Reveration Blog
4/19/2014 0 Comments They Did Not Believe ItMeditation
Mark 16:10-13—She went and reported to those who had been with Him, as they were mourning and weeping. Yet, when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it. Then after this, He appeared in a different form to two of them walking on their way into the country. And they went and reported it to the rest, who did not believe them either.
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1/15/2014 0 Comments Invisible HandsHe stood to my left with the most perplexed look on his face. No matter which sink the teenager chose to extend his hands, water would not come out of the metal pipes. They were invisible under the sensors which should have triggered action. I left that men’s room in Baltimore Washington International airport laughing, thinking of all the times the same thing happened to me.
1/31/2013 0 Comments RefreshedMeditation
2 Timothy 1:16,17-- May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me. 1/6/2012 0 Comments Ron's Phone ParableFour of us were enjoying an informal time of fellowship when the topic came up of how we identify with Christ around others. One of the men pulled out his cell phone and showed how it had an icon of Christ as his background photo. Ron said he had also had a picture representing Christ on his phone. He pulled it out to show us, but all we could see was icons of missed calls that blocked the picture underneath.
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?
4/9/2010 WaveringMeditation
1 Samuel 27:1,2—David said to himself, "One of these days I'll be swept away by Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me everywhere in Israel, and I'll escape from him." So David set out with his 600 men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath. 2/12/2010 0 Comments The Lord SpokeKathleen and I are trying to find the right company to help us refinance our home. Each of the four brokers we spoke with gave us compelling reasons to refinance with his or her particular company. We were uncertain as to who was really giving us the best option. Finally, we sat down with a broker in his office and listened as he explained why his option was the best for us. Before he went into his pitch he told us about his family and about a solar energy project he was working to help people bring their energy costs down. At some point in the meeting, I distinctly in my heart “heard” the Lord tell me that this was the man who would help us refinance. It was sort of a surreal moment. Yet, I instantly had peace about our choice and course of action.
12/12/2009 DiscouragementWando* and I drove to Tigard to pick up the parts we needed to fix the broken pipe in my garage. The first two hardware stores we checked did not have the couplings necessary to fix the half-inch pipe so we had plenty of time to chat. Wando shared about his failed marriage. It bothered him that his life bore the stain of an unsuccessful relationship. I took the opportunity to share with him about Jesus and how essential I believe the Son of God is to holding marriages together. He agreed in the importance of “a higher power.” I hope I get to talk to him again—I want to share that his fulfillment is not tied to a woman.
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.
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?
7/17/2008 0 Comments Standing in GloryMeditation
Jude 24,25—Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now, and forever. Amen. 4/17/2008 ProsperMeditation
3 John 2—Beloved, concerning all things I wish that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. 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.
1/23/2007 0 Comments PotholesStanding in line in Dubai ready to get our tickets, my brother, Nate, talked to the Emirates ticket representative. She was from Nairobi and was impressed to hear Nate was doing humanitarian work with an orphanage in Kisumu. So she upgraded all our tickets to business class! We arrived in Nairobi, refreshed and encouraged at God’s blessing.
As we prepared to fly to our next destination, Kisumu, it became clear that we would be heavily taxed for our excess baggage. Nate suggested we drive to Kisumu and save expenses. Because this would give us a better opportunity to see the countryside and save money we all agreed. Thus began a grand adventure. 5/6/2005 0 Comments RationalismShe said I should go back home to my mother. It seemed like the logical thing to do. I mean why travel to a place I’ve never been to live with people I don’t know? My husband, Kilion died. Life was tough. It was like all my dreams just disintegrated into tiny, bitter ashes. I wanted to do the right thing but what was the right thing to do?
8/6/2004 0 Comments Burn OutMeditation
Isaiah 40:27-31— Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God.”Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. 6/18/2004 0 Comments TimingHave you ever engaged on a mission convinced you were doing the Lord’s will only to see your efforts defeated by some unforeseen event? Have you taken a job sure that it was God’s choice for you only to discover the boss was mean-spirited or the co-workers adept at making your life miserable? Have you lost a family member or experienced prolonged illness, convinced that God would bring healing and He didn’t? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions you probably have sincere issues to discuss with God regarding His will and timing.
11/30/2001 0 Comments Strong and CourageousFujitsu closed its plant in Gresham. Enron announces it will declare bankruptcy. The Oregonian does not deliver much by the way of good news. It seems with each week more companies are laying off employees. Times are getting tougher. For every headline proclaiming bad news there are real lives effected, like David in Salem. In tears he grapples with the virtual elimination of his savings as stock once worth $89 a share is now 40 cents a share. Like Mike in Beaverton, he went in to work and the plant had closed down swiftly and unannounced. He returned home without a job.
6/14/1999 0 Comments FailureMeditation
2 Corinthians 13:5,6--Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test. And I hope you will recognize that we do not fail the test. If forty is an age for contemplation than here is a provocative observation. Failure ending in disappointment with God often begins on a trail of good intentions. |
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles