Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* I Am
* Scripture: Moses asked, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?" Exodus 3:13, NKJV

If you recall the passage from Exodus where God calls to Moses from the burning bush, God concludes by instructing Moses to tell the people that "I AM sent you."
Later, on the mountain, Moses received the Commandments, beginning with the statement, "I am the Lord your God." These first commandments establish a relationship with God, one based on reverence, worship, and esteem. That includes a proper respect and understanding of HIS NAME.
Suppose that you are responsible for translating the ancient writings into a modern version of the English language. There is no one to speak those ancient words, no one still using those symbols that represent speech.
Now add the complexity that derives from a reluctance of those ancients to even speak or write that most righteous Name, and the the scholar is left searching. The scribes would write the letters YHWH instead of spelling out THE NAME. It is called a Tetragrammaton. From it, we get ‘Yahweh.’
About 300 B.C. the Jews began the custom of pronouncing the name 'adonay' (my Lord or LORD) or 'elohim.' Take the various spellings, run the Hebrew through Latin, and we get 'Jehovah.'
According to one of my references (The New Westminister Dictionary of the Bible) the word comes from a verb which means to befall, to come to pass, happen, become, be ; The name accordingly means "He who happens (upon us), he who befalls (upon us), he who in the absolute sense exists and who manifests his existence and his character." (Ex. 3:13-15) - "I AM."
The dictionary further gives these definitions:
'elohim, God, is the creator, upholder, and moral governor of the universe;
'el Shadday, God almighty, is the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their present strength and future existence;
Yahweh (YHWH) is the God of revelation and grace, dwelling with his people, guiding and delivering them, and receiving their worship.
"Lord" in our Bibles came from Hebrew 'adon,' "Master," or 'adonay; "my master", (i.e., "my Lord.") When you see LORD the original was YHWH.
A name is a very personal thing; it identifies who we are. At least for the time being:

"There's a new name written down in Glory,
"And it's mine, O yes, it's mine!"
(C. Austin Miles)

To him who overcomes will be given a new name, according to Revelation 2:17 and 3:12. That will be an even more special name than the one we use now, because it will be given by THE ONE!
January 8, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* I Am
* Scripture: Moses asked, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?" Exodus 3:13, NKJV

If you recall the passage from Exodus where God calls to Moses from the burning bush, God concludes by instructing Moses to tell the people that "I AM sent you."
Later, on the mountain, Moses received the Commandments, beginning with the statement, "I am the Lord your God." These first commandments establish a relationship with God, one based on reverence, worship, and esteem. That includes a proper respect and understanding of HIS NAME.
Suppose that you are responsible for translating the ancient writings into a modern version of the English language. There is no one to speak those ancient words, no one still using those symbols that represent speech.
Now add the complexity that derives from a reluctance of those ancients to even speak or write that most righteous Name, and the the scholar is left searching. The scribes would write the letters YHWH instead of spelling out THE NAME. It is called a Tetragrammaton. From it, we get ‘Yahweh.’
About 300 B.C. the Jews began the custom of pronouncing the name 'adonay' (my Lord or LORD) or 'elohim.' Take the various spellings, run the Hebrew through Latin, and we get 'Jehovah.'
According to one of my references (The New Westminister Dictionary of the Bible) the word comes from a verb which means to befall, to come to pass, happen, become, be ; The name accordingly means "He who happens (upon us), he who befalls (upon us), he who in the absolute sense exists and who manifests his existence and his character." (Ex. 3:13-15) - "I AM."
The dictionary further gives these definitions:
'elohim, God, is the creator, upholder, and moral governor of the universe;
'el Shadday, God almighty, is the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their present strength and future existence;
Yahweh (YHWH) is the God of revelation and grace, dwelling with his people, guiding and delivering them, and receiving their worship.
"Lord" in our Bibles came from Hebrew 'adon,' "Master," or 'adonay; "my master", (i.e., "my Lord.") When you see LORD the original was YHWH.
A name is a very personal thing; it identifies who we are. At least for the time being:

"There's a new name written down in Glory,
"And it's mine, O yes, it's mine!"
(C. Austin Miles)

To him who overcomes will be given a new name, according to Revelation 2:17 and 3:12. That will be an even more special name than the one we use now, because it will be given by THE ONE!
January 8, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”Acts 4:12, NIV

