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Reveration Blog

1/14/2023 8 Comments

Navigating the Christian Life

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Author Geoff Davis
​Over forty years ago, on April 1, 1982, I pinned on a US Army Ranger Tab. When I began that program on February 2, 1982, I started with some of the Army’s best soldiers. God used it as one of the most formative lessons in my walk with Him, so that I might know Him better. ​

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8 Comments

12/6/2022 2 Comments

The Best Message Never Preached

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Dan with Ralph Holland
Ralph was invited to preach by pastors who had seen his television program broadcast throughout Latin America. Two pastors met him at the airport and took him to the venue—an auditorium full of worshipers. As the service progressed, the host pastor asked Ralph to be finished preaching by 9:00 p.m. so people who required public transportation could make the last bus. Two groups provided music and even played some of the same songs.  An offering was taken, and the person facilitating it decided to preach a short message and then had one of the bands come up and play yet another song.  By the time Ralph was introduced to speak it was 8:55!  ​

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2 Comments

11/7/2022 1 Comment

Salvation with Fear and Trembling

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Salvation is a free gift received by a heart that recognizes sin, takes responsibility for it through confession and repentance, and then places one’s faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, that He is Lord and the only One capable of sacrificing His life to pay the debt of sin, forgiving transgressions so that all who place their faith in Him might experience eternal life with Him. 


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1 Comment

10/3/2022 1 Comment

When the Sea Rages

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Hurricane Ian unleashed its rain and winds upon Florida, and conservative estimates think the cost of damages could exceed $55 billion.[1]  That is a horrific blow to the lives of all affected. Ian did not catch Florida by surprise because sophisticated satellite tracking and imaging allowed meteorologists to be pretty accurate in tracking the storm’s course and speed. That is a good thing because it allowed people to prepare for the storm and, if necessary, escape to safety. But imagine if you were on a boat with your smartphone and a mobile weather app that called for clear skies and warm weather when suddenly a furious squall came out of nowhere and threatened everyone’s lives?  That is what happened to Jonah (except none of them had smartphones).

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5/7/2022 0 Comments

Buried Like a Donkey

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Meditation
Jeremiah 22:18,19--Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: They will not mourn for him, saying, “Woe, my brother!” or “Woe, my sister!” They will not mourn for him, saying, “Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty!” He will be buried like a donkey, dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem

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4/13/2022 1 Comment

Protecting Boundaries

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Jed, Samantha, and Rob work for a nonprofit organization that helps military veterans.  They mostly love what they do, but they struggle immensely with the poor manner in which their organization is run. Their leader flips from one project to the next, often pulling them to work on a new requirement with no advance notice. They feel jerked around by the tyranny of what is most urgent—a reoccurring pattern that is not well thought through. Decisions are sometimes made for them in areas where they are subject matter experts without seeking their input or advice. They feel unheard and underappreciated. They are emotionally and physically exhausted because there are no work boundaries or protected times for them to rest and relax.

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1 Comment

3/6/2022 0 Comments

Busted

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Ralph wanted to go to the movies with his friends but attending cinemas was not allowed in his church.  So, he concocted a story and asked his mother if she would give him a ride to his friend Harold's house the next day to attend his birthday party. She mentioned they would need to get Harold a birthday gift, but Ralph said he didn’t want any presents. His mother must have known that was strange.  The next night it was pouring rain and Ralph’s mom suggested as they pulled up to a dark house that Harold's party must have been cancelled.  Ralph assured her they were in the back part of the house and ran through the rain to the front door and knocked.  When his buddy opened the door and let him in, Ralph’s mother drove off.  But the night’s adventures were just beginning. ​

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10/24/2021 0 Comments

Individualism

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Jim Van Yperen wrote a terrific book on resolving conflict entitled Making Peace: A Guide to Overcoming Church Conflict.  One of the topics Yperen tackles is individualism.  He notes specifically that western individualism actually works against spiritual vitality and fellowship because it breeds autonomy at the cost of biblical community. Individualism results in consumerism.  

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10/11/2021 0 Comments

Triangulation

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Meditation
Proverbs 26:20--Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down

Dr. Henry Cloud shares a concept called triangulation in his book The Power Of The Other. Triangulation sets up what he calls the victim-persecutor-rescuer (VPR) triad.  I’m A and you are B and someone else is C. If I’m bothered by something you, B, have done, disagree with you or somehow feel victimized by you, this makes you the persecutor.  Rather than go to you and share my concerns I go to C and share making C the rescuer. I want C’s support. This then becomes triangulation and it is always wrong despite the many reasons Christians contrive to justify this behavior.

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9/20/2021 0 Comments

Woe

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We know from Genesis 5 that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam, and he is the supposed writer of The Book of Enoch considered an apocryphal book and part of the Pseudepigrapha.  Enoch 100:8 states: 
“Woe to you, ye obstinate of heart, 
Who watch in order to devise wickedness;
Therefore shall fear come upon you  
And there shall be none to help you.” 


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5/1/2021 0 Comments

No More Work to Do

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Occasionally when I’m reading my Bible a statement will just jump off the pages and grab me. It happened this week while I was studying Romans chapters 13-16.  Look at the two verses below and see if anything strikes you.
 
Meditation
Romans 15:23,24—But now I no longer have any work to do in these provinces, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you whenever I travel to Spain. For I hope to see you when I pass through, and to be assisted by you for my journey there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while. 

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3/7/2021 0 Comments

Mama, You're Singing in the Cracks!

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Randy told us the following story at our elders’ meeting. A young boy was sitting at the piano playing a well-known song when his mother came up behind him and started singing. The boy stopped playing and looked up at his mother and said, “Mama, you’re singing in the cracks!” The poor woman was off-key and the boy wanted her to know it.

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2/26/2021 1 Comment

Read Only

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Monday, I received a message from my antivirus program telling me that a Microsoft Word App was trying to access my protected files.  I checked the block to prevent that access.  The next day all my Word documents were Read Only which meant I could not edit them and anything I copied and pasted also reverted to a Read Only status.  In essence I was shut down from working.  Microsoft user support spent half the day trying to help me without success.  The next day, the antivirus company sent me a fix and I was able to get my documents running again.  Until the following day when suddenly everything was again Read Only!  Talk about being frustrated—this was just not right! Once again, I contacted Microsoft and again a technician worked with me after I gave her permission to access my computer remotely.  This time she was successful in solving the problem. What a relief to be able to type in new additions and to make needed changes.

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1 Comment

2/8/2021 1 Comment

No Regrets

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Started in 1994, the No Regrets Men’s Conference is an annual event whose purpose is to challenge men in their relationship with God at home, at work and in their ministry.  Hosted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the organizers seek to create an environment over about a four-hour period that ministers in a great variety of host sites around the world.  Spiritual growth is set in motion when men and boys come together to worship and to hear challenging messages.  What is also encouraging is the effort by the leaders to provide ongoing Bible Studies and messages designed to stimulate men spiritually so they don’t just experience a “one and done” but have impetus to keep maturing.

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1 Comment

1/23/2021 1 Comment

Fellowship: Why It Matters

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Fellowship is a rich concept much deeper in meaning than we probably realize.  In Hebrew the primary word for fellowship is šelem and it occurs 87 times in the New International Version (NIV). Only once is it used in the context of meeting with others (Psalm 55:13,14), in every other instance fellowship connects to God through the giving of  a fellowship offering.  The fellowship or peace offering in the Old Testament emphasized the opportunity the Hebrews had for close communion with God. This fellowship was consummated by eating the flesh of an animal presented as an offering to God (Leviticus 3 and 7:11-21). The peace offering meant that all was well relationally between Yahweh and His people and it was the last offering given.[1]

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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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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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4/16/2020 1 Comment

How Will You Finish?

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​“The older man continued. ‘It has been my observation that just one out of ten who start out in full-time service for the Lord at twenty-one are still on track by the age of sixty-five’ . . . What makes you think that you will be the one man out of ten who finishes strong?”[1]

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1 Comment

1/29/2020 0 Comments

Civil Disobedience

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Meditation
Exodus 1:15-17--Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.”  The Hebrew midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.

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10/14/2019 0 Comments

Paying Attention to Integrity

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​Van closed the door to his office and invited Able to sit down.  After a few minutes of chatting, Able said he’d found a way to save the company thousands of dollars.  It involved manipulating records in order to avoid paying taxes to the IRS.  Van asked him if it was legal.  Able shifted in his chair and looked down at the plush burgundy carpet before answering. “Boss, technically this is not legal, but in researching this option I discovered from several of my friends in other companies that they do it all the time.   If we were to get audited, I could claim it was just an accounting error and I don’t think we would be penalized.”  Van rubbed his hands over his eyes and slowly exhaled his breath before answering, “Do it.”  ​

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles