The Name of GOD

The name of God is very special; but not in our society today. It is common to see or hear OMG, "Oh, my God," "oh, God," "Jesus" and on and on, in common speech. To the speaker it means nothing, just a figure of speech. But to say that it means nothing is the same thing as vain. Vain simply means "empty, of no particular meaning or importance."

The 3rd commandment of the 10 commandments says, "You shall not take the name of the Lord you God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain." In our society today, this commandment is broken regularly, constantly, in casual conversation. Some think that as long as they as not putting down God, it is ok to throw the name around. And God says, if you do it you will not be "guiltless."

The importance of God's name is given special importance in the Bible. Note the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:9: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name....." Hallowed be Your name. Not thrown around like nothing; Hallowed be Your name.

In Revelation 19:1-6, the name of Jesus is mentioned: "He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.........and His name is called The Word of God..........And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." That sounds important to me.

Let's honor the name of God and Jesus......and be very careful how we use it!

Thanks for reading. May God bless you this week.

Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus? He is described in many places as the Son of David. We know that King David was a major figure of the Old Testament; the most noteworthy of the Old Testament Kings; the most powerful ruler, a man with weaknesses, but a "man after God's own heart."' So when Jesus was born, He was a disappointment to many, especially the Jews who wanted a King like David, powerful, ruling, dominant on this earth. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this earth." He was born in poverty, lived like a common man, or less, associated with common men, often "sinners" or the hated, like tax-collectors and such. Jesus just didn't fit the mold of the Messiah that the Jews were expecting. So He was rejected.

In the New Testament, when Jesus was selecting His apostles, in John 1:45, Phillip finds Nathaniel and says, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. After some convincing, Nathaniel says, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

In Matthew 16:13, Jesus asked His disciples saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" After some discussion, Peter says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus points out that God the Father has revealed this to him, Peter.

And this is exactly what Jesus is. He is all these things and more; the great King, greater than David by far. And yet Jesus had no glory on this earth because people misunderstood Him to a large extent. His glory now, here on this earth, is through us. We must glorify Him in our lives and live for Him, just as He died for us. And one day we can share in His glory in heaven. Let's do it!

Different Roles for Men and Women

Examining the Bible to see the roles of men and women is not a particularly popular thing to do, especially in modern day America. But the Bible is clear on this matter.

First, we note that men and women are equal in God's sight. Galatians 3:28 says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." God loves all of His people, sent Jesus to die for all. But contrary to what many believe in the world today, the roles are different.

Genesis 2:18 tells us that in the creation, "the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.' " Some translations say "a help meet for him" or "a helper suitable for him." The Lord has given leadership roles in the church to the men. Note 1 Timothy 2:12; "..I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve." There are a number of passages that talk about the role of men in the church, where men are given the leadership roles there; note Acts 6:3, 1 Corinthians 14:34, and Titus 1:5. But we see the valuable role of women in so many ways in both the Old and New Testament. Proverbs 31 talks about the value of a worthy woman. Her price is "far above rubies." Paul comments on the faith of Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:5, "when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also." In Acts 18, Aquila and his wife Priscilla taught a man who needed some correction in his beliefs. On and on we see the valuable contribution of women.

But the roles are different. We need only to accept His truth and serve Him in His way. Thanks for reading. May God bless you!

Jordan River

The Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, talks a lot about the Jordan River. And from some of the passages we know that the river has never been a particularly clean one. Note the story of Naaman in 2Kings 5. Having had the opportunity to see the Jordan River recently, I thought I should share a few pictures as well as some observations.

The first thing of note is that the river is not very large. The width must be about 50 feet to maybe 100 feet at it's widest. The pictures shown here give some indication of size. Secondly, the river is extremely dirty. Many rivers look dirty but aren't necessarily as dirty as they look. The Jordan, however is dirtier than it looks. I took off my shoes and waded, just on the edge. Had I gone out into the river, it would have been too deep for me to stay dry, to wade across. But the river is thick with mud; not just a muddy bottom, but muddy water, like mud soup. coming out of the water was to bring a lot of that with me on my feet. It was a muddy mess.

In these pictures you will see several views. Note that the picture with the rapids is at the headwaters of the Jordan, high in the hills, flowing down to the flat lands and valleys below.

That is it for this week. Thanks for viewing...... and see you next week!