Reveration Blog
8/23/2010 0 Comments ConsequencesHow fantastic would it be if we could read minds? Imagine if you could see the exact thoughts running through the brains of your family, neighbors, coworkers and even enemies! Perhaps it would not be such a great thing. It might be convicting, maddening, or massively discouraging. I propose that our behavior would be the main element that triggered people’s thoughts towards us and this would certainly heighten our awareness of consequences.
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2/4/2010 UnauthorizedWhen I read my Bible I look forward each day to hearing from the Lord. I look forward to learning something that will help me live more effectively or that will enable me to help others. I don’t know about you but I find the book of Leviticus to be hard reading. For the first nine chapters, God instructs Moses in how the Israelites are to bring offerings and the priests are to conduct themselves and I’m struggling to see anything even remotely interesting. Then chapter ten comes along and I read the shocking verses below.
10/13/2009 VoidHave you ever boycotted a product because its maker was associated with wrongdoing? A company that endorses corruption or whose reputation is tainted by sleazy actions will not last long. Reputation is not something to be taken lightly.
Meditation 1 Chronicles 5:1—These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. He was the firstborn, but his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Rueben defiled his father’s bed. He is not listed in the genealogy according to birthright. 8/12/2008 0 Comments StewardshipMeditation
Luke 16:10-12—Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. So if you have not been faithful with the unrighteous money, who will trust you with what is genuine? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? 11/15/2007 0 Comments Unequal IIThe telephone rang and it was Effron. Unfortunately, my suspicions were correct. He called to cancel what should have been our second meeting. He was exceedingly polite. I hoped to discuss his hang-ups concerning Jesus but he stated that he did not want me to be disappointed and that at this point in his life he really was not concerned with examining who Jesus is. “Effron, when you are ready to tackle tough issues, please call me.” “I will,” he said and parted with a final comment, “I love you.” That took me by surprise.
Most likely Effron and Ramona* will find a Justice of the Peace to seal their illicit union. Some day, Effron will face Jesus. I pray it will be from a position of faith. Will Ramona confess compromising truth to marry him? I pray she will turn back to the Lord and repent lest her walk be shelved on the altar of pleasure. 7/26/2007 NehushtanDid you know that God was once so displeased with the complaining Israelites that He sent venomous vipers to bite them during their trek through the desert? When they cried out to Him for help He provided an unusual solution. Everyone bitten who looked upon the bronze snake He told Moses to make, recovered. You can read about this in Numbers 21:4-9.
10/14/2005 0 Comments IdolatrySam and I ate lunch recently with my Aunt B.J. in a Chinese restaurant. Prominently displayed on a counter was a large brass Buddha. That obese figure reminded me of the hundreds of millions of people who still worship inanimate man-made objects and live constantly in fear of offending evil spirits. Imagine how God must feel! He created us to fellowship with Him. He made us with a spectacular relationship in mind and what happens—people reject Him for their own creations.
9/30/2005 0 Comments BlindOne man was a Pharisee, a religious leader zealous to maintain a sinless posture. The other woman was in all likelihood a prostitute. The Pharisee invited Jesus into his home and whether by oversight or by intent failed to offer the common amenity of providing water for his guest to wash his feet. The woman, taking advantage of a custom that allowed the poor into a home for scraps, bathed Jesus’ feet with grief-stricken tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them in profound reverence and perfumed them—perhaps with the very oil she once used to lure men.
9/22/2005 0 Comments GraciousIsaiah chapter thirty contains a stern message from God to a nation consistently at odds with His will. Judah was rebellious, deceitful and unwilling to listen to His instruction (vs. 9). The people told the prophets to stop telling them what was right. They asked them to speak pleasant things and to share illusions (vs. 10). I’m reminded of Paul’s word to Timothy when he foretold a time “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new” (2 Timothy 4:3).
8/14/2005 Judging IIIn Luke 6:36, Jesus taught,“Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” In context, this verse can summarize the preceding passage where Jesus exhorted us to love our enemies. But it also applies to the subsequent verses where Jesus taught, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (vs. 37). The application of mercy often precludes the need to judge. James noted in James 2:13 that “judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
4/15/2005 HellTo this day I remember a painting that hung in our home when we lived in Korea. It was a graphic depiction of a lake of fire filled with people grotesquely suffering. It was an attention-getter which brought curious people into a conversation with my dad that for some led to salvation. I wish I had that painting today—I’d hang it in my office. Sure, it would offend people. But I would rather upset someone with the reality of God’s upcoming judgment than withhold information that could result in their eternal suffering.
Ancient Jews referred to a place that followed death as the pit (shachath). David wrote in Psalm 55:23, “God, You will bring them down to the Pit of destruction . . .” 3/25/2004 0 Comments Signs and WisdomMy son, Bryan and I were driving down a steep road when we encountered a peculiar sign. It said, “Caution—Hill Obscures View”. Well duh! We laughed at the great wisdom displayed! Maybe it’s the way my brain works, but that set me to thinking about signs and miracles. Does it seem like people are unimpressed with the obvious and bore easily today in an age where technology renders the sufficient obsolete?
7/18/2003 PrinciplesI love to spend time with people who are searching for meaning in life. I find that often many of them grapple with tough questions. They sincerely yearn to know God. Repeatedly I find that most of these folks will not go to church. They’ve tried. They have attended different fellowships but left in frustration. Three themes regarding their disappointment emerge.
5/30/2003 0 Comments LeakageSometimes for relaxation, I will sit down and watch the fish in our aquarium. Their territorial battles, peculiar habits, and beautiful coloring make for interesting (albeit slow) entertainment. We purchased our 60-gallon tank in San Diego and had it for over 12 years. Then one morning I awoke to find the water level had dropped. Horror of horrors, the glass zoo had sprung a leak. Now it sits in our backyard and holds plants and the occasional frog we happen to catch.
2/27/2003 0 Comments JustificationI want to be good and I suspect the same is true for you. Yet, despite my best intentions, I cannot live a perfect life. The deeper I get to know my Lord the more aware I am of my shortcomings. For this reason I find the concept of justification to be somewhat overwhelming. God in His profound holiness did not have to go to any length to rescue me from sin. He does not need me and most certainly I have offended Him time and again. Yet, inexplicably through His vast love, He chose a horrific path to blaze a terrific salvation.
2/20/2003 0 Comments Grudge{Scene: Outside the tent on a hot day in the desert Miriam and Aaron are engaged in an intense discussion. I wonder if Numbers 12:1,2 sounded something like this.
Miriam: “I’ve never liked his wife.” Aaron: “I know. She’s not one of us. She’s a Cushite. And God said we weren’t to take foreign wives.” Miriam: “And how come Moses is always in charge? God speaks through us. Moses has too much authority . . .” 12/13/2002 NirvanaYou’ve no doubt heard someone say “All roads lead to God.” While the statement may be sincere and reflect a desire to be nonjudgmental, it reveals a great lack of judgment. To understand this one needs only to visit India where the prevailing religion is Hinduism and the overwhelming sensation is one of hopelessness. A country gifted with incredibly smart people remains mired in poverty, disease, and a resigned acceptance of chaos as normative.
2/15/2002 JudgesBoos descended upon the row of stern-faced officials. The crowd was more than displeased. They were incredulous. Jamie Sale and David Pelletier sat stunned themselves. They skated their best routine on ice. Everyone expected marks that would award the Canadian pairs figure skaters a gold medal. Instead they were mulcted by dubious deductions. The Russian dynasty of gold continued. But the snow-capped mountains around Salt Lake City could not contain the growing allegations of conspiracy among several judges—a controversy still unresolved.
12/17/2001 0 Comments SovereigntyI don’t know about you, but I personally find it a challenge to submit my reputation, rights and responsibility to God’s authority. When wronged by someone else, my instinct is to seek retribution. For most of my life I’ve possessed a fierce need to defend myself. If my family, friends or teachers pointed out flaws in my conduct or character I was adept at making excuses. Of course all of this posturing can be explained by one word—PRIDE.
9/19/2001 0 Comments JusticeTragedy has a way of releasing the inner ideologies of people that normally would go unstated. After terrorists leveled New York’s Twin Towers and struck the Pentagon, we hear many voices emerging. One voice cries: “Revenge!” It acknowledges the pain of being wounded and seethes with anger. “Blow away the enemy! Make sure he never strikes us again.”
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles