sampling of at least the appetizers that may be offered at the heavenly banqueting table! Finnish candy, Belgian waffles, exquisite cheeses, Danish and French bread freshly baked an hour before we purchased, fish and chips (one of my favorites) in Dover as we got off the ferry today!

We are headed to northern Scotland where I will get to have breakfast with my almost 97-year-old dear friend whose life has impacted mine for the last 60 years! Although her husband, children, and some grandchildren have had a more prominent role in ministry, she is the “rock” upon which everything has been built! An amazing woman who just lived a simple life that has probably affected hundreds of thousands including mine. I would love to see her reception in Heaven when she meets Jesus! I will likely have to watch the replay as I plan to be around (here) for many more years!

The remainder of this article was written after our visit to see my friend Wendy. She is still as sharp mentally as she has ever been. She prayed for me, once again a simple, but powerful prayer that I know was heard in Heaven. We also prayed for her after asking her what was the one desire of her heart that we could agree with. Now you will know why I am so passionate about revival – she asked us to agree with her for another mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Scotland. She and her family were part of two significant outpourings that began with her amazing family in the 1960s and again in the 1990s that touched thousands of lives including mine. Wendy and her 4-year-old daughter were saved at an early age after hearing the gospel and began the long (over 70 years) journey to this current time, where her tiny little home still hosts many, many visitors who come by to sit with her around her kitchen table to drink a cup of tea and eat a biscuit (or an amazing assortment of Scottish treats). She never tires of telling stories and we could have listened to her all day long tell amazing stories of the goodness of God.

Scotland is like the rest of Europe currently. Although the Lord is still very much a part of the lives of believers in these countries, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to share that faith openly without fear of reprisal. The strong influence of other cultures has slowly but surely taken over and the laws of the land reflect the pervading darkness. It is less obvious to us as “tourists” but to those who live here, it is forbidden to witness your faith without almost certain negative consequences including significant time in jail. I was sobered as my friend began to share. Freedom can be lost very slowly and subtly while only a small minority controls the pace at which this happens. However, it is the church that seems to be “asleep” and very unaware of how it is happening because they have not yet personally been impacted. It has opened my eyes even further to the desperate need we have here in our own country for a sweeping revival where our whole society is impacted once again by the life-changing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is so easy for me to talk and write about revival because it is a part of my spiritual DNA. I have had the privilege over the last 60 years of being impacted by many moves of God. I have made it a point to expose myself to most of the revivals that have gone beyond a local assembly and touched the lives of many from around a region, a country, or even the world. Every move of God is known by a certain emphasis that seems to be highlighted during that season. All of them, without exception, have and are seeing new believers come into the Kingdom of God. Even if that is not where the emphasis is, God touches hearts and draws them to Himself, which is the highest and best.

After we finish up here in Scotland and spend several days in Ireland. I am taking an extra day as our team separates for different assignments to go north of Dublin to a historic site called the Hill of Tara! Although I was not named after this hill, my Irish Celtic heritage ties me in with the history of this land and I felt like if I were within several hours of this site, I needed to go see and be on the grounds! I will report on that next week!

I will then travel south to Wales where I get to stay with one of the team members who lives there. Wales today is not currently experiencing the world-changing revivals that they have hosted in the past but I will visit several of those sites that have had tremendous moves of God in their history. There are still dedicated prayer warriors that are standing together for another outpouring of the Holy Spirit and I hope to be able to meet some of them. As I have stated before, all it takes is two or three gathered together contending and believing for God to move the hearts of men and women for it to begin again. My friend Wendy said the last big move that hit their area was a “suddenly.” They had been praying and asking God to send revival, but when it came no one was expecting it nor did it look like anything they had seen in past revivals. God was doing a new thing. I know when I was over there the last time it hit, (the 1990s) I had never seen nor experienced most of what was happening. When I began to experience the refreshing and renewing that came, I have never been the same (nor do I ever want to be). I felt like I was “born again – again!”

One of the purposes for us going to these different countries is to ask God for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit. Every single country both in Europe and the UK have experienced visitations from God or were founded on Christian principles even though every single one of them today are in need of a fresh move of God that would transform the current culture and the direction that the country is headed.

Do not grow weary in praying for your own family, city and nation. We do not understand God’s timing but I am confident that He hears every single one of our prayers and that He will pour out His Spirit once again – both here in America as well as around the world.