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The Name

11. Sep 2024 On The Way In Love
“Let them praise and exalt the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted and supreme!” (Ps 148:13; AMPC). The name of the Lord is a “strong tower” and gives us protection (Prov 18:10) and His name endures forever (Ps72:17).
When God told Moses to go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of bondage, He asked God what His name was. “God said to Moses, I am who I am and what I am, and I will be what I will be” (Ex 3:14; AMPC). God was saying that He always was, is and will be in existence. Isaiah prophesied of Jesus, “Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa 7:14; NKJV), Immanuel means God with us. In Matthew 1:21 we read that an angel told Joseph that the virgin Mary would give birth to a Son, “And you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (NKJV). Jesus said that when we pray, we should ask in the name of Jesus, His name carries authority (John 14:13,14; 15:16; 16:23). Peter and John prayed: “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” and the lame man at the gate of the temple was healed! (Acts 3:6). Paul told the Philippians that the name of Jesus is above every other name, in other words, it is above sickness, poverty, addictions, mental illness etc. He also said that “at the name of Jesus every knee would bow” (Phil 2:9; NLT). Finally, in the book of Revelation we read that in the New Jerusalem, “They shall see His Face and His name shall be on their foreheads” (Rev 22:4; AMPC). Wow!

Is God #1 in your Life?

9. Sep 2024 On The Way In Love
“O God, You are my God, Early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you” (Ps 63; NKJV). “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Ps 27:4; NKJV). This was King David’s heart, his life priority and God used him mightily and blessed him. The Lord called David, “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22; NKJV) and God approved of David even though he was not perfect.
Sadly, in the book of Revelation, Jesus had to say to the church of Ephesus, “You have left your first love” (Rev 2:4; NKJV). These people were originally on fire for God but had lost their love for Jesus and also the drive and zeal to serve Him. Sometimes we need to do a check up on ourselves, can we truly relate to King David? Do we love God with all our heart and soul and mind? (Matt 22:37), is the Lord truly our first priority (Matt 6:33)? Can we honestly say we present ourselves as living sacrifices available to do His will? (Rom 12:1).
If we seek God with all our heart, we will find Him (Deut 4:29). We are called to seek His presence continually (Ps 105:4). The apostle Paul exhorted us to, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col 3:2; NKJV). James, the brother of Jesus, said, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8; NKJV). Let’s give King David the last say, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4; NKJV). What an amazing God we serve, how can we not make Him number 1 in our lives?

Get Your Hopes Up!

29. Aug 2024 On The Way In Love
In the world we often hear people say, “don’t get your hopes up” but I feel the Bible’s message is the exact opposite, “Get your hopes up!” Hosea 2:15 caught my attention, “I will transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope” (NLT). This word “hope” means eager expectation. We all go through “trouble” from time to time, however, God can help us through these difficult times but we need to put our hope into operation in order for that to happen. We can put our hope in God because He is trustworthy, “For you are my hope, O Lord God, You are my trust from my youth” (Ps 71:4; NKJV). (See also 1 Tim 4:10, 1 Peter 3:5 and many places in Psalms).
Another very encouraging verse is Zechariah 9:12, “Return to the stronghold you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you” (NKJV). A prisoner of hope is someone who believes their expectant hope will set them free and repay “double for their trouble.” Hallelujah!
Hope is actually closely connected to faith; it is hope that maintains faith during the waiting period. Abraham is a good example, “Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations” (Rom 4:18; NKJV).
Paul encouraged the Jewish Christians to hold onto the, “confession of hope without wavering, since He who promised is faithful” (Rom 10:23; CSB). He also said that hope is “an anchor for our souls” (Heb 6:19; NLT). In other words, hope, like an anchor, will keep us secure in the midst of any storm.
So, keep your hopes up today! Be expectant, expect a miracle!

Call, Calling and Called

26. Aug 2024 On The Way In Love
“For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29; NKJV). Let’s look at some other Bible phrases concerning God’s call, calling or our being called. God has a holy calling on all of our lives (2 Tim 1:9). We are called, “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9b; NKJV); that is out of a sin-filled life into the life He leads. We are called into fellowship with Jesus (1 Cor 1:9) and to share in His eternal glory (1 Peter 5:10). God calls us to holiness (1 Thess 4:7), salvation, faith, to be set apart for Him (2 Thess 2:13), to be a blessing (1 Peter 3:9) and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus (1 Peter 2:21). The apostle Paul exhorts us to be worthy of God’s calling (1 Thess 2:12, Eph 4:1-4). He directs us to walk out that calling with all humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity and peace. The apostle Peter taught us that God’s calling in our lives would be evident as we grew in: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love (2 Peter 1:5-11). This, Peter said, would protect us from stumbling in our walk with God (2 Peter 1:10). We are not alone in responding to the call of God, He will change and sanctify or set us apart for His service if we allow (1 Thess 5:23-24). Let us end with an admonition from Paul. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). Praise God! Let’s all do the same!

Jesus our Deliverer

23. Aug 2024 On The Way In Love
Joshua was the successor of Moses. His name in Hebrew means “Jehovah is salvation” or “God is deliverance.” Joshua delivered the children of Israel out of the wilderness into the promised land. Joshua points to Jesus which is the Greek name for Joshua; it means to deliver, save or rescue. Just as Joshua delivered the Israelites so Jesus delivers us from disease, addictions, mental illness, lust, anger, fear and much more. “And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the “haunting” fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives” (Heb 2:15; AMPC)
At the beginning of His ministry Jesus announced the things He was anointed to do and one of them being, “to preach deliverance to the captives” (Luke 418; KJV). Jesus did in fact deliver many people from evil spirits in His ministry, one well known example is the man from Gadara (Mark 5:1-20). He was bound in chains and all the people of the area were terrified of him but Jesus cast the evil spirits from him and sent them into a herd of pigs. The man was completely set free.
Jesus can do the same for you and me; He can set us free from whatever is keeping us in bondage. However, the main thing that Jesus delivers us from is sin and hell. By His once and for all time sacrifice He bore the sins of the whole world in His body. He paid the penalty for our sin so we could be forgiven and redeemed. That is our Deliverer and that is something we should always be thankful for!

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