A Late Night Thought

(This poem is in response to Emma’s Wednesday Writing Prompt 24/05/23)

Late night thoughts 

leak out 

in poisonous 

proliferation 

from  

corroded dreams 

dead hope 

decomposition 

My blighted heart  

toxic waste  

landfill of  

accusation 

condemnation 

lethal inhalations 

exhale fumes of 

desolation 

But then 

a late night thought

unsought consolation 

revelation 

furious ignition 

noxious cloud 

incineration 

joyous 

illumination  

In the night 

I remember your 

Name 

In the night I remember your name … Psalm 119:55 

… and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ Matthew 1:23 

And be sure of this: I am with you always … Matthew 28:20 (NLT) 

So do not fear, for I am with you … Isaiah 41:10 

… our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29  

Photo, Flame by Annie Roi https://flic.kr/p/9VB6y7  

Our Father

I was trying to pray and I felt so inadequate, so un-able. I asked God to teach me how to pray right. I could feel His smile as He said, “I already have.” Oh yeah, I thought. I started to pray the Lord’s Prayer but I couldn’t get past “Our Father.” I broke down crying at that. Our Father. 

Maybe it is because I just lost my dad in May of this year and am feeling bereft. Maybe it’s because I am going through a tough time in my life and I long for a father’s comfort and care. Maybe it is the Spirit wanting me to dig deeper. But I am going to camp out in “Our Father” for a couple of weeks. I am going to look at it from the point of view of a child. His child. And I will share what I find with you in case you need to camp out there too.  

First of all, Jesus called God Our Father (Matthew 6:9). Jesus taught us to pray a prayer which has become known as the Lord’s Prayer, and He started it by addressing God as “Our Father.” The word for father is patḗr in the Greek:  

“the one who imparts life and is committed to it; a progenitor, bringing into being to pass on the potential for likeness … He imparts life, from physical birth to the gift of eternal life through the second birth (regeneration, being born again). Through ongoing sanctification, the believer more and more resembles their heavenly Father – i.e. each time they receive faith from Him and obey it, which results in their unique glorification … [patḗr is] one in ‘intimate connection and relationship.’” ¹ 

There is so much here to meditate on. He imparts life to us and is committed to us. Stop and think about that for a minute! He passes on the potential for likeness that grows each time we receive faith from Him and obey Him. We, His children, can resemble our heavenly Father. He is in intimate connection and relationship with us. Hallelujah! 

Next, Jesus addressed Our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 6:9). That may make it sound like God is far away, but, for me, it is comforting to think of Him being over me, standing over me, over everything, in charge, in control, yet leaning down to hear my feeble voice. I can imagine standing with my back to Him, leaning back against Him, feeling His strength. When I look up to Him, as a child looks up to her father, His face is near. There is no distance, only glory. He is in heaven but in intimate connection and relationship with me.  

Third, Jesus said that Our Father’s name was to be hallowed. Hallowed be your name (Matthew 6:9). We honor the Name, ha-Shem, of the Father. We recognize and affirm that His name is Holy, His name is the essence of the Father imparted to us. Jesus made the name known to us. “O righteous Father … I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:25-26). Psalm 75:1 says that His Name is near. And Proverbs 18:10 says, The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.  

God told Moses that His name was YHWH and to tell the Israelites that I AM THAT I AM had sent him. I think that this means that His name is more about who He is than a title. And the name Our Father in particular reveals his character and nature. 

“What is that name of God which the revealing Son declares? Not the mere syllables by which we call Him, but the manifested character of the Father. That one name, in the narrower sense of the word, carries the whole revelation that Jesus Christ has to make; for it speaks of tenderness, of kindred, of paternal care, of the transmission of a nature, of the embrace of a divine love. And it delivers men from all their creeping dreads, from all their dark peradventures, from all their stinging fears, from all the paralysing uncertainties which, like clouds, always misty and often thunder-bearing, have shut out the sight of the divine face. If this Christ, in His weakness and humanity, with pity welling from His eyes, and making music of His voice, with the swift help streaming from His fingers-tips to every pain and weariness, and the gracious righteousness that drew little children and did not repel publicans and harlots, is our best image of God, then love is the centre of divinity, and all the rest that we call God is but circumference and fringe of that central brightness.” — Alexander MacLaren² 

Creeping dreads, stinging fears, paralyzing uncertainties surround me every day. I always have wondered how a name could be near, how one could run into a name. But I can say with the psalmist that His name is near and is a strong tower, because when he says that he means that God, in His tender love, is near, that Our Father God is the strong tower.  He is right here near me. I can run into my Father’s strong arms and feel safe.  

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. Psalm 103:13 

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 1 John 4:16-17 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 

Until next time rest in the embrace of His divine love. 

¹HELPS Word Studies by Discovery Bible 

²MacLaren Expositions of Holy Scripture 

Image by Andrés Nieto Porras https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuevas_aficiones_%287984692236%29.jpg

Who is This?

Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him …? Exodus 5:2 

Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.” Isaiah 63:1 

“Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Luke 8:25 

“Who is this who even forgives sins?” Luke 7:49 

Who is this King of glory? Psalm 24:10 (ESV) 

“Who are you, Lord?” Acts 9:5 

I AM WHO I AM … The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob … This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.  Exodus 3:14-15 

I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.” Isaiah 41:4 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 

I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! Revelation 1:18 

I AM WHO I AM

I am the bread of life. John 6:35 

I am the light of the world. John 8:12 

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. John 10:9 

I am the good shepherd. John 10:11 

I am the resurrection and the life. John 11:25 

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 

I am the true vine. John 15:1 

Who is the LORD, that I should obey him? 

Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah Psalm 24:10 (ESV) 

Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:9 

Photo by Ivan Radic, Close-up of a massive cemetery gate locked with a chain https://flic.kr/p/2kPco5i

Ancient Door

Psalm 24 

Of David. A psalm. 

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, 
    the world, and all who live in it; 
2 for he founded it on the seas 
    and established it on the waters. 

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? 
    Who may stand in his holy place? 
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, 
    who does not trust in an idol 
    or swear by a false god. 

⁵ They will receive blessing from the Lord 
    and vindication from God their Savior. 
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, 
    who seek your face, God of Jacob. 

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates; 
    be lifted up, you ancient doors, 
    that the King of glory may come in. 
8 Who is this King of glory? 
    The Lord strong and mighty, 
    the Lord mighty in battle. 
9 Lift up your heads, you gates; 
    lift them up, you ancient doors, 
    that the King of glory may come in. 
10 Who is he, this King of glory? 
    The Lord Almighty— 
    he is the King of glory. 

This Psalm is talking about opening the ancient doors in order to bring the Ark back into the Temple. It says that those carrying it must have clean hands and a pure heart.   

According to Charles Spurgeon, the ancient doors are the doors of our hearts.  

“There is no passage that says, ‘Down with your heads, ye gates, and be ye fast closed, ye everlasting doors!’ Not a word of that sort, Heaven’s gates are open wide. What then is shut? Why, the gate of the human soul, the door of the human heart. There are many gates and doors, bars of iron, and bolts of triple steel that stand in the way of Christ.”  — Charles Spurgeonⁱ 

These are the doors closed at Eden. Yes, God, with a broken heart, barred the gates to Eden. But, only after his people had closed theirs on him. The doors our Lord has been knocking on ever since.  

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20 

The Psalm says that we must be those who do not “trust in an idol or swear by a false god.” Yet when the joyful shout comes to lift up the ancient doors, the antiphonal retort comes back, “Who is he, this King of glory?” 

Who is He? Why should I open the ancient door to Him? Isn’t that the ancient question too? The question implicit in the garden? 

