The Name Game

“Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, H, M, and A: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of B; and to H, of Shadrach; and to M, of Meshach; and to A, of Abednego.” (Daniel 1:6-7)

In the above verses, I took the liberty to “edit” the text slightly by blocking out the names of the Israelite youths who were taken captive in the raid by Babylon. Of course, we know Daniel quite well, since he is the “leading actor” in the title role of the book. We also know the three boys who were cast into the fiery furnace: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But very few people ever know the other names these four young men had. You could probably make a few bucks betting people whether or not they could state them from memory. Maybe Leno could do a “Jaywalking” session on it. Try it yourself. Each of these boys had another name. What are they? Go ahead and send me your $10 if you don’t know.

For most of us, a name is a collection of letters that our parents hung on us without our approval because they thought it sounded cool. But the names in the Bible carry specific meaning. Many Bible characters had their names changed, like these four boys did, because the new name said something about their life or character. Others were named early in life and then lived up to the name as time went on. Here are the actual names of all four young men and what they mean:

Daniel (God is My Judge)

Belteshazzar (Whom Bel Favors)

Hananiah (Beloved of the Lord)

Shadrach (Illuminated by the Sun God)

Mishael (Who is as God?)

Meshach (Who is Like Venus?)

Azariah (The Lord is My Help)

Abednego (The Servant of Nego)

It is easy to see that the Hebrew names (the left column) are all tied to the God of Israel in some fashion. Yet the Babylonian names in the second column all try to change their allegiance to the false pagan gods of Babylon. That is exactly what the world would like to do to God’s people, and the attack is relentless. When a person gets saved, he is a “new creature in Christ Jesus”. Satan doesn’t like that, and wants their nature changed back to the “good ol’ boy” they used to be. Unfortunately, it often works. We know these young men by their names of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But three of those names are Babylonian! We do not know the three boys cast into the furnace by their proper given Hebrew birth names of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The names of the world stuck. We do not know Daniel by his Babylonian name of Belteshazzar because it did not stick. No one would criticize these three young men; their lives were great examples of faith. In fact, Hebrews 11:34 references their story (“Quenched the violence of fire…”). But if those names are indicative of the general state of God’s people, it means that most of them never really step into the fullness of their relationship with God. Instead, they live just like the world, and are known by their worldly names and lives.

The old hymn says, “There’s a new name written down in glory, and it’s mine, O yes it’s mine.” That speaks of the time we got saved, and looks forward to the time we gain our final resting place in heaven with the Lord. But the new name in glory should also be descriptive of the way in which we live in this present world. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, your old life should not define you. As a “Christian”, you have taken the name of the Lord Jesus Christ upon you. One of the commandments says not to take that name in vain. That is not “cussing”. To take the name of the Lord in vain is to become a Christian and then do nothing about it. Be a Daniel. Do not let the enemy define you by naming you after the “gods” of this world.

Beam Me Up Scotty...

“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” (Song of Solomon 2:11-13)

Last Sunday was the first day of spring, one of my favorite days of the year because it points us ahead to the better weather and the outdoor activities. Now we can grill, do yard work, and play golf and baseball – all the things God ordained and planned for man to do from the foundation of the world. After all, the Bible does begin with, “In the big inning…” The first day of spring 2010 in Kansas City was met with about 10 inches of snow, which made this winter the “snowiest” on record. Someone call Al Gore and tell him.

I absolutely despise winter. The older I get, the more my body craves its “creature comforts”. I have mentioned that since we are moving anyway to the new school building, why don’t we just go for it and all move to Arizona. No more scraping windshields, no more shoveling “trace amounts of precipitation”, and no more bundling up in parkas just to handle the daily routine of life. But then we would just complain about how hot it was all the time.

The above verses point to the culmination of our mission on earth as believers in Jesus Christ. The book of Song of Solomon is a “love story” about Solomon and his bride (one of the one thousand he had!), but it is more appropriately a “love story” about the King of Israel Jesus, and his bride the church. At the end of the passage, he speaks to his love to “arise and come away”. That is a clear reference to what we call the rapture of the church. It says. “…the winter is past”. March is the month when winter ends. “The rain is over and gone…” (April showers) “…the flowers appear on the earth…” (bring May flowers), and the “June bride” follows. Those verses have always intrigued me. Pentecost (the time the church began in Acts 2) is around June 1^st. Since God is consistent, wouldn’t it make sense for him to end the church at the same time of the year he began it? I did not say the rapture would happen in June. Don’t make me a “date setter”. I have a one in twelve chance of being right. The danger in that is that when the calendar rolls around to July 1^st, those who are driven by that type of “date setting” mindset get disappointed and lose focus for another eleven months. Even if I am right about a June rapture, we still have no way of knowing what year. Even though the Bible says we can know the “times and seasons” we also know that “no man knoweth the day or the hour…” (Mark 13:32-37).

I am eagerly anticipating the coming of our Lord to take us home to be with him. So should every believer. There will be no more snow to shovel, and no more hardship to bear. There will be, “…no more tears, no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Yes, the coming of our Lord will be glorious. He told us to “Occupy till I come.” (Luke 19:13) Don’t sit around trying to calculate the date of his coming. He told us we can’t figure it out, so why try. Instead, serve him faithfully every day between now and then. Once he comes, your work is “in the books”, and there will be no more chance to do your best to honor him and share his truth with a lost and dying world. One of our old hymns says, “Give to the Lord your best, the best that you can do. As you honor him, he will surely honor you. So learn to run the race until the race is done. Reaching for excellence until the prize is won.” Give him your very best every day, because “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.” We will be delivered from this present evil world, but even more importantly, we will see our King get the glory he deserves.

Rock of Ages

“Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29)

The purchase of an old building comes with some extra things that are required by our current state and local laws. Crest Bible Church had occupied its old “digs” for about 50 years, so most of the current regulations had been “grandfathered in” and not required. But when we bought the South Park Elementary School (built in 1947), a change of ownership and usage meant “Grandpa died”. Now we have to treat the building as if it was newly built today, and add the necessary items that the school board was not required to do as long as they were the “Grandpa”.

The biggest item on that list is the fire sprinkler system. The pipe work in the building is done, and now that the weather has broken slightly, we have to tie it in to the water main located on the other side of West 49^th Terrace. A fire sprinkler is required to have its own dedicated line directly into the main, which means we have to dig under the street to tie in to the sprinkler. We have a bid from a contractor to do this work that is contingent upon not hitting rock as they bore under 49^th Terrace. If they run into rock, it can be veryexpensive. So far, no one has given me any indication of even a ballpark figure of what that means. Since we are required by law to do this, we have no choice. We just have to pray that we don’t hit rock.

We are “between a rock and a hard place”; a point of no return where you just close your eyes and jump, trusting God. Quite often that is where he wants us. When we take matters into our own hands and try to work out every detail ourselves, God is not needed, and his power is not manifested in our lives. God refuses to operate that way. When we shut him out, he brings things into our lives to test our faith and remind us that we are dependent upon him at all times. I am concerned about the rock under West 49^th Terrace. But I know who the Rock is. David said, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust…” (Psalm 18:2) He is the one who “…brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” (Psalm 40:2) “He is the Rock, his work is perfect…” (Deut 32:4) When you find yourself in one of those times of life where it seems you have nowhere to turn, God is right there waiting.

But that same Rock of comfort can be a burden to those who refuse to trust him. Jesus is the, “…stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient.” (I Peter 2:8) One of the “famous” philosophical questions asked by ignorant skeptics is, “Can God make a rock so big that he cannot pick it up?” No matter how you answer that question, you limit God and rob his power and authority. They then snicker and giggle at the “ignorance” of believers who need the “crutch” of faith to sustain them. Well, if faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is a crutch, give me a wheelchair. Let me answer that question for you, Mr. Skeptic. YES. God made you. Your evil wicked heart of unbelief is a “rock” that God cannot move unless you allow him to do so by faith. The verse I quoted above in Jeremiah says that God’s word is like a hammer that breaks your heart of rock into pieces. Day by day, God is at work in your life whether you want him to be or not, chiseling away at your stony heart. Some day, “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:9-11) Why not turn to him today? If you wait until then, it will be too late.

As we dig under the street, pray that God would “move the rock” so we can get on with the business of serving him. If he has moved your stony heart of rock and your faith is deposited in him, lean on the Rock of Ages every day and trust him.

Magistrates

“Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.” (Titus 3:1-2)

We hear horror stories all the time about “government” and how they can seem to stick their noses into every area of our lives and cause problems, quite often without a clue as to the reality the rest of the world lives in. While that is true most of the time, there is a vital service provided by those who “have the rule over us” in temporal matters.

For those of you who have followed the “saga” of Crest Bible Church, you know that we have been involved in a relocation process for the last year, having purchased the old South Park Elementary School in Merriam, KS. We are currently “wandering in the wilderness”, renting from another school while we remodel the old school and get it up to code for the 21^st Century. Our experience so far with the City of Merriam officials has been nothing short of awesome. I have met with the mayor and both councilmen in our Ward. We have had extensive dealings with the Planning Commission, Fire Marshal, Code and Building Inspectors, and their related office personnel. All of them have been incredibly cordial and helpful. Every single person we have dealt with has been professional to the max, and they have acted decent and “human” about things as well. Of course, they want things done the right way and in compliance with current regulations. So do we. But I cannot be more impressed with the manner in which these fine people have conducted themselves with us. If this is the way it works with the “powers that be”, there is no reason for anyone to ever complain.

One of the so-called “contradictions” in the Bible (there are no contradictions in the Bible!) is seen when the above verse in Titus is compared with Ephesians 6:12. Titus instructs us to submit to principalities and powers, but we are told to wrestle against them in Ephesians. We wrestle spiritually against the “prince of the power of the air”, who is often at work through the lives of people. We submit physically to the representatives of the principalities and powers, knowing that our Bible tells us so in Romans 13:1-7. We know that this world is no friend of Jesus Christ (John 15:18-21). But quite often, we make it a lot worse by our actions. People are still people, and if we treat them with respect and dignity instead of contempt and disgust, they will usually return the favor. People are not the enemy! Those who are lost are held in captivity by our real enemy, usually unaware that they are. When we treat people with respect and compassion, we have a much greater chance to turn them into friends through the gospel.

In II Kings 6, Israel was in conflict once again with Syria. They sent an army against Elisha the prophet to try to capture him, but Elisha performed one of his many miracles by blinding this army and leading them into an ambush by the army of Israel in the northern capital of Samaria. When the King of Israel saw that he had a chance to defeat the Syrian army, he eagerly cried out to Elisha, “My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?” You can almost hear the glee in his voice jump off the page. Elisha refused to allow it. He told the King of Israel to feed them and send them back home. The result was that the “bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel” (II Kings 6:23). The Syrian soldiers were just carrying out orders. They were doing what soldiers are supposed to do. Lost people are just following “the course of this world”. Our job is not to “smite them”, but to show them the grace and compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ for their souls. Whether things work out for us or not is secondary. God will take care of our needs. Souls for the kingdom are of utmost value and importance.