Category: Meaning

2/17/2026 2 Comments

Game Over!

Mighty Joe

Jesus chomped on the Pharisees for their love of money (Luke 16:14). He could have done the same with athletes for their love of sports, or politicians for their love of power, or models for their love of beauty. What we are consumed with or most devoted to reveals much about us, but also about our destiny. And Jesus knew that.

2 Comments

2/1/2026 1 Comment

Bumper Stickers

I was walking through a Walmart parking lot and couldn’t help but notice different bumper stickers on the back windows of cars and trucks.
·
The words “Raising Arrows” sat underneath three arrows pointed north. I thought what a great statement, a parent who no doubt is reflecting Psalm 127:4,5:
"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons born in one’s youth. Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them. Such men will never be put to shame when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.”

Another read, “I Support Single Moms,” accompanied a picture of a woman wrapped around a pole. Proverbs 19:3 came to mind, “A man’s own foolishness leads him astray, yet his heart rages against the Lord.”
·
Many vehicles displayed the University of Georgia’s Bulldog logo, featuring a G surrounded by red.
·
One logo was so nasty that it would be inappropriate to share. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who drag wickedness with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes” (Isaiah 5:18).

Meditation
Psalm 34:3--Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me; let us exalt His name together.
71:17--God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still proclaim Your wonderful works.

Bumper stickers are works of proclamation. They tell people what is important or not important to us. They provide a way to convey humor. They suggest values, loyalties, how we think or don’t think. They state who or what we like or dislike. They reveal safety protocols or recklessness.  They show places we have been and the right to free expression.

In a way, our lives are bumper stickers. Just as we ought to be thoughtful and purposeful about what we proclaim on our vehicles, so we ought to be attentive and wise about what we broadcast in the way we live. I am reminded of the story of the woman who lost her temper, honked at, and berated the driver in front of her for stopping at a crosswalk, causing her to miss the green light ahead. The policeman who was behind her pulled her over. He asked for her license and insurance, and she demanded to know what she had done wrong. After checking her information, the policeman returned and said, I’m sorry, ma’am. I pulled you over because the car’s bumper stickers read “What would Jesus do?” and featured a fish emblem. I assumed the car must have been stolen.

Inspiration
“In our behavior, in the words we write and speak, we can become ambassadors of God's inspiration. Whenever we strive to lift up others in ways that are good and noble we are serving as radiating centers for God's inspiration.”—Wilferd Peterson

©2026 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  To receive these devotionals, go to www.firstcause.org and click the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.

Ecclesiastes 12:10—"The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.”  (Holman CSB)

1 Comment

1/22/2026 0 Comments

I Have Observed

I remember, as an eighteen-year-old, living with my aunt and uncle in Coeur ‘d Alene, Idaho, who graciously took me into their home while I awaited my move to New York to attend West Point. Norm let me drive his Ford Ranchero and paid me to move pipes and water his crops. Whenever I got in a bind, he would flash his trademark Norwegian grin, which could be translated as “You are such an idiot.” I felt like a little kid in his presence. Given my mechanical stupidity, I’m sure he wondered how I would ever make it in an engineering school. Had it not been for God’s help and classmates like Kevin Stewart, who spent hours tutoring me, I would never have survived the Academy, and I wonder what would have become of my life. Wondering can be a healthy exercise in appreciating God’s sovereignty. This surely must have been the case for one of the world’s greatest leaders.

0 Comments

9/20/2025 1 Comment

Understanding Hate

The topic of hate is quite prevalent in our society. I decided to do a study on the word and see what Scripture has to say about it. First, though, let’s define the term. Whether used as a verb or a noun, hate basically means “to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest.”[1]

In the Old Testament, there are two Hebrew words: śānē’ and śin’āh, used a total of 148 and 17 times respectively, with the English words hate and its variation 107 times, combining both words. The other English words used are foes, enemies, malice, adversaries, dislike, enemy, unloved, abhor, am not loved, shunned, detest, hostile, malicious, not loved, not, refuses, and a total of three untranslated words.[2] In the New Testament, the Greek words apostygeō and miseō are translated as hate 39 of 40 times and once as detestable.

1 Comment

11/19/2024 0 Comments

Hidden Things

Jesus performed many miracles in the cities He walked, which should have authenticated His message, and yet most of those He encountered would not repent of their sins. Their hardheartedness kept them from recognizing the hand of God’s Son at work and connecting their need to listen to Him. He criticized them for their attitude and warned them of God’s impending judgment (Matthew 11:20-24).

0 Comments

5/10/2024 1 Comment

We Are His

Ed* was adopted. Not knowing who his real father and mother are causes him to doubt his self-worth. Rather than see himself as one made by God, he struggles to find value in his identity. Instead of building solid relationships with others and finding meaning in who he is and what he does, he avoids people and floats from one job to another, perpetually dissatisfied with little sense of purpose or calling.

1 Comment

4/30/2023 1 Comment

What Do You Want?

Oswald Chambers wrote a devotional entitled “What Do You Want?” The point of his message was that God is more concerned about us having a close relationship with Him than in our receiving gifts from Him. “There is nothing easier than getting into a right relationship with God except when it is not God Whom you want but only what He gives.”[1]Getting what we want may directly oppose what God knows we need and will provide in His perfect timing because it will have greater work not just in our lives but, most importantly, in our relationship with Him.

1 Comment

12/31/2022 1 Comment

Schlep Naches

Schlep naches is a Yiddish phrase that means “deriving pleasure from the achievement of others.” In her book, The Myths of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomisrsky wrote:
The surprising finding is that the closest, most intimate, and most trusting relationships appear to be distinguished not by how the partners respond to each other’s disappointments, losses, and reversals but how they react to good news. Flourishing relationships have been revealed to be those in which the couple responds “actively and constructively”—that is, with interest and delight—to each other’s windfalls and successes . . . Both men and women who say that their partners respond in this “active-constructive” way report the highest levels of satisfaction, trust, and intimacy in their relationships.

1 Comment

11/23/2022 0 Comments

Beating Mediocrity

Janet has her own cleaning service; for years, she had no trouble gaining enough clients to run a successful business because of her work quality. As her business expanded, she hired another worker, and that’s when the problems began. When Janet cleans a room, it is immaculate, but with her new employee Justin, it was not the same. She showed him the cleaning materials to use and demonstrated what “right looks like.” At first, she thought his cleaning lapses merely required on-the-spot corrections. But Justin’s work continually languished. He responded with excuses when she would point out deficiencies rather than learn and improve. After three frustrating months, she had to let him go.

0 Comments

9/26/2022 0 Comments

Why We Exist

Gerry got back from Afghanistan, and he is not in good shape. Half his squad was on a mounted patrol when their vehicles were hit by an improvised explosive device (IED), killing four and badly wounding two. Unfortunately, he had to identify the bodies and could not get the images out of his head. Now between alcohol and too many medications, his life has lost meaning, and he has frequent thoughts of ending it.

0 Comments

9/12/2022 0 Comments

What's Your View?

Pastor Brad at Impact Church asks, “Does your view of God determine your view of life, or does your view of life determine your view of God?” How one answers that question is profoundly revealing.

0 Comments

4/30/2022 1 Comment

The Purpose of Religion

Cassandra was baptized in church on Easter in front of hundreds of cheering people. Her testimony was amazing. She spoke of getting pregnant as a young teenager. She shared her struggles with shame, feelings of inferiority, and rejection. Then she testified how a stranger introduced her to Jesus but that she had not followed Him. She credited her husband with getting her involved with the right crowd of people who taught her what it means to pursue God. Now her life is on a heaven-honoring trajectory. She loves ministering to people and most importantly pursuing God.

1 Comment

2/17/2022 0 Comments

Life

Satan shrewdly deceived Eve in the garden. Just eat the forbidden fruit and you will be like God and know the difference between good and evil (Genesis 3:5). The deeper implication behind his temptation was that Eve was somehow deprived. At this point in her existence, she had no knowledge of evil. What Satan did not tell Eve was that it was her relationship with God that was most important. Having her eyes opened would make her like him—a fallen creature out of God’s favor. His intent was to sever Adam and Eve’s relationship with their Creator by cunningly convincing them to disobey His command.

0 Comments

12/1/2021 1 Comment

Fire

When was the last time you sat beside a fire, alone, and able to think and meditate? The previous home owners left me a gift of numerous piles of dead branches all over the property. I guess they didn’t have time to burn anything but I still would label their actions a gift because they gave me plenty of reason to clear away brush piles and, in the process, burn. There is something mesmerizing (and therapeutic) about sitting next to a fire and watching it reduce large masses to smoldering ashes. No branch escapes. All that feel the hot fury of flame are engulfed and reduced to residue.

1 Comment

11/7/2021 0 Comments

God's Image

On my wall is a painting of the Old Testament prophet Daniel standing on a cement floor calmly looking out a window as seven lions to his right seemingly gaze with him. His image of courage and peace in a room meant for his consumption, inspires me. Of all the saints in the Old Testament, Daniel seems the most Christlike to me.

0 Comments

6/25/2021 0 Comments

I Identify As . . .

While at a golf fundraising event I saw a marine veteran wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed, “I Identify As Vaccinated.” It radiated humor but was actually rather brilliant. It subtly broadcast with absurdity the politically-correct notion that someone can identify as whatever gender they desire. As the federal government moves to require schools to accommodate transgender students not surprisingly there is an immediate push back. College of the Ozarks is suing President Joe Biden because his executive order on “gender identity” violates the school’s religious freedom by compelling it to force their students to share dorms and shower facilities with members of the opposite sex.[1] So let’s take a closer, deeper look at the whole issue of identity.

0 Comments

1/15/2020 0 Comments

Worldview

Ravi Zacharias wrote a book entitled The Logic of God. In chapter one, “Behind Every Question,” he notes that whether a person is religious or irreligious, everyone has a worldview. A worldview basically addresses four necessary questions: origin, meaning, morality and destiny. A well-designed worldview should have true answers to each question and the answers overall should be coherent. Ravi further shares three tests for truth which must be applied to any worldview: logical consistency, empirical adequacy and experiential relevance.[1]

0 Comments

12/18/2019 0 Comments

Futile or Fulfilled?

Ecclesiastes is a wisdom book written almost certainly by King Solomon. The book title in Hebrew is Qōheleth and translates “Teacher.” A predominant theme of Ecclesiastes is that “under the sun, all is futile.” Futility comes from the Hebrew word hevel which stresses that which is empty and transitory. This key word occurs 38 times and is used to describe outward, physical things as well as inward thoughts. [1] It is often paired with the phrase “a pursuit of the wind.”

0 Comments

5/14/2019 0 Comments

Why We Were Created

Sometimes to understand the present we have to examine the past. Purposeless people wander the earth and wonder what is the meaning of life? Fortunately for us, the Bible clearly defines why God created us. If we look to the past, King David prayed, “Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all”(1 Chronicles 29:11). David recognized that everything belonged to God and that He was therefore exalted. The prophet Isaiah wrote “Bring My sons from far away, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone called by My name and created for My glory. I have formed him; indeed, I have made him” (Isa. 43:6b,7). Isaiah tells us that we were created for God’s glory—this is our purpose.

0 Comments

10/17/2018 0 Comments

Successfully Significant

Phil Downer in his book, Eternal Impact, differentiates between the value of success and significance. For success, he likes the definition Chip MacGregor and Bobb Biehl devised, “the feeling you get when you reach your goals.” Phil defines significance as “making a difference in the lives of people over time.”[1] For Downer, the distinction between success and significance is that the former ends with the attainment of goals whereas the latter has a lasting dimension. I’m conflicted with his distinction because the ability to attain significance is a mark of success. But let’s take it deeper to the point Phil is really making—reproduction of what is important is what we ought to seek. To do this requires training.

0 Comments