Reveration Blog
10/1/2011 MoldMy sinuses filled and it became ridiculous trying to breathe at night. Slowly I found my energy ebbing while my frustration grew at constantly being stuffed. Most of the summer was like this. I went to the doctor and she prescribed medication. It did not help. I went back and she gave me a stronger prescription which worked wonderfully until it ran out. Again my head felt like a piñata. I’ve never had allergies and I didn’t think I was allergic to Wisconsin but something clearly was wrong.
8/7/2011 LamentingWatching the news is as about as fun as playing frisbee with a cat. Between the stock market plunging over 500 points in one day, Syrian rioting, Mexican gang violence, Texas drought, and political debt bickering, lamenting seems to be a worldwide sport. Listening to a Christian radio station today in Wisconsin, I heard the DJ ask if it seemed like God was angry. That seemed ironic since I had just read from my quiet time in Psalm 85:5, “Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger for all generations?” Moses observed in Psa. 90:7, “For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed” (ESV). Jeremiah warned, “Come out from among her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the LORD's burning anger”(51:45). What people in what century have not experienced pain and attributed it to God’s wrath?
8/3/2011 EnduranceToxicity is an ongoing condition of antagonism which perpetuates open wounds. Toxic people are experts in creating hostile environments. For over a year now my son has put up with an older woman who badgers him and his fellow employees constantly. She whines, manipulates to get her way, criticizes, and uses sarcasm and mocking to tear down those around her. Why she is such an unhappy person, no one seems to know. But going to work is not fun for Bryan.
5/29/2011 DespairAside from Jesus, Job is perhaps history’s most famous man associated with suffering. Messengers report to him one fateful day of: enemies stealing his oxen, donkeys, camels and killing his servants; lightning destroying his sheep and shepherds; and, a powerful wind that wipes out all ten of his children. The poor man stood up, tore his robe and shaved his head and then fell on the ground in worship saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)
4/17/2011 0 Comments Grab His Feet!She was a wealthy woman of the best kind— thoughtful and generous. She noticed a man of God in need and she fed him. As he often frequented her town, she talked her husband into building a home addition so the man would have his own room furnished to meet his needs. Grateful for her kindness, the godly man asked her what he could do for her. She declined his offer. So he asked his helper what could be done for her. He noticed that her husband was old and she had no children. So he called her to his room and as she stood in the doorway told her she would have a son the following spring. She asked him not to lie to her, but sure enough she gave birth to a boy. Years later the woman’s son became ill and died. His mother immediately traveled to Mount Carmel where she found Elisha, fell on the ground and grabbed his feet.
10/6/2010 0 Comments MariaMeditation
1 Samuel 2:6-8—The LORD brings death and gives life; He sends some to Sheol, and He raises others up. The LORD brings poverty and gives wealth; He humbles and He exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the garbage pile. He seats them with noblemen and gives them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; He has set the world on them. 8/3/2010 0 Comments HiddenMeditation
Jeremiah 36:26—Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD had hidden them. 7/3/2010 0 Comments AfflictionI flew from Louisville, Kentucky to Chicago on Wednesday afternoon. My neck hurt but I suspected it was just from reading too long. The next flight was from Chicago to Portland. As I got off the plane, both my shoulders ached and I could hardly turn my head or lift my luggage. By the time I reached home, the joints in my wrists hurt. Pacing the living room at three in the morning, I wondered if perhaps this was not just some medical condition but a spiritual attack. I asked the Lord for His help and to bring healing. By that evening, the pain moved into my knees to the point that I could hardly walk. My parents urged me to go to the emergency room. I called a retired Navy Seal who served as a corpsman and he offered advice and then joined my family in praying for me.
9/25/2009 0 Comments Terrified I received an email that tore my gut in two. A friend from seminary wrote to those on his mailing list. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. He was back in his home city with his children, no longer in the Asian country where God led him and his wife to minister. Their work was vital in a place restricted and fraught with danger. He knew what it meant to serve God through opposition. But he never expected his wife to fall in love with someone she met on the internet. She left her family—devastated. As if confused and heartbroken was not bad enough, his mission organization requested his resignation. Now what does he do? Who can he trust? His children struggle mightily to adjust to a new culture. They wrestle with the reality their mother is living in immorality. He wonders what more could go wrong.
8/14/2009 0 Comments SavonarolaRoman Catholic monk Girolamo Savonarola, (September 21, 1452 – May 23, 1498), was shocked by the immorality in Italy and by the corruption he observed within the church. As a teenager, he walked beside the River Po where he sang to God and wept over the condition of the people. At the age of 22, he wrote “Contempt of the World,” comparing the sins of his time to Sodom and Gomorrah. Years later, while praying, the Holy Spirit gave him a vision in which he was told to announce to the people that hard times were coming to the church.
4/10/2009 0 Comments RevealersWill was getting concerned. He had not received a response from the church where we were scheduled to bring a concert in Tracy, California. Finally, the night before we were to sing and share, he received a call from one of the pastors. An eight year-old girl from one of the families in the church was kidnapped and her body was discovered in a suitcase. Understandably, a broken-hearted church needed to cancel our appearance and meet the needs of a grieving family. Pastor Tim, our host in Sonoma, with only 20 hours notice, scheduled us to minister in his church. We had a fantastic evening of ministry and with the Sonoma church we spent quality time praying for our brothers and sisters in Tracy.
3/12/2009 0 Comments KneelingI’m sure you have noticed that the news seems to be getting worse by the week. Tonight I ate dinner with Ken and Brenda and their sons in Charlottesville, Virginia. They were telling me about all the people who have lost jobs in the Richmond area and how thankful they are Ken still has his job. Ken said it hasn’t been this bad in this area since the early 70’s.
1/24/2009 0 Comments InconsistentWe can learn a lot from a cat. We recently bought a puppy, a yellow Labrador we named Hero. As is often the case with puppies, he is a chewer—nothing is safe from his razor-like teeth—except for Misty, our cat. Every time Hero tries to chew on Misty he takes one-two combinations to the head from a not-amused feline.
1/17/2009 0 Comments GloomWhen cadets return to West Point in January, they enter what is called the gloom period. The buildings are gray, the skies are dreary and a feeling of “I wish I could just take a long, extended nap” settles upon the Corps. I lived through four years of that gloom period. Imagine my surprise when I moved to San Diego and discovered that June was called the same thing! The ever-present sun gave way to incessant fog and a chilly air. What were we thinking when we moved to western Oregon, a place famous for what can often be eight months of drizzle and fog?
8/12/2008 0 Comments SlappedJoan did everything they asked her. She studied the courses her managers recommended she take. She volunteered for the hard jobs and endured great stress because her leaders believed in her. She won awards for her speaking skills and was recognized by her peers as a superior performer with dynamic people skills. Besides loyalty to her organization, Joan invested much personal time and resources to make the company’s work environment better. When it finally came time for a new human resources manager to be hired, she was sure the company would promote her to the position. But Joan didn’t know that one of the applicants was the owner’s niece.
6/18/2008 0 Comments IronmanOn the plane from Atlanta to Portland, I sat next to a salesman and a lawyer. We had a great time sharing stories, food and funny video clips during our five hour flight. Matt shared with us that he was headed to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho to compete in the Ironman competition. On Sunday, his goal is to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles in 12 hours! We pumped him with questions and he shared his training regimen, thrills and spills in past competitions. And then he told us the secret to his perseverance.
1/13/2008 0 Comments ComfortersWinston Churchill said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Last week, the head of our food ministry terminated our operations. Nine people lost their jobs and The Road Home lost its office and meeting place. In one swift move, life took an unexpected detour! Why shut down a ministry which last year resulted in over 78 people putting their faith for the first time in Jesus, hundreds of families receiving food and free dental assistance plus prayer and encouragement? Better yet, why treat a ministry like a business and let the fear of lawsuits trump eternal investments? I felt like telling the owner, “When you die, you won’t stand before lawyers, you’ll stand before God, so lead accordingly!” But he was acting according to what he felt was right. He generously gave to help us move on. Rather than protest, it was nobler to pray and seek God’s leading.
1/3/2008 0 Comments MutinyOn December 30, 2007, President Kibaki, of the Kikuyu tribe, was again sworn in as the winner of the Kenyan Presidential election. According to most reports and the opposition candidate Raila Odinga, of the Luos tribe, the election was rigged and the incumbent should have lost. Immediate fighting broke out across the country. In Eldoret, gangs of youth set fire to an Assembly of God church killing fifty Kikuyus seeking refuge there. This was the first reported attack of a church in Kenyan history.
12/21/2007 Faith IIIFelix and Brenda* came into our center for food. She wore the look of a bruised, defeated woman. Felix walked hunched and tired. Somberly he described how gang members in Boise, Idaho robbed them, beating them nearly to death. He subsequently suffered grand mal seizures and Brenda several mini-strokes. They were able to identify only one of their attackers. He was imprisoned for attempted murder and robbery but refused to reveal his accomplices so Felix and Brenda were relocated to protect them for further attack.
5/15/2007 0 Comments VerdictI had not been home long before my cell phone rang. Clay called and asked me if I would come down to his place and pray. I could feel the heaviness in his voice—the sound of one trapped before the storm with no place to hide. Driving home I had just taken a call from a man whose wife is penniless and unable to provide food for herself and her two children. Complicating his situation, she is back in the Philippines and is still recovering from a serious surgery. After sharing possible organizations that could help him, I was about to hang up when he asked if he could come in and meet with me. I understood that this was a spiritual request from an unchurched soldier and silently thanked God for the opportunity to be light to a man trapped in the shadows. Two phone calls, plenty of pain and the red sun was not yet down.
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles