El Emunah

Psalm 138:1-3

I did a search for God’s names and found this website: Lilyof the Valley Virginia. It lists the Hebrew names of God in the Old Testament and the verses where they can be found. It would be exciting to do a study of these verses, but for now I just used it to find the name this Psalm is referring to.  

El Emunah – the faithful God. 

It’s used in Deuteronomy 7:9

Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. (NLT)

I’m blessed to be a recipient of God’s faithfulness in this regard. I know enough of the history of my family to know that my ancestors have loved Him and obeyed His commands for many generations. Maybe even 1000. A 17 times great-grandfather founded a church in Rhode Island that is still active. Another ancestor was a circuit rider in the old west. The last three generations have been missionaries. These generations are evidence of God’s faithfulness. God has faithfully kept His covenant with my family.

This truth not only humbles me and makes me aware of my responsibility to love and obey Him. It also reminds me of His promises and gives me hope for future generations. I can trust that He will lavish His love on my children and grandchildren, that they also belong to Him because He keeps His covenant with a thousand generations.

With this assurance, I worship and praise Him and I thank Him for keeping His promises, promises that are backed by the honor of His name.

His name is El Emunah. His name is The Faithful God.

Ears Open, Mouth Shut

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

I’m currently teaching Sunday School, helping in the nursery and will soon be working with the youth. I’m also planning a ladies fellowship and Bible study and I will be leading the missions segment of VBS this summer. Whew.

I don’t feel overwhelmed right now, but I think this verse is for me. I’m so quick to jump in when there’s a need at church, that I don’t always think about whether I should. Does that make my offerings of service mindless?

Before I offer God anything, I need to think and pray about it. I need to keep my ears open and my mouth shut. In other words, listen before I speak. And don’t make promises to God I can’t or won’t keep.

A mindless offering is a rash promise that I haven’t thought about. Before I promise Him anything, I should weigh it out first - make sure I’m committed. Otherwise, I might end up making excuses, and that’s not just disappointing someone, it’s a sin. It’s better not to make a promise than not to keep it. So if I do make a promise to God, I’d better do it. 

One thing I have to consider is whether I’m over committed. Too much activity gives you restless dreams; I already suffer from insomnia, I don’t need nightmares too! But I think the scripture might be talking about other kinds of dreams as well. When I serve God, and do it well, I’m tempted to take credit for it – especially if others praise me for it. I start imagining what I’ll do, what I’ll accomplish, what I’ll change, how I’ll impress. I’m no longer listening to God.

And then, if I start to talk about it, I may look silly. Too many words make me a fool. Instead of listening to God and others, I speak up and my ideas are probably not the best ones available. In fact, I may not know what I’m talking about. It’s always better to listen first, then speak.

Talk is cheap - so are daydreams. They’re useless; they don’t accomplish anything.

Instead I want to fear God when I walk into His house. I want to be in awe and let Him do the talking. I want to keep my ears open and my mouth shut.

Honoring His Name

Malachi 1:12-14

I was a youth group leader in the days when teen girls used “like” in every sentence. Like, I loved being a youth group leader because it was, like, so much fun to hang out with kids. Like, it was such a blessing to, like, see how God worked in their lives.

It was annoying, but a little bit funny. They had another verbal habit that was not even a little bit funny. They said “oh my God” a lot too. I tried to point it out gently by responding, “I hope that was a prayer.” But, even though they didn’t recognize it, they were swearing, not praying.

The third commandment is to not take God’s name in vain. That means don’t swear, right? Yes, but this passage has given me a deeper understanding of it. 

It means don’t dishonor God’s name.

God’s people dishonored His name by their actions, not by their words. They brought defiled offerings to the altar; they turned up their noses at His commands because they were hard and they cheated Him by saying they would do one thing and then doing another. 

I don’t swear. I cringe when I read or hear OMG and I even ask my secular college students not to say “Jesus.”

But I’m afraid I’ve still been guilty of dishonoring God’s name by my actions.

When God has asked me to do something that’s hard for me, I haven’t always done it. Sometimes I say it’s too hard. Sometimes I put it off until it’s too late. Because of that, I dishonor His name. But when I do something for Him that’s hard, I’m offering a pure sacrifice. Avoiding it or doing it halfway is bringing a defiled sacrifice before Him. 

I bear His name so the things I do are in His name. What I do either honors or dishonors Him. I want to honor Him. I want to be as careful about not taking His name in vain by my actions as I am about not swearing.

Fear, Obedience or Misery

Deuteronomy 28:58-62

What does God want?

For His people to fear His glorious and awesome name.

In fact, He told them that if they didn’t, He would send them plagues, sickness and exile. Most of them would die because they wouldn’t listen to God.

So there’s another thing God wants.

For His people to listen to Him and obey the words of instruction in His book.

The people were about to enter the Promised Land when God issued this warning. It’s part of a much bigger set of instructions about how He wanted them to live in the land. The main point was that they were to leave everything of Egypt behind – the things they remembered fondly and the things they had hated. Egypt was the land of slavery, but the people who had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years remembered its flesh pots fondly. 

I live under the New Covenant, but I need to take this warning to heart too. God has saved me out of the bondage of sin and He wants me to fear His glorious and awesome name. He has also given me instructions in His book for how to live.

If I don’t, I don’t think He’ll send me to Egypt and He probably won’t inflict me with a plague. But I was a slave of sin, and I can think of plenty of ways that sin can make me sick. Anger, impatience, worry, envy, pride . . . not only make my soul sick, they can also make my body and my heart sick. And sin has a way of entangling me that pulls me back into bondage.

I’ve been saved by God’s grace from sin. The only right response is for me to fear Him and obey Him. The result of not doing that is to return to sin. Worshipping God and following His Word is what keeps me healthy.

I can fear and obey God or be miserable. It’s a no brainer.

Christmas Rescue

Luke 2:8-20

I wonder what the shepherds said to the people in Bethlehem that astonished them.

“A girl who just got to town gave birth to a baby boy in a stable and is using a manger for his bed.”

Ho hum. How many babies have been born in Bethlehem this year? And everyone knows people are sleeping wherever they can find some space.

“An angel just appeared to us and told us that a baby had been born in a stable. He said the baby is the Promised One.”

Right. An angel appeared to shepherds, not the king. And told them a baby is the Promised One. When the Promised One comes He will save us from the Romans, not lie helpless in his mother’s arms.

But what if their message was the one that all of Israel had been waiting for since the time of King David? Maybe their message came right from the ninth chapter of the book of Isaiah.

“Hey everyone, the baby promised by Isaiah has been born. The one who will break our yoke of slavery is here, the child on whom the government will rest. We’ve seen him, the wonderful counselor, the Prince of Peace. Our rescue has begun right here in Bethlehem.”

Now that is a message that would amaze the people.

I sometimes cringe when I read Christmas cards or hear songs about the peace of Christmas. Many of them imply that the “peace on earth” the angels proclaimed was the end of all wars. But of course, that’s not why Jesus came, although when He returns, He will end all wars. Jesus was born in the midst of a war and His birth was a strategic attack. He invaded enemy territory to rescue His people from their captivity. 

C.S. Lewis wrote, "Christianity is the story of how the rightful King has landed, you might say in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in His great campaign of sabotage."

Christmas can be such a sentimental time, with a baby and lights and presents and family. I love the way those beautiful things touch me with joy. I also love the carols that proclaim the birth of the King of Kings. I want to kneel before the manger and worship God Incarnate. But I think it’s good to be reminded that Christmas is about more than a beautiful sentiment or even a miraculous event. The little baby Jesus was born to grow up and die horribly. And that death was God’s victory over the sin that held me captive. Christmas is about God doing whatever it took to rescue me. 

When I look for it, I see this message throughout the Christmas story. It’s in the angel’s message and Zechariah’s prophecy when they call Him the Savior. It’s also in the carols that I love. So I’ll close with a verse from one that proclaims it, Hark the Herald Angels Sing:

Mild He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die,

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

Risen with healing in His wings,

Light and life to all He brings,

Hail, the Son of Righteousness!

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!

Hark! the herald angels sing

Glory to the new-born King!

