JEHOVAH RAPHA (The Lord who heals)

Jehovah Rapha (The Lord who heals)

Jesus heals but everyone He healed ultimately died (or at least I think so because we don't have 2000 year old people walking around) so the question is what was the purpose behind Him healing people?

Matthew 8:17 has one reason
"He did these things to bring about what Isaiah the prophet had said:
“He took our suffering on him and carried our diseases.”

and John 9 has another one:

"As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"3Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.…

John 5
Jesus didn't heal everyone at the healing pool and He didn't automatically heal the guy He approached.  He asked him if he wanted to be healed and the guy gave him all the excuses as to why he couldn't be healed.  Do you think that more healing would take place if people looked beyond all the excuses to possibilities?

It reminds me of a story

God why didn't you help?

Another name for God "El Shaddai"

In a world that goes beyond radio, TV and social media we must never forget  "God Almighty" because, even though many believe they can do it without Him, any thinking person will realize that everything changes as soon as we loose something as simple as electricity...

[Chorus:]
El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai [means "God Almighty, God Almighty"]
El-Elyon na Adonai [means "God in the highest, Oh, Lord"]
Age to age, You're still the same
By the power of the name.
El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai
Erkamka na Adonai [means "We will love You, Oh, Lord"]
We will praise and lift You high
El-Shaddai

Through Your love
And through the ram,
You saved the son
Of Abraham.
Through the power
Of Your hand,
Turned the sea
Into dry land.
To the outcast
On her knees,
You were the God
Who really sees.
And by Your might,
You set Your children free.

[Chorus]

Through the years,
You made it clear,
That the time of Christ
Was near,
Though the people
Couldn't see
What Messiah ought to be.
Though Your Word
Contained the plan,
They just could not understand,
Your most awesome work was done
Though the frailty of Your son.

Lord, as we search, help us to hear and see Your messages and give us the wisdom to know Your voice and the courage to obey You.

Matthew 1:23 -- Immanuel

Another name for Jesus, Immanuel; "God is with us"!

In Jesus day life wasn't that pretty.  He was born a Jew and the Jews were ruled by the Romans.  The King at the time was threatened by baby boys so he had them killed.  Not only did they have to pay taxes; they had to go on an over night trip to do it!

So this is the Kingdom of God...in the Kingdom of this world "God is with us!" and God was willing to come in the form of a helpless baby, to be taken care of by two young people to model for us what it is like to live in the Kingdom of God.  It reminds me of a story:

Jesus became a man to show us the way

Your steadfast love

Jesus Name -- a "God incident"

I had a "God incident" yesterday. I picked up Donald Spoto's book "The hidden Jesus" and just started reading and it fit exactly here for this blog.  He's given the "intellectual, researched" information about Jesus name.  He says "the Greek Jesous 'Jesus' derives from a shortened form of the Hebrew name Joshua, who was the successor of Moses; the name means 'Yahweh is salvation,' or 'God saves' ...

Jesus became a common name so a description of origin was normally added in order to distinguish, for example 'Jesus of Nazareth'... As early as 50s A.D (within 20 years of Jesus' death), Paul included in his letters many references to the widely known title "Christ" to designate Jesus....the Greek Christos translates the Hebrew word for Messiah, God's 'anointed one' for whom all Israel awaited.... To this day 'Jesus Christ' is the form by which he is known-- the label for this man whom the process of history may reject but whom it cannot ignore. 'Jesus Christ,' if nothing else, has entered all Western languages as, at least, a common exclamation of shock or anger, a universally recognized pair of cuss words.  But to those who consider him not a dusty figure of the past but the one who is truly alive, the name is, as Bernard of Clairvaux said in the twelfth century, "a shout of joy and music to the ear."

So when I hear the Lord's name used in vain (which is breaking one of the 10 commandments) I usually say "I'm not Him" or "You know Him too?"

Thanks God for "God incidences"; they're so much fun!

What's in a name -- Jehovah Raah

In some cultures parents wait to name their child because they want to get a glimpse into the child's character first but Joseph was told the name by God's angel in a dream!  He was told to name his child Jesus (Saviour) because He would save His people from their sins.

Hallowed by Thy name begs for us to understand what God's names are.  If we understand the descriptive names of God we can come to understand His character more.   One name is Jehovah Raah/The Lord is my Shepherd.

More on Jehovah Raah

King David; the guy who new what it was like to be:
-- a working young boy
-- hated just because someone was jealous
-- a fugitive
-- a human Father with his imperfections
-- a King with wealth and power
...
understood God in an amazing way and we can see in Psalm 23 that he started to learn about God as a young boy working with his Father's sheep.

Psalm 23

A rendition oA rendition of Psalm 23

Hallowed Be Thy Name

So what does it really mean to respect God; to make His name Holy?  Is this Holy, Righteous God so incredibly amazing that He would choose to relate to a Grandparent to be that their first Grandchild is being born out of wedlock?  Is this Holy, Righteous God so incredibly amazing that He would give temporary gifts of healing so that folks can go on to an incredible eternal life with Him?  Jesus came to help us understand some of this and He said "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." John 17:3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEBAHFFJdW8
JesusNameAboveAllNames

Hallowed By Thy Name

Jesus, conceived out of wedlock...would a Holy God allow this to happen?  would a Holy God allow a woman to hear His voice and obey it?  The Jewish prophet says

"Isaiah 55:8-9New International Version (NIV)

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts."

I guess this is like a child saying "why would my parents take me to have a vaccination?"  It just doesn't seem right, without the adult knowledge of knowing this is better than the actual disease.

