It isn’t every week that fire breaks out in a chapel service. The fire extinguishers on the premises of Asbury University’s Hughes Auditorium couldn’t quench the multi-alarm blaze ignited on February 8, 2023. Pastor Zach Meerkreebs challenged students on the practical implications of love in action in the third message of a chapel series based on Romans 12. The fire started as he concluded in prayer, “Holy Spirit, if you spoke to anyone . . . would you produce fruit in this room, in these souls, in these minds and these hearts? Do a new thing in our midst. Revive us by your love.”
The Choice Without Borders
For more than two weeks, the flames of worship burned on the campus. More than 100,000 people from all corners of the globe descended upon Wilmore, Kentucky to taste and see what God was doing there. But God’s work is not limited to the four walls of Hughes Auditorium. What happened there can happen anywhere humble, obedient hearts are found.
Lexie Presta, a senior at Asbury University and executive editor of the campus newspaper, shared with WORLD News, “There’s nothing special about Hughes Auditorium, it’s just a building. There’s nothing special about Asbury, we’re just a university. And there’s nothing special about us students. [We’re just people.] But the Holy Spirit is just using this time and us in this space. However, he is not limited to this space and time.”
The Choice That Changes Everything
She’s right. Every time we set foot in church and hear God’s Word proclaimed, every time we read our Bibles, we get to choose whether revival will occur within our hearts. The choice is ours whether the seed of truth falls on good soil or on hard, stony ground. It’s up to us to humble ourselves and allow the truth to change us. When we do, there is no limit to the personal harvest we can experience. The Word of God can change everything from our relationships to our attitudes, our work ethic and our response to temptation and hardship. It can change our entire world — because it can change us.
I join others in praying what we have witnessed at Asbury University is repeated in college campuses and churches around the country. Just remember, God’s work is not limited to these places. The seed of His Word will take root wherever heart soil is prepared to receive it. Your personal revival experience could be one decision away from realization. Once you catch fire, others will line up for miles to watch you burn.
Article by Cam Edwards
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