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Reveration Blog

1/31/2022 0 Comments

Don't Get Agitated!

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Do you know someone who constantly bothers you?  Are there people who consistently distress your life by their words or actions?  If this is your experience it is not unusual. I am pretty sure almost every human on the planet gets agitated—some on a daily or hourly basis! What causes such tension? Immaturity, unnecessary volume, rudeness, dangerous driving habits, failure to learn and correct mistakes, claiming to know what someone thinks, not listening . . . the list can be annoying long.

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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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3/29/2021 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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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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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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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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10/9/2018 0 Comments

Heartfelt

​Candy and I spent most of the morning writing back and forth about questions regarding the definition of Christians and evangelicals and current events that troubled her. While we may not have the same political leanings that does not prevent us from having honest and prolonged discussion. She ended our time with kind words and greetings to my family.  Candy is one of the most warm-hearted persons I know and it is always a privilege to be around her.  
   


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5/21/2017 0 Comments

More Willpower

Meditation
2 John 6—And this is love: that we walk according to His commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: you must walk in love.
 
The first Biblical reference to love God is recorded in Exodus 20:6. Moses teaches the Israelites to keep God’s commands and thereby demonstrate their love for Him.  So, when John defines love in his letter to his readers, he is not sharing with them a new concept.  But, as we all know, it is hard to walk in love with God.  How do we strengthen willpower to be better God-lovers and, in the process, improve loving others and ourselves?

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11/15/2016 0 Comments

Don't Cut Down the Tree

Professor Richard Wisemen set up a website where users could submit jokes and then rate the funniest one. The winning joke goes like this:
"A couple of hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, and his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls emergency services. He gasps to the operator, “My friend is dead. What can I do?” The operator says, “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line. He says, “OK, now what?”

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10/31/2015 0 Comments

Tuning in to Hear God

Pastor Brady Boyd walked over to an old radio he had set up as a prop for his message.  After turning on the battery-powered machine he slowly moved the knob in search of stations within range.   The point he was making is that often we seek God’s voice but all we hear is static.  And so he asked a rhetorical question:  What keeps us from hearing God?

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1/25/2015 0 Comments

Clean the Inside

​We 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. 

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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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5/3/2012 0 Comments

James

​Meditation
Acts 15:13—After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers, listen to me!”
 
Does it surprise you that the leader in the church after Jesus returned to heaven was not one of the eleven apostles?  Wouldn’t it seem like the requirement for membership to the Jerusalem Council would be three years of faithful service under the Master?  If Jesus said He would build His church upon the rock, and that rock was Peter (Mat. 16:18), why was James the one who rendered judgment as the leader of the Council (15:19-21)?  

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5/1/2012 0 Comments

Two Swords

​Meditation
Luke 22:36-38—Then He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money-bag should take it, and also a traveling bag.  And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one.  For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in Me.  And He was counted among the outlaws.  Yes, what is written about Me is coming to its fulfillment.”
“Lord,” they said, “look, here are two swords.”  
“Enough of that!” He told them.
 

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11/20/2011 0 Comments

Busyness

​The cockpit of a C17 military transport aircraft is amazing.  As the two young Air Force Captains went through their preflight checklist, I was astounded by all the instruments they and their crew chief had to monitor and operate before we could taxi down the runway in Stockholm. While I watched from my rear perch, I listened on headphones to the tower.  The chatter from the air traffic controllers to incoming and outgoing aircraft was virtually nonstop.  As our pilots were busily engaged the tower called their call sign and passed instructions. The male captain asked his female copilot if she heard what was said and she nodded no.  Because I was undistracted and heard the message, I was able to convey what they missed.  Each time they received instructions they repeated them back to the controller to ensure the transmission was accurately understood.  This was a great fail safe for everyone involved and reinforced how important it was to listen.  

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2/12/2010 0 Comments

The Lord Spoke

​Kathleen 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.

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6/7/2008 0 Comments

Connection

​If the weather is good, I love driving Bell Road!  This five-mile curvy route affords a clear view of Mount Hood, the town of Newberg, forestland and beautiful farm country. But along Bell are two spots where I lose cell phone reception.  If I’m engaged in conversation with someone, I have to keep driving until I can regain the signal before redialing.   

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11/2/2007 0 Comments

Interaction

​I am convinced that I have found one of the causes of cancer—it’s a small mass of cells that when left on its own rapidly grows into a destructive monster.  The cells are called assumptions.  

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8/29/2007 0 Comments

Uncertainty

​My house has been on the Oregon market for ten months and counting. Recently, my wife and I decided to pull the listing.  Now we are faced with several decisions.  Do we rent? Do we try and sell with a different realtor?  What other options are there for this morass of uncertainty?  

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6/28/2007 0 Comments

Restoring

​I am continuously amazed at how effectively Satan derails relationships among Christians through bad reports and conflict.  Teams of people who functioned well in ministry become divided.  Churches split.  Friendships end often without either party working hard to find the source of the problem.  How quickly we believe bad information about fellow believers without bothering to investigate the facts or appreciate the potential for misunderstanding.  I realize why bad news sells newspapers—trouble is as attractive as a bug-zapper.  But how sad it is that Christians so easily judge and condemn each other at the expense of God’s kingdom when we should be champions of forbearance.    

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles