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Reveration Blog

12/22/2021 3 Comments

Four Things God Hates

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​St. Augustine wrote in Augustine Confessions: 
"Thus they hate the truth for the sake of that other thing which they love because they take it for truth. They love truth when it enlightens them, they hate truth when it accuses them. Because they do not wish to be deceived and do wish to deceive, they love truth when it reveals itself, and hate it when it reveals them."
We like genuineness when it suits or helps us, but not so much when it exposes us or shows our wrong motives or conduct. Perhaps that is why there is a Jewish parable that says, “Truth is heavy, so few men carry it.”


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3 Comments

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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7/29/2021 1 Comment

Nebulous

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I have a theory for which I would love to get your feedback. Earth’s inhabitants all spoke the same language when they were created.  That ability to easily communicate fed their pride and they decided not to spread over the earth in obedience to God’s command (Genesis 1:28). They preferred to build a prodigious city with a colossal tower where they could make a name for themselves or, in essence, do whatever they felt like doing (Gen. 11:1-4). Because of their pride and idolatrous hearts God came down to their city, called Babylon, and decisively acted.

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1 Comment

7/7/2021 0 Comments

God's Gracious Hand

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​Meditation
Ezra 8:21-23--I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions. I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.” So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and He granted our request.

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3/29/2021 1 Comment

8 Keys to Better Communication

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Have you ever felt any of the following:  
“I can’t wait to get my point across!”
“I wish they would quit talking so I could speak!”
“I know what to do, why won’t they listen?”
“Why is it so hard to get them to understand?”
“It’s not worth the effort trying to share.”
“I have no idea what to say or even how to say it.”
“Please, just make your point, I’m busy.”

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1 Comment

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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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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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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7/27/2020 2 Comments

Block Party

Saturday afternoon we hosted a block party at our home on Westchester.  All but two of our neighbors showed up which was downright amazing.   About 25 of us shared food and got to know each other a whole lot better.  Because of the rain, most of the time was spent eating and talking under the shelter of our cleaned-out garage.  One of the best things about fellowship is hearing people’s stories.  Most love the opportunity to talk about their lives and there is something bonding about learning the history of those we live near.  Perhaps because of all the COVID-19 issues we were even more eager to spend time together.  ​

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2 Comments

5/21/2020 0 Comments

Praying in Jesus' Name

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 Perhaps one of the bigger disappointments that Christians carry is the despondency that important prayers seem unanswered.  Why does God not do what I have asked for in faith?  It is an important and valid question and one that Jesus gives us insight towards understanding from His instruction to His disciples.

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7/17/2019 2 Comments

These Aren't My Pants!

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I heard a story on the radio recently of a policeman who was searching a man. As he went through his pockets he discovered several bags full of illegal drugs. Before he could say anything, the man gave him an exasperated look and said, “These aren’t my pants!” ​


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2 Comments

5/22/2019 1 Comment

If the Trumpet Makes an Unclear Sound

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Did you know that bugle calls are sometimes used for giving commands to large formations of soldiers?  Rather than have the adjutant or commander of troops yell out the command, a simple bugle call suffices.  But if the bugler accidently sounds the wrong tone or series of notes, the formation will be in trouble.  They might present arms (salute) instead of coming to attention, or go to parade rest instead of making a facing movement.  


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1 Comment

3/19/2019 1 Comment

The Power of Belief

PictureTalisa
My son Bryan was invited to share his story at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He was one of two featured speakers on a night when almost every participant in the room shared some kind of disability.  Disabilities included Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS), asthma, depression, cancer, arthritis, etc.  Each person was asked to write a poem about their challenges and to highlight what was bad as well as what was good.  Then, throughout the evening, volunteers could come to the front of the room and share what they wrote.


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1 Comment

1/28/2019 0 Comments

In A Dream

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Meditation
Matthew 2:12—And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
 
Four times in Matthew 2 God communicates to His servants through dreams. Three times the dream is a warning.  God led the wise men to avoid Herod.  He warned Joseph to flee to Egypt before Herod could slaughter infants in the region of Bethlehem and later not to settle in Judea.  He instructed Joseph when it was safe to leave Egypt.  

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8/28/2018 0 Comments

Feedback

John the Baptist was discouraged.  The imprisoned forerunner to Jesus was unable to personally witness Jesus at work.  He begin to have doubts as to if Jesus truly was the Messiah.  So he sent his disciples to ask the Lord, “Are You the One who is come, or should we look for someone else?” It was an honest question from a godly prophet.  
 
Meditation
Luke 7:22--He replied to them, “Go and report to John the things you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.
​

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4/20/2017 0 Comments

In Private

There is a popular phrase passed along by leaders, “Always praise publically, criticize or correct privately.” Unfortunately, this gets violated all too often in organizations where insecure or unthoughtful people publicly criticize employees, family members, or co-workers.  I once had a fellow team member complain to the program director over his offense at some of my closing remarks.  Rather than just come and tell me, he went “over my head.”  When the director mentioned his complaint to me I was surprised and lost respect for a fellow leader who prides himself in leading yet was unprofessional by not speaking directly to me. 

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0 Comments

4/20/2017 0 Comments

Special Revelation

​AC Stein fought as an infantryman in the Korean War.  During one ground battle AC was pinned down in a trench under severe artillery bombardment.  His comrades were dying all around him when suddenly the man next to him was shot and mortally wounded.  In great fear, AC recited the only Jewish prayer he could remember from his childhood.  As he looked up at a bare tree above him he saw an angel sitting there.  The angel said, “AC, you will live.  Just stay down in the trench.”  As it turned out he was the only man to survive that heavily-attacked ditch.  

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2/15/2017 0 Comments

Consistently Sound

The word eristicis of Greek origin and refers to those who argue simply for the purpose of winning, regardless of the reason.  The word animus comes to us from Latin and means strong dislike. We know this as animosity. While these two words share nothing in common, I believe that the former can lead to the latter causing the two to become intricately linked. 

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0 Comments

11/30/2016 0 Comments

Staying Out of Trouble

Do you remember growing up hearing the rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!?”  The intent of that couplet is to steel us against teasing and badgering but, the reality is, words can internally leave nasty marks.  Cruel, mean-spirited, or foul comments may inflict enduring damage and color the way we view the antagonist.

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles