Three Names that Mean a Lot

2 Samuel 5:16 – “And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.”

In ancient Jewish culture, the name that was given to a person meant a lot. The name basically gave some indication as to what the parents hope for the child’s future or a characteristic of the child at the time of birth. We see this happen often in the Bible. For example, Esau was named Esau for when he was born he was hairy and Esau means hairy. Isaac was named Isaac because Sarah laughed when she heard that she would be with child in her nineties, since Isaac means he laughs. So many names in the Bible have deep and beautiful meanings, such as Solomon derived from Salem which means peace or Daniel which means God is my Judge.

Knowing this, when I study the Bible I have a tendency to look for the meanings of the names I see. This practice sometimes makes a “boring” chapter like 1 Chronicles 1 where it is just a genealogy of names come alive, for when you see the meaning of the names, you can’t help but see the testimony it can give of the Lord or about a person. In today’s verse, we find three names that are actually part of a much larger list of names concerning the children that were born to David after he had become king of all Israel. What I found to be interesting though is the trio of names that ends this list, “Elisama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.” These three names and their meanings seems to give a wonderful testimony of God’s deliverance for those who call on Him.

1. Elishama – God of Hearing

Our God is a God that listens and hears every word we have to say to Him, if we are His children. The Lord’s ears are never closed to the prayer of His children. In looking at this name, we receive the testimony that God is always hearing and ready to answer each and every one of our prayers. He is not like the worthless idols of gold, silver, stone, and wood, but a living God who can hear everything. Having this knowledge should encourage every one of us Christians that when we pray, we hav ea God who listens.

2. Eliada – God is Knowing

Not only does God hear every single one of our prayers, but He knows everything about us. God knows every little detail from what we ate this morning, which we may certainly have forgotten by now, to the number of hairs on our heard right now. He can tell you how many cells you have in your body to the exact # and even more amazing the # of micromolecules that exist in the universe. Our God is an all-knowing God, yet He spends His time listening and longing to hear us call unto Him. He is all-knowing, yet He loves us so much that He would want to spend time with us in His Word. Knowing the knowledge of God, we should once again be encouraged that the Lord knows every problem that we might be facing and are calling unto Him for.

3. Eliphalet – God of Deliverance

Even more than being a God who hears every one of our problems and knows that problem and how to solve it, He is also the God who will deliver each and every one of us from the problems we face. Now, that does not mean a quick and easy road in life, as long as you pray quickly. Oh no! As Christians, we are sure to face difficulty and through most of our life as well, but we can rest assured that we have a God who has already promised the final victory. He has guaranteed it in His Word that He will deliver each and every one of us from the trials and temptations that approach us as well as the sin which so easily besets us. God listens to us, understands us, and then delivers us from any situation we might face. May we be encouraged that our God is the One who gave up His own Son so that we may be delivered from the consequence of sin – HELL!

Just by studying three names in a small list of children of David, we can find that God hears, knows, and delivers us from anything that we might be facing. Let us place our complete and full trust in Him.

Soldiers for Christ

2 Timothy 2:4 – “No man that warreth entangeleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

James 4:4 – “…Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

Today is Memorial Day. It is the one day of the year in which the whole nation takes time to remember the sacrifice of the American soldiers who gave their lives to give and preserve the freedom we have been given in this country. Today is the day in which we need to pray for comfort for their families and friends. And certainly, we should not forget the current sacrifice that many men and women of our armed forces are making today as they sacrifice their time to give us this opportunity to even read and pray and study God’s Word together. May we take a few moments before continuing with this devotional to pray and remember them.  Also please do not forget to pray for the salvation of these countrymen who are always in harm’s way.

One of the things that I admire most about soldiers is their commitment to the cause. These men and women give their full heart and devotion to serving their country not allowing anything to deter their focus. A good soldier is completely sold out to the cause. These are what many of our soldiers today out on the frontlines are doing. They worry not about their bank accounts. They worry not about the next big movie. All they are focused on is making sure our country is safe and protected from those who would fight against us.

In the same manner, we as Christians and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ have been called to the army of the Lord. We have been recruited to His service. And because of this, we need to be fully devoted to His cause. In 2 Timothy 2:4, we are told that a good soldier does not entangle himself with the affairs of this life. In other words, he is not captured and trapped by the things of the world but is completely focused on pleasing the person who has called him to be a soldier. We as Christians need to keep ourselves from the entaglements of the flesh, for like the seed that fell into the thorny soil, we can easily be trapped and choked by the cares and pleasures of this world and no longer be effective for the service of Christ. Have you ever tried to multi-task on a project. You know the times when you are watching your favorite TV show and trying to study for a final as well or prepare a presentation for work. Nothing really gets done. You dont get much from the show, and the work you do is usually fairly sloppy. That is because you were entangled by one or the other. We need to be fully devoted to the cause of Christ, being His soldiers.

James 4:4 elaborates more on this concept, for those who are entangled by the cares of this world, are mostly the ones who are seeking to be friends with the world. We try so often to obtain the things here or to receive honor from those unbelievers and sell short God and His Word. A soldier that does this in battle would be considered a traitor and executed for treason. In the same manner, we as Christians who are trying to confide with the world by placing one foot in it as well as serve the Lord by placing one foot in Him are in reality being treasonous. We are like a double agent playing both sides. You cannot have both. YOu must choose who your enemy is and who you serve and serve the one full heartedly. Be a good soldier and serve the Lord completely today.  Fight for the freedom of this world from the tyranny of sin and the flesh.

A Personal Relationship

John 4:41-42 – “And many more believed because of His [Jesus’] own word; And said unto the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

Have you ever associated yourself with a celebrity through the association of someone else you knew? For example, I have told people I have a cousin who knows Jeremy Lin, because I thought that he personally met Jermey Lin. In reality, he actually knows Jeremy Lin and has been cheering him on before he became a star not becaues he knows him personally but because he has a friend who knows him personally. So in a way, I know Jeremy Lin through my cousin’s friend. Now, clearly this sounds absurd for me to make a claim that I know Jeremy Lin now right? But we have a tendency to do this all the time when it comes to big famous people. I have heard others say, “I know this celebrity,” but in reality it was probably that they only knew the barber of that celebrity. So you can see how crazy this actually is!

Although this is completely crazy, many people do this with their spiritual life. They say that they know Jesus Christ, because yes, they do. They know about Him from the many years they spent being dragged to Sunday school by their parents. They say that they are Christians, because they attend church, listen to sermons, and have Christian parents. But the truth is they are missing the point completely. They think that faith in Jesus Christ is like a genetic trait that is passed on from parent to child. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have heard somebody say, “I am a Christian. I grew up in the church, and my parents were Christians, so I am one too.” The truth is that they do not understand that the relationship you have with Jesus Christ must be personal. In our passage today, we find the continuation of the story that we had yesterday about the Samaritan woman. (If you have yet to read that one, I recommend that you read that first.) The Samaritan woman found Jesus, trusted Him as Messiah and Lord, and then went and told all the villagers that she had found the Messiah and to go meet Him immediately. Many of the other Samaritans in the village after hearing this story and seeing Jesus began to believe but their belief was still so much linked through this woman. But after spending two more days with Jesus, they make the bold statement we see above, “Now we beleive, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” They spent time with Him and made their faith in Christ personal for they experienced Christ personally now not just through word of mouth.

I hope that you, my dear readers, have also given your life to Christ personally, individually, yourself. That the faith you have in Christ is not your parent’s faith but your own. I grew up in a Christian family. My dad is a pastor, and I was a Sunday school brat since I was born. I attended a Christian high school and participated in the Bible quiz team, but you know what. None of that saved me. I was saved by Jesus Christ, when I personally chose to believe and make Him my Lord and Savior when I was sixteen. You need to make the choice personally if you will serve Him today. Will you give your life to Christ.

For those who are already Christians, you might think that this is no longer relavant for you. But truthfully, this lesson is just as relevant. Many Christians today want to be spoon-fed the Word of God. They want to be told exactly what the Bible says and what they should do by a Bible study teacher, a preacher, or a small group leader. But they refuse to study the Word of God on their own. Do you not realize how much greater joy there is to experience God personally in your own life through His Word? Spend time reading it, studying it, and growing in it, for then you like the Samaritans will be able to say, “I do not only believe this is taught in the Bible because my pastor said, but because the Word of God says this.” Christ taught with authority. He never needed to quote other scribes and teachers but instead quoted straight from the Word. Dive into the Word of God as well, so when you share the Gospel, you won’t have to say my pastor said this or my pastor said that but God’s Word says this or that.

Experience Christ personally today.

Common Misconceptions

John 4:4-26 – Link to the Verses:  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4%3A4-26&version=KJV.

I recommend you read these verses first and while you are reading this post.  It will be more helpful.

We as people have a tendency to prejudge others. We apply our common misconceptions and prejudices to others before even getting to know them. For example, if a random person dressed in all black having multiple tattoos and piercings walked into the church, one would assume that this person was some sort of crazy person that wanted to hurt the church members with threatenings. Or if a person pushing a cart and wearing raggedy clothes came to your front door you might assume that this was a beggar looking to cheap you out of money. So often we place misconceptions on others. In this passage in John, we find that this Samaritan woman had also placed some misconceptions on Jesus that show up as they have their conversation. Because of these misconceptions she failed to realize that she was talking to the Messiah, the chosen lamb of God who would not only take away our sins but fill her with a new heart and life that could not be comparable to anything that she had ever had.

The first misconception is found in vs. 9, when she asks, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” She began her conversation with Jesus Christ by automatically assuming that Jesus did not care for her in any way. She even went so far as to think that Jesus not only did not care but hated her with the same passion that most Jews had for Samaritans, for Jews thought Samaritans were half-breed dogs. But she was completely wrong, for Jesus cared for her more than she could imagine. Jesus took the time, being thirsty, to speak to this woman about her spiritually thirsty condition. Not only that, Jesus knew her current state of life by grasping her desire for fullfilment and longing for love by recognizing she had already had five husbands, yet He did not condemn her. Instead of answering back with “Yes, you are right. I shouldn’t talk to you,” He repsonded with “If you knew who I was and the gift that God has for you, you would have asked me to give you a drink.” So often people do not want to come to Jesus Christ because they feel that Jesus Christ does not love them. That He has only come to attack them and beat on them and give them a hard time. But they are completely wrong. Jesus Christ came to die for your sin, while you were still an enemy to Him. He loved you so much that He died for you. John 15:13 states, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus laid down his life for you. He cares for you. Don’t let your misconception about HIs love keep you from coming to Him.

The second misconception that the woman has is found in vs. 11 when she says, “Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from when then hast thou that living water?” Her second misconception of Jesus was that she thought that He was ill-equipped to serve her needs. When Jesus said that He could provide her with living water, the only thing she was thinking about was her physical need for water. She only considered the shame that she had to endure every time she went to the well to draw water and hear the other women gossip about her current adulterous state. She only considered her need to escape from all this trouble. She only considered her loneliness and her inability to find love and fulfillment wherever she went. She never noticed that Jesus Christ was the one person that would be able to set her free from her shame, to give her a love that fulfills, and to fill her with joy that could not be matched that it would overflow to others. She never noticed that she was talking to the Messiah, the only person who could give her this living water. Instead she focused on the physical things around her that she thought would be much better. Look at vs. 12, “Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank theof himself, and his children, and his cattle?” She thought that Jacob, a mere human patriarch was greater than the God of the universe. So often, we also make that mistake, thinking that Christ is ill-equipped to take care of our needs and that somehow we can solve our problems or find somebody who can. As if Christ did not have the credentials or the ability to handle each and every one of our problems. We think that He does not understand or does not have the ability to handle our problems, but He can and does. In Hebrews 4:15, we are told that “we have not an high preist which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus understands all our troubles and problems and cares for each one of them. He is also the Creator of the universe and the Lord of all, how can He not take care of each and every one of our problems.

The third misconception she had is found in vs. 15 when the woman responds in trust to Jesus Christ, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” The woman only considered her physical need. She heard all this great news from Jesus Christ and decided, “Okay, I want that. So give it to me.” She basically treated Jesus Christ here as Santa Claus, coming to Him for the next present. She never realized that she had a deeper need that only Christ could fufill. She thought that Christ was only there to giver her what she wanted. Instead, Christ poignantly then pointed out her sin by asking for her husband, which she already had five of and was now with another man. So many people think of Christ as a “Get out of jail free” card from Monopoly. I am about to go to hell, so here’s my orange card, now I’m free. Yes, Christ died for you to set you free, but do you know what He set you free from? It was not only from the penalty of sin, which is hell. This is the one point that people keep pushing during evangelistic crusades, which is entirely true, but they forget the other things you are saved from. You are saved from the power of sin over you life so that it can no longer reign and take control of your actions. And most importantly from the presence of sin in the future, meaning that as we grow closer to Christ, we should be drifting closer and closer to Him and farther and farther away from our sin. Christ went and corrected this woman’s misconception of Him as a Santa Claus and pointed her to the truth and her real need.

The last misconception is found in vs. 19-20 where she states, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. OUr fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Preceding these verses, Jesus had just revealed to the woman that He knew about her adulterous or broken past, in which, she had five husbands and was currently living with a man who wasn’t her husband. She automatically assumed that Jesus was out there to attack her and not to only attack her lifestyle but her way of worshipping. The Jews had a strict policy that required people to worship only at Jerusalem, for that was where the temple was, but the Samaritans since they were treated as outcasts worshipped elsewhere, making them horrible sinners in the sight of the Jews. Once again, this woman thought that Jesus was there to condemn her, but He wasn’t. He was there to show her the truth. In just the previous chapter, Jesus told Nicodemus that He was not sent into the world to condemn the world but to save the world (vs. 17). The key point here was that Jesus wanted to show her life not condemnation. So instead of condemning her, He showed her some insights into her life that she really needed to see. First, He showed her her need for Him by revealing that she was thirsty and longing for fulfillment that only He could give her, when He revealed to her that He was the living water that would never make her thirst. Second, He revealed to her her sin, making her realize that she needed a Savior, when He showed her her adulterous past. Third, He showed her her misunderstanding of what worship and who God really is stating in vs. 22, “Ye woship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” And fourth and most importantly, He showed her that He was the solution in vs. 26, “I that speak unto thee am he [the Christ].” So many people refuse to come to Christ because they feel that He is only out there to get them. That all He wants to do is condemn them to death and send them to hell. But He has no longing that any of us should perish but that all would come to repentance.

What is keeping you from coming to Jesus today unbeliever? Is it your misconception that Christ does not care for you? He died for you. How can you say He does not love you? Is it your misconception that He cannot save you or that He is ill-equipped to take care of you and rescue you from the darkness in your soul? He is the Savior and Creator and Lord of the universe, He can do what He pleases. How can He not take care of you? Is it your misconception that He is only there to give you things when you want it? Christ knows what is best for you and that is your life in Him, following His ways and His commands. Is it your misconception that He is out to condemn you? No way. He wants you to come to Him and experience new life and love.

The Samaratin woman realize her mistake and turned to Christ and her new joy brought others of her villages to know Christ as well. Will you not turn to Him?

And for those who are believers, do not forget how loving, powerful, and forgiving our Savior is. So often we do not want to return to Him after we make a fault, but He is still there with open arms ready to fill you with His Spirit again. Turn to Him. Turn to Him my dear fellow disciples of Christ. Please do not let your misconceptions keep you from enjoying His love.

Remembering Your Position – Of and For Christ

Philemon 1 – “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ….”

If I introduced you to a person right now, how would you describe yourself? Most of us would begin with our names, which is clearly the apparent answer. But what would be the next words that came out of your mouth. Usually, it would be a description of your job if you are already working full-time. If you are a student in college, you might begin by stating your university and the major you are pursuing. If you are married, you might introduce yourself as the husband or wife of someone. But interestingly enough most of us will not begin by saying that we belong to Jesus Christ.

If you check Paul’s numerous letters in the Bible, he almost always begins in a certain way. Almost all of Paul’s letters begin with him giving a greeting, in which he states his name Paul and follows up with his description of himself. Sometimes he says an apostle of Jesus Christ, sometimes a servant of Jesus Christ, sometimes, he just begins with a basic greeting of his name. But what I find interesting is that Paul always describes himself as something of or for Jesus Christ. The key phrase Paul begins all of his letters with is Paul, sometihng of Jesus Christ. No matter what state or condition Paul was in, he was in it for Jesus Christ. If he was a missionary preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ from city to city, he was doing it as a missionary for Jesus Christ. If he was serving as a tentmaker in Corinth, he was a tentmaker for Jesus Christ. If he was serving the Lord in his everyday life, he was a servant of Jesus Christ. But interstingly enough, even in the bad times, when he was a prisoner, he was a prisoner for/of Jesus Christ. Paul had his focus correct. No matter what he did. No matter where he was, he always belonged to Christ.

We as disciples of Jesus Christ must remember that we belong to Christ. When we received Jesus Christ into our hearts, we received Him not only as Savior but as Lord, meaning Master. That means that we now belong to Him. Being His disciples, we choose everyday to pick up our cross and follow Him, meaning that we belong to Christ. So no matter what you are doing, remind yourself that you are doing this for/of Jesus Christ. For example, right now, I am a post-baccalaureate fellow at the NIH, doing research, but more importantly, I am a post-bacc for Jesus Christ. I am also currently writing these devotional blog posts, so I am a writer for Jesus Christ. I have chosen to be a disciple, so I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am the son of Reynaldo and Erlinda Bangayan, but more importantly I am the son of my parents for Jesus Christ. No matter what position you are in whether you are a trash man, mailman, president and CEO, student, college grad, elementary kid, or friend of someone you should always remember if you are a disiciple you are those positions for/of Jesus Christ.