April 16, 2017
Hymn 231 - Jesus, that name is love
Prayer
Have you ever been scared? Things like thunder, lightening, and the dark can often make us afraid. Today, let’s look at a verse that will help us in times of trouble.
Proverbs 18:10. This verse tells us that the name of the Lord is a strong tower. Back in Bible times cities would sometimes have strong towers that enemies would find hard to knock down. In the book of Judges there’s a story of a city that was under attack. The people ran and hid in a tower, and when the enemy came near the bottom, a lady threw a piece of stone over and killed the enemy leader. They were safe, and the enemy couldn’t get them. The Lord’s name is our strong tower. We don’t have a physical tower that we can run to to be safe. However, we can look at different names of the Lord; as we learn about Him, see His character, and find out who He is, then in times of trouble remembering these things can help us.
Genesis 22. In this chapter, God asks Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice on a certain mountain. As they went, Isaac asked his father, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a lamb,” Abraham told him. God stopped Abraham before he could kill Isaac, and He did provide a ram to take his place. In vv.13-14 Abraham gives us our first name of the Lord: Jehovah-jireh. It means “The Lord will Provide.” This story is a picture of God providing Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins. If Jesus is to be our tower, we need to know Him as our Saviour. God has provided salvation through him. Acts 4 tells us that there is no other name, under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. It is only in Jesus’ name that we find salvation.
Exodus 15. Here, the children of Israel have just come out of Egypt, and and they have sung a song to the Lord. In verse 26 we get our second name: Jehovah-ropheka. It means, “The Lord that heals.” Jesus healed many people when He was down here on earth, and He still has that power. All things are possible to Him. He is our strong tower, and we can turn to Him when we are scared or go through trials.
Exodus 17. Once the Children of Israel were out in the wilderness, they had a fight with the Amalekites. Moses was up on a mountain with the rod of God, watching the fight. When he raised the rod up, Israel won; if he let the rod down, Amalek began to win. His arms began to get tired, so Aaron and a man names Hur held his arms up, and Israel won the battle. In verse 15 we get another name of the Lord: Jehovah-nissi. It means, “The Lord is my banner.” The Lord helped Israel fight. Moses was interceding for the people when he had the rod raised, and they won. Jesus has gone back to heaven and now intercedes for us. During our temptations and other fights down here, we can look to Him to give us victory. The Lord will win the battle for us; He wants us to be victorious.
Psalm 23 is a very well known Psalm, and verse 1 gives us our final name “Jehovah-raab,” or the “Lord is our Shepherd.” It’s a blessing to know this. The Lord will lead us, provide for us, and care for us. The Shepherd protects the sheep, just like David protected his sheep from the lion and the bear.
So, we can know the Lord as a strong tower; the Person we can run to and be safe. It’s good to know what the Lord is to us, and how He can help us. It shows His love for us.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-28
This chapter opens with an interesting comment considering what we just read in chapter four. Paul might have already taught them this. “Times and seasons” does not relate to the church. Rather it refers to the earth. It’s not the same as in chapter four. The Day of the Lord pertains to the time of tribulation. Some mix it up with the rapture, but it comes after the saints are gone.
2 Peter 3:10
It will be a fearful time for those left behind. But the rapture is not something fearful like a thief in the night.
F. B. Hole said, “Evolution makes God a nonidentity.” The only answer for the world has been and always will be God. Evolution tries to wipe that away, and thinks everything is all right. The rapture triggers the prophetic clock. There will be sudden destruction - without any warning. Paul reassures them in verse four that it won’t happen to them. He showed them the difference between them, the children of light, and the children of darkness. The children of darkness sleep, are of the night, and are drunken in the night. This may not appear in the literal sense, but it is definitely in the moral sense. It is a blessing that the Lord of Light has come and shinned on us.
Regarding watching and being sober, are we looking for the Lord? We need to be serious about these things.
In verse eight it is the third time we have these three things together. The breastplate keeps the heart, and the helmet keeps the head. We need to make sure our hearts and heads are in the right place. We also have all three tenses in this verse. Faith looks back at how we have been lead. Love is the present enjoyment of the Lord. Hope is looking forward for the coming of the Lord.
Hymn 200 - ‘Tis the hope of His coming
Prayer