Reveration Blog
10/19/2007 0 Comments UnwindRecently, I spoke to about 400 men on the topic of unwinding. I could not find the word unwind in Scripture, but its synonyms relax and rest are plentiful throughout God’s Word. There is a strong theological foundation for rest. Did you know that God modeled unwinding? Genesis 2:2—“ By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.”
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4/19/2007 0 Comments MaasaiDavid Ole Kereto was born in Narok, Kenya, the Maasai son of a witch doctor. By tradition he was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps. One of the highest honors for a Maasai male is to become a warrior. To achieve warrior status, one must kill a lion or a man. To kill a lion, tribesmen will surround the big cat and agitate it by shouting. One of the men then steps forward making himself a target. He holds a spear in his right hand and a stick sharpened to a point on both ends in the other hand. When the lion attacks it usually lunges for the spear hand. Just as it leaps, the Maasai shifts the stick to his right hand and as the lion opens its mouth he thrusts it between its jaws. David accomplished this at age 15 thereby becoming a Maasai warrior!
2/5/2007 0 Comments Disciple MakersOur main objective in Kenya is to establish a team of 40* people committed to becoming disciple makers. In the process of leading prayer walks and speaking to large gatherings of pastors and laymen, eager men and women emerged ready to be trained. The church in Kenya is not lacking for disciples, what it lacks is disciple makers (leaders committed to reproducing disciples).
11/17/2006 0 Comments LabelsCharles and I were having a great discussion when I asked him what would happen if a truck came around the bend at a high speed and accidentally struck and killed him? What would he say to God when the Lord asked him why He should let him into heaven? Charles said, “Well the operative answer would be that I believe in Jesus Christ and am sorry for my sins.”
7/21/2006 BadEvery week, Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., I have the privilege of helping lead an emergency food ministry. What is somewhat unique about this organization is that each person who comes into our facility reads a pre-intake form which tells them that they are about to receive food but must first agree to meet with a counselor to discuss personal and spiritual issues.
9/22/2005 0 Comments GraciousIsaiah chapter thirty contains a stern message from God to a nation consistently at odds with His will. Judah was rebellious, deceitful and unwilling to listen to His instruction (vs. 9). The people told the prophets to stop telling them what was right. They asked them to speak pleasant things and to share illusions (vs. 10). I’m reminded of Paul’s word to Timothy when he foretold a time “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new” (2 Timothy 4:3).
5/6/2004 0 Comments ReconciliationDick played in my soccer league years ago. I hadn’t seen him in at least five years. So I was surprised twice on Sunday morning when I received a call from Young’s Funeral Home informing me that he died and that he had listed me as his minister.
1/30/2004 0 Comments Cloud--God's PresenceWith celerity they moved across the desert, angry, with revenge burning in their hearts. Six hundred bully chariots commanded by officers led a thundering army across the hard rocky soil. Pharaoh knew his freedom-seeking slaves were trapped. Enraged by the death of his firstborn son and hardened against an omnipotent God Who had ravaged his country, he would make Moses and his pathetic people pay. As the Egyptian warriors approached the Israelites panicked. They turned on their reluctant leader and cried out, “Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:12).
1/2/2004 0 Comments NewTwo friends drug him down. It started with watching mediocre movies and descended into pornography. Sambo felt miserable and tried to rationalize his actions against a brighter conscience. He felt trapped until one night he listened to his father, Titus, preach a message he’d heard countless times. On this evening in December of 1994, God’s Word pierced Sambo’s heart. He felt the potent pull of the Holy Spirit. Tears filled his eyes and plunged downward washing away built-up shame. Later that night he repented of his sin and honestly asked Jesus to become His Lord and Savior. Lingering guilt was replaced by enduring peace. Love came and filled a 14-year-old boy in Trivandrum, India.
12/26/2003 WarrantyKaching, kachingcan you hearthe sound of cash registers ringing up sales like there was no tomorrow? Personally, I’m in the market for two sliding glass doors. Our doors have broken seals, a locking mechanism that no longer works and twenty plus years of wear and abuse. It doesn’t help that Bear and Dusty, our two big dogs, think that jumping against and scratching the glass will earn them a trip inside. I wish you could see Bear working his pink and black-splotched tongue up and down the rubber edging trying to lick his way in. The pools outside the door aren’t from rain!
4/11/2003 ContactWe walked into a large meeting hall at a nursing technological university in Huancayo at about 3:30 p.m. on March 28th. I was asked to give a concert. Mentally I questioned the value of singing songs in English to a group of Spanish-speaking students. Yet this was our last day of ministry in Peru and clearly some effort and expense had gone into making arrangements for me to sing.
2/27/2003 0 Comments JustificationI want to be good and I suspect the same is true for you. Yet, despite my best intentions, I cannot live a perfect life. The deeper I get to know my Lord the more aware I am of my shortcomings. For this reason I find the concept of justification to be somewhat overwhelming. God in His profound holiness did not have to go to any length to rescue me from sin. He does not need me and most certainly I have offended Him time and again. Yet, inexplicably through His vast love, He chose a horrific path to blaze a terrific salvation.
12/13/2002 NirvanaYou’ve no doubt heard someone say “All roads lead to God.” While the statement may be sincere and reflect a desire to be nonjudgmental, it reveals a great lack of judgment. To understand this one needs only to visit India where the prevailing religion is Hinduism and the overwhelming sensation is one of hopelessness. A country gifted with incredibly smart people remains mired in poverty, disease, and a resigned acceptance of chaos as normative.
9/12/2002 0 Comments Introspection--The Day After
7/25/2002 0 Comments ElectionMeditation
John 6:37,44--Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out . . . No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 2/21/2002 Life SaverFralsarkrans is the Swedish word for life preserver, the kind one throws from the side of a pool or a boat to rescue someone. The literal meaning of the word is “ring of salvation.”
Have you ever considered that we all swim in the Sea of Mortality? Some people seem to readily understand this and aggressively seek help. Others stroke nonchalantly as if the dark water was nothing but a placid fluid to ignore. Still others debate while they swim, what will enable them to escape drowning. They champion their individual gods or hope by the quality and efficiency of their effort they will somehow survive. 12/27/2001 SavedMeditation
Acts 2:21--Then everyone who callson the name of the Lord will be saved Romans 10:9,10--If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 6/20/2001 0 Comments HelplessnessJune 17, 2001, Father’s Day—a day I’ll not forget. Barbie left a message on our answering machine. Dad fell off a cliff. He broke his neck, knocked his two front teeth out and was listed in serious condition in Providence Hospital, Anchorage.
5/13/2000 0 Comments ConversionMeditation
Acts 9:4-6--Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” “Who are You, Lord?” he said.“I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting,” He replied. “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 11/24/1999 0 Comments JudgmentJonathan Justice is elected Mayor of Reckless City. Immediately upon assumption of office he determines to instill law and order. He fires the corrupt police chief and sacks the city administrator. He appoints a special commission to go after organized crime bosses. His new district attorney is armed with the full cooperation of municipal government to nab criminals with effective passion. A weary city sighs in relief.
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles