Devotional Rewind: 7 Hebrew Words

I should add at the beginning here that my computer closed out randomly in the middle of the week and I lost a couple days of this devotional. I did my best to recreate them but if you're reading this and wondering what's up with days 5 & 6, well, there's your answer.

I should also add that if you noticed the pictures with Bible verses I had posted over the last week, they were from this devotional. So if you liked them there's a whole bunch more where that came from!

7 Hebrew Words – Day 1
(Isaiah 54:10)

There is a different kind of love that God has for us than we normally think of when we think of love. In Hebrew this love is “Hesed”. In Greek this would be “Agape”. This is the kind of love we need to attempt to learn. This is the kind of love that we should be emulating.

For the mountains may depart, and the hills may sway, but m faithfulness shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not sway,” says Yahweh, who has compassion on you,
-Isaiah 54:10

7 Hebrew Words – Day 2
(James 2:17)

Ok, this is the kind of topic that’s gonna get me in trouble. But… this is the stuff that this whole blog was based on. The Hebrew word in today’s devotional is “Enumah”, which means “Faith”. But the Hebrew concept of faith is different than the Greek concept of faith. In western world we’ve grown up with a mindset based very much on the Greek way of thought. The Greek philosophical mindset revolves around intellectualism and faith is more a thought exercise than it is anything else. But the Hebrew concept of faith (enumah) is an action. The word literally means “to take firm action.” Think of it this way: Because I believe, I do. Faith is provable. If you have faith, others can see it. If you are living with only the Greek concept of faith, what you have is belief. We are to have faith. And not in the George Michaels kinda way…

Thus also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
-James 2:17

7 Hebrew Words – Day 3
(2 Corinthians 13:5)

Today’s Hebrew word is the word Tefillah (Prayer). The Hebrew word for prayer actually means to “self evaluate.” How often do we think of prayer in this way? Aren’t we usually guilt of thinking of prayer as that thing we do when we want to ask God for something? Sure, that’s something prayer can be used for but prayer is meant to reflect on the Word of God and make sure that what we’re doing is lining up with what God asks us to do. Prayer is a personal thing, not just your chance to ask for that new car.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unqualified?
-2 Corinthians 13:5

7 Hebrew Words – Day 4
(Genesis 2:7)

The Hebrew word for “breath” is the word “Ruach”, which is also the same word that is used throughout the “Old Testament” for the word “spirit”. In the mind of the ancient Hebrew (you know, the culture that came up with the entire Bible that we read) breath and spirit were the same thing. The Spirit is such an integral part of our body that it is the very breath we take. How much are we stifling who we are if we’re denying our very breath?

When Yahweh Elohim formed man of dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
-Genesis 2:7 (LEB)

7 Hebrew Words – Day 5
(John 14.27)

The Hebrew word for “peace” is “Shalom”. The cool thing that I got out of this day’s devotional is that the Hebrew for “Jerusalem” (Yerushalayim) actually means “You shall see the peace of God”. Jerusalem doesn’t invoke images of peace at this point but there will one day be a NEW Jerusalem where we will all see the peace of God. Shalom shalom!

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you – not as the world gives, I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
-John 14:27 (LEB)

7 Hebrew Words – Day 6
(Psalm 19:1)

We’re supposed to love Yahweh our Elohim with all of our soul. The Hebrew word for “soul” is “Nephesh”. The cool thought that came from this day’s devotions was that in Psalm 19:1 we read how the heavens DECLARE the glory of God. Without any words, the glory of the Creator goes out to all of the universe. If we’re supposed to live our life in a way that shows that we love the LORD our God with all of our hearts and all of our souls, it should look just like the heavens. Let our lives declare the glory of God!

The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands.
Psalm 19:1 (LEB)

7 Hebrew Words – Day 7
(John 6:19)

The Hebrew word for sea is “mayim”, which comes from the root word “Mah”. Mah is the Hebrew word for “Chaos”. So when you think about Jesus sending the disciples out onto the Sea of Galilea knowing that it was going to storm, He was, to them, sending them out into Chaos. What kind of chaos is going on in your life that you’re facing? I bet the disciples thought that it was too much and they all were going to die. I bet the disciples thought that it was more than they can handle and, if Jesus was going to save them, He should’ve done it hours before He did. But, He saved them, and He did it before any of them died. And because He did it on His time and not theirs, they learned great things about their Messiah. Be sure to trust in God’s timing. He’s got this.

Then when they had rowed twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were afraid.
-John 6:19

Stand With God: Days 5, 6, & 7

Stand With God: Day 5
(Matthew 5:44-45, Matthew 10:22, Philippians 3:20, Deuteronomy 31:6)

A lot of times being a Christian (a true Christian) takes courage. As an American, I don’t face tribulation like those Christians in Syria, Iraq, or Egypt, but there’s no doubt that if I went most places in the country to told people that if they were going to hell unless they believed in that Jesus had died for their sins and that they need to repent of their sins and accept Him as their Lord and Savior in order to avoid going to hell, I would be chastised for judging people. People would ask who I am to tell them how to live their lives. And if I did this at my job, I would probably face legal action for harassment, or any number of other things which I have no idea what they would be.

But we need to remember that Jesus told us that we would be hated for His name (Matt 10:22), and we need to remember that – even though we are currently living here – we are citizens of a different country. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God and there’s nothing that anyone can do or say to us which will hurt us.

For our commonwealth exists in heaven, from which also we eagerly await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
-Pilippians 3:20

Stand With God: Day 6
(1 Peter 3:13-17, 1 Peter 5:10)

Many times, there’s an easy way out. But that way out usually denies Jesus. Peter had the opportunity to take the easy way out after Jesus had been arrested. All he had to do was deny that he knew Jesus and he was able to not have to go through the tribulation that was coming to him. We often can do the same thing. How often have you not took a stand of faith in order to avoid potential suffering? Even if it was something little, like just letting a statement go instead of saying that you believe the way you believe because you believe in Jesus. Let it be what it is but we need to stop allowing others to think that we accept deviance. By remaining silent, we are showing our defacto approval.

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. (1Pe 3:14-17 ESV)

Stand With God: Day 7
(Ephesians 6:10-18, Psalms 46:10, Isaiah 40: 28-29)

Sometimes, as we’re going through whatever struggles have been put in our way, it’s easy to feel alone and like God isn’t there. Sometimes His perceived silence is the loudest thing you hear. But you’re hearing it wrong. As humans it’s very difficult to not act lash out and act rashly. A lot of times when God is being silent it’s because He wants you to be still, too. It’s important to learn to hear the voice of God so that when you’re having those times of trouble you can hear God saying, “no, not that way”. Sometimes all we want us for God to tell us which way to go, but all He does is tell is which ways not to go. In these times, He’s kind of like our radar system. He tells us that there are obstructions in a certain direction so veer left or right. Don’t think God’s not there, he’s still helping you out.

Be still, and know that I am God…
-Psalms 46:10

Stand With God: Days 3 & 4

Stand With God: Day 3
(1 John 5:14, Matthew 26:39)

Today’s devotional was about praying God’s will for your life. I love prayer. I’ve had a fascination with prayer and the amazing stories of the miraculous results surrounding prayer for decades. But, I struggle with prayer more than most other parts of my Christian journey. I’d like to say that I believe in the supernatural power of prayer but there’s the quote that I keep in my head to remind myself that I should prayer more: “If Christians truly believed in the power of prayer they would pray a whole lot more.” It’s such a convicting statement. If I TRULY believed that prayer could accomplish the miraculous, wouldn’t I pray the impossible? I feel like Fox Mulder, “I want to believe.”

We should also, constantly, seek God’s will for a situation. As we pray, we need to ask the Father what His will actually is, but this shouldn’t scare us off of asking in belief that what we’re asking for is going to happen. It’s a tricky one. Don’t throw that little “if it’s Your will” in there just so you have an excuse for an unanswered prayer. Ask in full faith, but also ask to be shown the will of God. In the end, every prayer of a true follower of Jesus will be for the Father’s will do be done, as long as our hearts our turning to His (even if this process is happening more slowly than we might like it to be happening.) Too often we add in the “if it’s Your will” as a just-in-case measure. Make sure your heart is in the right place when you’re saying it.

And this is the confidence that we have before Him: That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
-1 John 5:14

Stand With God: Day 4
(Matthew 25:31-40, Psalms 89:14, Matthew 28:18-20)

Ok, so I said I struggled with yesterday’s devotional application, but today we’ve gone even deeper into the parts of my Christian walk that I struggle with: Sharing Jesus with those around me. It’s a scary thing because you don’t want society to think your “one of those people”. But, I guess, so what if I am one of those people. Why am I so scared of sharing Jesus? Honestly, I think it must be because once you take that stand, people are going to expect you to live up to their standards of what a Christian is. Maybe we don’t want to be forced to live up to those standards. Maybe we want to be able to “cut loose” from time to time. Maybe we don’t truly want to change who we are. Maybe we are even scared that we’ll let Jesus down when the world sees us stumble. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be out there trying to be Jesus to everyone we meet. And if we’re representing Jesus to the world, the world will want us to tell them about Him. You don’t have to be out preaching on the street corner (although there’s certainly a place for that.) If it scares you, ask God to help you show the love of Christ to the world, and ask Him to put someone in your life that you can help lead to the Lord. Or just someone that you can show the love of Jesus to.

And the king will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine you did it to me.”
-Matthew 25:40

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.
-Matthew 28:19-20

Stand With God: Days 1 & 2

I started a new devotional plan on the Bible app. Here's the first couple days of that plan.

Stand With God: Day 1
(Romans 12:9-13, 1 John 4:19, John 14:23)

How do we think of our love for God? Are we here because we were raised this way? Are we here just because we don’t want to go to hell? If we truly want to be here, the evidence of that will be that we go out of our way to please Him. We will seek to obey Him and His commandments, not just when it’s convenient. This walks that fine line between grace and legalism, so we need to be sure about why we’re doing the works that we’re doing. We shouldn’t be following the commandments of God just because that’s what we’re supposed to do (although it is what we’re supposed to do); we should be following the commandments of God because He has told us that’s what makes Him happy. And if we truly love Him we will want to make Him happy.

When we’re questioned about our faith will we stand with God? Will we stand for God when we’re being persecuted? Will we be Peter before the crucifixion or will we be Peter after the crucifixion? How will we show our love for God?

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and will take up residence with him.
-John 14:23

Stand With God: Day 2
(2 Corinthians 5:20)
We have a job to do and it’s not whatever it is you fill your life with between 9 and 5 (or, if you’re like me, any given 9-10 hour period throughout the day.) I’m not talking about the thing we do to make sure the bills get paid; we’re supposed to be ambassadors of Christ. We are the standard bearers for the kingdom we’re really residents of. How well do we represent the Kingdom of God? Do we make fun of people? Do we sneer at people when they do something we don’t approve of? Or, do we act lovingly, acknowledging our differences but loving them nonetheless? I know that I am often a bad representative for God. I know that, very often, I do not emulate the love of Jesus.

But why would anyone want to know what makes us so different if we’re not at all different from the world around us?

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1Pe 3:15 NASB)

If no one can see the hope that is in you, do you really have that hope? These are questions I struggle with. My answer is always to read more about the hope. To learn more about the hope. I know that I mess up more than I do right, but I think I’m getting better. I still struggle with my reactions. I still struggle with being more nice than sarcastic. I’ll get there. My aim is to be the ambassador that the Father wants me to be. Day by day I’m getting there. I just wish I could get there faster.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2Co 5:20 ESV)

Habakkuk's Journey: Day 6

Habakkuk’s Journey: Day 6
(Habakkuk 3, Proverbs 3:5, James 4:8)

From beginning to end, Habakkuk is a learning experience for not just the reader but also the author. It’s only three chapters long but we start out by reading how Habakkuk sees sin all around him and he wants to know how God can let these things go without bringing His judgment and wrath. We then move into Habakkuk be shown by God what His judgment and wrath will look like, and how God will extract judgment. Habakkuk is moved to cry out for mercy for those he was seeking judgment for a chapter earlier. Finally, we see Habakkuk praising God for all of His great power and His creative strength. This is how every interaction with God should end. Actually, this is how they should all begin, too, but that’s a different story for a different time.

Challenge:

Read Habakkuk 3 again and pause to think about what you are reading. What are the implications of what Habakkuk is saying about God and His nature?

In verse 9 we read, “You laid bare the nakedness of your bow, swearing oaths with the arrows of your word. You split the earth with rivers.” This is similar imagery to referring to the Word of God as a sword. The difference here, though, is that God’s word reaches further. Habakkuk is saying that when God’s word goes forth it reaches its destination, no matter how far away. God’s word is like a missile. This is a similar sentiment as we find in Isaiah 55:11 when we read, “So shall my Word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void…” Both of these verses show the imagery of the Word of God traveling to find its mark. Habakkuk sees that even the midst of destruction, God deserves to be praised for His power and might, and also for His reliability.

This, truly, was a great devotional for me and I would suggest it to anyone. You are shown through the eyes of Habakkuk how God can show Himself to you, the nation, the world. We should be vigilant about our holiness, but not at the expense of falling into the trap of disdain. We should hate iniquity but go out of our way to afford the sinful the opportunity to repent from their actions. Yes, eventually God’s wrath will come down; do you want anyone that you know to have to go through that? And then remember that everyone has someone who loves them so much that they wouldn’t want them to go through that. Everyone has something to love. It’s our job to be that person who loves them when that person isn’t around.

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. (Jas 4:8 NLT)


(Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five)

Habakkuk's Journey: Day 5

Habakkuk’s Journey: Day 5
(Habakkuk 3, 2 Peter 3:9)

God is love. God is also holy, though, and can’t stand sin. We have a different view of God today than someone would’ve had 3,000 years ago. Today we view God as the God who sent His only begotten son to earth to become a man so that He could be the sacrifice for our sins. His love for us is so deep that we have trouble even comprehending it. Because of that immense love we often forget that God is also still the God that we read about in the “Old Testament”. He’s not different – He hasn’t changed – He’s just done something which made us understand how much He really loved us, and we have trouble seeing past it, sometimes. All through the Bible (Old and New Testaments) we read that we are called to not sin, the biggest difference now is that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to live that sin-free life (2 Thes 2:13.)

Personal Reflection Questions:

1. What is the overarching theme of this chapter?

Unlike the previous chapters, this one is a prayer for God to be merciful, and a remembrance of how God has been merciful in the past. We see descriptions of God’s great works and His saving grace. In the beginning of the book Habakkuk was calling for judgment on the nation but when God delivered His answer, and Habakkuk was shown the judgment to come, he started asking for mercy, and for the judgment of Israel’s captors. This shouldn’t be seen as being wishy-washy; Habakkuk was shown the judgment, realized God’s hatred of iniquity, and cried for mercy because of its extremity.

2. What is the significance of “selah” and how should we respond to it?

A ”selah” was used as a pause in the music. In this instance it can be a pause of reflection of all that came before and a time to get ready for all that is about to come. Likewise, we should take time to reflect on our attitude toward all that is going on around us. There is so much chaos in the world that it’s easy to cry out to the Father for judgment. When we get wrapped up in thinking like that it’s good to “selah” and remember the love God showed us when He sent his Son. In fact in verse 13 of this chapter we read of a remembrance when God went forth for His people. And then it says “For salvation with Your anointed.” The name “Jesus” (Yeshua) means salvation and the word “Christ” (Meshiach) means anointed. Habakkuk is not only calling back to a time when God went forth before His people (probably when leading them out of Egypt) but he was also looking forward to a time when God would Anoint His Yeshua to save His people. So we should always remember that while God is holy and can’t stand unholiness, He has already sent salvation to us and we should do our best to call have mercy in mind toward those around us so that they can find His salvation.

3. Thinking back to the overarching theme: What is Habakkuk trying to communicate to the reader?

Habakkuk begs us to strive for holiness in our lives but to also forgive those who are not holy, just as we would want God to forgive us if we were the offenders.

4. How do we take this into our present world and apply it to our daily lives?

There is so much sin and immorality all around us and it’s easy to condemn everyone and everything, but God does not want that any should perish. When the world around you gets all broken, don’t forget that the person in front of you needs salvation just like you did/do. We don’t need to ask for their judgment. If they continue in the way they’re going then it will surely come. But God is longsuffering so that all can come to repentance, and find their Yeshua.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2Pe 3:9 ESV)

(Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four)