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Reveration Blog

1/14/2021 0 Comments

Spiritual Warfare

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The first evidence of physical battle dates sometime between 4000 and 3500 B.C. from the ancient city of Hamoukar located in modern northeastern Syria.  Historians believe the Uruks of southern Mesopotamia invaded the region.[1]Battles around the world have been fought for a long time and their spreading evil caused God regret for even creating man (Genesis 6:6). 
 



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1/7/2021 1 Comment

1 & 2 Kings: Inauguration

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It might seem strange to start the year with a devotional on 1 & 2 Kings but it actually is quite appropriate.  In this new year a president-elect is soon to be inaugurated. Somewhere around 1010 B.C., David, arguably the nation of Israel’s greatest king, just before he died passed great wisdom to his son Solomon. His words if heeded by any newly elected leader or monarch in modern times would make a significant difference.

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12/31/2020 1 Comment

Unity Survives Tragedy

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There are some years that stand out for their severity in a manner that effects the entire world and most assuredly, 2020 will be one of those signature years.  But tragedies do not destroy the body of Christ when followers of Jesus stand together in unity.  

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12/26/2020 0 Comments

Preserving Unity

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​Meditation
Acts 4:32—Now the large group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common.

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12/19/2020 0 Comments

Unity

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​Imagine with me a ship called Argy-Bargy.  Captain Accord is given a mission to sail the ship to an island called Habitué.  He tells Lieutenant Divagate to set a course of 340 degrees but the officer is distracted and misunderstands the course as 314 degrees. When he repeats the course back to the Captain, his southern accent does not help and he is given confirmation that is 26 degrees off course. ​Petty Officer 3rd Class Makebate got in a fight with Petty Officer 2nd Class Invidious and, though he was the instigator, he was furious when Ensign Feckless threw him in the brig for three days. When he got out he managed to convince Petty Officer Mugwump and Seaman Apprentice Fulminate that the officers on board Argy-Bargy were corrupt and out to get them. They hatched a plan to sabotage as many officers as they could on social media by spreading malicious lies. What they didn’t realize is that Lieutenant Commander Popinjay overheard them talking and reported them to Master Chief Petty Officer Sot who just happened to be from Makebate’s home town and was a friend of the family. Sot, after a few beers to think about the whole thing, chose not to say anything to the Skipper. Instead he casually shared with the XO, Commander Garboil, that a misunderstanding had occurred among some of the junior enlisted men but that he had handled it.  What do you think of the state of unity on this ship? Will it reach Habitué? ​


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11/30/2020 1 Comment

Unexploded

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Did you know that there are approximately 80 million landmines that are lying around the world active and unexploded?[1]  Did you know that in Tanzania APOPO is a charity that trains rats so that they can detect landmines?  Meet Magawa.  This African Giant Pouched Rat is larger than the average rat but light enough to walk over a mine without setting it off.  It took nine months to train him in the art of detection before shipping him to Cambodia. ​

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11/24/2020 1 Comment

Thankful

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It will go down in history as perhaps mankind’s most bizarre year. Never has the entire globe in unison shut down because of a virus.  Restrictions in travel, work, recreation, size of gatherings etc., have ruined businesses, increased the number of suicides and deaths for those with other ailments who cannot be hospitalized, amped fear to unprecedented levels, and created a huge divide in opinion over what should or should not be done.  Meanwhile political unrest, rolling waves of violence, storms and disasters add to the cacophony of 2020.  


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11/17/2020 0 Comments

The One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven

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Mark Cahill wrote two books I highly recommend--One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven and The Watchmen. Both books are fantastic for the topic of evangelism. I was highly convicted after reading Mark’s firsthand testimony of his consistent effort spent sharing his faith and so encouraged by the advice and wisdom he shares to make it easier for believers to present the gospel.  ​

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11/7/2020 0 Comments

Ne Plus Ultra

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One of my favorite words is the noun ne plus ultra, which also means “the extreme or perfect point or state, the highest point; the most intense degree of a quality or state.” This Latin word literally means “not more beyond (that is, go no further), allegedly a warning to sailors inscribed on the Pillars of Hercules at Gibraltar.”[1]

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10/31/2020 0 Comments

Grace & Holiness

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Meditation
James 2:18—But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (ESV)

The faith versus deeds debate is a wrestle that transcends generations. Even so, I believe that in the wrestle of today’s culture, these verses could be reapplied as so: “But someone will say, “You have grace and I have holiness.” Show me your grace apart from your holiness, and I will show you my grace by my holiness.”


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10/26/2020 1 Comment

Don't Be Exploited

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Alicia listened with rapt attention as Brother Berrie* encouraged his listeners to send as large a gift as possible to his ministry.  She was amazed at the number of people healed by Berrie’s touch and their stirring testimonies.  He was a magnificent speaker and she was certain he carried the blessing of heaven. Berrie told his listeners that by giving to him they would ensure themselves health—no sickness would overcome them. He said that God personally told him that the larger the gift his donors sent him guaranteed them a higher rewarded position in the afterlife because of the impact of his ministry.  Though she was barely managing to keep her home together as a single mom, Alicia eagerly went online and gave $150 hard-earned dollars.

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10/19/2020 0 Comments

When God Speaks

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​Meditation
Ezra 1:1-2--In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing: This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.”

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10/10/2020 0 Comments

What is Worship?

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​Meditation
Jonah 1:8,9--Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in. What is your business and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?” He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”


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9/30/2020 0 Comments

The Return

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​Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, “It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” On April 30, 1863, Lincoln's National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer was observed.  Two days later, Lt. General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded in a freak accident where he was shot by his own troops.  The loss of this powerful Confederate leader changed the course of the war.[1]

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9/21/2020 0 Comments

Graduation

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Barbara Jo was born on January 14, 1929 in Kellogg, Idaho. Trapped in a nursing home by Covid-19, depressed and unable to leave her room for months, she wasted away to a mere 75 pounds before finally reaching earth’s finish line at the age of 91.  Fortunately, her life was not defined by her death.

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9/11/2020 2 Comments

Heroism

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On November 18, 1952, LT E. Royce Williams from his ship the USS Oriskany, off the coast of Korea, was given a bombing mission against North Korean targets as part of a strike group.  The pilots flew near a river that bordered the Soviet Union. Upon completing their mission, they received information that 7 MIGs were scrambled to intercept them. Williams was ordered to return and provide protection for his ship.  


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9/2/2020 0 Comments

Two Sides of Belonging

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​Meditation
Acts 12:1,2--About that time King Herod cruelly attacked some who belonged to the church, and he killed James, John’s brother, with the sword.

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8/23/2020 1 Comment

Marking People With Grace

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Ron and Joyce York
At the age of 88, my dad is walking the final chapters of his life on earth still on fire to share the gospel with any and every person he can.   Mark Cahill wrote the book One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven and that one thing is evangelism.  Dad is making sure he maximizes now what he won’t be able to do once he is home.  
I’m working on writing a biography of his life and was challenged by an entry in his journal on October 10, 1983 while he was serving as the country leader for the Navigators in the Philippines.  ​

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8/16/2020 0 Comments

Understanding Language and Literature

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​British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in a speech given in 1988 said:
We are a nation whose ideals were founded on the Bible.  Also it is quite impossible to understand our literature without grasping this fact. That is the strong practical case for ensuring that children at school are given adequate instruction in the part which the Judaeo-Christian tradition has played in moulding our laws, manners and institutions.[1]

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8/8/2020 0 Comments

Understanding History

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Mike Courts purchased two books and sent them to me, The Book That Made Your World and This Book Changed Everything, both by Vishal Mangalwadi.  I’m more than half-way through the first book and am thrilled by the research, clear logic and superb writing by Vishal in establishing how the Bible created the soul of western civilization.   It is a potent testimony to why it is critical that we accurately understand history.  Furthermore, it gives a warning shout to what is happening today by liberals and radicals engaged in a concerted effort to revise and rewrite history to their own liking and agenda so as to undermine our nation’s constitution and way of governance founded on Biblical principles.   ​

Meditation
Ezra 4:19,20--I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition.  Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. (NIV)
 
The word history, used in both Ezra 4:15 and 4:19, is translated by the combination of three Hebrew words, yôm, min, and ālam which when combined mean long history. The people who inhabited Israel during Judah’s time of exile, were not happy with the resettling of Jews and their rebuilding Jerusalem.  Therefore they sent a letter to King Artaxerxes from the “region west of the Euphrates River” (4:11), warning him of Jerusalem’s history of sedition hoping that he would issue a cease and desist order.  The king decreed that a search be conducted and, after hearing the city’s history, ordered that the rebuilding should stop until he issued a further decree.  It was a discouraging blow to the Jews that fortunately was overturned later by King Darius (6:8-12).

I cite this passage to show that even those who resist God understand the value of understanding history and to their credit at least were honest in applying it.  If we don’t know our true past or the role of the Bible in shaping who we are today and teach it to our children, we are doomed to fall to the ideology of those who reshape education and define values.  It would seem that very few people invest the time to truly research and understand history as Mr. Mangalwadi does.  Ironically, his book is dedicated to the “Honourable Arun Shourie, member of Parliament and Former Minister to the Government of India for his criticisms of the Bible which prompted Mangalwadi’s search for truth and the writing of his book.  

If history matters, clearly understanding history really matters!  Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of his day for not knowing and for not correctly understanding Scripture (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:24) as it related historically to Him and to God’s plan.  Our challenge is to know God’s Word and to understand it’s power yesterday and relevance today.  If we fail in this we lose the ability to shape tomorrow.  May we say with the Psalmist, “I consider days of old, years long past” (Psalm 77:5).  The Apostle Paul advised, “For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures” (Romans 15:4).
 
Inspiration
The people are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty. History, by apprising them of the past, will enable them to judge of the future. It will avail them of the experience of other times and other nations; it will qualify them as judges of the actions and designs of men.—Thomas Jefferson
 
©2020 Daniel York ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles