Scripture
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
~Psalm 8:1, NIV
Quote
We often cloak real ourselves–revealing only what we believe will earn acceptance–to be real might cause us to panic.
~Gerald H. Wilson
My Thoughts
Haw-yaw {hâyâh} is the Hebrew verb for being, simular to our “is” or “are.” When God told Moses He was sending him back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites, Moses said, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God’s answer was a simple I AM. You tell them I AM sent you. When Caiaphas asks Jesus if He was the Messiah, He said, “I AM.” What is in a name? You would be appalled if I told you all I know about God’s personal name which we translate YHWH. But if you don’t have a knack for theology, you would get bored.
The divine epithets in scripture give us insight into the nature and character of God. El Shaddai {God almighty}, El Elyon {God most high}, El Olam {God eternal}, Jehovah Jireh {God our provider}, Jehovah Tsidkenu {God our righteousness}, Jehovah Shalom {God our peace} and there are more. The Puritans were known for naming children after noble virtues like Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence and Reliance, but as they discovered, the children didn’t always live up to their names. What if we were renamed by our character…“Liar, get your coat on, it is time to go.” Or, “Fickle, make up your mind.” I noticed at the T-ball game Saturday, that two of the boys were named Jack. Jack must be back. It is a name that has multiple meanings, around eighteen I think.
When I read Gerald Wilson’s quote {above}, the first thing that popped into my mind was FACEBOOK. We use terms today that were unheard of twenty years ago. Things such as, “He is a FACEBOOK dad,” or “She is a FACEBOOK mom.” We all know that FACEBOOK and reality are two different things. The person you see on FaceBook is not the real person: it is the image they have created for themselves. It is the perfect family living the perfect life. To be honest, I think we have a lot of FaceBook Chrisitianity. Have you noticed: people no longer confess sin. It is not good for our image. It might not be good for the image, but it could spark a Revival.
God wants to be known: do you? One of the prime reasons He sent His Son was to make Himself known. My deepest desire is to be known and to know Him who knows me.
Extra
For some strange reason; the media will not work today. Michael always says it’s operator error and he may be right. Big day yesterday for the Bailey’s. They were all here last night: four children, three in-laws, ten grands, and six greats. I started the smoker at 4:30 yesterday morning. Big Mama got up at her normal time {4:00} and stayed busy all day. She had enough food to feed an army. We had a bean bag tournament. Lara and Ben won. Ty and Tyler would have won but Ty could’t see well when the sun went down. Big Mama gives good prizes: they won 50$ gift cards. One reason I am late today is I got in bed late last night. It was around 10:00 and I normally go to bed at 9:00. Plus when I got to the office I forgot all about the blog. I hope you had a good Mother’s Day. I hope you have a great week.
Extra/Extra
Years ago I decided I needed a pen name. I asked google or someone to give me the Hebrew word closest to jack and it was Ya’akov. Like an idiot, I didn’t realize it is the same as Jacob, the supplanter. When I realized my mistake, I wanted to change it but I heard a voice in my head so “No.” I do not want to be a supplanter, pretending to be someone I am not. So my pen name is a constant reminder of my depravity and my need to change. I want to be known for integrity, not deceit! To my knowledge, I have never shared this before. If you went back the archives and read the blogs, you would see a lot of quotes from Ya’akov.