A few months ago we ended a series examining many of the names of God and how those names reveal something important about his character. Yesterday we talked about how important the names of people can be, so much so that in a few instances God specifically told parents what to name their children (there are far more instances of this than we examined). Today we'll look at two examples where God changes people's names, specifically Abraham and Sarah. In each case God changes only one letter of their name. It makes one wonder, why bother? What difference does it make?
I've been traveling a lot for work lately, which explains why we missed a few posts a couple weeks ago. While on the trip I went for breakfast one morning at IHOP. When the host directed me to the my table I asked her, can I have a table that's not right next to the giant family? She was about to seat me behind a noisy group consisting of four adults, two toddlers, and two infants. As I sat at a table half way across the room I thought to myself, I don't really like kids.
As it is today, so it was then. Just as Israel today awaits the coming of the Messiah, so to othe Jews of Jesus' day were looking and seeking the Messiah. An inscription at the Essene community quoted Deuteronomy 18:15: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you – from your fellow Israelites; you must listen to him. " This passage is one of hope that spread to every kind of Jew, from the Essene's through rabbinical Jesw and even to the Samaritans.
Nearly 1500 years ago, in about 530 AD, a man was born initiallyand given the very Italian name of Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus. He served as a bishop in the early church, but before then he was a poet and hymnodist. As a man of words, he rose to remarkable heights and served many kings and rulers even at an early age. Imagine his dismay when he began to lose his sight. His vision darkened with terrifying swiftness. Being a man of faith, he prayed for healing, fasted frequently, and in a last ditch effort made a pilgrimage to Tours.
It is a question meant to strike fear in the heart of the person asked, and to convince witnesses that a conspiracy is afoot: "What did he know and when did he know it?" It was born during the Watergate investigation and has been a favorite weapon of politicians and journalists alike. Early in the pages of the Bible, the careful reader may have noticed one instance where this question might be asked and it concerns one of the Bible's most well-known characters, Noah. The famous ark-builder isn't the subject of this investigation, however, it's his father Lamech.
I've been reading a fascinating work by Dr. Michael S Heiser titled, The Unseen Realm. It is a lengthy work that covers a great many topics along a common theme — describing a possible organization of powers and kingdoms in the spiritual world. Due to its complexity, I won't be providing a detailed book review but I'd like to let others know what to expect should they have an interest in picking up this well researched tome. There is a lot to like about this non-fiction work, even though I don't agree with everything in it, but I have one primary criticism.
I've had the question asked of me more then once, "is it okay to cut off a family member who keeps making bad choices?" Wherever there is relationship conflict may be found. So ordinary is this proverb that even Peter asked of our Lord, "how often do I need to forgive someone?" Jesus answered, depending on your translation, "seven times seven" or "seventy times seven" or even (seventy-seven" times (Matthew 18.21-22). Either way, the point is that you forgive them as many times as they ask for it. God does not give up on the repentant, and neither should we.
Pop quiz gentle readers, who said the following: "Of course I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many hostile things against my enemies, and that is exactly what I did. I locked them up in prison by the authority I received from politicians, and I cast my vote against them in the courts. I even tried to get them to commit crimes because I was so furiously enraged at them." Who do you think spoke those words? No, it may sound like Robert Mueller but it's not him. Do you give up? The answer is Saint Paul.
There are so many sermon's and articles that could be written concerning the content of this prayer, and will be I'm sure. I'm adding this to the pile. There are at least three, possibly four distinct entities mentioned in this prayer that are common themes not only throughout Matthew's gospel but the entire Bible. Notice the progression, from heaven through earth to hell in the development of the "wills". First, there is the will of the father, in asking for daily bread our will is exposed, in forgiving others the will of our new nature comes to the fore...
As a young adult I was dismayed by the fact that the small Gospel books meant to be given away were of the Gospel of John. Luke has long been my favorite because of his clear, logical presentation of the facts of the gospel message. John was too emotional for me. He is more concept oriented, contrasting themes, light and dark, that sort of thing. Luke is a book I can get my head around. Better yet, I thought, would be a book of Luke and Acts together as it tells a more complete story.
"For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were cut down in the wilderness. These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did."
As Christians we often wonder, "How would Jesus vote?" Theologically speaking, this is the wrong question. Jesus wouldn't vote because he is the King. That is not to say that we shouldn't vote, or be involved in politics. Indeed, it is part of our responsibility as ambassadors for the kingdom to work in whatever way we can to instill in our societies the values of God. There is great benefit to this. In doing so, however, we must keep Jesus in proper perspective, and our own place in his Kingdom and in earthly kingdoms in a right view.
