I am the LORD, your healer

"If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer." Exodus 15:26

We are often worried and troubled by the news of sickness among our friends, family, church members, colleagues, community etc. Our hearts melt in fear when we have to wait for certain test results at the doctor's office. But these are unnecessary worries. If we worry the same way as a non-believers what difference does our faith make in us?

Instead of worrying over things beyond our control let us praise God for what we have - the joy of salvation, the hope of eternal life,  that we still have breath, that we are able to move around and for everything that works fine in us that we often take for granted.

Even when we are diagnosed with some sickness, however life threatening it is, it does not help to worry. I am sorry if that sounds insensitive. But that is what the Scripture tells us.

Jesus said in Luke 12:25,26: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"

Only as long as we have the breath in our nostrils we can praise the Lord; so like King David let us make the most of our life praising the Lord: In Psalm 115:17,18 he says,"The dead do not praise the LORD, Nor do any who go down into silence; But as for us, we will bless the LORD  From this time forth and forever. Praise the LORD!

He is our Healer! Whether He heals us for life or decides to take us home, no denying that He is our Healer. He paid the price for our sickness too on the cross along with our sins. Let us rebuke all fear, doubt, worry and sickness away from our dear ones and get protection under His wings. Let us not take things for granted but remember to praise Him for the countless blessings in our lives.

If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8

So why worry? Only praise!

Wonderful Counselor

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Wonderful Counselor - What does that mean? Counselor is one who counsels; or advices; or instructs. Having God as our Counselor would imply depending on His guidance or advice. In fact Holy Spirit is our constant Counselor. Just as Jesus was getting ready for His ascension He had promised to send us the Counselor - Holy Spirit - the Spirit of truth, who would live with us and be in us!

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— he Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16

One of the prime expertise of  Holy Spirit - our Counselor - is  explained in John 14:26

The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26

Even as we pray for our children let us pray over these blessings on them that they are led by the Lord so that their peace shall be great.

Isaiah 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21

If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:18

Lack of peace can surely be linked to not following the counsel of Holy Spirit. If that is our case today let us recommit our lives to heed to the instructions of our Wonderful Counselor.

Jesus - Name above all names

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. Luke 2:21

Jesus! Say it with me, Jesus! You will agree it is the most popular name ever, of all ages and times. It is the name above all names! Jesus!

For those who still think Jesus was just human, here's something to think about. Only for about 3 1/2 years Jesus was publicly preaching, doing miracles and the like. There was no TV or Internet to broadcast His messages across the universe at that time. How do you suppose His name has stood the test over thousands of years?! Can you change a life by telling someone about any other person who have lived on this earth - past & present? good and bad? How is it that the name Jesus is still changing lives? Still working wonders?

Philippians 2:5-11 has the answer. It says, Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Amen! Jesus is the name above every name. We are so privileged to have such a personal relationship with Him. Not only that. He knows us by our name and loves us the best. Isn't that something?!

El-Olam - God Eternal

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
~ Isaiah 40:28-31

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. Genesis 21:33

El-Olam - God Eternal! Eternal or everlasting means forever and ever! There are numerous Scriptures about the everlasting nature of God. Here in Isaiah we further understand how this Everlasting God - El-Olam helps us renew our strength like eagles.

In Hebrews we read, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrew 13:8)

Indeed our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is El-Olam! All glory, honor and power be unto Him forever and ever. Amen!

 

El-Roi - The God who sees

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." Genesis 16:13

El-Roi! "I have seen Him!", was Hagar's excited statement when she encountered God as she was running away from Sarai while with child Ishmael for Abram.

How many of us would love to encounter our Lord face to face like Hagar did?! I know I would! It has been my sincere prayer every night that I should see my Lord in a dream/vision - even a glimpse as I once had when I was a child.

King David was hopeful of seeing the goodness of the Lord in his life time; he has written in Psalm 27:13, "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living."  We know for a fact he did see the goodness of the Lord just as he had hoped.

Job was looking forward to seeing the Lord in his life after; he assured: "I myself will see him with my own eyes--I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" Job 19:27

Some of us like King David want to see Him now; the rest of us would be okay to wait till our life after. But the fact is, whether we are looking forward to seeing Him or not, every one (from past/ present/future - which includes you and me) is going to see Him face to face one day!

The Scripture says in Revelation 1:7, "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen."

The question today is: Are you ready to meet El-Roi - the God who sees?

El-Elyon - God Most High

Blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. Genesis 14:20

How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth! Psalm 47:2

Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High Psalm 50:14

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me Psalm 57:2

El-Elyon in the original Hebrew Scriptures is always interpreted as God Most High in the English translations. (If English is not your Mother tongue, I strongly recommend you read these exact Scriptures in your language to get a full idea of it's meaning.)

God Most High implies there is nothing/nobody in past/present/future who is higher than Him. There is no superior to Him. He is it! We have reached the highest in the authority chain - to whom we can compliment, complain, request, hang out with, make petitions to, stay in touch with, take pride to connect with, regarding the situations we are in. The one and only God Most High our El-Elyon!

Prophet Isaiah has prophesied about God Most High that gives us a glimpse of how majestic He is:

This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. Isaiah 66:1-2

 

Points to ponder this morning:

* Do we hold Him in high esteem ourselves?

* Is He the God Most High - El-Elyon in our lives?

* Do we have the humble and contrite spirit that trembles at His words, that He desires in us?

El-Shaddai - God Almighty

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. Genesis 17:1

Then God said, "I am El-Shaddai--'God Almighty.' Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! Genesis 35:11

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai--'God Almighty'--but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. Exodus 6:3

El-Shaddai - God Almighty! An often used phrase in our prayers and worship and sermon etc. But have we given much thought to it's meaning?

El-Shaddai according to some Bible translators stands for 'God Almighty' but not all agree. No doubt El means God; it is the Shaddai that causes controversies among Bible translators. Some say it means 'mountain' and some claim it means 'destroyer'. Putting these arguments aside, let us consider the almost universal meaning - God Almighty.

Dictionary defines the word 'Almighty' as as "having complete power or control"; with synonyms such as: absolute, all-powerful, invincible, mighty, omnipotent, supreme, unlimited, etc.

So when we pray to our El Shaddai - our God Almighty - we are in fact standing in the presence of Omnipotent, Supreme, All-Powerful, God. He is the very same God who created the whole earth and all that is in it by His mere words.

King David acknowledges Him by singing, "He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm." in Psalm 33:9

Knowing our Lord as God Almighty will give us a new perspective when we pray. There is nothing He cannot do. There is nothing impossible for Him. He is Almighty! Our El-Shaddai! Amen!

Name above all else

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9

Finding someone's name is one of the very first things we do when we meet someone new. It is our first step to getting to know that person up close. As we get closer we get to know their nick names, other names, family names, childhood names and so on. Surely this helps with bonding and we get to know more of that person.

Same way, knowing Jesus Christ as Lord is great! But learning about various other names will help us know Him better. It will teach us many things we haven't known of Him already.

Today's Scripture has made is clear, there is no other name ever given to anybody in the past, present or the future that would be elevated as high as the name of Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ is the name above all names! In heaven, on earth and under the earth every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord - even those who haven't quite confessed it yet!

How about we learn more about Jesus Christ - our Savior - by learning more about His other names?! I am sure during this process we will come to know a lot more about Him we might have missed otherwise.

So, stay tuned as we start our new series: Name above all else. Share the link with your friends/family and invite them all to the coffee table; the more the merrier!

God bless you all!