Reveration Blog
1/21/2024 0 Comments Purify Yourselves
Upon contact, there was a fireball the size of a softball (without heat or sound). Simultaneously, the bowl of eggs in his hand exploded in two, with half shattering and half remaining intact. Nate then discovered the unbroken body of the ceramic Buddha ten feet away on the concrete floor, surrounded by shards from the shattered bowl. The head was embedded intact in the stump. Using the ax blade, Nate pried the head from the wood and then, with the blunt side, tapped the body and head, which immediately turned to dust.
Meditation Genesis 35:1-3—God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes. We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.” Jacob was afraid the Canaanites would destroy him and his family when they traveled to Bethel because two of his sons previously killed all the men of a nearby village after Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite (the local ruler), raped their sister, Dinah. You can read the story in Genesis 34. Knowing that God was faithful to him and calling him to settle in Bethel, he became convicted of the idols his family members kept. After ordering them to purify themselves, Jacob’s family gave him all their idols and the rings in their ears, and he buried them under an oak near Shechem before beginning their journey. As a result, God caused the surrounding cities to fear Him, and they chose not to pursue the sons of Jacob (35:4,5). Is there anything you are holding on to that displeases God and keeps you from wholeheartedly serving Him? Purify yourself! Give no space for idols. Destroy whatever allows evil to fester, dull, or damage your relationship with your holy, all-seeing Father in heaven. Something to think about . . . in reveration! Inspiration Enlighten me, Blessed Jesus, with the brightness of Thy inner light, and cast forth all darkness from the habitation of my heart. Restrain my many wandering thoughts, and carry away the temptations which strive to do my hurt. Fight Thou mightily for me, and drive forth the evil beasts, so call I alluring lusts, that peace may be within Thy walls and plenteousness of praise within Thy palaces.—Thomas á Kempis in The Imitation of Christ ©2024 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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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles