Category: Worship

9/2/2026 1 Comment

Pleasing Ways--Peaceful Outcomes

Meditation

Proverbs 16:7--When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Pleasing God is a ticket to success and favor. But how do we please Him?  In studying Scripture, there are at least twelve principles or ways that bring His favor.
1. Obey Him and keep His commands; act justly, love faithfulness, walk humbly; blameless—Numbers 14:8,9; 1 Kings 3:9,10; Proverbs 11:10; Isaiah 56:4; Micah 6:8
2. Seek His guidance (prayer) and help—1 Ki. 22:5; Psalm 40:13
3. Faithfully and wholeheartedly serve Him—2 Ki. 20:3; 1 Chronicles 17:27, 28:4; Ephesians 6:6; 1 Thessalonians 2:4
4. Do what is wise and right and share; kindness and truth—1 Ch. 29:17; Pro. 3:3, 8:35; Malachi 2:17; Hebrews 13:15
5. Praise and worship Him—Psa. 69:30,31; Daniel 4:2,3
6. Repent of sin—Jeremiah 34:15
7. Put God before self—Haggai 1:8,9, Romans 15:1,3
8. Follow His will—John 8:29; 1 Corinthians 7:32
9. Put our faith in Him—1 Co. 1:21; Heb. 11:5,6
10. Children who obey and care for their parents—Colossians 3:20; 1 Timothy 5:4
11. Abstain from sexual immorality—1 Th. 4:2-7
12. Pray, intercede, and give thanksgiving for everyone—1 Ti. 2:1-3

How do we displease Him? Here are three direct reasons.
1. Lame sacrifices—Malachi 1:8
2. Sin—Rom. 8:8; 1 Co. 10:5
3. Wrong priorities—Galatians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Pleasing God does not mean we will not suffer—suffering is universal. But when our lifestyle and plans are committed to pleasing Him, His favor is never far away. Pleasing God brings peace and understanding, the ability to weather adversity, to be longsuffering with short-tempered people, and to experience the satisfaction of knowing that no matter what life throws at us, we are still on course. Something to think about . . . in reveration.

Inspiration
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.—C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory

©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)

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7/14/2026 0 Comments

Bryce Canyon

Stacy and I drove across the United States from Georgia to Oregon. One of our stops was Bryce Canyon National Park. To say it was stunning would be an understatement. When Stacy first laid eyes on “The Cathedral,” a prominent collection of hoodoos, she wept. Hoodoos are tall, closely clustered rock spires that resemble the towers or spires of a grand cathedral.[1] I have to say it is one of the most striking images I have ever witnessed.

Bryce Canyon is in southwestern Utah on the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The park covers about 35,835 acres and is part of Utah’s “Mighty 5” national parks (along with Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef). We also visited Zion and Capitol Reef.

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12/21/2025 1 Comment

When is it Good to be Terrified?

As far as I know, I have never been visited by an angel, but I do know people who have. In those instances, they did not realize it was an angel until after the fact. Some have shared stories of being rescued from immediate danger where intervention was obvious, yet the hands that protected remained invisible. I imagine there are probably far more instances of God’s protection than we realize.

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11/27/2024 0 Comments

Grace-Caused Thanksgiving

Ron York

Dad is bedridden now, and most days, unable to feed himself, requiring care 24/7. Yet despite increased dementia and limited capacity, he smilingly answers simple questions, and his appreciation flows naturally toward those assisting him. He knows and sings the words of Amazing Grace with closed eyes and a swaying head. His eyes twinkle as he joins me in singing the Marine Corps Hymn. A peace within him resonates with the words Paul shared with the Corinthian believers.

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11/12/2024 0 Comments

Omnipresent

When I was a junior officer attending Infantry Officers Basic Course (IOBC), we sponsored foreign military officers. Some of those officers were married Muslims who were quite happy to be in America and to engage in all kinds of immoral activity. When asked why they were getting intoxicated and frequenting strip clubs when they had wives back home and strict rules against consuming alcohol, their answers were quite revealing. “Allah cannot see us. He is not present here.” They firmly believed that only in their own country were they visible and accountable for their behavior. Their Allah was a god with limitations.

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8/9/2024 0 Comments

Music

The first time the word song is used in the Bible is in Exodus 15, when Moses and the Israelites sang to the LORD after He delivered them from the Egyptian army chasing them. What a grateful sound they shared toward heaven. Generations later, King David assigned duties to the Levites to serve as musicians for God’s temple. Those duties languished under the rule of evil kings when the people turned their backs on God to worship idols. Later, one of David’s lineage, King Hezekiah, recognized the importance of music devoted to God.
Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet. For the command was from the Lord through His prophets (2 Chronicles 29:25).
The tradition of music with worship was so ingrained in the writings and history of the Israelites that they could reinstitute practices that occurred hundreds of years earlier.

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7/31/2024 1 Comment

You are His Temple

King David’s vision was to build a temple for God. Previously, God gave Moses specific instructions for the Israelites to construct a tabernacle for Him. Once it was completed and dedicated, “The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). David, understanding that the Israelites occupied the land God promised them, concluded He should have a temple, a more special place of worship in which to reside. God concurred but would not allow David to build it because of the blood he had shed as a warrior (1 Chronicles 22:8). Instead, the temple was built by David’s son, Solomon.

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2/24/2024 0 Comments

Giving Glory to God

This year, I bought a journal and am using it to develop my prayer life. I’ve divided it into sections for praise, thanksgiving, prayer for friends and family, prayer for those who don’t know the Lord, personal requests, ministry, etc. Psalm 71:14, 15 says, “But I will hope continually and will praise You more and more. My mouth will tell about Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot sum them up.” This verse is recorded at the top of page 6 of my journal to remind me of things to praise God. So far, I have 54 items, which is on pace for one topic per day. Page 7 continues with Psalm 146:2—“I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing to my God as long as I live.” I start with these two pages daily because they set the tone of praise and remind me of what is most important in life—God!

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4/23/2023 1 Comment

Because of His Majesty

How do we avoid sinning? It’s a fundamental question that has many implications for our lives. Reading through the book of Job, we can pick up some amazing insights from a man horrifically tormented by Satan for his righteous life. In chapter 31, Job identifies at least thirteen things that would be inappropriate for him to do, with verse 23 serving as the lynchpin for his profound reasoning.

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1/25/2023 0 Comments

The Unhindered Way

Meditation
John 14:9—Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’

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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.

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4/25/2022 1 Comment

The Problem with Religion

Did you know that God is offended by meaningless, false-hearted chanting?

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1/31/2022 0 Comments

Don't Get Agitated!

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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8/28/2021 0 Comments

Withering

The Hebrew word navel, basically means wither or lose heart. It is used twenty times in the Old Testament. The word describes Moses in Exodus 18:18—warned about wearing out from trying to judge the people alone. Eleven times it refers to plants dying. Isaiah uses it to show people withering from sin (Isaiah 64:6). When you think of the condition of the world right now does it feel like it is withering? Such a thought should not be surprising for God warned us that this would happen.

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3/22/2021 0 Comments

Baal

The Israelites were living in mountain hideouts, caves and strongholds to escape the Midianites, Amalekites and Qedemites who frequently attacked them (Judges 6:2,3). Before God would use a young man named Gideon to deliver Israel from these aggressive raiders, He needed to wrest the weakest house in the tribe of Manasseh from their allegiance to Baal. Gideon’s own father and family members were engaged in idol worship. So an angel of the LORD appeared to him and gave him a mission.

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11/24/2020 1 Comment

Thankful

It will go down in history as perhaps mankind’s most bizarre year. Never has the entire globe in unison shut down because of a virus. Restrictions in travel, work, recreation, size of gatherings etc., have ruined businesses, increased the number of suicides and deaths for those with other ailments who cannot be hospitalized, amped fear to unprecedented levels, and created a huge divide in opinion over what should or should not be done. Meanwhile political unrest, rolling waves of violence, storms and disasters add to the cacophony of 2020.

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10/10/2020 0 Comments

What is Worship?

Meditation
Jonah 1:8,9--Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in. What is your business and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?” He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”

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9/30/2020 0 Comments

The Return

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, “It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” On April 30, 1863, Lincoln's National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer was observed. Two days later, Lt. General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded in a freak accident where he was shot by his own troops. The loss of this powerful Confederate leader changed the course of the war.[1]

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7/31/2020 0 Comments

I & II Samuel

If you want to read great books on leadership, read 1st and 2nd Samuel. Early tradition suggests that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book in scripture so I will do my best to examine the combined 55 chapters and share key leadership lessons. No author is named for these books but scholars largely credit the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad. Based on 1 Sa. 27:6, the writing may not have been completed until about 930 B.C.[1]

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4/22/2020 0 Comments

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is a “must read” for any serious student of the Bible. That it is one of the most significant books of the Old Testament is evidenced by at least 28 quotations by Christ and various authors of the New Testament.[1] Jesus quoted from this book three times to refute Satan’s temptations when He was led out into the desert for forty days without food (Matthew 4:1-11; Deu. 6:13, 16; 8:3). Once when asked by a Pharisee what the greatest commandment in the law was, Jesus quoted Deu. 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

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