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Reveration Blog

3/13/2022 0 Comments

Understanding Wisdom

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What is the source of wisdom? Is it academic institutions?  If we want to be wise is the best method to gain the highest degree and be immersed in learning institutions, listening to teachers and professors?  Or is it experience?  Do we agree with Confucius? “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” Will Rogers had a more colorful adaptation, “There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.”

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2/13/2022 0 Comments

Explain This

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​Meditation
Proverbs 30:2-3--I am more stupid than any other man, and I lack man’s ability to understand. I have not gained wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

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1/17/2022 1 Comment

My Plan will take Place

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​One of the hardest things about being human is the reality of the unfinished and the certainty of the unknown.  For example, no matter what plan we devise, truthfully, we do not know what the outcome will be. Steve excitedly began a new job only to be let go eight months later. Shaq thought he would spend his life in poverty and inherited a fortune from a rich relative who died. Sally trained for a sporting event she hoped to win then suffered planter fasciitis. Ralph counted on finances being strong for his growing family when inflation took off. Raquel bought a ticket for a cruise now cancelled by travel restrictions. Kim thought her marriage would last until death but Joe divorced her. Rob and Shelly bought a bigger house to store their antiques and a tornado destroyed it. ​

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7/18/2021 0 Comments

Moving Past Crisis

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​Meditation
Matthew 14:12-14—Then his disciples came, removed the corpse, buried it, and went and reported to Jesus. When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns. As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.

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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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4/7/2021 1 Comment

Leaving

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​Meditation
Exodus 13:4—Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. 
 
The month of Abib, (called Nisan in the post-exilic period), extends from March to April.  Moses in the passage above was addressing his countrymen at a most historic time. God rescued them from their Egyptian oppressors and now they were headed into what would become a 40-year desert ordeal.  They of course did not know that—they were expecting a fairly quick move to Canaan, the Promised Land. Their leaving was done in haste with little preparation and no doubt great anxiety mixed with the joy of liberation.  

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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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1/7/2021 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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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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8/8/2020 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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5/7/2020 0 Comments

Joshua

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​Meditation
Joshua 14:10-12—"As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these 45 years as He promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old.  I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then. Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as large fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised.”

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4/30/2020 0 Comments

Lord God, What Can You Give Me?

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Do you ever have times where confusion is far more real than clarity?  Has God given you a word in the past that seems impossible to fulfill based on current realities?  If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, it should not be hard to relate to Abram.  ​

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3/31/2020 0 Comments

Numbers

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​The fourth book of the Bible is Numbers which is a translation of Arithmoi, from the Septuagint.  It is titled as such because the book contains two census counts, numerous statistics, tribal and priestly figures, and other numerical data.  The Hebrew name is included in the first sentence of the book and means “in the desert of ”; an accurate description of the book’s content, which follows the Israelites through almost forty years of desert wandering.[1]
The story began in the second year of the Israelites escape from Egypt, as they camped in the Wilderness of Sinai around 1444 BC.  It ends 38 years later “in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho” (36:13) in 1406 BC.[2]

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11/16/2019 0 Comments

Live Securely!

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​Meditation
Proverbs 1:32,33—For the turning away of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.  But whoever listens to me will live securely and be free from the fear of danger.


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9/24/2018 0 Comments

Flaky

They said they would do it, the task well defined
But then they turned left, then right, then behind.
They scorned those in power subverting their will 
When sudden calamity finished their thrills.
So don’t hitch your wagon with those who rebel
Unless you would like your pain to excel.
 
Meditation
Proverbs 24:21,22—My son, fear the LORD, as well as the king, and don’t associate with rebels, for destruction from them will come suddenly; who knows what distress these two can bring?
​

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3/21/2016 0 Comments

Read It Every Day

Forty-four men wrote over a period of sixteen centuries sixty-six books that display coherent unity and progressive revelation from Genesis to Revelation.[1] The Bible reveals God’s redemption plan for humanity. It offers the best leadership, marriage, child-raising, family-relations, financial, conduct, attitude, character, teamwork, physical, spiritual, emotional and wisdom-producing advice and instruction on the planet. Yet, I believe we would be shocked, if we knew how many Jesus-followers have never read through this supreme gift from God. 


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4/12/2014 0 Comments

The Pure Word

Jadon is almost 21 months old and being his grandpa is one of life’s great blessings.  Jadon’s first word was “ball.”  Virtually as soon as he learned how to walk he began kicking balls.  He will walk and run around the room for quite awhile either throwing or kicking soccer balls, footballs, tennis balls (well you get the idea) and it is amazing to see his coordination.  Jadon’s first phrase was “I love you” which he learned from Mark and Sarah. But his first connection of two different words was “more food.”  Mentally he figured it out that more combined with food communicated that he was still hungry.  

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5/24/2013 0 Comments

Wolfgang Believed

​Wolfgang Simson was scheduled to speak to church leaders in Cairo, Egypt at 5:45 P.M.  His contact arranged for a taxi 45 minutes ahead of schedule and gave the cabbie the address.  Thirty minutes later they arrived but it was not the right place.  The only Arabic Simson could speak were the words for left, right, straight ahead and counting from one to ten.  The German knew he was in trouble and quickly prayed for help. God answered immediately telling him to prophesy to the taxi driver.  Simson protested, “Lord, I-I’m Lutheran and I don’t even know which direction it is.”

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9/11/2009

Bowling

​The difference between a strike and a split is but a matter of inches.   If the bowling ball hits the center pocket correctly, all ten pins fall down.  But if the ball veers just slightly off its intended course all kinds of crazy formations can appear to include the dreaded split where pins are left standing on opposite sides of the lane.  I had my share of splits last night as the bowling ball just missed the strike zone!

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles