I have, in my Truck a CD set, the Word of Promise, New Testament. It’s the entire New Testament very professionally read by a long list of actors. I don’t recall exactly where on the internet I purchased it from but I enjoy it so much I have bought 4 more sets and given them away. This is the official web address, www.thewordofpromise.com/wp1/ .
Whenever I am in the Truck, and not on the phone, one of these CDs is playing. Normally I spend at least 2 hours a day in the truck so I hear a lot of the New Testament. For this reason I spend most of my reading time in the Old Testament.
I just finished up reading 2 Samuel and started 1 Kings this morning. While reading the adventures of king David a thought began to grow. David, like us, made some big mistakes. Those mistakes cost him, many of his mistakes cost the lives of many in Israel. However, when the lights came on and David realized his mistake or sin he repented and God forgave him. Consider this, God called him (David) a man after his own heart 1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22.
This is very good news for you and I. David was under the Law and despite his failures and weaknesses God considered him a man after his own heart. How much more can depend on God now that the Law has been fulfilled through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are under Grace, having the Risen Christ as our savior.
“Lord God , help us every day to remember that it is by your Grace and Power that we have access to you through your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to hold fast to Jesus knowing that He is faithful and able to deliver us through this day. Open our Eyes that we may see Your Kingdom clearly. Open our ears that we may hear Your voice and the direction of the Holy Spirit. Heal our crippled bodies that we can walk daily with You.
I ask this in the name of and under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen”
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Waiting for Gods direction
I don’t think I am much different from most Christians. I think most of us try, among other things, to be good Christians, to read our Bibles, pray for those in need and be good witnesses for Christ. I also think most us spend a lot of time seeking the Lords guidance.
I feel I have reached a cross road in my life, well maybe a fork in the road, possibly you feel the same way. Something deep inside, the Holy Spirit, is me prompting me. To or for what I am not sure.
In my mind and heart I know that God, the Author and Creator of all that is, has the ability, authority and power to do anything, including making his will known to you and I.
His ability to make his will know to me can not be hindered by me. I can choose to ignore his direction but I can not choose to not hear it.
If necessary God can speak through a dumb animal.
Numbers 22:28-30
Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"
29 Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."
30 The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?"
I KNOW God can, has and will speak to me as sure as I know anything . (This is one of those cases where my use of language fails me. KNOW seems too weak a word to convey this reality) Yet, I do not yet hear the guidance that I long for.
While I seek answers to questions I am unable to verbalize I’ll place my trust in His Power and Faithfulness.
Psalm 25
1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, O LORD,
your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
13 He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
18 Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!
May our Lord and Father in Heven help us all to hear his voice clearly ,understand his direction and be willing to follow his guidance.
Bill
I feel I have reached a cross road in my life, well maybe a fork in the road, possibly you feel the same way. Something deep inside, the Holy Spirit, is me prompting me. To or for what I am not sure.
In my mind and heart I know that God, the Author and Creator of all that is, has the ability, authority and power to do anything, including making his will known to you and I.
His ability to make his will know to me can not be hindered by me. I can choose to ignore his direction but I can not choose to not hear it.
If necessary God can speak through a dumb animal.
Numbers 22:28-30
Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"
29 Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."
30 The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?"
I KNOW God can, has and will speak to me as sure as I know anything . (This is one of those cases where my use of language fails me. KNOW seems too weak a word to convey this reality) Yet, I do not yet hear the guidance that I long for.
While I seek answers to questions I am unable to verbalize I’ll place my trust in His Power and Faithfulness.
Psalm 25
1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, O LORD,
your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
13 He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
18 Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!
May our Lord and Father in Heven help us all to hear his voice clearly ,understand his direction and be willing to follow his guidance.
Bill
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
What I believe to be Unchangeable truths
This list is in no way intended to THE entire embodiment of the Truths of God. Its more a condensed version. I started this list for my own purposes to distill what I believe out from all of the background noise.
Having committed it to paper, so to speak, I decided to go ahead and post it. Please feel free to share your thoughts.
What I believe to be Unchangeable truths
God created all that there is.
God exists as One in the three persons on the Trinity; The Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit
That it is by Gods will and his will alone all that there is exists.
God created man (and women) beings in his own image; as such God gave man free will
God gave the earth and everything in and on it to man and gave man **stewardship over it **(8/20/11 revision was dominion)
Through the exercising of man’s free will, man brought sin into the world.
Because of man’s sin man became subject to the power of sin, (Satan) . Thus subjecting all creation, all that man had **Stewardship over, to Satan’s control.
Through sin the world and all of mankind became subject to evil, Satan. (subject = slaves)
God, because he is all knowing and exists in all time, knew from the beginning (before creation) that this would happen and planned a way to free the world and mankind.
God himself, The Son, became flesh in the form of Jesus Christ and was born of a Virgin.
Because of the Virgin birth Jesus, equally the Son of Man, Son of God and God, was born free of the bondage of sin that had controlled mankind from Adam until then.
Jesus, “The Christ” (Christ is the Greek word for Hebrew word Messiah ) was 100% man and 100% God.
Jesus, the man lived a sinless life. However, he was tempted in all ways like all of mankind.
Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, God incarnate, offered himself up through crucifixion to pay for all of the sins of mankind.
Because of God’s sacrifice of himself in the Son through crucifixion the barrier between man and God was removed. ** God could always approach man but man, because of sin and guilt could not come to God.
Jesus was raised bodily from the dead through the power of God to conquer the power of death and to redeem the world.
The sacrifice of God, Jesus freed the world from the control of evil. Giving the power and Lordship over the earth back to man through the resurrected man Jesus the Christ.
All men are now called by the Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of God, to be reunited to God as Adam was once united.
Access to God is now available to all mankind through the resurrected Jesus Christ.
All mankind are invited to become sons of God, as Adam, through the cleansing of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
To be reunited with God this is what we must do:
Accept that we, on our own, are lost sinners and unworthy to approach God.
Accept Gods own sacrifice, the crucifixion, as payment for our own sins and short comings.
Admit or confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and accept his Lordship over our individual lives.
While at CFNI, Christ for the Nations Institute, www.cfni.org/ I was privileged to hear a lesson that we should learn to separate “Eternal” Truths” from “ temporal truths” The cliff notes version is that some doctrines of faith will pass away with this world and thus are temporal. While other doctrines of faith will last through all eternity.
Examples are:
Jesus is Lord = Eternal Truth He will always be Lord
The laying on of hands= temporal truth in the world to come there will be no need for the laying on of hands because we will be resurrected like Christ in un-corruptible bodies.
All of the above “statements” are supported by scripture. I’ll be back soon to post an updated version with scriptural notations to back them up.
Having committed it to paper, so to speak, I decided to go ahead and post it. Please feel free to share your thoughts.
What I believe to be Unchangeable truths
God created all that there is.
God exists as One in the three persons on the Trinity; The Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit
That it is by Gods will and his will alone all that there is exists.
God created man (and women) beings in his own image; as such God gave man free will
God gave the earth and everything in and on it to man and gave man **stewardship over it **(8/20/11 revision was dominion)
Through the exercising of man’s free will, man brought sin into the world.
Because of man’s sin man became subject to the power of sin, (Satan) . Thus subjecting all creation, all that man had **Stewardship over, to Satan’s control.
Through sin the world and all of mankind became subject to evil, Satan. (subject = slaves)
God, because he is all knowing and exists in all time, knew from the beginning (before creation) that this would happen and planned a way to free the world and mankind.
God himself, The Son, became flesh in the form of Jesus Christ and was born of a Virgin.
Because of the Virgin birth Jesus, equally the Son of Man, Son of God and God, was born free of the bondage of sin that had controlled mankind from Adam until then.
Jesus, “The Christ” (Christ is the Greek word for Hebrew word Messiah ) was 100% man and 100% God.
Jesus, the man lived a sinless life. However, he was tempted in all ways like all of mankind.
Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, God incarnate, offered himself up through crucifixion to pay for all of the sins of mankind.
Because of God’s sacrifice of himself in the Son through crucifixion the barrier between man and God was removed. ** God could always approach man but man, because of sin and guilt could not come to God.
Jesus was raised bodily from the dead through the power of God to conquer the power of death and to redeem the world.
The sacrifice of God, Jesus freed the world from the control of evil. Giving the power and Lordship over the earth back to man through the resurrected man Jesus the Christ.
All men are now called by the Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of God, to be reunited to God as Adam was once united.
Access to God is now available to all mankind through the resurrected Jesus Christ.
All mankind are invited to become sons of God, as Adam, through the cleansing of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
To be reunited with God this is what we must do:
Accept that we, on our own, are lost sinners and unworthy to approach God.
Accept Gods own sacrifice, the crucifixion, as payment for our own sins and short comings.
Admit or confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and accept his Lordship over our individual lives.
While at CFNI, Christ for the Nations Institute, www.cfni.org/ I was privileged to hear a lesson that we should learn to separate “Eternal” Truths” from “ temporal truths” The cliff notes version is that some doctrines of faith will pass away with this world and thus are temporal. While other doctrines of faith will last through all eternity.
Examples are:
Jesus is Lord = Eternal Truth He will always be Lord
The laying on of hands= temporal truth in the world to come there will be no need for the laying on of hands because we will be resurrected like Christ in un-corruptible bodies.
All of the above “statements” are supported by scripture. I’ll be back soon to post an updated version with scriptural notations to back them up.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Paybacks?
I’m not much on Doom and Gloom but the financial events of the last week combined with my Bible reading this morning have me thinking.
2 Samuel 12:11-14
11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2012:11-14;&version=31;
This is taken from the account of how King David got the “hots” for Bathsheba. She was married to a soldier, Uriah, fighting in David’s army at the time. David sleeps with Bathsheba and she becomes pregnant. David brings the husband home from the war and tries for 2 days to give Uriah a chance of sleep with his wife.
The plan was to cover up the fact that she is pregnant. It does not work, Uriah is an honorable man and will not go home to or sleep with his wife while the rest of the army is in the field at war.
David than sends a message back to the battle WITH Uriah to arrange for the husband to be killed in battle, You can read the account in 2 Samuel 11: 1-26.
Now that the husband is dead David takes Bathsheba as his wife, thinking he has got over an everyone. However, God knows what has been going on and sends Nathan the prophet to rebuke David.
After the rebuke David confesses his sin 2 Samuel 12:13 “I have sinned against the Lord”
God, speaking through Nathan responds "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."
The lesson for us all. God WILL forgive us of our sins if we repent and acknowledge our sin. BUT the sin will have an effect of some sort on our lives and the lives of those around us.
*As a sort of a side note.
I wonder if this wouldn’t have turned out different if David, rather then just admitting his sin had also thrown himself down before God and asked forgiveness? Jump to 2 Samuel 12:18-20.
Consider the plight of the United States today. Depending on who you talked to less then two weeks ago, the economy was in either growing or dwindling. Some would say times are good. Others would say times are bad. Now the news is full of words of fear that our economy is on the verge of collapse. Despite the fact that some have tried for some time to “cry wolf” this has "come on us like a flood."
Consider the sins of our nation. As I have said in previous posts, the President (and our government) act on our behalf and with our full authority. God will not judge our nation for the personnel sins of our leaders. I am sure however, that he will judge our nation for the sins our “Nation” commits. The sins the Nation commits through actions, through tolerance or through indifference.
All eyes are on Washington hoping for a magic pill to heal our nation. You decide for yourself who you will place your hope and trust in. I intend to follow David’s example from vs. 16 “David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground."
Please take a moment NOW and pray that the Lord God, the Father of all creation forgive us our sins as a nation and that he heal the effects of our transgression.
2 Samuel 12:11-14
11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2012:11-14;&version=31;
This is taken from the account of how King David got the “hots” for Bathsheba. She was married to a soldier, Uriah, fighting in David’s army at the time. David sleeps with Bathsheba and she becomes pregnant. David brings the husband home from the war and tries for 2 days to give Uriah a chance of sleep with his wife.
The plan was to cover up the fact that she is pregnant. It does not work, Uriah is an honorable man and will not go home to or sleep with his wife while the rest of the army is in the field at war.
David than sends a message back to the battle WITH Uriah to arrange for the husband to be killed in battle, You can read the account in 2 Samuel 11: 1-26.
Now that the husband is dead David takes Bathsheba as his wife, thinking he has got over an everyone. However, God knows what has been going on and sends Nathan the prophet to rebuke David.
After the rebuke David confesses his sin 2 Samuel 12:13 “I have sinned against the Lord”
God, speaking through Nathan responds "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."
The lesson for us all. God WILL forgive us of our sins if we repent and acknowledge our sin. BUT the sin will have an effect of some sort on our lives and the lives of those around us.
*As a sort of a side note.
I wonder if this wouldn’t have turned out different if David, rather then just admitting his sin had also thrown himself down before God and asked forgiveness? Jump to 2 Samuel 12:18-20.
Consider the plight of the United States today. Depending on who you talked to less then two weeks ago, the economy was in either growing or dwindling. Some would say times are good. Others would say times are bad. Now the news is full of words of fear that our economy is on the verge of collapse. Despite the fact that some have tried for some time to “cry wolf” this has "come on us like a flood."
Consider the sins of our nation. As I have said in previous posts, the President (and our government) act on our behalf and with our full authority. God will not judge our nation for the personnel sins of our leaders. I am sure however, that he will judge our nation for the sins our “Nation” commits. The sins the Nation commits through actions, through tolerance or through indifference.
All eyes are on Washington hoping for a magic pill to heal our nation. You decide for yourself who you will place your hope and trust in. I intend to follow David’s example from vs. 16 “David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground."
Please take a moment NOW and pray that the Lord God, the Father of all creation forgive us our sins as a nation and that he heal the effects of our transgression.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Kingdom of God, here and now
I read a comment on the internet the other day regarding Jesus and Christianity. The comment was rather caustic so I’ll not repeat it verbatim but part of it is worth repeating.
The person making the comment said, in a nutshell, that all Jesus wants us to do is go to church and hang around, and that being a Christian is boring.
His comment got me thinking about what I believe are common misconception by non-Christians AND Christians of what it means to be a Christian. I have been dwelling on this for a couple weeks now and late Sunday night a light came on.
As I was preparing myself mentally for the jump from weekend mode to work week mode when that “small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-13) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2019:11-13;&version=31 inside reminded me that I would still be in “The Kingdom” while at work during the week. This got me thinking about all the things people do during the course of a day, work or recreation, and how they lined up with being in The Kingdom. A very simple truth became clear to me. We ARE in the Kingdom of God. Regardless of what we are doing, regardless of our relationship to God, regardless of whether or not you are a believer, we are all IN the KINGDOM OF GOD.
God created it.
John 1:1-3
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
The Kingdom of God exists today.
Hebrews 12:28
28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."
Man clouded it up with sin giving man’s right to rule it away to the enemy (Satan)
Genesis 1:28
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Matthew 4:8-10
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. [** notice Jesus does not argue with Satan’s authority to offer the world, vs. 9, inferring that Satan actually “had” that authority]
Christ Jesus took back man’s authority to rule from Satan
Revelations 1:17-18
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
In Jesus Name, under his authority, man has been given back the authority to again rule in The Kingdom of God.
Hebrews 2:5-8
5It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 7You made him a little] lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under his feet."
Matthew 16:19
19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Stay tuned, next stop, Living in The Kingdom
Hint, Luke 18:16 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=18&verse=16&version=31&context=verse
The person making the comment said, in a nutshell, that all Jesus wants us to do is go to church and hang around, and that being a Christian is boring.
His comment got me thinking about what I believe are common misconception by non-Christians AND Christians of what it means to be a Christian. I have been dwelling on this for a couple weeks now and late Sunday night a light came on.
As I was preparing myself mentally for the jump from weekend mode to work week mode when that “small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-13) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2019:11-13;&version=31 inside reminded me that I would still be in “The Kingdom” while at work during the week. This got me thinking about all the things people do during the course of a day, work or recreation, and how they lined up with being in The Kingdom. A very simple truth became clear to me. We ARE in the Kingdom of God. Regardless of what we are doing, regardless of our relationship to God, regardless of whether or not you are a believer, we are all IN the KINGDOM OF GOD.
God created it.
John 1:1-3
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
The Kingdom of God exists today.
Hebrews 12:28
28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."
Man clouded it up with sin giving man’s right to rule it away to the enemy (Satan)
Genesis 1:28
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Matthew 4:8-10
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. [** notice Jesus does not argue with Satan’s authority to offer the world, vs. 9, inferring that Satan actually “had” that authority]
Christ Jesus took back man’s authority to rule from Satan
Revelations 1:17-18
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
In Jesus Name, under his authority, man has been given back the authority to again rule in The Kingdom of God.
Hebrews 2:5-8
5It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 7You made him a little] lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under his feet."
Matthew 16:19
19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Stay tuned, next stop, Living in The Kingdom
Hint, Luke 18:16 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=18&verse=16&version=31&context=verse
Monday, September 22, 2008
In Jesus Name
Lately a couple subjects have been on my mind.
1. The Kingdom of God. I expect I’ll be spending a good deal of time on this subject. It seems to me that most believers are waiting for the Kingdom of God to come, when actually The Kingdom is already here.
Matthew 12:28
28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Luke 17:20
20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
The phase” in Jesus Name”.
The Bible tells us to pray in Jesus Name. Therefore I tend to end most prayer by saying, “In Jesus Name, Amen”. Surly there is more to praying in His name then just tacking that phrase onto the end of a prayer.
John 14:12-14
12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
John 16:
23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
So, what does this mean?
Consider the President of The United States. When President George W Bush makes a statement, he is speaking for all of America. This is regardless of your feelings about him the position he takes on a subject or what he is saying. He IS THE President and because he holds that office he speaks for us all and acts with our FULL authority.
OK, OK I know his power is somewhat controlled by the checks and balances of the congress the judiciary and that he is confined to what powers the President is granted by Law. He can only go so far but that is because he is a President and not a King. If he were a King then his word would be undisputable.
In places where there are kings and countries where there were kings the Kings word is reality. Kings expanded their authority, because they couldn’t be everywhere at once, by granting trusted “servants” the “authority” to act on their behalf, “in their name”. Because of this the words of those trusted with the Kings authority now carried the same undisputable power as the King himself. In effect what his trusted servant said were as though spoken by the King himself.
As Christians we serve The King of Kings and have been granted the “right” to ask anything as though The King himself has asked it. We have also been commissioned to speak on His behalf, in His Name.
I have know this to be true for a long time but for some reason I am compelled to now to “own” this truth.
“Lord God, please help us to understand the full meaning and power of living In Your Name. Help us to also come to a full understanding of what it means to be a Son of God as your word says in Galatians 3:26 ““You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”. This I ask In Jesus Name.”
This morning I felt impressed to read the book of Haggai. Not exactly one of the books of the Bible that I am normally drawn to.
It’s only a short couple chapters so I thought it worthwhile to post the entire book that God may use it to speak to your heart as he has mine.
Haggai:
1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua [a] son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "
3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. 9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."
And the people feared the LORD.
13 Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: "I am with you," declares the LORD. 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.
1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 2 "Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 5 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'
6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 8 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai: 11 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law says: 12 If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?' " The priests answered, "No."
13 Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled."
14 Then Haggai said, " 'So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,' declares the LORD. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.
15 " 'Now give careful thought to this from this day on —consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD's temple. 16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,' declares the LORD. 18 'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. " 'From this day on I will bless you.' "
20 The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 "Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
23 " 'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty."
1. The Kingdom of God. I expect I’ll be spending a good deal of time on this subject. It seems to me that most believers are waiting for the Kingdom of God to come, when actually The Kingdom is already here.
Matthew 12:28
28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Luke 17:20
20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
The phase” in Jesus Name”.
The Bible tells us to pray in Jesus Name. Therefore I tend to end most prayer by saying, “In Jesus Name, Amen”. Surly there is more to praying in His name then just tacking that phrase onto the end of a prayer.
John 14:12-14
12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
John 16:
23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
So, what does this mean?
Consider the President of The United States. When President George W Bush makes a statement, he is speaking for all of America. This is regardless of your feelings about him the position he takes on a subject or what he is saying. He IS THE President and because he holds that office he speaks for us all and acts with our FULL authority.
OK, OK I know his power is somewhat controlled by the checks and balances of the congress the judiciary and that he is confined to what powers the President is granted by Law. He can only go so far but that is because he is a President and not a King. If he were a King then his word would be undisputable.
In places where there are kings and countries where there were kings the Kings word is reality. Kings expanded their authority, because they couldn’t be everywhere at once, by granting trusted “servants” the “authority” to act on their behalf, “in their name”. Because of this the words of those trusted with the Kings authority now carried the same undisputable power as the King himself. In effect what his trusted servant said were as though spoken by the King himself.
As Christians we serve The King of Kings and have been granted the “right” to ask anything as though The King himself has asked it. We have also been commissioned to speak on His behalf, in His Name.
I have know this to be true for a long time but for some reason I am compelled to now to “own” this truth.
“Lord God, please help us to understand the full meaning and power of living In Your Name. Help us to also come to a full understanding of what it means to be a Son of God as your word says in Galatians 3:26 ““You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”. This I ask In Jesus Name.”
This morning I felt impressed to read the book of Haggai. Not exactly one of the books of the Bible that I am normally drawn to.
It’s only a short couple chapters so I thought it worthwhile to post the entire book that God may use it to speak to your heart as he has mine.
Haggai:
1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua [a] son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "
3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. 9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."
And the people feared the LORD.
13 Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: "I am with you," declares the LORD. 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.
1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 2 "Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 5 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'
6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 8 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai: 11 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law says: 12 If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?' " The priests answered, "No."
13 Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled."
14 Then Haggai said, " 'So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,' declares the LORD. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.
15 " 'Now give careful thought to this from this day on —consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD's temple. 16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,' declares the LORD. 18 'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. " 'From this day on I will bless you.' "
20 The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 "Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
23 " 'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty."
Friday, September 19, 2008
Shock and Awe part 2
Perhaps the hardest part of any journey is taking the first step. This journey to learn more about who God is and why we are drawn to him. In the process I hope to discovery why ancient men of the past seemed to have been in awe of the mere concept of God and even more so the perception of the actual existence of a Living God. Apparently they knew something about God that we have lost touch with.
Acts 17: 16-
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols………. 22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
The people of Athens sought and worshiped many gods. Obviously they believed in the existence of gods and of A God.
I’ll assume, because your reading this, that you believe in the existence of God and that you have an understanding that throughout history all peoples have believed in a God and worshiped some form of god.
So where did the name God come from, and why do people search for God and desire to worship Him?
In English we use one word/Name for God. In Hebrew there are many.
I did a quick Google search on “names of God” and the number one response was: http://ldolphin.org/Names.html
The most used Hebrew name for God is Jehovah or Yahweh written as YHWH, a name to sacred to be spoken, thus no vowels.
JEHOVAH: LORD in our English Bibles (all capitals). Yahweh is the covenant name of God. Occurs 6823 times in the OT First use Gen. 2:4 (Jehovah Elohim). From the verb "to be", havah, similar to chavah (to live), "The Self-Existent One," "I AM WHO I AM" or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE" as revealed to Moses at the burning bush, Ex.3. The name of God, too sacred to be uttered, abbreviated ( . . . . ) or written "YHWH" without vowel points. The tetragrammaton. Josh., Judges, Sam., and Kings use Jehovah almost exclusively. The love of God is conditioned upon His moral and spiritual attributes. (Dan. 9:14; Ps. 11:7; Lev. 19:2; Hab. 1:12). Note Deut. 6:4, 5 known to Jews as the Sh'ma uses both Jehovah and Elohim to indicate one God with a plurality of persons.
EL: God ("mighty, strong, prominent") used 250 times in the OT See Gen. 7:1, 28:3, 35:11; Nu. 23:22; Josh. 3:10; 2 Sam. 22:31, 32; Neh. 1:5, 9:32; Isa. 9:6; Ezek. 10:5. El is linguistically equivalent to the Moslem "Allah," but the attributes of Allah in Islam are entirely different from those of the God of the Hebrews. ELAH is Aramaic, "god." Elah appears in the Hebrew Bible in Jer. 10:11 (which is in Aramaic, and is plural, "gods"). In Daniel (the Aramaic sections) Elah is used both of pagan gods, and of the true God, also plural. Elah is equivalent to the Hebrew Eloah which some think is dual; Elohim is three or more. The gods of the nations are called "elohim." The origin of Eloah is obscure. Elohim is the more common plural form of El. Eloah is used 41 times in Job between 3:4 and 40:2, but fewer than 15 times elsewhere in the OT.
ELOHIM: God (a plural noun, more than two, used with singular verbs); Elohim occurs 2,570 times in the OT, 32 times in Gen. 1. God as Creator, Preserver, Transcendent, Mighty and Strong. Eccl., Dan. Jonah use Elohim almost exclusively. See Gen. 17:7, 6:18, 9:15, 50:24; I Kings 8:23; Jer. 31:33; Isa. 40:1.
Another interesting study can be found at http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=220 or http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/God
From this very brief exploration into the name/names of God we find that that He is "The Self-Existent One," "I AM WHO I AM" or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE" as revealed to Moses at the burning bush, Ex.3.and that the ancients considered His name too Holy, Powerful, and Wonderful to be spoken by man.
“Unfortunately, to many people the names God or Lord convey little more than the designations of a supreme being. It says little to them about God’s character, His ways, and what God means to each of us as human beings. But in Scripture, the names of God are like miniature portraits and promises. In Scripture, a person’s name identified them, stood for something specific and /or proclaimed what they were to be. For example:
Genesis 17:1-5
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty [El Shaddai] ; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." 3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
Notice God has renamed Abram , meaning exalted father, to Abraham, meaning father of many. Because he has just pledged to make Abram the father of many nations.
The Lord Jesus did likewise when he re-named Simon to Peter. Mat.6:18.
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Simon meaning “to hear” and Peter meaning a Stone or Rock
Personally I enjoy word studies and could devote too much time and space to the subject. If you’re interested in exploring this fascinating topic the links above will serve as a good starting points.
OK so I have chased that rabbit around the tree long enough and I could easily spend much more of our time trying to find the origin of God and why it “seems” that the ancients were more awestruck then modern man is towards his existence and person.. Sadly history and the scriptures don’t seem to outwardly explain the change in human attitude.
Unless we turn to Romans 1:21-23
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
I’ll end for now with this thought, a question and a request.
According to Romans 1:21 we ALL knew God.
I’ll take that to mean that a part of us has and will always know and be drawn to God. Simply because He made us that way.
“but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Could it be that through all of our progress and learning we/ I have become hard of hearing and our/ my vision blurred towards Him? Remember I started out telling you I am talking about myself and thinking it may apply to you as well.
Have I lost the awe and wonder because we have become so wise? Men now fly, go to the moon and talk around the world on cell phones? I believe this is a large part of the problem, and it is a problem.
Today, please take a moment to visit some Wonder of God. Pick something you “think” you have a grasp on and open your mind and heart. You won’t need to dwell on it for long before you’ll see a bit of The Grand Architect in the design of “that” thing.
Make it a practice and you’ll begin to see His presence all around you.
Are you a Christian?
Is Christ the Lord of your Life?
Do you have eternal life?
“If you believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth, that Jesus Christ IS Lord, you will be saved. Acts 16:31
Acts 17: 16-
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols………. 22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
The people of Athens sought and worshiped many gods. Obviously they believed in the existence of gods and of A God.
I’ll assume, because your reading this, that you believe in the existence of God and that you have an understanding that throughout history all peoples have believed in a God and worshiped some form of god.
So where did the name God come from, and why do people search for God and desire to worship Him?
In English we use one word/Name for God. In Hebrew there are many.
I did a quick Google search on “names of God” and the number one response was: http://ldolphin.org/Names.html
The most used Hebrew name for God is Jehovah or Yahweh written as YHWH, a name to sacred to be spoken, thus no vowels.
JEHOVAH: LORD in our English Bibles (all capitals). Yahweh is the covenant name of God. Occurs 6823 times in the OT First use Gen. 2:4 (Jehovah Elohim). From the verb "to be", havah, similar to chavah (to live), "The Self-Existent One," "I AM WHO I AM" or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE" as revealed to Moses at the burning bush, Ex.3. The name of God, too sacred to be uttered, abbreviated ( . . . . ) or written "YHWH" without vowel points. The tetragrammaton. Josh., Judges, Sam., and Kings use Jehovah almost exclusively. The love of God is conditioned upon His moral and spiritual attributes. (Dan. 9:14; Ps. 11:7; Lev. 19:2; Hab. 1:12). Note Deut. 6:4, 5 known to Jews as the Sh'ma uses both Jehovah and Elohim to indicate one God with a plurality of persons.
EL: God ("mighty, strong, prominent") used 250 times in the OT See Gen. 7:1, 28:3, 35:11; Nu. 23:22; Josh. 3:10; 2 Sam. 22:31, 32; Neh. 1:5, 9:32; Isa. 9:6; Ezek. 10:5. El is linguistically equivalent to the Moslem "Allah," but the attributes of Allah in Islam are entirely different from those of the God of the Hebrews. ELAH is Aramaic, "god." Elah appears in the Hebrew Bible in Jer. 10:11 (which is in Aramaic, and is plural, "gods"). In Daniel (the Aramaic sections) Elah is used both of pagan gods, and of the true God, also plural. Elah is equivalent to the Hebrew Eloah which some think is dual; Elohim is three or more. The gods of the nations are called "elohim." The origin of Eloah is obscure. Elohim is the more common plural form of El. Eloah is used 41 times in Job between 3:4 and 40:2, but fewer than 15 times elsewhere in the OT.
ELOHIM: God (a plural noun, more than two, used with singular verbs); Elohim occurs 2,570 times in the OT, 32 times in Gen. 1. God as Creator, Preserver, Transcendent, Mighty and Strong. Eccl., Dan. Jonah use Elohim almost exclusively. See Gen. 17:7, 6:18, 9:15, 50:24; I Kings 8:23; Jer. 31:33; Isa. 40:1.
Another interesting study can be found at http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=220 or http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/God
From this very brief exploration into the name/names of God we find that that He is "The Self-Existent One," "I AM WHO I AM" or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE" as revealed to Moses at the burning bush, Ex.3.and that the ancients considered His name too Holy, Powerful, and Wonderful to be spoken by man.
“Unfortunately, to many people the names God or Lord convey little more than the designations of a supreme being. It says little to them about God’s character, His ways, and what God means to each of us as human beings. But in Scripture, the names of God are like miniature portraits and promises. In Scripture, a person’s name identified them, stood for something specific and /or proclaimed what they were to be. For example:
Genesis 17:1-5
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty [El Shaddai] ; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." 3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
Notice God has renamed Abram , meaning exalted father, to Abraham, meaning father of many. Because he has just pledged to make Abram the father of many nations.
The Lord Jesus did likewise when he re-named Simon to Peter. Mat.6:18.
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Simon meaning “to hear” and Peter meaning a Stone or Rock
Personally I enjoy word studies and could devote too much time and space to the subject. If you’re interested in exploring this fascinating topic the links above will serve as a good starting points.
OK so I have chased that rabbit around the tree long enough and I could easily spend much more of our time trying to find the origin of God and why it “seems” that the ancients were more awestruck then modern man is towards his existence and person.. Sadly history and the scriptures don’t seem to outwardly explain the change in human attitude.
Unless we turn to Romans 1:21-23
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
I’ll end for now with this thought, a question and a request.
According to Romans 1:21 we ALL knew God.
I’ll take that to mean that a part of us has and will always know and be drawn to God. Simply because He made us that way.
“but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Could it be that through all of our progress and learning we/ I have become hard of hearing and our/ my vision blurred towards Him? Remember I started out telling you I am talking about myself and thinking it may apply to you as well.
Have I lost the awe and wonder because we have become so wise? Men now fly, go to the moon and talk around the world on cell phones? I believe this is a large part of the problem, and it is a problem.
Today, please take a moment to visit some Wonder of God. Pick something you “think” you have a grasp on and open your mind and heart. You won’t need to dwell on it for long before you’ll see a bit of The Grand Architect in the design of “that” thing.
Make it a practice and you’ll begin to see His presence all around you.
Are you a Christian?
Is Christ the Lord of your Life?
Do you have eternal life?
“If you believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth, that Jesus Christ IS Lord, you will be saved. Acts 16:31
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