"Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, 'Rabboni!' (which means, Teacher." - (Jn. 20:16, NASB)      Does Jesus really know your name? I believe so. The Bible is clear that every hair on our heads are numbered and the LORD takes into account every bird that drops dead to the ground (Mt. 10:29) . In addition, the Bible tells us that God knows every star and calls them by name ( Ps. 147:4 ). So, yes, I believe that God knows your name. Why is that significant?     In the verse above, Mary had been talking to Jesus and two angelic visitors at the tomb where Jesus had been placed just two days prior. She was talking to Jesus, and yet did not realize that she was, in fact, talking with the risen Jesus. It was not until he called her by name that she recognized whom it was speaking to her, but when she heard, "Mary!" she knew.      In American society, names often do not carry the significance they do in many othe...

"The LORD then spoke to Aaron, saying, 'Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you may not die--it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations--and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them through Moses.'" - (Lev. 10:8-11, NASB)    In addressing the issue of alcohol within the Christian community, there is an often overlooked principle in Scripture that cannot be ignored. In the Old Testament, the priests were not permitted to drink when they were going to enter into the temple of God, period. To do so would invite death. By abstaining from drinking, they established what is right and wrong as examples for the people of God.  These are not my ideas, these are God's ideas, outlined in the verses above. The Old Testament is ofte...

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than you ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." - Is. 55:9 (NASB)    Many of us enjoy puzzles. Whether we are talking about the 1000 piece variety, Sudoku and crosswords, or games like Chess and Risk, each of these involve thoughtful research and careful planning (some more so than others). We like solving the puzzle. This works great for games, but our attempt to "solve" the unexplained things of God will always come up short. There is a term used in theology called "incomprehensible", and is used in describing God. It means that we are not capable of fully understanding God. Notice the word "fully". Incomprehensible does not mean that we cannot know about God or know Him personally. It means that our understanding of Him will always be partial.     God has chosen to reveal Himself through the Word of God, to humanity, progressively over time. Through the course of s...

"Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God." - (Job 1:22, NASB)       Job's story is difficult to read for many. We all know that evil exists in this world, but why God would allow it is puzzling. As a matter of fact, there is a whole realm of study, called theodicy, that is devoted to answering the question, "Why does God allow evil?" I'm sorry, but this post is not going to answer that question for you. I want to focus on our response to difficult circumstances. Job lost nearly everything. The Bible records that he had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, 500 female donkeys, and also many servants. In addition, he had seven sons and three daughters. Minus the four servants who escaped disaster to tell Job what had happened, Job lost all of it. Let that sink in for a moment. We often read the Bible so quickly that we miss the impact. Job lost everything of value to him, besides his wife.  His possessions were gone, but even worse, his c...

 "Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you;"  ( Gen. 12:1, NASB)     I love this passage of Scripture. The LORD made Abram, aka Abraham, some fantastic promises, and Abraham was apparently eager to get started. However, the LORD never told Abraham what his path would be like. That his life would be in danger, that he would have to rescue his nephew from captivity, that he would be in danger of losing his wife, that he would fail God. No, all he knew is that God was going to direct him "to the land which I will show you."      Well the year 2014 is here. What paths will you take as this new year unfolds before you? Is there little doubt that this year will have laughter and tears, joy and pain, abundance and want, life and death? We do not know what will come our way this year, but we do know that our God is leading us forward. Reg...

"Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah..." - Judges 14:5 (NASB)    Samson is a childhood Sunday School favorite of many. He was strong, brave, and just downright awesome! Then, we become adults and realize that Samson is far from the superhero we thought he was as kids. Samson was chosen by God to be a Nazarite, (Num. 6:2-5). The Nazarite was covenant or dedication of sorts for a period of time. During the time the Nazarite could not cut his hair, could not touch a dead body (human or other), and could eat or drink nothing coming from grapes. We know from Scripture that Samson touched a lion's carcass, and had his hair cut. Many Bible scholars believe that it is implied by his lifestyle that he drank wine or ate grapes. These three broken commitments culminated in his loss of his supernatural strength.    You likely know these things, but want I want to draw your attention for a moment to Samson's li...

"Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?" - Judges 13:18 (NASB)    When I read this verse this morning, my initial response was simply, "Amen." The LORD's name is wonderful, it brings such comfort and such peace to my soul. This is most definitely true, but sometimes in our hurriedness we miss the bigger picture. In Hebrew, the word translated as "wonderful" is pil'îy. It is used only two times in the OT, both times referencing the nature of the LORD.  It means, "incomprehensible, wonderful, remarkable, something which appears to be supernatural."*  In this passage, the angel of the LORD appeared to Samson's parents, but they did not recognize Him (13:16). As they were trying to figure out who to give honor to they asked a "what" question, but the LORD gave them a "who" answer. The LORD was not dismissing their question, He was answering their question in a amazing manner. The problem was that Manoah and ...

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." - Gal. 5:25 (NASB)    In recent weeks I have not posted as regular as has been my custom. As many of you know, much of the postings that I share come straight out of my time alone with God. In many cases, the insights I share are still turning over in my own heart and mind even as I post them. For the last few weeks, the LORD has been speaking to me concerning the area of Spirit living, but has not released me to share those things here. In the future, I believe I will be sharing much more in regard to this necessary area of our Christian walk. However, today I want to share a simple and yet profound truth.    In the verse above, Paul is concluding some thoughts on living by the Spirit as opposed to living "under the law" or living as natural/carnal men. It is as this point that he makes powerful statement, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." The "if" is for ...

"You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples." - (Ps. 77:14, NASB)    Christians believe the Bible to be God's inspired word to mankind, and rightly so. There are a good handful of reasons that we can boldly proclaim the Bible to be the only inspired writing. Among these would be the unity of the writing through the hands of 40+ different authors in over 1,500 years of writing, the historical, geographical, and archaeological factual information, the fulfillment of prophecies, and others. However, to me at least, the most important is the "wonders," the supernatural manifestations and miracles that accompany the Bible. All the other reasons are vastly important, but miracles tend to be personal in nature as God does something mighty in an individual, family, or group of people. They also tend to get people's attention. This is one reason why Jesus told His followers "signs will accompany those who have be...

"…And behold, the LORD was passing by!…the LORD was not in the wind…the LORD was not in the earthquake…the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out…" - (1 Kings 19:11-13, NASB)     This is an amazing passage to me. In other place throughout the Bible God has "spoken" through fierce winds, earthquakes, and fire. So it was not merely a matter of the gentle blowing that got Elijah's attention, it was something else. What was it about this gentle blowing that allowed Elijah to recognize God's presence within? I do not believe that it had anything to do with the gentle blowing itself, rather it was about Elijah. Paul tells us that the natural man cannot discern or understand the things of the spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14-3:3) . Elijah, and later Elisha, were both mighty men of God who did not look at the natural things the way most people do. Where men saw f...

"Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God…" - (Deut. 31:26, NASB)    In the OT, the Ark of the Covenant contained the stone tablets that God wrote the Ten Commandments upon, a jar of manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, each of these significant to the Jewish people. On top of the Ark sat the Mercy Seat, the place where God's presence dwelt. The Ark was housed in the Most Holy Place in the temple, and only the high priest could enter once a year. These are facts that most of us know quite well. What we do forget is that Moses gave strict instructions for the book of law to be place beside the Ark. The book of law contained all the laws, ordinances, regulations, blessings and cursings that are related to the worship of the LORD. In our vernacular, we would call this the Word of God. Within the book of law, the people learned how to approach, worship, and please the LORD. In addition, it also warned them of the co...