As some of you already know, I figured into a vehicular accident, oh, around 10 days ago. We were going down a hill through light traffic. My mom and I were talking and laughing about my nephews and nieces, when we heard a loud slamming noise. I thought it sounded like it was pretty far away, but to my surprise it was our car that was slammed from behind, just a few seconds after. I turned the car off, pulled on the hand brake and went out to see what happened. A taxi hit a van at such impact and speed that the van rammed at us straight from behind. We all went to the police, who suggested we come up with a notarized Compromise Agreement. When that was processed, it was only then that they would give the taxi driver back his license, and the document would also serve as our ‘protection’; for the taxi driver to honor his word to pay for the damages. Just yesterday I got the car back from the repair shop that the taxi driver recommended.
Two days ago I resumed my functions as school chaplain, and spoke before my usual group of Junior and Senior High students. I wished them a Happy New Year, and they responded with a ho-hum, less enthusiastic Happy New Year back. I told them that I sort of knew where they were coming from. I’m not about to say that this January, this year is off to a bad start, but I will say this: Much has already happened, and considering the accident my mom and I were in, I’ll say ANYTHING can happen.
I’m not usually this sensitive, but between me interacting with people more than I’m used to, and living my own personal life while watching out for my Mom at the same time, all without my trusty Toyota Revo, I noticed that some fear crept into my psyche. There was that one time that I felt that I had to accompany my Mom to the dentist, only because I felt I needed to be in that (sketchy) building where the clinic was. Why? Because I thought there would be an earthquake.
Last night I was with a group of good friends I was with ever since college, and we were just catching up. I’m not going into much detail on what we caught up on precisely, but I will say that at one point the topic was about relationships and marriage. When the spotlight was on me, for some reason I shared an observation: If it takes ‘two to tango’ to keep a relationship going, I also noticed it takes ‘two to tango’ to end a relationship.
There I was feeling pretty witty about it, when our host straight up rebuked me and said it doesn’t take two to tango – it takes three to tango, and that includes God. My other friends did not hesitate to back him up in reminding me of this… and while I was thinking about how to respond to that (I was between being pleasantly surprised and just flat out rebuked), another friend of mine said, ‘Hey, if you were using us as an example to your sermons, this is us giving you a sermon right now.’
Anything can happen, indeed – but because of Christ, we have the Creator of the Universe with us in the tango.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
Psalms 20:1
The Psalmist specifically chose to write “May the name of the God of Jacob protect you” versus just saying, ‘May the God of Jacob protect you.” Why was that? In my efforts to go deeper, I opened eSword. Now, just take a look at what we pull up when we look at the Hebrew used in place of ‘name’:
שֵׁם / shêm / shame / A primitive word; an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character: – + base, [in-] fame [-ous], name (-d), renown, report.
In our discussions of other people, they may not be around, but when their name is mentioned, so their honor, character, and authority are automatically brought up. It gives us a deeper insight to Psalm 20:1, because we are also saying: May His honor, His character, and His authority protect you.
At this time I’d like to bring to mind my experience with one of my nieces, Alex. During the first time we saw her in person, as a baby, she would cry outright when we tried to carry her or even come near her. The second time we visited them, we were pleasantly surprised: my mom and I were warmly greeted by both her and her younger sister – and not only was she not scared of us, but she wanted to spend time with us! The thing is, my brother revealed that he took extra time to put a good word in for my mom and I, weeks and months before we actually came over to visit. He ‘built us up’ by saying how we were nice and we had lots of gifts to give them – joking aside, he wanted nip any potential problems in the bud and told them that when we saw each other again, there was nothing to fear.
Let’s keep that in mind, and let’s also talk about how this concept about our names also affects me negatively – in the sense that when a person’s name is mentioned, and when negative things are said against their honor, character, and authority. There are quite a number of people whose names I’ve heard about, and whose reputations are busted in my own mind way before I meet them… and unfortunately, even when I know that this is mostly mental programming, it all remains in my mind, long past getting to know them. Unlike my niece, I’m not going to mention any examples here… but I will say that I myself am guilty of making use of this phenomenon, to build people up, or to tear them down. We like to say stuff like, ‘I don’t mean to bring him down, but’, or ‘I don’t mean to brag, but’; and I’m here to say that statement notwithstanding, we ARE doing what we say we don’t mean to do.
Through my own criticism I’ve tore people down – not only bringing them to judgment, but apparently encouraging others to bring them to judgment. I’ve also made people out to be saints – and, I’ll say a name here because I HAVE been mentioning and quoting him a lot: Pastor Joedy is one example.
Now with all this, am I saying that we should be building the name of the Lord up? Sure. That’s our goal when we sing worship songs. And I cannot think of a finer example than that one song we’ve heard through the decades:
We sing, ‘Lord, I lift Your Name on high’, but what we’re also doing subtly is recognizing His uncompromising honor (“You came from heaven to earth to show the way”), His selfless character (“From the earth to the cross, my debt You paid”), and His eternal authority (“From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky). We precede the chorus telling the Lord and the World that we lift His name on high, and we love to sing His praises, and then we END the chorus appropriately, AGAIN proclaiming, ‘Lord, I lift Your Name on high!’
And isn’t this nice that we don’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles involved, the snazzy instruments and the ‘beautiful’ sound system? No, our HEARTS, made new by the finished work of Christ, the grace of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit – it’s our HEARTS that serve as our greatest instrument, and our hearts could not help but make good music, soon as we realize that there’s MUCH more to the name of the Lord than we’ve realized!
But as the folks in those infomercials would tell us – WAIT! There’s (even) MORE! For see, in all our own efforts to try to defend religion, constructing the 10 Commandments here, protecting the 10 Commandments there, checking our words to see that we don’t take the name of the Lord in vain, there’s actually something we should realize. I mean, we’re quick to call out blasphemy, but hear me out – let’s go back to the verse!
Does the Psalmist write that we should protect the name of the Lord? Friends, LOOK – it’s the name of the Lord that protects us!
I’m brought to remember the story of one of my favorite characters in the Bible, Gideon (who was leader of the 300 who actually won). We read in Judges 6:25-32:
That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.
The people of Baal wanted kill Gideon because he destroyed their idols. I feel a good number of us are the same way. I think of the one lady who was falsely accused of defiling sacred text, and brutally murdered by a mob. I think of the many people who died in a similar manner across history because they were allegedly caught in the act of blasphemy. And while we aren’t so violent, our old mindsets would have us so zealous in protecting the name of God, ourselves. But here’s one thing I want us to consider today.
I love Joash’s response to the mob. He’s basically calling them out for their apparent disrespect (‘Will (YOU) save (Baal)?’), and at the same time putting their ‘faith’ in the right place – ‘If he is a god, let him contend for himself’.
We may feel as if we need to contend for the Lord, especially in these times of famine as we’ve discussed… But at the end of the day, whether we show our efforts or not, the truth of the matter is that through our belief in Christ, our lives already proclaim: ‘Let the Lord contend for Himself.’
We need protection – especially in these times of shaking, wars, and earthquakes! But for all the circumstances we’re in, and for all the help we give and receive, our lives also proclaim: ‘The name of the Lord protects us.’
The Lord contends for Himself because the Lord contends for us.
The Lord contends for us because the Lord contends for Himself.
Trust in the Name of the Lord.
That seems to be the gist of our message. There truly is power in the Name of the Lord, because in His name we remember that He honors His word. He is willing (character), and He is able (authority).
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:12-14
When we expand our appreciation for His name, we see verses like the ones above in a different light. It’s no longer just about us attaching ‘in Jesus’ name’ to the end of our prayers, expecting Him to do what we ask.
There’s so much more to it. And actually, I dare to say that it goes in line with what Christ said prior; or, rather, when we say we believe in Christ, we’re saying that whatever we ask in His name is complete with awareness of His honor, authority, and character.
When we pray in His name, we trust in His name. We trust in His honor, character, and authority.
We pray, trusting that He honors His word, that He is willing and able to respond according to HIS power and wisdom.
We pray, trusting that He contends for us, because He contends for Himself… and vice versa.
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. Psalms 86:8-12
If I have time I would share that in the meditation of His name, we would naturally be led to worship, just as we would be naturally led to pray.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Psalms 20:7
Putting all of this together:
Anything can happen, indeed – but because of Christ, we have the Creator of the Universe with us in the tango.
The Lord honors His word. He is willing (character), and He is able (authority). Trust in the Name of the Lord.
I’m not sure I added as much value to this today, but this is just so much to enjoy!
And okay, I know that I’m blatantly counting this towards my word count… Not to justify any of it, but I will just say that there’s as much thought to revisiting and clarifying as there is to merely generating text.
By this January 21 JB is just that much more confident compared to January 19 JB.
Until the next post, God bless us all.
26022/365000
#BibleStudy #Christianity #Faith #Reflections #PracticalChristianity #BenefitsOfSalvation #SeasonOfRearranging #FaminesAndEarthquakes#2024YearOfTrust #Responsibility #Bible #Psalms #TheNameOfTheLord #HonorAndAuthority #TrustInGod #Gideon
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