Can we translate "Hallowed by Your Name" to "Respected is the character of God?"

http://www.allaboutprayer.org/hallowed-be-your-name-faq.htm

God can use all people and all circumstances to create in us a respect for Him.  He knows the past, present and future and He knows each person's circumstances and He's working with the self imposed restriction of allowing us free will...because He loves us and wants us to choose Him.

God's at work ....through angels Matthew 1:19-21

Today, in Canada, when you find out that your fiancee is pregnant you're hurt but neither she or the other guy go to jail for it but in Joseph's day she could have been stoned to death for such an embarrassment!  (I don't know why they picked on the woman the guy was just as guilty!)  Maybe Joseph understood that there had to be another party involved I don't know.  What we do know is that he tried to minimize it by calling off the wedding. Yet God had another plan and in this case He sent an angel to talk to Joseph.  What faith to believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit!...and to believe that He would save His people from their sins.  Joseph, an ordinary guy, trying to do what was right had an angel experience and a calling to a high degree of faith in in own personal/family life.  This is a taste of the Kingdom of God.

God's Kingdom has a place for everyone! -- Matthew 1:18-19

You don’t have to be clever….

You don’t have to be clever
Though it may well help
You don’t have to be handsome
Praise God, Praise God.
You don’t have to wealthy
Or for that matter healthy
If your heart’s alright you’ll do, you’ll do
If your heart’s all right you’ll do

Chorus
In the service of Jesus there’s a place for all
If you’re towering giants or just sort of small
If you’ve been up to college
Or you don’t know much
If you’re childlike you’re welcome
For the book says of such
That the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

You don’t have to be spotless
You could always bath
You don’t have to be polished
Praise God, Praise God.
If you’re thin, or you’re fatter
For this job it don’t matter
If your heart’s all right you’ll do, you’ll do
If your heart’s all right you’ll do

If you’ve got pots of money
Or you’re stony broke
On the dole or redundant
Praise God, Praise God
Like a toff or in tatters
There’s just one thing that matters
If your heart’s all right you’ll do, you’ll do
If your heart’s all right you’ll do.

By the time we've finished Matthew 1:1-2 we've been introduced to 

Matthew -- a tax collector (they were hated by the general public)

Mary -- a young engaged woman (who the HS has pregnant before she's married!)

Joseph -- a good man and a descendant of ...

King David -- a warrior king with a heart for God

Each of these folks played a significant role in God's Kingdom so it stands to reason that God can use leaders, those hated by the general public, a young engaged woman, a good man, a descendant from royalty, a King,...and if we think of Jesus, even a baby born out of wedlock.

Lord, help us to recognize that You have a plan an purpose for us in Your Kingdom wherever we are in life.

Isaiah 11:6 -- A picture of God's Kingdom

The lion and lamb on the Kitchener police logo is a good reminder of the strong and the weak living peacefully amongst each other but there is one more significant piece here "and a little child shall lead them".  We could think of this as David and Goliath yet another even more amazing story is the God of the universe decided the best way to communicate with us was to become the most vulnerable being around; a little baby.  What a brilliant way to take away fear.  Who could possibly be afraid of a baby?  The fear was in seeing all the angels in the announcement of His birth because such an important message didn't usually come from ordinary people like Shepherds; yet in God's Kingdom this is how He works.  He takes us as we are and works with us as He continues to interact and create in His Kingdom.

James 1 -- Getting to know the King

God wants to give us wisdom and good and perfect gifts and he wants to give us the gift of a new life with Him.  He's generous and thinks highly of the poor.  He can't be tempted and doesn't use evil to tempt us.

He also wants us to persevere, not be deceived, endure, mature, love Him, control our desires, be wise, be humble and grow in faith.

...and this is just a sampling of who He is.  His Kingdom it's deeper than just waving a magic wand....it's about authentic love in a fallen world.

John 9 -- Blind so that the works of God might be displayed....

John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi,who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."  .....

In our human minds can we see something that we deem as negative be transformed such that others can see the work of God displayed?  Would a rainbow be one example?

Lord, would You take our weaknesses and use them so that the works of God are displayed in us?...and as people inquire as to what happened fill our mouths with Your words.

I find this story in John 9 a bit funny because the guy who experienced God in action got kicked out of the "church".

Lord, would You help us to not get discouraged when well meaning, church going Christians don't understand what You're doing and would You help us not to worry about this but just enjoy worshipping You.

Our Father who Art in Heaven --- Hallowed be His Name

The movie Bruce Almighty is a great illustration of why we need God in charge and why we need to submit to His wisdom and respect His judgement...and get an idea of how He looks at things!

Galatians 6:7

Jesus prayer lesson -- Our Father

Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive us our sins as
We forgive those who sin against us
Led us not into temptation but
Deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom
And the power and the glory forever
Amen

Remember God is bigger and greater than the wisest, smartest person on the face of this earth.  No matter who that person is there will be something that person doesn't know somewhere on this earth but God knows it all and God is smart and God knows what is best for us.  The problem is we 't tend to forget that He is bigger and wiser and smarter than us so Jesus is reminding us; when we start to pray remember to respect God who can see and hear even more than the satellites can see and hear.

Then, before we tell Him what we want and need remember He is smarter and wiser.  Jesus reminds us to ask for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done.  When I look at how imperfect I am I wonder how this can possibly happen but it's good to start with this; it's about His Kingdom, not our agenda.

Wow!  Even to the point that we need to ask Him for food.  Our income, our jobs, our social services, our food, our ...ultimately all fall under God's domain.  We may think we're smart or secure or ...but this is not our reality.  It only takes a second to completely change the course of our direction.

So help us to forgive others so God can forgive us

And protect us from temptation and deliver us from evil.

For Lord, it's Your Kingdom and Your Power and Your Glory FOREVER Amen