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5 

Who is this God who enters the garden gate and walks in the garden? Is he one you can trust, one who cares for you and loves you, who delights in your presence? Or, is he a self-serving manipulator? Is he keeping you from good things? Is he keeping you from your real destiny, your true freedom? Can he really help and keep you, or do you have to do it yourself? 

They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the desert? Psalm 78:19 

“But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes (is persuaded, places confidence in, entrusts himself to Christ).” Mark 9:22-23 

Jesus came to show us who this King of Glory really is. He came to reveal and restore knowledge of the Name that we might again trust Him and walk with him in the garden of our hearts. 

Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. John 17:24-26 

The ancient knock on the ancient door. The ancient question, “Who is he, this King?” 

Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him …? Exodus 5:2 

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Mark 8:29 

Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” 

The Lord Strong and Mighty 

The Almighty God 

Everlasting Father 

Redeemer 

Savior 

Comforter

Servant

Emmanuel

King of Kings and Lord of Lords 

Lamb of God who takes away our sin 

The Good Shepherd 

The Door 

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. Revelation 4:1 

ⁱ Charles Spurgeon, A Triumphal Entrance https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/a-triumphal-entrance/#flipbook/ 

Image, “What’s Behind the Door?” By Chris Healy https://flic.kr/p/xLfx9e  

Trusting in Chariots

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. Psalm 20:7-8 

This was an old friend of mine, Josephine’s favorite verse. She was in her nineties when I got to know her. Telling me stories of her life, she said that when things got really bad – and things did get very bad for her at times – she would go into her closet and pray that prayer. Then she would come out and face what she had to face in God’s strength. And God would answer. She trusted God through being kicked out of her home as a teenager, freezing in an unheated attic apartment, days of hunger and grueling hard work. Through her whole life, she had a thick prayer notebook. She often prayed that verse for the problems and people on her list. 

It was Josephine who taught me to pray. She would say, “Let’s pray! You start.” I would pause, composing a wonderful prayer in my mind. She would give me about two seconds and demand, “Well are you going to pray?” I learned early on to just jump in and start talking, hoping God would give me the words. And you know what? He did! And I learned to stop putting my faith in my ability to put together the correct prayer – putting faith in my chariots and horses, faith in my faith – and just trust and let his Spirit pray in me. 

The Hebrew translated “we trust in the name” in Psalm 20:7 actually says, “The name, reputation, fame, glory, honor, authority, character of the Lord we will recall, call to mind, mark so as to be recognized (i.e., remembered), recount, think on.” We mark to be recognized or remembered – like putting a bookmark in the page of a great book to go back and reread over and over again – we remember his character, who he is, and we trust.   

A.W. Tozer warned against having faith in faith, not in God. 

There are preachers who devote themselves completely to preaching faith. As a result, people have faith in faith. They largely forget that our confidence must not be in the power of faith but in the Person and work of the Savior, Jesus Christ … It is the character of God Himself, you see, that gives us this confidence. — Faith Beyond Reason 

Having faith in faith is a lot like being in love with being in love. We just like the idea of being in love. It is exciting and makes us feel good. But it might not have much to do at all with the actual person – their feelings, thoughts and desires. Having faith in our ability to have faith – or even having faith in the promises of God – is really just trusting in chariots if our faith is in how well we can dredge up “faith” and memorize and proclaim. Our faith must rest on the Faithful One, on the Promise Keeper. Its foundation must be on the name, reputation, fame, glory, honor, authority and character of our Lord. It is because we know him, who he is, that we can believe. 

This is important, because when things get really bad and it seems your prayers are not being answered, you will not be thrown for a loop, you will not be overwhelmed. You will come out of your prayer closet and stand firm on the Rock. Put your bookmark there, in the great I AM, Immanuel, God with us, Shepherd, Comforter, Redeemer, Savior, in his proven character, in his unfailing love and mercy.  

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:2

In him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone. Psalm 33:21-22 (NLT) 

But we trust in the name. 

Here is a place to start getting to know the goodness of our Father https://biblereasons.com/who-god-is/

Image, Tattered Spine by Tim Samoff on flickr https://flic.kr/p/51oAP  

He Knows My Name

But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!” Isaiah 43:1 (NASB)

I was listening to the beautiful song You Know My Name by Tasha Cobbs Leonard recently and it got me remembering. It also got me wondering. What does it mean for God to know my name? What is the significance of calling by name? Names seem to be so very important.

The word for name in the Hebrew is shem. The definition of shem includes more than just a name though. It also includes the character of the named. The Ha-shem Adonai, the name of the Lord, encompasses his reputation, character, honor, authority, glory, and fame. Perhaps for our names it may also include infamy. God called many people by name in the Old Testament, including Abraham (Genesis 22:1), Moses (Exodus 3:4), and Samuel (1 Samuel 3:4-10).

The idea of calling by name also appears in the New Testament.

The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He [Jesus] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:3 (NIV)

The word translated name in the Greek is onoma. It also includes the idea of the character or reputation of the person named. It comes from the word that means “to know.” To say that he knows my name means he knows all about me, good and bad, the infamy and the character flaws, but calls me by name anyway. No wonder he has to say, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you!”

A long time ago (47 years this spring!) I heard Him calling my name. It was a beautiful, clear, full-moonlit night in a small town in the Allegheny Mountains. Our street theater group had been performing at the Reformed Church synod meeting and one of the sweet pastors had invited us to a potluck dinner at his little church. I was the last one in and so was alone when I heard someone calling my name. There was a breeze in the tall pines and, at first, I thought that must be what I heard. But no, a voice was calling out my name. It stopped me in my tracks, and I stood perfectly still. And it came again, and I knew deep down in my spirit it was God calling me. I stood there, hardly breathing, for a long time until my friend came out to ask if I was coming in.

Maybe you noticed that in both Isaiah 43 and John 10 the ideas of being called by name and belonging to Him are combined. In Isaiah God says, “I have called you by name; you are mine,” and in John, it says that Jesus “calls his own sheep by name.” The knowing of a person by name, the calling, is an intimate thing. It is a reaching out in complete love. It requires a response. The answers of Abraham, Moses, and Samuel were all the same: “Here I am!”

I hadn’t known how to respond to His call on that moonlit night. It was a few months later that a good friend led me to the Savior’s waiting arms. And I said, “Here I am!”

I guess what continues to amaze me is that despite knowing everything about me, he wanted me to be his, and that he still seeks me out. He still calls me by name to be his own little lamb and to let him lead me on. And because I have come to know him – his name and his character – I will follow.

Good Shepherd
Comforter
Refuge and Shelter
Unfailing Love, unfailing, unfailing
Redeemer
Deliverer
Lamb of God, who takes away my sins
The Amen, trustworthy, trustworthy
Faithful and True
Emmanuel, always with me
Father, Abba

You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made. Job 14:15 (NIV)

I pray you will hear him calling your name.

He knows my name
He knows my name
He knows my name
Yes He knows my name
And oh how He walks with me
Yes oh how He talks with me
And oh how He tells me
That I am His own

(from You Know My Name by Tasha Cobbs Leonard)

Listen to You Know My Name here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMnkJ-X8l5s

Photo by bwminseattle on flickr.com https://flic.kr/p/3KRVoJ

 

 

 

Build an Altar

Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will come and bless you there. Exodus 20:24b (NLT)

In all your ways acknowledge (know, perceive, recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess) Him, And He will make your paths straight (make right, make smooth, make straight, lead, direct, lead you straight along). Proverbs 3:6 (NASB)

Have you ever been going along when God reminded you who he is? Healer, Provider, Comforter, Redeemer, Savior! Have you ever stopped in that place and known, recognized, perceived that God was there, working, answering a prayer, comforting you in your waiting?

In that place stop and build an altar. In that place acknowledge and confess Him. In that place offer up your sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. And He will bless you there. He will lead you straight along.