Reveration: First Cause Weekly Devotional

One would think that with the uncertainties of life and certainty of death, people would be intrigued, perhaps even obsessed, with knowing if there is a Creator and, if He in fact, has a plan for His creation. It amazes me how many people I meet who seem uninterested in what happens to them when they die. Yet, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT question everyone should want to know the answer to because o...

On my wall is a painting of the Old Testament prophet Daniel standing on a cement floor calmly looking out a window as seven lions to his right seemingly gaze with him.  His image of courage and peace in a room meant for his consumption, inspires me.  Of all the saints in the Old Testament, Daniel seems the most Christlike to me. Visit us at First Cause .

Jim Van Yperen wrote a terrific book on resolving conflict entitled Making Peace: A Guide to Overcoming Church Conflict .  One of the topics Yperen tackles is individualism.  He notes specifically that western individualism actually works against spiritual vitality and fellowship because it breeds autonomy at the cost of biblical community. Individualism results in consumerism. Visit us...

Proverbs 19:11—A person’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense. Visit us at First Cause!  

Proverbs 26:20—Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down. Visit us at First Cause .

When we are strong and everything is going well it is easy to forget about God and to take credit ourselves for accomplishments. We need to be reminded that it is by the Holy Spirit that we are able to succeed. But it is also true in those periods of life where we feel overwhelmed, helpless, grief-stricken and lost that any strength we muster is not the key.  It is the Holy Spirit we need to...

Have you ever thought about the word woe ? Woe is like saying “lookout,” be afraid—misfortune, anguish or calamity approach. Woe is a get-the-sleep-out-of-your-eye-now, kind of word. It is the preparatory command for trouble. Woe receivers are getting a spiritual wakeup call. Woe rejecters deserve apocalyptic trouble! Visit us at First Cause!

Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, coined the term disruptive innovation.[1]  Essentially it describes how a product or service begins at market bottom and then inexorably rises in the market until it at some point, displaces well-established competitors.  A small, new company that is weak on resources successfully overcomes proven incumbent businesses by offering wha...

Once upon a true time, a woman was carrying a heavy sack of cereals on her head down a dusty Kenyan road. As she walked the rutted earth on that hot sunny afternoon, a man in a blue, paint-faded pickup truck pulled up alongside her and asked, “Je! Ungependa safari?” (Would you like a ride?). The woman, after wiping the sweat off her brow, smiled at him and said, “Ndio Asante” (Yes, thank you). &nb...

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 with...

Why is it significant to address necessitarianism?  The reason is that it ties directly to the issue of God’s foreknowledge versus man’s free will—a subject that fascinates and baffles theologians. Visit us at First Cause

No matter how hard we strive we cannot achieve perfection and so we may be inclined to give up. We conclude God’s demand and expected standard is too great.  What we need is David’s understanding . . .  Visit us at First Cause!

Trina is a disrupter.  She never lasts long in organizations because she has a bad habit of stirring up trouble. When she finds weaknesses in people she exploits them.  She enjoys pitting one person against another.  She is a gossiping genius.  At first her gregarious nature and warm appearance win her instant friends. Slowly, as they learn she cannot be trusted with informatio...

I have a theory for which I would love to get your feedback. Visit us at First Cause .

I like the two Oriental characters for the word crisis.  In both Japanese and Chinese, they mean “threatening opportunity.”—Jack Hayford, John Killinger and Howard Stevenson in Mastering Worship Visit us at www.firstcause.org

Do you want to grow spiritually; expand your capacity?  It begins with dying. When Paul wrote, “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain ” (Philippians 1:21) certainly he was looking forward to his heavenly homecoming.  But there may be deeper meaning to what Paul meant if we consider Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23 about denying self.  To deny self is to die to self.  Dying i...

What!  No infantry or cavalry requested? Visit us at: www.firstcause.org

While at a golf fundraising event I saw a marine veteran wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed, “I Identify As Vaccinated.” It radiated humor but was actually rather brilliant. It subtly broadcast with absurdity the politically-correct notion that someone can identify as whatever gender they desire. Visit us at www.firstcause.org

West Point classmate Bill Bowman shared his story with the Long Eternal Line team who gather each Tuesday night for prayer. Bill suffered a bad car accident that crushed his back and should have left him permanently paralyzed.  While in the hospital Bill shared how Jesus held him and comforted him.  Bill apologized for not walking the right path and the Lord shared with him that his stor...

I was loading up the car with boxes of books to take to our new apartment when my cell phone rang. When I answered the phone Taylor, one of the staff for Jefferson Gables Apartments, said, “Mr. York I’m so sorry but you cannot move in tomorrow.  We found an error.” “An error, what kind of error?” “We have to replace the entire carpet. You can’t move in for at least two weeks. But the good new...

If one were to find a synonym for wilderness in the Bible it would be fairly safe to substitute  hardship .   The Holman Christian Standard Bible  uses the term wilderness 150 times. The majority of references applied to Israel wandering through deserts that resulted in all but two adults over 40 dying and a whole lot of complaining and suffering.  The fascinating thing is...

Jonathan Cahn shared a historical piece of information that is quite fascinating.[1]  In the time of the Jewish second temple, each Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), a scarlet cord was attached to the Temple doors. It represented the people’s sins in line with Isaiah 1:18, “‘ Come, let us discuss this,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white...

If you had to guess what city do you think has been most fought over in history?   Visit us at www.firstcause.org

Occasionally when I’m reading my Bible a statement will just jump off the pages and grab me. It happened this week while I was studying Romans chapters 13-16.  Look at the two verses below and see if anything strikes you. Meditation Romans 15:23,24—But now I no longer have any work to do in these provinces, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you whenever I travel...

When I conducted an search for the “10 most stressful events” on the internet, the first two sources listed moving as #7.[1]I remember learning from a sociology class at West Point that moving was a big stressor.  It does make sense.  Moving is largely comprised of change, and the transitions change demand can be cortisol-producing. Imagine driving a packed 26-foot U-Haul truck...