God is Generous

Luke 1:11-17

One of the most amazing things about Christmas is that, just like the Bible and God Himself, the story is dynamic. There are so many aspects to it that every year I see a different facet of God’s amazing love. This year our pastor has been preaching about the back story, including the birth of John the Baptist. He showed us how God used the meanings of names to make a deeper point. 

What struck me is the name of John. I already knew that it means “God is gracious” but Pastor Tim used a less popular meaning. He said it means “God is generous.” So I looked them up and found these meanings on dictionary.com. Gracious means merciful or compassionate. Generous means liberal in giving or sharing. On his website, Arie Uittenbogaard says that “HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states that this verb 'depicts a heartfelt response by someone who has something to give to one who has a need.'”

God’s grace sent His Son Jesus to earth to be born as a baby in response to the world’s need for a savior. And He prepared the way for both Jesus’ birth and later for His ministry through a man named  "God is generous" - John. 

In other words, God’s generosity prepared the way for our salvation.

That puts my gift giving into perspective. As I was wrapping gifts today and putting them under the Christmas tree, I asked Wayne how it looked. He laughed and said it looked commercial. In a way he’s right, since the gifts are bought – not homemade – and I used commercial paper and bows. But, in light of how God prepared for Jesus’ birth, giving gifts is the appropriate way for us to do so too. He was generous and so should we be.

The question I had to ask myself this year, though, was whether I am truly being generous. I love buying gifts for the people closest to me and I probably spent more money than I should have. But am I aware of other opportunities for giving God has given me?  There are a lot if I look for them. We went to a benefit concert for a homeless shelter last week. There was a special offering for missions the week before that. Another program at church is requesting food donations for Christmas baskets for needy families. In fact, I know several needy families that could use an anonymous donation. And then there’s the Salvation Army bucket outside Walmart . . .

Generosity is God’s way of preparing for Christmas. I want to get ready for Christmas by being generous too. I want to give liberally to those in need.

Thankful for Sight

Colossians 2:6-7

I’ve always been a bookworm. I remember the day when I realized I could read my name. I was probably four years old. From then on, I always had a book with me. I kept one under my pillow so I could read the minute I woke up; I carried one everywhere so I could snatch a quick look at recess and lunch; I read instead of doing homework or playing; I read in bed until lights out when I slipped the book back under my pillow.

As an adult, I still love to read, although I’ve learned to balance it with my responsibilities. So when my vision became blurry in the mornings this last year, I worried a little. I could manage a quick peek at Facebook or the weather report, but concentrated reading became hard. I was eventually diagnosed with a genetic disease that required a partial corneal transplant. As scary as that sounds, I looked forward to it so I could read clearly again. It went well, but I also received an intraocular lens because I had cataracts. The end result is that I can see distance very well but can’t see words on a page at all. I’m wearing magnifying glasses as I write this, but it still takes concentration to see the words clearly.

When the disease was diagnosed, I asked my pastor to pray for my healing. Although it wasn’t instantaneous, God answered that prayer. He healed me through one of the foremost specialists in corneal transplants. The disease will not return, my overall vision is better than it was and will continue to get better. 

But when the shield came off my eye and the world was blurry, I wasn’t thankful. I whined.

I wanted to be able to read. I was tired of lying on my back. Putting drops in my eye every two hours was a nuisance. I wanted to be able to read. I wanted to sleep on my side. I hated putting glasses on and taking them off and putting them on and taking them off. I wanted to read.

The real problem wasn’t my eyesight. It was that I let my problem close my spiritual eyes for a little while. When things began to be blurry in the mornings, it was hard to read my Bible, so I put off having my devotions until later in the day when I could see better. Only, I usually didn’t get around to them. So I started going days without spending time with my Lord. Soon all kinds of attitudes became skewed. I started to worry. I stopped praying for people. I ignored promptings from the Holy Spirit. And I whined.

Now, though, I’m thankful again. I’m thankful for all the days that God has called me into His presence and I have answered. I’m thankful that through His Word and His love, my roots have grown deeply into Him and that my life is built on Him. I’m thankful that He has reminded me of His love and has gently opened my eyes to Him again.

And I’m thankful for reading glasses (even though I have to take them on and off) and that I can read the Bible on my computer in a nice BIG font.