In ancient times names held great meaning.  A child would be named to commemorate an event, to encourage a direction for his life or possibly to acknowledge a patriarch.  The old Hebrew families often incorporated God into their names.

Thus, Judah was blessed by his mother, Leah.  She chose his name to praise God.  Later his name became the name of the southern portion of what we now think of as Israel.  Jerusalem lies within the territory of Judah. 

So why does that name stuff matter today?  It matters because God chose the Hebrew people to be His people.  It matters because He chose Judah as the family line that Jesus would descend from.  It matters because one woman chose to praise God through the name of her child.  And God chose to honor that by placing His Kingdom throne in Judah, thus becoming enthroned by His people’s praise.

Why does it matter to us?  It matters because it guides us in how to think about our approach to God.  If we are truly seeking a relationship with Him, praise encompasses a big portion of that time we spend with Him.  We all know that in human relationships praise creates harmony and open communication.  So it is with God. 

Next time you reach for God, praise Him for all that he has done for you; praise Him for all that He is doing for you; praise Him for all that He will do for you.  He designed us for relationship with Him.  He designed and created us in the love and joy that is Him.  Let us celebrate and rejoice in that design every time we think of Him.

Who Do You Know?

 Posted in: COFFEE BREAK

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” —2 Tim. 3:14-15

When I was five, my dad decided that having a family was not for him, which left my mom as a single parent of two boys. I used to look forward to Saturday mornings because I got to spend many Friday nights at my grandpa’s house. These Friday nights and Saturday mornings with grandpa allowed him to step into the role that my dad didn’t fill. Each Saturday in the summer, we would get up just before dawn and go to the golf course. We would tee off right after dawn with the grass still wet from the dew.

Even as a boy, I could hit the ball pretty far—at least a lot farther than my grandpa could hit it. He would take his diminished swing and hit the ball a short distance, only to have to hit it again several times to reach the green. I felt sorry for my grandpa. He could not hit the ball nearly as far as I could, and I was only 10 years old. But somehow, every time we reached the green, I found that my grandpa had beat me by one or two strokes. How could he beat me every time?

One day, the answer became clear. I could see my footsteps across the grass, and I noticed that they crisscrossed all the way to the hole. My grandpa’s steps were different. You could see his steps perfectly follow the straight lines left by the little cart he wheeled behind him. His steps went straight down the middle. My grandpa beat me because he played golf like he lived his life—right down the middle.

My grandpa was a wonderful man. He was a model in life and faith.

Somewhere along the way, I decided I wanted to live my life like he did.

I wanted to follow in his steps because I saw how he lived and experienced firsthand how he loved. Paul did not ask the early believers to just believe. He told them to trust in those they had seen and heard. The way we live our lives is important because the only model of faith some people will ever see is what they see in our lives. Christianity is not just Jesus and me; it involves the people I work, live, and worship with as well. Seeing my grandpa’s steps changed me. What do our steps say to others? 

Prayer for the week: Heavenly Father, at the start of this new day, or in the middle of this ordinary week, I thank you for the routine moments of life. Help me not to seek one mountain top after another, but to see Your presence in each moment. You have sanctified each moment because You came and forever joined heaven and Earth, even the routine moments. Amen.

Doug Ward is the senior pastor of Mundelein Church of the Nazarene in Mundelein, Illinois, USA, and teaches at Olivet Nazarene University.

Written for Coffee Break. 

“No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer . . . Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.”— 2 Tim. 2:4, 7

Growing up, I had a deeply ingrained mental list of all the things I wasn’t supposed to do. I was not allowed to swear or use other “questionable” words. Even though I knew swearing wasn’t allowed, I was seriously reprimanded when my mom heard me utter a bad word after missing a shot in the neighborhood basketball game. I also knew that I was not allowed to smoke. I was told, and really believed, that God would strike me with a lightning bolt if I even tried a cigarette. I had a clear understanding of curfew and knew that good grades were a priority. A strong understanding of right and wrong was a major part of my growing up years.

Most of us have a well-established list of things we would never dream of doing. We know where our moral line is, and there is little chance that we would ever cross that line. If this is true, then we should never have to worry about walking away from our faith, right? If we know the difference between right and wrong, then we should have nothing to worry about.

There is a problem with this theory, and it is one that Paul seems to recognize.

The things in life that tempt Christians the most are typically not on any list of things that are objectively wrong. Rather, problems arise when anything pulls us away from Christ.

Often, the things that distract us from Him are not immoral on their own. We pursue the next promotion with a singular focus. The travel soccer team in which our child participates demands all of our time and attention. Trips to our lake home become a priority. We can rightfully ask, “what is wrong with playing soccer or trying to earn more money?” The answer is “nothing,” unless the love for those things nudges us away from our love of Christ.

When Paul reminds us that no military leader entangles himself in civilian affairs, he seems to bring up a similar point. In this passage, notice that Paul does not speak in terms of good and evil or even right and wrong. There is nothing evil about civilian affairs, but they are not important for the military leader. There is also nothing wrong with a promotion, a vacation, or a travel soccer team. Yet, any of these things has the potential to distract us and slowly pull us away from our love of Christ.

When Christians walk away from their faith, it is rarely because they went from faithfulness to visible failure in a single day. It is almost always the result of a long, imperceptible drift that started long ago. Perhaps the standard for Christians is not a well-developed right vs. wrong list. Instead, the standard should be, first and foremost, faithfulness to our leader. Avoiding wrong things is good, but it is not the primary task of the Christian life. We have a higher standard.

Prayer for the week: Almighty God, thank You for filling our lives with good things. We are so undeserving of all you have blessed us with. Help us to see the value of the things around us in a holy and proper way so that we don’t pursue the less valuable and lose focus on the thing most valuable: our faith in Christ. Amen.

Doug Ward is the senior pastor of Mundelein Church of the Nazarene in Mundelein, Illinois, USA, and teaches at Olivet Nazarene University.

Written for Coffee Break.