Great Expectations! Anyone who engages in the art of teaching or speaking is assumed to be knowledgeable as to the proper selection and pronunciation of words. Writers are expected to not only choose the correct words, but to be able to properly spell them!
A writer or public speaker not only risks the loss of credibility through poor language skills, but also alienates many in the audience with mispronunciations and misspellings. A reference library therefore becomes a necessity for the successful communicator. I have recently added a guide to the correct pronunciation of biblical words to my collection of dictionaries, thesauri, and writing guides.
Many of the tried and supposedly true axioms for spelling and pronunciation that we had drilled into us at school are not totally reliable. For example, “i before e except after c.” So how about names like Reis and Reiser, or the word protein.
Here is a good word for you -’read.’ Now you tell me, is it pronounced like reed or red?
My grandfather’s name, Hugh, was pronounced like ‘hew.’ Tell me the meanings of cite, site and sight. Many people mix them up. We have ‘no’ and ‘know,’ two, to, and too, each with their own meaning.
The spell checker aid on my computer must often be over ridden; I can not trust it explicitly.
The English language is a linguistic sponge! Most of the words in our supposedly Anglo-Saxon tongue have been “borrowed” from other languages. Latin, French, and Germanic words abound. Many of the names in the Bible have their roots in Hebrew and Greek. Now consider that the English alphabet has 26 letters; Hebrew has 22 and Greek 24. Neither language has the letter ‘c’ or ‘j.’ They have letters we do not use in English. So tell me, how did they pronounce (or write) John or Jesus? How should we pronounce sounds for which we have no equivalent?
Try to pronounce this Greek word: XPIST - Χρισt. The first letters of the word “Christ” in Greek begins with what looks like “XP” but the sound is that of “Chi Rho.” which we change to “CHR...” in English. Therefore, Christ. Oh! And the Greeks use the letter ‘i’ rather than ‘J’ in John, Jesus and Jerusalem: there is no way they can pronounce those words the same way we do. Nor we as they do, normally.
I think there are two main things we can learn from this little exercise:
We should never deride a non-native speaker of English if they haven’t mastered our quite quirky tongue.
In any language, any spelling, any pronunciation, there is only One Name that is above all names!
March 16, 2003

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Peter said, “Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:21, NEB
The moment of crisis had come. The wedding ceremony was completed, the groom had kissed the bride. Now, would she or wouldn’t she - take his last name, or keep her maiden name? It was the age of Women’s Lib, and she had hinted that as she was known, so would she continue to be.
Naturally, everyone was curious, but also too timid (polite?) to ask. Finally, her eldest sister inquired, “What shall we call you?”
With a sweet smile, Mary, the new bride, replied, “Harriet.”
A name is one of the first things we acquire upon coming into this world, and one of the things we leave behind, carved into stone, upon our exit from it. People have been identified by name throughout recorded history.
We may be called Americans, Buckeyes, Christians, Protestants, or Methodists, but so are lots of others. A name is definitely more specific than, “Hey, you!” A physical description, - 5 foot 9, 157 lbs., brown hair - doesn’t narrow things down much, but put a name with that description, and you get down to me, myself, and I. Getting selective, getting personal.
Most of us have at least three names - first, middle, and last. There are a lot of people, and businesses, who are very interested in what those names are. Names have a very significant meaning when applied to a legal document, for example.
Our name represents us. It stands for who we are. One of the greatest of courtesies is to call someone by their name.
The Bible has a lot to say about names. We are counseled that a “good name is more to be desired than great riches (Proverbs 22:1, NEB.) A good name smells sweeter than the finest ointment (Ecclesiastes 7:1a, NEB.)
More important even than the name we leave behind is the name we take with us. That is the name written down in Glory. The Revelation of John has much to say about names, both alive and dead. (See Rev. 2:17 and 3:1) How blessed are those who receive the name of God, and the name of the city of God (Rev. 3:12.)
Woe! to those who receive the name or number of the beast (Rev. 13:17,18.) The penalty for bearing the name of the beast is given in Rev. 14:9-12.
The record of our deeds goes with us. It is written in our name. “This is where the fortutide of God’s people has its place - in keeping God’s commands and remaining loyal to Jesus” (Rev. 14:12b-13, NE
We sing, “Is my name written there, On the page white and fair? In the book of thy kingdom, Is my name written there.” (Is My Name Written There; Mary A. Kidder/Frank M. Davis)
February 16, 2003

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com

Scripture: Matthew wrote, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save people from their sins.” Mt. 1:21, NIV

What’s in a name? Shakespeare said, “ A rose by another name would smell as sweet.” For most of us, a name is merely a means of identification. Many know that there are other people who share at least the same first and last name. People in some countries, such as Indonesia, use only one name. In other cultures, the name identifies not only the person, but the personality.
For example, the person we know as Peter, the headstrong disciple of Jesus, was Simon bar Jonah - Simon son of Jonah. Jesus gave him the name ‘Stone’ or ‘Rock,’ which in Latin (petros) became ‘Peter.’
But let’s go back a few centuries to some names from the Old Testament. You’ve heard of Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. And Daniel, of course. But what about Belteshazzar, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah? Same people! We don’t know Daniel by his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar. They were given new names by the chief official of king Nebuchadnezzar (now that’s a mouthful!) Daniel’s new name meant, “O Lady Protect the King” in Babylonian. The Lady mentioned was the wife of Marduk, the god of Babylon. Daniel means ‘God has judged.’
Shadrack means ‘I am very fearful (of a god)’ while ‘Hananiah’ means “Yaweh has been gracious.”
Mishael means “Who is what God is?” but Meshach means “I am of no account.”
Better at least to be called ‘Abednego’ the Servant of the Shining one.’ Better still to be called Azariah, “Yaweh has helped.”
The king in question was Nabu-kudurri-usur, or ‘Nebo, defend the boundary.’
Since Chaldean has gone out of style, King James dubbed him ‘Nebuchadrezzar.”
Consider ‘Nabul.’ He lived up to his name, ‘Foolish’ or ‘Churlish.’ He refused to help king David; his wife, Abigail, apologized for her husbands churlish conduct. When Nabul sobered up enough to understand what he had done, he was profoundly affected and died ten days later. Abigail later became one of David’s wives.
Saul means ‘asked of God.’ The first king of Israel got himself in big trouble by not obeying the Lord. The Saul of the New Testament changed to his Latin name of Paul.
Places, too, have names. How about Urusilimmu? Aren’t you glad ‘foundation of the god (Shalem)’ is called Jerusalem in English?
Now consider “Joshua“ which developed into Jeshua (sometimes Yeshua). Greek and Latin Iesous. The Greek “I” became “J” in English. Yaweh IS Salvation!
Yes!! “Jesus is Salvation.” By any other name - “Oh! How Sweet.
October 6, 2002

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Adam said,
“I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:10, NKJV

Perhaps you have heard the maxim, as I have:
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
In theory, the thought is supposed to help us shrug off taunts and name calling. In theory! In fact, words can wound deeper than a sharp blade, can bruise greater than a cudgel.
The injury from a rear-ender car collision often produces “whip lash,” a stressing of the neck, which may leave no visible external evidence, but may cause severe internal damage.
We have only to follow news reports to witness the result of “word lash,” which can also create severe internal damage, psychological damage that sometimes comes out in violent confrontations, perhaps resulting in the death of several people.
More often, though, people ‘hide’ themselves by building a shield - a psychological shield - and hide within it. Henry David Thoreau observed in "Walden", 1854 “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” He also noted: “Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.“
It is not just cruel, hateful words that can bring us to destruction, however. Sometimes seemingly innocent words of advice, craftily proffered, can bring down the gullible, or even the diligent soul who seeks to walk in the paths of righteousness. Adam and Eve knew well God’s words concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. “You shall not eat (of it) for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Words can not be much plainer than that!
Yet note the words of the cunning serpent: “You will not surely die. . . . You will be like God.” Sweet talk, craftily proffered. And they ate.
In Genesis 3:11 God asks Adam, “Who told you that you were naked?” But this is more than an issue about a lack of clothing. This was something new, an awareness of a vulnerability, a sense of the loss of innocence. Previously, Adam and Eve had nothing to hide from God; they had nothing to be ashamed of. Now, the knowledge of their disobedience envelops them. God knows! His words concerning the tree in the midst of the garden rang in their conscience, weighing heavily and guiltily on their minds. Adam thinks of himself as not only guilty, but as naked before God.
Guilty! They have sinned against the Word of God. Too late. Excuses will not build a shield to hide behind. The serpent (Satan), the woman, and Adam all sinned, and all were punished. Yes, it was God’s Word, and not Satan’s words, that prevailed.
Yet, “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam, all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22, NKJV)

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Moses asked, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?" Exodus 3:13, NKJV

If you recall the passage from Exodus where God calls to Moses from the burning bush, God concludes by instructing Moses to tell the people that "I AM sent you."
Later, on the mountain, Moses received the Commandments, beginning with the statement, "I am the Lord your God." These first commandments establish a relationship with God, one based on reverence, worship, and esteem. That includes a proper respect and understanding of HIS NAME.
Suppose that you are responsible for translating the ancient writings into a modern version of the English language. There is no one to speak those ancient words, no one still using those symbols that represent speech.
Now add the complexity that derives from a reluctance of those ancients to even speak or write that most righteous Name, and the the scholar is left searching. The scribes would write the letters YHWH instead of spelling out THE NAME. It is called a Tetragrammaton. From it, we get ‘Yahweh.’
About 300 B.C. the Jews began the custom of pronouncing the name 'adonay' (my Lord or LORD) or 'elohim.' Take the various spellings, run the Hebrew through Latin, and we get 'Jehovah.'
According to one of my references (The New Westminister Dictionary of the Bible) the word comes from a verb which means to befall, to come to pass, happen, become, be ; The name accordingly means "He who happens (upon us), he who befalls (upon us), he who in the absolute sense exists and who manifests his existence and his character." (Ex. 3:13-15) - "I AM."
The dictionary further gives these definitions:
'elohim, God, is the creator, upholder, and moral governor of the universe;
'el Shadday, God almighty, is the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their present strength and future existence;
Yahweh (YHWH) is the God of revelation and grace, dwelling with his people, guiding and delivering them, and receiving their worship.
"Lord" in our Bibles came from Hebrew 'adon,' "Master," or 'adonay; "my master", (i.e., "my Lord.") When you see LORD the original was YHWH.
A name is a very personal thing; it identifies who we are. At least for the time being:

"There's a new name written down in Glory,
"And it's mine, O yes, it's mine!"
(C. Austin Miles)

To him who overcomes will be given a new name, according to Revelation 2:17 and 3:12. That will be an even more special name than the one we use now, because it will be given by THE ONE!
January 8, 2006