Reveration Blog
10/26/2020 1 Comment Don't Be Exploited
1 Comment
2/6/2020 0 Comments Genesis
1/29/2020 0 Comments Civil Disobedience
3/26/2019 0 Comments FrustrationHave you ever been frustrated by something that should work and doesn’t? For the last several months I’ve had a rotten time trying to charge my phone. I purchased several charging cords but the connection always seemed to be an issue to the point where many times I would have to hold the phone and firmly push the cord to get a steady charge. I was just about to take the phone into the store and replace it when I had an idea. Taking a pin I probed the cavity where the cord connected and immediately all kinds of dirt and matted hair began to come loose. Honestly, I felt pretty foolish—no wonder the phone was not properly charging—it was plugged up with debris. 2/13/2016 Blinding the Clear-SightedRoughly 27% of people worldwide have paid a bribe to a government agency in the last 12 months, according to the latest Global Corruption Barometer report from Transparency International. The survey covered more than 114,000 people across 107 countries, the Wall Street Journal reports, and on the bright side, two-thirds said they refused to pay up when asked for bribes . . . Sierra Leone took the cake with 84% of people paying up, while upright Japan, Australia, and Denmark each had only 1%. The US came in at 7%, but all is hardly hunky dory here, with 76% saying they believed the political parties were affected by corruption.[1]
7/14/2015 0 Comments You Will Recognize ThemJeb spread a false rumor about another leader in the church. His pastor after confirming the report was untrue, confronted him about the report and asked him to recant. Jeb refused and shortly thereafter, left the church. Unfortunately, in a bizarre twist of events, Jeb’s departure ended up in the elders expelling their pastor and church founder. The body of Christ lost a talented leader and in hearing this true story I was reminded of Jesus’ warning to his disciples.
1/25/2015 0 Comments Clean the InsideWe sang in worship this morning a song that included a desire to present to God an inside that was both clean and committed. It reminded me of the words of another song, “Cleanse my heart O God.” I’ve probably sung that song a hundred times without dwelling on the fact that unless my focus is heart-centric cleansing is superficial at best. In any area that I have not surrendered to God from the core of my being, I continue to struggle. For example, I know that when my wife is talking to me I should listen. Yet, because I am intent on getting my work done or enjoying my activity, I do not give her my full attention. Mentally I ought to be able to fix inattentiveness and focus on what Kathleen is saying but without a surrendered heart it is just not so. The problem at the core is I am more concerned with my things than with her things.
9/18/2014 When the Crocodile Gets LooseIn 2010, in the Democratic Republic of Congo,a man decided to make money selling a crocodile so he placed the two-to-three foot reptile in his sports bag and illegally brought him aboard a Czech-made Let L-410 Turbolet flying out of Kinshasa. The crocodile managed to chew his way loose sparking a stampede amongst the terrified passengers. Their sudden movement to escape caused the plane to go into a spin and crash into a house not far from its final destination. Nineteen people were killed with only one person surviving to tell the harrowing story. Ironically, the crocodile also survived only to be killed with a machete by rescuers going through the wreckage.[1]
I’m sure the smuggler never considered that his croc would cause a plane crash. That’s the problem with those who break the law seemingly to gain some benefit. 8/26/2014 So They Built and SucceededMeditation
2 Chronicles 14:7—So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God. We sought Him and He gave us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded. 12/10/2013 Sanity“A June 2013 Gallup poll revealed that 70% of Americans hate their jobs or have “checked out” of them.” According to Dr. Bruce Levine, young Americans especially are rebelling against an unpleasant life through what is termed mental illness.[1] Depression is 10-20 times more common than it was 50 years ago and it has also become a young person’s setback. “Whereas 30 years ago the average age at which the first onset of depression occurred was 29.5, now the average age is between 14 and 15.”[2]A New York Times report in 2007 discovered that the number of children and adolescents treated for bipolar disorder had increased 40-fold between 1994 and 2003. The Center for Disease Control shares the following: “A total of 13%–20% of children living in the United States experience a mental disorder in a given year, and surveillance during 1994–2011 has shown the prevalence of these conditions to be increasing.”[3]
11/3/2013 PunishmentMeditation
Lamentations 3:39—Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins? One of the aspects of leadership that I find most taxing is taking disciplinary action against employees for immoral, illegal, or unethical behavior. If people were honest and simply confessed wrongdoing it would not be so hard. Yet rarely does that seem to be the case. Excessive time and emotional energy is spent in separating truth from fiction. 8/7/2013 Gospel of AccommodationImagine if a few influential leaders suggested that traffic lights are too restrictive. They offend a percentage of drivers who feel trapped and forced to conform to other motorists. Three-way lights are insensitive to the needs of the color blind and old fashioned. Either do away with them or give each driver leeway to determine whether to brake or accelerate. Of course, if this really happened there would be an outcry by safety-minded drivers for the ruckus and accidents that would ensue.
3/29/2013 Unwilling to GratifyMeditation
Mark 15:15—Then, willing to gratify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified. 2/18/2012 ExcitedHave you ever made an exciting discovery? You go and share your new found information with those who should be interested and their response is unenthusiastic. Instead of them celebrating with you or wanting to learn more, you are met with disinterested head nodding. The test of whether someone really cares about what you care about is their genuine willingness to get involved.
2/17/2012 SpectacleMeditation
Nahum 3:3,5,6—Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead . . . I am against you. This is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts. I will lift your skirts over your face and display your nakedness to nations, your shame to kingdoms. I will throw filth on you and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you. 12/16/2011 0 Comments ContemptibleDo you ever wonder what the point is for reading books of the Bible that primarily contain prophecies of God’s impending judgment against certain people and nations? Jonah, Nahum and Zephaniah all prophesied against the Assyrian empire. When Nahum predicted the impending destruction of the capital city, Nineveh, Assur-bani-pal was its evil king. Nineveh was full of bloodshed, deceit, plundering and constant warring against others (3:1).
12/9/2011 0 Comments PicturesLocated in Belgium, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the Headquarters of Allied Command Operations (ACO), one of NATO's two strategic military commands. While visiting SHAPE headquarters a group of about twenty of us received a briefing from Admiral James Stravidus. Unlike any other meeting we attended over a five week period (spanning multiple organizations and three and four star headquarters), Admiral Stravidus used only pictures. His presentation was spell-binding. Not only did the use of pictures free of verbiage help us to concentrate more on his words, they also reinforced what he was trying to say so that we were better able to understand his intent. He is a dynamic leader who demonstrates an uncanny ability to clearly express himself.
3/20/2011 PurgingSometimes we can do what God asks of us and suffer disastrous consequences. When this happens we can do one of two things, we can turn away from God and blame Him for our misfortunes, or we can humble ourselves and continue to do exactly what He asks. To see a clear example of this we need only turn back in history to a dark time in the land of Israel.
1/20/2011 0 Comments VulnerableHave you ever sat on a plane and gone in circles? San Francisco airport is fogged in and so we fly around the city in a holding pattern waiting for permission to land. The airplane is sufficiently equipped for the pilot to take us to the runway we can’t see but he does not have permission. Despite the security of a Captain’s confident promise that he can fly us down when needed, fear etches the faces of folks who probably have not flown here before. Eventually we land in fog so thick even the wing is obscured!
|
Categories
All
|
Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles