Reveration Blog
9/27/2002 DistractionsThe bride stood beside the groom radiant. Sitting next to me, Dan wondered what chemical process takes place that allows a woman to practically glow! There was a spiritual vibrancy as well. It was obvious that Jason and Shelby were committed as much to glorifying God as they were to consummating their marriage. But I found it difficult to concentrate as the two lovers recited their vows.
2/8/2000 0 Comments WholeQuarantine is a condition of forced isolation often imposed upon those with a contagious disease, or to determine if someone is in fact infected. My computer has the capability to quarantine off sectors in which a virus has been discovered. This built-in protective measure is intended to keep my hard drive from crashing!
1/11/2000 0 Comments CreativeJunior High School was the worst period of my life. My family moved from Tokyo, Japan, to Seoul, Korea in the middle of my 7thgrade. I didn’t find a niche in the new school, so I compensated by handling adversity and uncomfortable situations by being funny. Mr. Eng, the principal of the Crusaders, abetted my cause. Once I pulled a rubber band back as if to shoot him and his immediate response was, “That’s stretching things too far!” My life was being stretched, and my ideas for coping weren’t working.
12/10/1999 0 Comments AgnosticAccording to the American Heritage Dictionary, an agnostic is “One who believes that there can be no proof of the existence of God but does not deny the possibility that God exists.” There are two kinds of agnostics—those who have no interest in God and see no compelling evidence to change their minds, and those who have not found Him and consequently have no reason to suggest He exists.
9/2/1999 0 Comments Teaching--Motivational“Maximize the god within you!” Welcome to the arena of self-help teaching spun from the mouths of success gurus. The gist of their message runs something like:
Ø Do your best; overcome your fears for the key to success lies within you! Ø Go after your dreams. Listen to your inner voice it will never fail you. Ø Be sincere. Persevere and believe in yourself. You can be whatever you want to be! 8/6/1999 0 Comments TemptationWhen I am tempted it is never along the line of “Oh here is something wrong I can get away with doing.” The danger of temptation is when I rationalize the behavior or action I am drawn to commit over the objections of the Holy Spirit or God’s word. Temptation is a shortcut to pleasing my wants or concerns. Its chorus is never grating. It is extremely appealing:
3/24/1999 0 Comments PerspectiveDrafting is such an amazing art. I find it fascinating how engineers depict buildings and objects through the skillful drawing of lines and shading areas. Did you know that perspective is defined in The American Heritage Dictionary as: “The technique of representing three-dimensional objects and depth relationships on a two-dimensional surface."
2/26/1999 0 Comments MotiveMeditation
Proverbs 16:2--All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord evaluates the motives. 11/5/1998 0 Comments ReasonThere are those who walk by faith and there are those who walk by reason. There are those who think they trust in God and those who trust they think.
If the New Testament teaches that we are to walk by faith than our challenge is to trust God in the pursuit of living according to His Word and the leading of His Holy Spirit. The lifestyle of holiness that Jesus modeled and called us to emulate usually places us directly in conflict with the world—the same world that crucified Him. The logical conclusion is the more godly we become the more we can expect to suffer. Our challenge is to agree with the Apostle Paul—“For me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (Philippians 1:21). 10/29/1998 0 Comments ReflectionsThe Bible references the number 40, 114 times. It often signifies completion for a period of blessing, testing or punishment. Consider: “You will bear the consequences of your sins 40 years based on the number of the 40 days that you scouted the land, a year for each day. You will know My displeasure” (Numbers 14:34). So God condemned a generation of Israelites to wander in the Sinai desert, a place of barrenness that aptly illustrated the shriveled state of their faith. They would not enter the promised land because it contained giants. The only exception God made was to 40-year-old Joshua and his friend Caleb. He blessed these two courageous men who saw opportunity where others feared defeat.
10/23/1998 0 Comments LustThe Manchurian Tiger is the largest member of the cat family. A large male can reach twelve feet in length! A leopard ambushes its victims by staying camouflaged and it is so strong it can carry its prey high into a tree where other animals cannot steal it. Lions, unlike other cats, operate within a community called a pride and work as a team to bring down their hapless victims. The Lynx, a smaller bobtailed cat, will hunt its prey tirelessly for hours and are capable of catching fish. Ocelots often hunt in pairs mewing to keep in touch with one another. Pumas, also known as cougars or mountain lions, live among rocky fortresses and can jump 20 feet or vertically leap 15 feet. Jaguars are excellent swimmers and are so secretive, little is known about their habits. They will fight, kill and eat alligators.
9/27/1998 MindThe military has a formal practice known as “Inspection in Ranks” where a commander examines each soldier standing at attention in formation. I never enjoyed these reviews if I was the inspectee. The long period of sustaining a rigid posture only made my back and thighs ache. Yet, I did learn some interesting lessons. Formal inspections serve a necessary purpose but they do not always give a commander an accurate assessment of a soldier. A warrior may look good in uniform but be incompetent in battle.
8/14/1998 0 Comments PhilosophyPhilosophy, a word that comes from the Greek (philein, sophia), literally means “the love of wisdom”. Philosophy is cultivated by various means.
3/5/1998 0 Comments ThinkingIt is my goal to read 24 books each year. Part of this discipline involves choosing books that cover a wide range of subjects. There is no end to the number of good books one can read. Scientists tell us we use so little of our brain. I discovered how little my brain was when I journeyed into the realm of Probability and her cousins Electrical Engineering and Thermal Dynamics. But I also learned how much greater my mind could be stretched than I would have dared imagine. It is better to be challenged in what is difficult than to be difficult about being challenged.
12/28/1997 0 Comments MemoriesThere is a phrase that I am becoming weary of hearing among Christians. Three short words that convey a very sad truth—“I used to . . .”
11/27/1997 0 Comments Junior Holy SpiritsMeditation
Romans 14:10-12--But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before the tribunal of God. For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 11/20/1997 0 Comments DesireHow do I know when I am growing spiritually? One sure way to tell is to evaluate my desires. Jesus said “For where your treasures is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Treasures do not have to be tangible possessions. Our thoughts our often our treasures.
8/17/1997 0 Comments Critical SpiritMeditation
Philippians 2:3--Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. |
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles