First Cause
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Global >
      • United States
      • Africa
      • Democratic Republic of Congo
      • Guatemala
      • India
      • Kenya
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Nigeria
      • Peru
      • Rwanda
      • Sweden
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
    • Leadership
    • Our Team
    • Our Statement of Faith
  • Training
  • Leader Resources
    • Outreach
    • Quotes A-C
    • Quotes D-F
    • Quotes G-K
    • Quotes L-O
    • Quotes P-R
    • Quotes S-U
    • Quotes V-Z
    • Worship
    • Testimonials
    • Annual Newsletter
  • Leader Podcasts
  • Blog
  • Prayer
    • A Link In The Chain
    • Prayer Request
    • Long Eternal Line
  • STORE
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Inicio
  • Nosotros
    • Liderazgo
    • Equipo
  • Capacitacion
  • Eventos
  • Blog Devocionales
  • Galeria
  • Contacto
  • Link Page
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Global >
      • United States
      • Africa
      • Democratic Republic of Congo
      • Guatemala
      • India
      • Kenya
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Nigeria
      • Peru
      • Rwanda
      • Sweden
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
    • Leadership
    • Our Team
    • Our Statement of Faith
  • Training
  • Leader Resources
    • Outreach
    • Quotes A-C
    • Quotes D-F
    • Quotes G-K
    • Quotes L-O
    • Quotes P-R
    • Quotes S-U
    • Quotes V-Z
    • Worship
    • Testimonials
    • Annual Newsletter
  • Leader Podcasts
  • Blog
  • Prayer
    • A Link In The Chain
    • Prayer Request
    • Long Eternal Line
  • STORE
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Inicio
  • Nosotros
    • Liderazgo
    • Equipo
  • Capacitacion
  • Eventos
  • Blog Devocionales
  • Galeria
  • Contacto
  • Link Page
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Reveration Blog

10/29/1998 0 Comments

Reflections

​The 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.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.  His son Solomon would follow with another forty-year reign.  God blessed David and His children and made him mighty because he was a God-hearted man. 

For 40 days and nights Elijah fled a queen intent on his murder, sustained by one cake and water an angel provided, until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. On that holy hill God unleashed a panoramic presentation of power yet spoke to His frazzled prophet in a gentle whisper.  And Elijah understood God’s will.

For forty days, Jesus went out into the desert led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  He fasted for that entire period until Satan came with an aggressive intent to derail Him from His earthly mission.  Though physically weak, Jesus resisted His tempter by anchoring Himself to the word of God.

In celebrating my fortieth year of life I too was given cause to reflect.  May I share with you some observations God is in the process of teaching me?  
#1.  The cost of sin is never worth the price of pleasure.  Whenever I have pursued my own interests at the expense of following God’s interests, I have languished spiritually.
#2. God’s love runs deeper than life’s pains.  I remember Brian Haller, killed in his prime, a champion of friends whom I still greatly miss; I recall so many faces of friends and family who have been mercilessly cut down by horrible disease or cruel accidents leaving spouses and children behind to wonder why, to contemplate life’s unfair and fickle nature. Yet in the darkest of valleys, God’s warm hands have not just sustained, they have brought true healing.  
#3. Jesus is the true joy-bringer.  Happiness may come via material comforts, job satisfaction, relationships with people or positional status.  But each of these things can also be disappointing.  Joy, runs deeper than happiness and can be attained every day with or without adversity!  Jesus is the authentic, life-invigorating, fulfiller of joy.  
#4. The source of blessing is our freedom in Christ.  Millions of people in other nations are tortured, or live in hiding for their faith in Jesus.  Yet God loves them as much as He loves those of us privileged to live in a free nation. True freedom is not the ability to do whatever we want but rather to know that no one can separate us from the love of Christ—that freedom comes in Christ and not in a flag. 
#5. The path to victory often begins with praise.  There are many things I don’t know, more that I do not understand.  But I do know this.  Our God is an awesome God.  In the journey of life it is easy to focus on our own interests.  Most prayer is weighted too heavily with requests.  But I’ve found that God delights in being praised. He responds to those who approach Him not for what He will do but for who He is.  
#6. Life is best played as a team sport.  We need each other.  We all start out getting potty-trained.  God made us to be dependent for a reason—two, and three . . . are better than one!  I cannot even begin to calculate the value family and friends play in my life.  I love you for who you are and for what you help me to become.
#7.  There is no final chapter in the Book of Life--something to think about . . . in reveration.
 
Meditation
Psalm 40:3--He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
 
Inspiration
The interests of the Son of God and of the disciple are to be identical.  How long it takes to manifest that identity depends on the private history of the disciple and his Lord.—Oswald Chambers in So Send I You
 
©1998 Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)

0 Comments


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Abiding
    Ability
    Accountability
    Accusations
    Action
    Adaptable
    Admonish
    Adversity
    Advice
    Agreement
    Alert
    Alliance
    Ambition
    Angels
    Anger
    Anointing
    Arguing
    Aspiration
    Assumptions
    Attitude
    Attributes
    Authority
    Available
    Awareness
    Balance
    Baptism
    Belief
    Betrayal
    Bible
    Bitterness
    Blessings
    Blood
    Bold
    Boundaries
    Bribery
    Burn Out
    Busyness
    Calling
    Calm
    Care
    Causes
    Challenges
    Change
    Character
    Children
    Choices
    Christmas
    Comfort
    Commitment
    Communication
    Communion
    Community
    Comparison
    Compassion
    Complacency
    Complaining
    Compromise
    Concern
    Conduct
    Confession
    Confrontation
    Confusion
    Conscience
    Consent
    Considerate
    Contentment
    Context
    Corruption
    Courage
    Craving
    Creation
    Creativity
    Criticism
    Curiosity
    Dark
    Death
    Deception
    Decision Making
    Dedication
    Delay
    Deliverance
    Demons
    Depression
    Despair
    Discernment
    Discipleship
    Discipline
    Discouragement
    Dishonesty
    Disobedience
    Disrespect
    Divine Appointment
    Divisive
    Dogmatic
    Doubt
    Duty
    Easter
    Edify
    Emotion
    Empathy
    Encouragement
    Endurance
    Envy
    Eternity
    Ethics
    Evangelism
    Evolution
    Example
    Excuses
    Experience
    Failure
    Faith
    Faithful
    Fasting
    Fathers
    Favor
    Fear
    Feedback
    Fellowship
    Flesh
    Focus
    Follow
    Foolishness
    Forgiveness
    Freedom
    Friendly
    Friendship
    Fruit
    Gentle
    Giving
    Glory
    Goals
    God
    God Fearing
    Godly
    Gods Love
    Gods Promises
    Good Friday
    Gossip
    Government
    Grace
    Grumbling
    Guidance
    Habit
    Happiness
    Healing
    Healthy
    Heart
    Heaven
    Hell
    Help
    Heresy
    Heroism
    History
    Holidays
    Holiness
    Holy Spirit
    Honor
    Hope
    Humility
    Hypocrisy
    Idolatry
    Image
    Immorality
    Incompetent
    Inconsistent
    Ingratitude
    Inheritance
    Initiative
    Insecurity
    Inspiration
    Integrity
    Interference
    Isolation
    Israel
    Jealousy
    Jesus
    Joy
    Judgment
    Justice
    Justification
    Kindness
    Knowledge
    Language
    Laughter
    Law
    Lazy
    Leadership
    Learning
    Legalism
    Life
    Light
    Listening
    Lonely
    Love
    Loyalty
    Lying
    Marriage
    Meaning
    Meditation
    Memorial
    Mentor
    Mercy
    Mind
    Ministry
    Miracles
    Money
    Music
    Name
    Obedient
    Observation
    Opportunity
    Opposition
    Pain
    Parables
    Parenting
    Passion
    Patience
    Peace
    Perseverance
    Philosophies
    Plan
    Poem
    Poor
    Possessions
    Power
    Praise
    Prayer
    Prayer For Leaders
    Prejudice
    Preparation
    Pressure
    Pride
    Priorities
    Profiles
    Promises
    Protection
    Providence
    Provision
    Prudence
    Psalms
    Punishment
    Purpose
    Questions
    Rebellious
    Rebuke
    Recognition
    Reconcilation
    Redemption
    Relativism
    Relevance
    Religion
    Repentance
    Repetition
    Reputation
    Respect
    Responsible
    Rest
    Restoration
    Revenge
    Revival
    Reward
    Righteous
    Role
    Sacrifice
    Safety
    Salvation
    Satan
    Security
    Selection
    Self
    Self-righteous
    Sensitive
    Serving
    Sickness
    Silence
    Sin
    Sincerity
    Sorrow
    Soul
    Speech
    Spiritual Disciplines
    Spiritual Gifts
    Spiritual Growth
    Spiritual Warfare
    Status
    Stewardship
    Strategy
    Strengths
    Stress
    Stubborn
    Submission
    Success
    Suffering
    Suicide
    Teaching
    Team
    Temple
    Temptation
    Testimony
    Testing
    Thankful
    Theology
    Thinking
    Thoughtful
    Time
    Tradition
    Training
    Transformation
    Travel
    Trinity
    Trouble
    Trust
    Truth
    Understanding
    Unequal
    Unity
    Values
    Victory
    Virtue
    Vision
    Warning
    Weakness
    Will
    Wisdom
    Witness
    Work
    Worry
    Worship
    Youth
    Zeal

Picture

Contacts

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles