KNOWING THE LORD

“Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves” (Ezek. 37:13 NKJV).

The phrase “know that I am the Lord” occurs some thirty times or so times in the Book of Ezekiel, with the majority occurring Chapters 28 – 39. This tells us of the importance of knowing the Lord. While not many people are interested in knowing the Lord, the Lord is very interested in people coming to know Him. And so throughout the Book of Ezekiel, God employs different methods all with the purpose of helping people to come to know Him; sometimes it is judgment, and sometimes it is deliverance. To better understand the importance of knowing the Lord, we want to note a few things involved in knowing the Lord. They include acquaintance, adoration, and association.

Acquaintance - Knowing the Lord means to be acquainted with Him. Many folk today are extremely ignorant of God. In fact, most could not write a complete sentence about their knowledge of God because their ignorance of Him. The popular ‘feel good’ religion of our day is all about satisfying our own personal wants and desires rather than an emphasis on knowing God . Yet, if we do not know God, we are headed for an eternity that will never ‘feel good.’

Adoration - Knowing God also involves adoration of God. To know God in the right way will help us give Him the honor He deserves. If we do not know God in the right way, we will not honor Him right. God needs to be honored in our lives, and to do that we must know Him well.

Association - Knowing God involves fellowship with God. The better we know a person, the more we fellowship with them, the better the relationship. Therefore, we must know God well enough so our relationship will be blessed and everlasting.

(Adapted from Analytical Biblical Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“When Christ is the center of your focus, all else will come into proper perspective!”

Croft M. Pentz (1931 – 2008)

American Pastor and Author

Word Study

Effects (activities)

In 1 Cor. 12:6 we read, “There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons!” (NASB).

Effects (activities) is the Greek word energēma (ἐνέργημα =en-erg'-ay-mah). It means what has been done, that which is worked out, that which is energized. In the New Testament, the idea is whatever has been effected is the result of divine energy or activity. The only two occurrences of energēma in the New Testament and are in Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:6, 10).Energēma refers to that which was accomplished through energy and in Scripture reflect the results or effects of the working given by God’s energy (power) in people living in dependence on Him.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“And Moses said unto the people, fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not” (Ex. 20:20 KJV).

Did You Know…

Peter was considered the apostle to the Jews while Paul was considered the apostle to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:8).

Bible Quiz

What did the king of Egypt tell the Hebrew midwives to do with the boy babies?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What are the two types of bodies mentioned by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15? A “natural body” and a “spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:44).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“JAH”

"Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol Him that rideth upon the heavens by His name Jah, and rejoice before Him” (Psalm 68:4 KJV).

1. Meaning – JAH/YAH is a shortened form of Yahweh, the personal name of the true God, translated as “Jehovah.”

2. Insights – The word “JAH” is a shortened form of Jehovah or Yahweh which comes from “I am” (Ex.3:14). It is the name by which God is known and distinguished from all false gods. It is God’s sacred name by which He identified Himself to His people. The meaning of the name speaks of God’s redemption, love, eternality, and power. Usually translated as the Lord, it is the name by which God makes and keeps His covenant. The Psalmist David instructed the people to praise God by this name because “JAH” and not Baal is the one true God, and He will make His people victorious out of faithfulness to His covenant with them. To use the name honorably indeed magnifies God. Hallelujah (Hallelu-Yah), “praise be to JAH.”

Did You Know...Christian History

Lancelot Andrewes was born in 1555 in London, England. He was an English bishop and scholar, who oversaw the translation of the King James Version of the Bible

Andrewes attended the Cooper’s Free School, in 1563, and the Merchant Taylors’ School in 1569. Once a year he would spend a month with his parents and, during this vacation, he would find a master from whom he would learn a new language. In this way, after a few years, he acquired most of the modern languages of Europe. Andrewes attended Pembroke College, Cambridge where he graduated B.A. in 1575, M.A. in 1579, B.D. in 1585, and later D.D.

In the course of his studies he was given administrative and teaching responsibility at his college and in these, as in his studies, he flourished. His public lectures were popularly attended and many were subsequently published, some without his approval.

Andrewes was a brilliant scholar, master of fifteen languages. Queen Elizabeth made him one of her chaplains. King James I also recognized Andrewes’s worth and made him a bishop. In 1604, when the king agreed to allow a new translation of the Bible, Andrewes was appointed one of the translators. In fact, he did most of the work on the five books of Moses and the historical books from Joshua through 2 Chronicles

Andrewes was a man of prayer and considered prayer so important that he even wrote a prayer to pray before beginning his personal prayer. He wanted to be in the right frame of mind with the right spirit when on his knees before God. While he was alive, Andrewes had published a collection of nineteen of his prayer sermons. He considered prayer one of the most crucial tasks of a priest and thought public prayer was of the utmost importance. It should be modeled on the Lord’s Prayer.

Andrewes died September 26, 1626, and even more of his prayers came to light. His private notebook on prayer was published. This book is considered a spiritual classic. He prayed for all of the nations of the world and for everyone who had helped him in the past. He praised God for His creation and asked for forgiveness wherever he had abused what God made. He prayed for the church and its unity. Andrewes took prayer seriously and that is what he is chiefly remembered for today.

A Little Humor

Five years old Becky answered the door when the Census taker came by. She told the Census taker that her daddy was a doctor and wasn’t home, because he was performing an appendectomy. “My,’ said the census taker, “that sure is a big word for such a little girl. Do you know what it means?” “Sure! Fifteen hundred bucks and that doesn’t even include the anesthesiologist!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“True independence is dependence on Jesus!”