What’s In A Name?

celebrate-jesus-crimsonjpg

Scripture

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.’”

Quote

Jesus loves you and there is nothing you can do about it.

~Junior Hill

my-thoughts-red

bro. jack marc crowWhen  ‘elohiym [God, gods, divine ones, angels] called Moses to send him to Egypt, Moses protested: “I can’t just waltz into Egypt and tell them ‘elohiym [God] sent me, they will want to now which one because they believe in many gods.” God’s answer was, “You tell them that I AM sent you.” At first thought, you may not be impressed with God’s choice of a personal name, but it is the most fascinating word in the Hebrew language and I would venture to say, any language. I AM is the Hebrew verb [hayah] for being or existence. It contains every tense of the Hebrew language. It can be translated in a number of ways and all of them are true to the nature and character of God. Let me just give you a few examples:

  • I AM since I AM
  • I AM who I AM
  • I AM because I AM
  • I AM because I WAS
  • I WAS because I AM
  • I AM what I WILL ALWAYS BE
  • I WILL ALWAYS BE what [since, because] I AM

These are just a few, there are hundreds more. I love how the black preacher of days gone by expressed it, he said “The LORD is, He always has been is and He always will be is.”

On top of the multiple ways to translate the tenses, there are multiple meaning. For one, God choose a verb for His personal name because He is a God of action. Jeremiah mocked the idol worshipers…He said, “You cut down a tree, crave and idol out of the wood, overlay it with gold, then fasten it down with nails so that it does not topple over. At the sight of it, you people act afraid but there is nothing to fear. It has eyes but it cannot see. It has ears but it cannot hear. It has feet but it cannot walk. Why do you fear an idol which can do nothing. It is a worthless image and you will become worthless if you worship it.” Contrasted to the gods of this world who are do nothings, our God is an awesome and active God. He is always at work.

But the point I intended to make in this blog is that God [Yahweh] is the God of being. He is what He is, He is what He has always been and His character cannot be influenced by fallen angels or men. God is infinite in all His attributes. We have some who think that God will run out of mercy, patience, love, etc. but that is not going to happen. Even in judgment, God will be loving. Hell was created for our salvation. There is no salvation a part from judgment. God is merciful and there is nothing you can do about it. There may come a time when the door of mercy is closed for an individual, a congregation or a nation but God will remain merciful because that is who He is. It is our rebellion that causes us to miss His mercy, it is not His lack of mercy. God has no lack of anything that is good and nothing is going to change Him. Where did I come up with all this? It is in His name!

extra_extra

  • Deacon and Trustee scratch list is in the foyer.
  • Communion and Baptism coming July 31 in the am service. We have 10 candidates for baptism.
  • Sick people all improving: thanks for your prayers.
  • We need a van driver for July 28. We have two groups leaving for Guatemala, one out of Huntsville and one out of Birmingham. I have the Birmingham one covered. I can drop the kids off and pick up Hope. We need some one to make the Huntsville drop off. It will not be real early probably 8:00-9:00 am. Contact me or Joe David.
  • The Suitcases are in the Foyer for the children’s chew-able vitamins.
  • We got another half inch of rain but I’m afraid to call our folks on the South side, they hadn’t gotten any the last time I checked. They got a big rain in Madison. I had to drive 60 MPH on the I-565 Speedway. The minimum on I-65 is 80 mph in normal conditions.
  • If you are a FACEBOOK expert, I need your help. Call me and I will put you to work. This project will take some time and it needs to be completed by December 31.

Come One, Come all, Have a ball at the BLOCK PARTY

August 13…6:00-9:00 pm

Block Party 2014

1 thought on “What’s In A Name?

Leave a Reply to Don Morris Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *