Word of the Week: Yahweh Rophe

This week I'm living in Chicago Illinois. I'd never spent the night here (that I can remember) until this Monday evening, and now, I live about 1/4 of a mile from the Magnificent Mile at Moody Bible Institute. I am doing my one week of classes at school for the semester of homework I'm doing on my own at home. I'm taking a class called "Biblical Theology of the New Testament" and I'm learning so much my brain might just explode. So, partly for this reason, and partly to have a good excuse to introduce you to another student, and partly to give that student a chance to show her stuff, the Word of the Week is brought to you by Angie.
I see Angie more each week than any other student because she is SO involved at TCF -- and TCF is BLESSED by her presence and service. Praise the Lord for her!! And please check out what she's got to say:


Yahweh Rophe (yah- WEH ro- FEH)

Have you ever had a broken heart? Broken spirit? A headache? Or anything else that need healing? Well, let me share with you the perfect remedy!


Rophe is the Hebrew word for “heal”, “cure”, “restore”, or “make whole”. God revealed himself as Yahweh Rophe, “the LORD who heals”; to his people shortly after they left Egypt for the Promised Land. The Hebrew Scriptures indicate that God is the source of all healing. Not only can he heal the body but the mind and soul as well. He can heal everything from sin to apostasy and the aliments that come from living in a world with evil in it.

In the Old Testament, God smites people for their sins to wake them up to their spiritual danger. Yet, he quickly restores them when they repent. A good thing to ask God is to help us see the link between obedience and health, physical and spiritual.

Yahweh Rophe is “the LORD who heals” and he showed us this when he sent his only son down to us. “The New Testament reveals Jesus as the Great Physician, the healer of body and soul, whose miracles point to the kingdom of God.” When God allowed Jesus to die for us on the cross, Jesus took on not only our sins but all our infirmities as well; completely making us whole inside and out.

The healing Jesus offers today is not merely physical and therefore temporary. His miracles are far more penetrating, like his word, “dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

There is a lot of pain in this world and sometimes it is difficult to be strong and believe. We need to remember to hold fast to Yahweh Rophe and ask him to reveal himself as “the LORD who heals us.”

Do you believe?

Jeremiah 17:14- “Heal me, O LORD, and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”

Word of the Week: Adonai

Hello Everyone! This week I am preparing for my week of school at Moody Grad. School. I'm taking Biblical Theology of the New Testament, modular style -- which means that I do most of the work at home, go to class for one week, and finish up the work at home. Next week is my week there and the BIG DEAD LINE for a LOT of homework, which I'm behind on. So I'm taking this opportunity to practice delegating! This week, we get a very special blessing from one of the students at Titan Christian Fellowship! I hope to use this (and future opportunities of more purposeful delegation) to introduce you to a few more students and their spectacular mental and spiritual capacities :)

This is Keith's Word of the Week contribution:

Adonai

Lord, Master

“That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” -Romans 10:9

I can remember back in sophomore year of high school when I first accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior. I remember getting down on my knees crying and pouring out my heart to Jesus. I cried out to Jesus and gave him everything that was on my heart that night to the point where I gave him my life. I’ll never forget that night and I remember it so clearly to this day. It was the first time I ever gave my life over to somebody and become a servant to them. So what does this story have to do with the God name Adonai? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!

Adonai (a-do-NAI) is a Hebrew word that means Lord Master. Adonai is also the plural form of the word Adon. The word Adon, according to herbrew4christians.com, derives from a Ugaritic word meaning Lord or Father. Adon is used often as a term of respect and always refers to people. Adonai therefore refers to Lord in the sense of an owner or master. The first time in the Old Testament that Adonai is used is in Genesis 15:2 when God makes a covenant with Abram. In this verse Abram refers to God as “Lord God” (or “Sovereign Lord” in other translations) which refers to both Yahweh and Adonai. In the New Testament, the Greek word most often translated Lord is Kyrios.

The story above is a great example of Adonai. When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior (as I did in the story) you are confessing that He is Adonai. You are trusting Jesus as your Lord and you are a servant to Him. It was the biggest release I ever had knowing that God is master and Lord over my life. I was filled with so much joy that week that people in school sometimes didn’t know who I was! I was a completely different person and eventually my “old self” faded away. When Jesus is Lord of your life you will truly see changes happen for the better as you serve Him.

Part of Adonai that many believers forget is that we are called to serve the Lord. That word “serve” or “servant” sometimes scares people. Many people have a very hard time being a servant; even more people have a hard time being a joyful servant. Sometimes that way of thinking prevents us from doing what is God is calling us to do, which is to serve others. Ann Spangler puts it really well in saying that sometimes we treat “God as though he was some kind of celestial butler who should use his divine powers to further our plans.” Doing things to benefit yourself usually doesn’t benefit you at all. What do I mean by that? Well, if you do things to benefit yourself, outside of God’s plan for your life, you are not only hurting your relationship with the Lord but you are also cutting off yourself from God’s blessing that he had for you. The Lord’s blessing is far greater than anything this world could ever give you (I know that from experience) and not only benefits those you were serving but you also grow in your relationship with the Master himself!

Jesus is the best example of someone who didn’t do things his own way. He was Lord but he was also a servant to the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 states that
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature of 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.”

Jesus could have easily taken himself off the cross, but He didn’t and became sin so that we would not perish. He remained a servant to the Father and did God’s will to the end. Jesus is now seated at God’s right hand “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”- Ephesians 1:21 (NKJV) Because of His faithfulness to God’s will, Jesus has not only been blessed but has also brought that blessing to us who believe in Him! If we become a servant to the Lord and make Him Lord over every area of our life, we will start seeing God in a truly beautiful way as our relationship grows deeper and deeper with the Master. And in the process of a deeper relationship, we will have blessings like never before!

The Lord wants to draw near to each and every one of us! How awesome is that? All we need to do is surrender every aspect of our lives to Him. Not just 75 percent or 99 percent of your life, but all of it. So many times (in the Bible and in our lives) we don’t give God everything we hold on to as if we can keep some stuff secret from God. My friend that is not trusting the Lord with everything you have, but is actually a way for Satan to get a foot in the door. Once that happens, you start living a double life and your relationship with the Lord is hindered. Instead give it all to God. If you have to get on your knees, raise your hands, shout, cry, whatever it is you have to do, don’t hold back and pour out your heart. Confess all the things keeping you from giving it to the Lord and then let it go. Don’t let fear take root and cast it out, Jesus died so that you can have love not fear! Praise Adonai and give thanks to Him as you go out and serve Him.

Some final thoughts about Adonai is that every day we should worship and thank Him for all the things he has done in our lives and for His amazing love. Also, pray that the Lord uses you and that you are faithful to whatever he is calling you to do. Everyone can do something for the Lord no matter how big or small. Here are some verses that contain Adonai in them that will help.
Nehemiah 4:7-18, Psalm 16:2, 73:25-26, 54:4, 62:11-12, 86:15, 110:1, 136:3, Isaiah 6:1-8, Luke 17:7-10, Thessalonians 5:16-18

Word of the Week: El Shaddai

El Shaddai
The All Sufficient God.

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Phil. 4:13

The first time God reveals this name for himself is in Genesis 17:1, where YHVH (“Yahweh,” which is the personal name of God – the one that denotes his mercy and condescension to us) said to Abram: "I am El Shaddai. Walk before me and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." What does that mean?? What does this new name have to do with Abram, or ME, walking blamelessly and a covenant and multiplication?

According to hebrew4christians.com, no one is really sure where “El Shaddai” is derived from. It could be from the root verb “shadad” that means “to overpower” or “to destroy.” In this understanding, the Name is usually translated “God Almighty” and can be understood in his omnipotence. But it could also be a contraction of the phrase, “I said to the world, dai (enough),” as in “it would have been sufficient.” God created the world, but “stopped” at a certain point, leaving it incomplete and imperfect because he wanted us to exercise chesed (love) in repair of the world. But Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49:25 “indicates that Shaddai might be related to the word for breasts (shadaim), indicating sufficiency and nourishment…. In this case, the Name might derive from the contraction of sha ("who") and dai ("enough") to indicate God's complete sufficiency to nurture the fledgling nation into fruitfulness. Indeed, God first uses this Name when He refers to multiplying Abraham's offspring (Gen. 17:2).”

So we see that this personal God, Yahweh, is not just demanding that I be perfect and blameless all on my own. He is inviting me into a relationship where He is sufficient for me. As I walk before Him in faith, He is Enough who makes me perfect and blameless. Not only is Enough for me in my weakness, but He is Sufficient to do the work of multiplication Himself – whether that is in regards to descendents or ministry or whatever He desires me to accomplish.

Anne Spangler comments, “Sometimes it’s easier to believe in the power of Shaddai on a grand scale – creating the universe, sustaining it through time, reigning over the centuries – than it is to believe in his power to keep one simple promise.” We can believe in Him as the God who created the universe or caused a virgin to be pregnant or raises people from the dead. But it is much harder to trust Him daily when He promises that He “is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Co. 10:13).

El Shaddai is the Name to remember when you are beyond your own power to resist temptation (it might be wise to remember it before you get to that point, too!). He is not only able to help you bear up under temptation, He is completely sufficient for you.

There may be pain, confusion, struggle, and difficulty along the way, but El Shaddai is able and willing to work even these for the good of those that love him – those that walk before Him in faith. Nothing can prevent El Shaddai, our Almighty God, from carrying out his plans – trust Him, and be watching for His blessings.

Check these verses out:
“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near…. When [Christ] said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:1, 8-10

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 1 Corinthians 12:9

El Shaddai can also be found in these verses: Gen. 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:25; Exod. 6:3; Num. 24:6; Ruth 1:20; Job (various references); Psa. 22:10; 68:15; 91:1; Ezek. 1:24; 10:5; 23:21 etc.

(References: ESV Study Bible, Anne Spangler’s Praying the Names of God, and www.hebrew4christians.com)