Adonai–LORD

I’m choosing to focus for a few posts on the Names of God– titles, descriptions of His Character–that we can (and should) use in thinking about and praying to God. Today, I want to look at the term LORD, or Adonai, and what it signifies.

In English, we use the word “lord” to refer to someone who has power or authority over something– think “Lord of the Rings” or “lord and master”– someone with the power to control. In Hebrew, the word “Adonai” also means “Lord”, but in the plural form, denoting special respect or reverence. In the Bible, when we see LORD (in all capitals), it refers to the ONE who has power over all things– THE LORD, or MY LORD. (For a more detailed explanation, see https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/what-does-adonai-mean.html)

There is an interesting passage in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus uses the term “Lord.” He warns that not all those who use the phrase, “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

²¹“Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but still won’t get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven. ²²At the Judgment many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles.’ ²³But I will reply, ‘You have never been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil.’ (Matthew 7:21-23 The Living Bible)

We can use the name “Lord” and still not understand how fully Sovereign and Holy He is. When we acknowledge Jesus as “Lord”, we may simply mean that we think of Jesus (and the Father) as a “Lord” over certain aspects of our lives– He controls the weather, or we can pray to Him to change our present circumstances or make someone else do what we can’t make them do. But Jesus is not just a “Lord.” He is THE LORD–He is Adonai. This name (when printed in all caps) is often used as a substitute for the given Holy Name of God (Yahweh or YHWH). It IS who He IS– the One LORD over all creation. The One who is the Master of ALL. If we call Him, “Lord,” but ignore what He says, and only turn to Him as a last resort, or use His name only to sound Righteous, we are literally taking His Name in Vain and breaking the third Commandment!

What amazes me is that THE LORD of the universe wants to hear from me! He has no need of a relationship with me; there is absolutely nothing that I can bring to Him– even my obedience is only an acknowledgement of who He already IS, and the power He already has over me. He CAN make me obey Him; He has the power to circumvent my will and impose His will upon it. Yet, He chooses to ask me to follow Him; He not only tells me to obey Him, He tells me why and how! And He gives me the power (through His Holy Spirit) to do it!

God is ADONAI– He is THE LORD! And He is patient, compassionate, and humble. When Jesus came, lived among us, and died on the cross, it wasn’t because any of us deserved His substitutionary sacrifice for our Sin. It was an extension of His nature AS “LORD.” And isn’t that worth a prayer of worship today!

April 9, 2025 0

Do Be Do Be Do…

I was reading the other day, and thinking about how often we read the Bible with preconceived notions. We sometimes think the Bible is a guide that tells us what to do or not to do. But a good portion of the Bible tells us, not what to do, but how to be. Even the Ten Commandments don’t tell us what to do— rather they tell us what we should NOT do.

God has given each of us free will, and created us with distinct skills and personalities and sets of circumstances. We will not– indeed we cannot– all do the same things. God doesn’t expect it of us. And He does not expect us to earn our salvation by what we do. What He does expect is that we will do those things that bring us closer to Him and closer to the people we were meant to be. His power will take care of the rest.

We have a tendency to get caught up in what we (and what others around us) are doing; we tend to judge and compare and criticize. Instead, we should concentrate on who and what we are becoming:

We want to learn–but do we want to be teachable?
We want to make money– but do we want to be generous?
We want to build a reputation– but do we want to be honest and reliable?
We want to have friends– do we want to be available?
We want a family–do we want to be intimately known and knowable?
We want freedom–do we want to be responsible?
We want justice– do we want to be just?
We want happiness–do we want to be content with what we have?

Jesus didn’t give His disciples a long “to do” list. He didn’t give them detailed lists of things to do. He gave them “Beatitudes”– “Be” “Attitudes”

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3-12

Of course, much of who we are and who we become depends on what we do. And it is important to do what is right and honorable, just and compassionate. But it’s the “being” that is the goal, not merely the “doing.” God knows we cannot “do” what it takes to be perfectly righteous in our own power. But He will give us the guidance, the strength, and the encouragement to “become” more like Him as we live out the above attitudes.

October 16, 2023 0

Heart, Soul, and Mind..

Jesus was asked many trick questions by people who wanted to discredit him during His ministry. One such query involved all the many commands of the law. “Which is the greatest?” With so many commandments, laws, rituals, and traditions, it would be difficult to pick just one. Which is more evil– lying, stealing, murder, idolatry?

But Jesus didn’t skip a beat. ³⁷Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 9Matthew 22:37 NIV) Jesus was actually quoting from Deuteronomy (Deut. 6:5), when God was giving instructions to the people of Israel before they entered the Promised Land. Of course, Jesus, as part of the Triune Godhead, was actually present for these instructions– in fact, as the WORD of God, He may have been the very one speaking the same words hundreds of years before!

The first three of the Ten Commandments all involve this concept. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”–don’t give your soul (your very essence) to someone or something else ahead of Yahweh. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image”–don’t give your heart to worship anyone or anything that is created; instead, worship your Creator. “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain”–don’t use your mind to devalue and defame the Sovereign Lord.

God is Sovereign. He is Supreme. And He IS Love– it is not just something He chooses to do. Love is part of God’s essence, and it cannot live and thrive without Him.

But this brings up two questions: If God IS Love and He created us, why must he “command” us to love Him? This is one of the great arguments people try to use to deny God’s Sovereignty, His Goodness, even His existence. A Good, Wise, Sovereign, All-powerful God should not need to command love and worship from His creatures, should He? And, if He “commands” love and obedience, how can we truly love Him? We can fear Him, obey Him, be ruled by Him, but none of that sounds like Love.

In theory, such questions seem daunting. But we have dozens of real-life examples of how such commands work. Every nation (and principality, and even every household) has rules and laws directing us how to behave and demanding respect for certain values. “Don’t sass your parents.” “Don’t deface or defile sacred spaces.” “Don’t litter!” We find it distinctly unsettling when we see children treating their parents with disrespect, malice, even abuse. Or when we hear of people whose hatred leads them to burn places of worship, or defile gravestones in a cemetery, or commit treasonous acts that lead to the slaughter of hundreds of innocent neighbors or fellow-countrymen. The planet groans under the strain of people who dump their trash in rivers or streets, or wantonly start wildfires or kill helpless animals.

God does not “command” our love out of weakness. He could DEMAND abject obedience–overrule our will; punish without delay or hope of mercy; force us to act as robots or machines–but He desires us to Love Him freely. His command is for OUR good–when we choose to seek Him, follow Him, Love Him in ever greater measure, we grow to be more like Him–Loving Him teaches us what Love is really all about!

The Law itself, the “command,” is NOT what pleases God or makes us Love Him. God’s purpose is not that we become ritualistic, legalistic, or weak-willed. He wants us to be joyful and live abundant and productive lives. But left to our own devices and our own “wisdom,” we will not achieve any of this. In fact, even with the law and commandments, we will still fall short. God’s love is such that He gave us an impossible command– love Him with our entire heart, soul, and mind– and then, He provided the only Way to make it possible.

It IS possible to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. It doesn’t require that we become hermits or ascetics, wasting away in a cave or mountaintop, starving ourselves and crying out day and night. It does require that we recognize that He is God, and we are not. It requires that we accept His mercy for the times we have strayed. It requires that we seek His counsel, and His correction.

We need to love Him with our heart–draw near to Him in worship and thanksgiving.

We need to love Him with our soul–trust Him to direct our lives, now and in the future.

And we need to love Him with our mind–learn to listen to His words, and to meditate on them; to think more about the things of God, and less about the things of trivial and temporary import.

October 4, 2023 0

He Hath Shewed Thee…

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God…
Micah 6:6-8 (KJV)

“What does God want from me?!” Ask a dozen people this question, and you will very likely get a dozen different (and even conflicting) answers!

Abject obedience? Memorizing a creed or list of rules? Shiny, happy, saccharine sweetness? Sacrifice? Humiliation or self-abasement? Blind faith? Isolation and meditation? Constant repentance and confession? A crusader’s militancy? Your answer reflects your relationship with and belief in God and His character.

But instead of asking a dozen people, you can ask God Himself! The prophet Micah does this, and receives a simple but startling answer– God requires three things: to do justly (or practice justice), to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. Jesus also gives us a simple answer in the book of Matthew. When asked by a lawyer, “Master, which is the greatest commandment?,” Jesus replies, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandment hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV) In giving this answer, Jesus was referring to writings He had dictated hundreds of years before to Moses (Deuteronomy 6:5, and Leviticus 19:18 respectively).

God is very clear– there is no single and measurable act we can do, no oath we can take, no quest we can complete, and no gift we can give that will, in itself, please Him. There is no magical number of times we must confess, or sacrifices we must make, or rites we must go through to be acceptable. But, as simple as the answers appear, it is impossible for us to meet the requirements on our own. We do not love God with all our heart, soul, and mind– we do not walk humbly with Him; nor do we do what is just, or love mercy toward our neighbors– we do not love others as ourselves.

Even though Micah wrote before Jesus came to earth, he proclaims that God “hath shewed” us how to please Him. His commands teach us His priorities and His character–God values life (Thou shalt not kill); He values family (Honor thy Father and Mother/ Thou shalt not commit adultery); He loves truth (Thou shalt not bear false witness) and Holiness (Thou shalt not have any other gods before Me/Thou shalt not make graven images/Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain). God loves those who trust and rest in His provision (Thou shalt not steal/ Thou shalt not covet/Remember the Sabbath). He is pleased to provide good things; He is a God of Love.

Jesus came to “fulfill” the law– to demonstrate both who God is, and how He wants to help us live life to the fullest. He also came to prove that the law, while good, is not a means to an end for us to please God.

I have a heart to explore this further over the next few days. I pray that what God has laid on my heart will draw me closer to Him, and that sharing it might help others to do the same.

September 4, 2023 0

Where Do Prayers Go?

Do you ever pray “directional” prayers? Some people pray TO something or TOWARD something. It may be positioning yourself to pray toward the east or toward the rising sun, or even toward a particular holy place. Some people pray to the moon or stars or a statue or image of a person. Some people pray rather aimlessly into the sky or the ceiling or the floor.

Does it matter? What does the Bible say?

In Exodus, when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, He said, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” In other words, no carved images of any animal or person that takes the place of God. For some people, this extends to icons and statues of Jesus; for others, it means only idols from other religious traditions.

However, later in Israel’s history, when King Solomon dedicated the first Temple, he prayed that when people prayed toward the Temple in Jerusalem, that God would hear from heaven and intervene. For many, this edict still holds true– they focus many, if not all their prayers toward the city of Jerusalem. Others specifically pray to the “Wailing Wall”– the last part of the Temple that still stands. Tradition states that the Spirit of God “dwelt” in the Temple– therefore to pray to the Temple was to pray to the God who lived there.

Jesus did not command His followers to pray toward the Temple itself, but rather to pray directly to “Our Father, which art in Heaven.” Throughout the Bible, the image of prayer is linked with the image of smoke or incense– rising toward Heaven. Jesus sometimes is described as looking up toward Heaven as He prayed. But other times He bowed or knelt as He prayed.

So what are we to conclude? Which is the “correct” direction for our prayers?

There is no conclusive answer in the Bible. And I think this is because God is Omnipresent. He is everywhere at once, so that we can pray anywhere, facing any direction, without a fixed focus point. There is only one direction that is “wrong.” And that is when our heart is facing away from (in rebellion to) God. We can pray aimlessly to nothing and no one, or to something that we know is NOT the One True God–to creation itself or to an invisible but remote “Force.” But the Bible IS clear that we are to pray to God alone– Father, Son, and Holy Spirit– and directly and personally to Him. We do not need a personal altar in order to be heard; we do not need to be facing an icon or a building or the rising sun or an imaginary point in the stratosphere. God Himself, through Christ– will accept and respond to our prayers. God will hear us from anywhere, in any position or circumstance. Altars and images and icons may represent Christ and His Holiness– they can be helpful tools in reminding us of who we are in relation to Him–but they must never become replacements for His Spiritual Presence.

Our prayers end up– through whatever mysterious and wandering way– finding their true destination, which is the heart of God Himself, when we seek Him sincerely and whole-heartedly. In much the same way, God’s answers to us will find their way through His Holy Spirit, no matter where we are or what direction we are facing.

God transcends space and time, and can be found by those who seek Him from the ends of the earth. I am greatly comforted by this truth. My Father is in Heaven– and right beside me, and dwelling within me! He is always listening, and always available.

May 12, 2023 2

A New Command

³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35 (NIV) taken from http://www.biblegateway.com

Jesus was about to be tried and condemned to die. He was giving His disciples last instructions and reminders. But in the midst of it all, He gave this “new” command. I’ve read this passage dozens of times, and yet it struck me, possibly because we have just started a new year, that Jesus calls this a new command. Love one another. As if this was a revolutionary concept; as if it had never been spoken before.

So I began to search. ” You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ” (Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV) “Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18) “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. ” (Deuteronomy 10:19)

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites are commanded to love God and to love their neighbors, especially to those who might otherwise know only hatred or injustice– enemies, conquered peoples, resident aliens, widows, orphans, etc.. Most often, the commands are given in negative terms– how NOT to treat others. “Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not bear false witness…”

There is nothing completely new about Jesus’ command in John 13, but it IS new– it is a positive command to show love for one another. And Jesus goes further– “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” This goes beyond simply seeing that others are treated fairly within the broader society. Jesus washed feet. He went out of his way to speak to those who were despised and marginalized– tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers. He didn’t write a check to a non-profit charity and pat himself on the back. He didn’t share a political cartoon about Pharisees or the Roman Emperor with his followers or join the Jerusalem March for Jewish Rights–he challenged the Pharisees face-to-face about their unjust practices and healed the family members of Roman officials. He gave His life– not just on the cross, but in serving others’ needs throughout His earthly life.

Love One Another. It isn’t a suggestion. It is a command–one Jesus gave directly to His disciples. It is not a new command to the Church; but it is one we have not obeyed fully. We love those Christians in our small group at church, or those who share our politics, or those who look and talk just like us. Or we “love” those Christians who are struggling thousands of miles away– from our safe and comfortable lives thousands of miles away.

Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi on Pexels.com

I find myself often reading this command, but trying to obey it the same way I look at the Ten Commandments– obedience by omission; obedience in the negative. “Thou shalt not offend. Thou shalt not intrude. Thou shalt not condescend.” But that’s where I stop. I don’t wash feet. I don’t visit the sick or disgraced. Sometimes I send a check or donate a box of unwanted items.

What would this new year look like if I followed this command more fully? What if, instead of just showing love to those I already like, or when it’s convenient, I reached out across town or across the globe to share my time, my heart, my resources, my skills, with those who need them most? What if I obeyed Jesus’ command to love those around me as Jesus has already loved me?

What if I dared to pray that God would bless others through me, instead of just asking that everyone would “be blessed.”

In this new year, God, let this be a new command– one that I follow with my whole heart– that I should love others as You have loved me!

January 3, 2020 0

Tag: Ten Commandments