Reveration Blog
11/18/1999 0 Comments CrossMeditation
Colossians 1:19,20--For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross—whether things on earth or things in heaven.
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8/30/1999 0 Comments BloodA young woman walks into church for the first time. She sits down in a pew filled by strangers. In the course of a service unlike anything she has experienced, a hymn is sung. She sees the title, “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood” and inwardly recoils. Later she listens as around her people sing, “My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” Why she wonders would anyone venerate the blood of someone else! To her enlightened mind, the notion of singing about any kind of blood is grotesque and backward—the primitive custom of a weird people. If such blood is left unexplained can we blame her if she never sits foot in a church again?
8/26/1999 0 Comments SilenceSilence is golden. It is a paradoxical potion to a stressed spirit. I say paradoxical because often in our busyness we cry out for God and we cannot hear Him. He may seem absent from the roar of everyday life. Indeed, I wonder if we crowd Him out by out incessant action. No wonder He impressed upon the sons of Korah “He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth'” (Psalm 46:10--NIV).
6/21/1999 0 Comments ReverenceReveration means reverent-adoration. It is a word I created after studying one of the most overlooked major themes of Scripture—the fear of God. If love for God is food than reverence for Him is water. We need both to nourish our relationship. Love devoid of respect is emotionally unstable causing people to perceive God as some sort of cosmic Genie. Respect without love is mechanically rigid such that people approach God from a sense of duty, concerned with failing, convinced that He is a harsh Judge.
4/30/1999 SalvationOpen the newspapers after a tragedy and a swarm of hornets would make less noise than the clattering keys of a bazillion writers typing manmade solutions to a marred society. When the hum of their common-sense solutions reaches its apex, the sound will be as useful as a compass attached to a magnet. The needle waves wildly then breaks.
History reveals that no civilization has ever escaped moral deterioration. Despite the best trumpet calls of would-be saviors, no one has erased the reality of sin or the eventuality of death. 3/18/1999 0 Comments NameMeditation
Psalm 8:1,9--Yahweh, our Lord,how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with Your majesty . . . Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth! 12/17/1998 0 Comments EvangelismBehold the Fatwood—“Nature’s Greatest Firestarter!” From the stump of the pine tree comes wood rich with resin that burns with intensity and is excellent for making fires in the ol’ fireplace. We can learn a lot from Fatwood.
1/8/1998 0 Comments DestituteShe stood by the side of the road in the face of a steady rain as cars streamed by her in both directions. Across her waist was a cardboard sign with large letters pleading, “I need work for food. Have two kids. Please God”. Hers was not the ordinary sign of the typical person waiting at strategic intersections for someone to feel guilty, stop and give money--the kind of person whose demeanor actually begs the question “Why don’t you go get a job and work instead of standing here all day.” This woman was sobbing. Her eyes cried the pain that emanates from a broken spirit. Her trembling transcended wet-induced cold to a dark hopelessness. Her plight evoked deep compassion in me not because she needed food or money. Her sign was more profound than that. Her real cry was—“Please God!” This woman knew that her deepest needs went far beyond what caring strangers could offer.
10/15/1997 0 Comments RestorationWhen we bought our house the floor was covered with an ugly (trust me), soiled green '70's style carpet. To the owner, the carpet was special and no doubt held some sentimental value. We could not replace it fast enough! To our amazement, when we pulled up the carpet we discovered a beautiful hard wood floor. Friends came over and lovingly applied the proper finish to reveal the wood's texture in all its beauty. When the carpet (aside from the color), was new it looked good. No one would have thought much about what was underneath. Slowly it began to wear and fray and soil. Eventually it became an eyesore. Finally, it was so bad it was fit only to be destroyed.
10/14/1997 0 Comments CommunionMeditation
2 Timothy 1:9,10--He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 8/12/1997 0 Comments BirthI love to watch newborns. They are so helpless and dependent upon their parents. And as they grow there is an absolute trust in the one providing care. A baby doesn’t say, “Put me down! You might drop me you blumbering giant!” Babies don’t enter the realm of doubt. They may exercise stubbornness or wail like fire trucks but always from a position of need or will and never doubt.
2/3/1997 0 Comments BeliefThe Sergeant Major looked over the railing as soldiers from his unit went over the edge. He had over twenty-five years in the Army but he had never rappelled before. As we stood in line, I saw no trace of fear in his eyes. He sought no excuse to leave the tower and climb back down the wooden steps. Instead he placed his trust: in the instructors who taught him how to tie a specially configured rope seat around his waist; the confident rappelmaster who double-wrapped his lines around a small metal D-ring and sent him off the platform top over the wall; the belay man 45 feet below, who was poised to pull his rope taut and break a possible fall; and the all important rope itself which would hold his weight and allow him to descend safely.
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles