Reveration Blog
7/6/2007 0 Comments FellowshipUntil she passed away, I loved to meet with Lillian for prayer. She lived in a retirement community called King City. Each of the houses were separated by brick walls and the only way to enter a home was through the garage or a gate in the front. Whoever designed her neighborhood obviously valued privacy and security. There was little sense of community. No wonder lonely Lillian so much looked forward to meeting.
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9/14/2005 0 Comments CenturionLuke 7:1-10 is one of the most remarkable passages in the New Testament. A man who should have been hated by the Jews as an unwelcome occupier, a leader of soldiers that held Israel subject to Rome, becomes the most celebrated example of faith Jesus encounters. There is so much we can learn from this man’s profile that I would dare say that he gives us a pattern for how we ought to live our lives. Let’s learn from what Luke tells us about this man.
8/23/2004 0 Comments Loving PeopleMeditation
1 John 4:7, 21-- Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God . . . And we have this command from Him: The one who loves God must also love his brother. 8/21/2004 0 Comments Loving GodWould you like to know the secret for living a successful life? The key is found in understanding and obeying the Bible’s Greatest Commandment given by God to Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5--“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Over 22 times in the Bible we are directly encouraged to love God. Loving God requires a wholehearted commitment in a half-hearted world. Aside from the obvious fact that God desires our love, I believe there are at least four excellent reasons why we should love Him.
8/14/2004 0 Comments NurturingThree children walked down the aisle to their rehearsed places. The wee lassies stood four steps up on one side with the little lad on the other. The wedding party was in place and Uncle Ralph began speaking. While the two, prim girls faithfully stood still, the boy inched towards the edge of the step, cheerfully smiled, leaned his body backward and slid downward as only a limber child could. Twice more the process repeated until he was now on the main floor. Jonathan, the Best Man, saw what was happening, turned toward the boy and motioned him to move back to his appointed place. Embarrassed, knowing he’d erred, he went up two stairs, laid down with his face in his hands and quietly shook. Soon, the tears fell in torrents and he stood up wailing, quickly fleeing to his mother’s arms. He sobbed for what seemed like minutes, upstaging the wedding so that his father had to carry him out. While Josh and Katie went on to become man and wife I couldn’t help but think of the tender spirit of that boy and the loving manner in which his mother and father embraced him. They didn’t make a fuss or scold him, they held him. If they were concerned about the crowd, they didn’t show it. Instead they faithfully ministered to their son.
9/8/2003 0 Comments ObservantIn the early fall of 1976, homesick Panya Sawan walked the streets of Newberg, Oregon. While his feet moved his mind questioned if he made a big mistake. Yet, as much as he missed his family, the thought of returning to his Thailand home was equally painful. Would his family consider him a failure?
8/7/2003 0 Comments ImitationMeditation
Ephesians 5:1,2--Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 7/25/2003 0 Comments ControlBeria Emulous paces the floor. He’s angry with Crassus Arrogate, a man who controls information to protect his dominion. The two consistently spar. On the surface they remain civil but underneath these two gray veterans are cauldrons.
7/2/2003 0 Comments Marriage--Conflict ResolutionJulie* smiled at me but her radiant ivories could not hide eyes that hurt. In five years with Curt he had yet to give her flowers. She would drop hints. Once,she shared why her dad gave her mother special plants. But practical Curt mentally pictured shriveled bouquets and concluded why waste money on something that won’t last. Curt did not understand that flowers were not the real issue.
4/28/2003 0 Comments MilestoneApril 28this a milestone in the York household. My oldest son Bryan celebrates his 16thbirthday. Bryan was diagnosed with a brain-stem tumor on February 14, 1991. His doctor told us he had zero chance of survival; his tumor was a ticking time bomb. At the age of three Bryan endured 72 radiation treatments that shrunk his tumor, damaged his hearing, impaired his mobility, and degraded his ability to process information. In June of that same year, a group of young-married couples gathered with Kathleen, Bryan, and me to weep, pray for him, and worship in song our awesome God. The Holy Spirit descended into our midst and healed our son. He also profoundly taught me the power and hope that comes from worship.
4/18/2003 0 Comments GentlenessWe must have looked funny to the children and women watching us. Here we were, six men—each of us incapable of separating two plastic buckets. We tried twisting and pulling to no avail. One man used his pocket knife. I tried dropping the buckets on the floor. We could bend the plastic but we could not get one orange pail free from the other. It was like someone had super glued each set of buckets together. It felt like our manhood was on the line—this was getting embarrassing!
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 . . .” 8/13/2002 0 Comments HospitalityBenjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “Fish and visitors smell in three days.” He must have had some trying guests underfoot! Erwin W. Lutzer wrote:
"Hospitality is a test for godliness because those who are selfish do not like strangers (especially needy ones) to intrude upon their private lives. They prefer their own friends who share their life-style. Only the humble have the necessary resources to give of themselves to those who could never give of themselves in return." 4/3/2002 0 Comments Second MileUnder the Keene Road overpass, he drove his dusty white Taurus. The yellow line on his left stretched endlessly. At mile marker 268, four crop dusters flew into view, their lazy formation zooming to the south. Green fields smelled of spring, even the headless metal torsos holding miles of telephone wires seemed alive.
9/19/2000 0 Comments DogmaticIf being right is most important, listening may be a lost cause. There is a cost for preferring stubbornness to sensitivity, opinion to grace. For isn’t it true that there still remain churches:
9/4/2000 0 Comments SowingHave you ever considered the notion that what you and I say is a form of planting? For example, if I whine constantly I create an environment of dissatisfaction and I reveal an inner discontent with life. If I have a critical spirit and am harsh in the way I feel towards others I create an atmosphere of distrust and rob my surroundings of joy. If I talk only of myself I establish a place of pride and self-centeredness that leaves others with no desire to linger. If I speak of others with unflattering terms or negatively I produce gossip or slander and cause the reputations of those of whom I’ve spoken to wilt. At the same time I’ve created the perception in the listener “I wonder if he talks about me like this when I’m not around.”
6/12/2000 0 Comments BillboardsTigard, Oregon—HOME! Our Plymouth Voyager rolled up 8153 miles drinking over 341 gallons of gas as we traversed 25 states, Washington D.C. and parts of Canada. We weren’t able to visit everyone we hoped to see, we got sick and at times I think our three children reached the travel saturation point. But it can be a great thing to be stretched beyond our comfort zone. God was gracious to us and we experienced an unforgettable month visiting relatives and friends and learning more about our nation and its people.
2/26/2000 0 Comments LightMeditation
Ephesians 5:8-10--For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth—discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. 2/8/2000 0 Comments WholeQuarantine is a condition of forced isolation often imposed upon those with a contagious disease, or to determine if someone is in fact infected. My computer has the capability to quarantine off sectors in which a virus has been discovered. This built-in protective measure is intended to keep my hard drive from crashing!
10/26/1999 0 Comments PrejudiceMeditation
Matthew 5:43-45--You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. |
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles