Sunday's Blessing - 08/23/2026 – Jehovah-Hoseenu – The Lord our Maker

Sunday's Blessing - 08/23/2026 – Jehovah-Hoseenu – The Lord our Maker

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 

Psalm 95:6 (ESV)

Have you ever known for a fact that you were in trouble? When your mom uses your full name? Or your dad uses “that voice”? Or when you see the blue lights in your rear-view mirror? Or when the boss says, “We need to talk”? In Psalm 95, the writer knew Israel was in trouble with God. He is imploring the nation to come back to God, by acknowledging Him as Jehovah-Hoseenu, the Lord, our Maker!

When you create something, you have complete authority over it. The psalmist is inviting Israel back to the feet of their Creator to acknowledge His authority over them. God chose Israel as His own, to carry out His plan of redemption for mankind by bringing the Messiah through their bloodline.

O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Psalm 95:6-7 (ESV)

This is not a call to submit as slaves to an “angry God” as some evangelicals have framed it. This is a petition of responding to the love and grace of the One who loves us most. This should be the cry of the Church, not the “if you don’t come, God will get you” jargon that you hear so often from pulpits. Lost souls will be more likely to hear the message of Jesus and His redemption if it is framed in the context of love and acceptance. Let them encounter Jesus before trying scare the hell out of them. As C.S. Lewis stated it, “The fierceness of hell (separation from God) can only truly be understood after you learn what being with God (heaven) is all about.”

This is the message of the psalmist, imploring Israel to return to the comfort of worshiping Jehovah-Hoseenu, The Lord, Our Maker, so they do not have to experience His wrath. They can instead find joy and peace at the foot of the throne of God.

Sunday’s Blessing – 08/16/2026 – El Olam – Everlasting (God, Father, King)

Sunday’s Blessing – 08/16/2026 – El Olam – Everlasting (God, Father, King)

Psalm 106:48 (ESV) 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

The primary evidence we have of a Divine Creator is found in the fundamental building blocks of our world – the atom. Atoms make up everything in our universe. And they are eternal! Unless acted on by an outside force (nuclear fission or fusion), atoms last eternally. That makes perfect sense because they were created by an Everlasting God.

The primary Hebrew word used to indicate everlasting, eternal, or forever is “olam”. It means, “(properly) concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; (generally) time out of mind (past or future); (practically) eternity; (frequentatively, adverbially, especially with prepositional prefix) always.” The idea of “vanishing point” makes understanding the Eternal God a little easier. 

If you have ever released a helium filled balloon, you stand and watch it ascend toward the sky. It gets smaller and smaller until it appears to vanish. The balloon is still there; you just cannot see it. Time can be imagined in this sense as well. Past events fade over time, but they are still part of history, even though you cannot see them. Eternal is only difficult to understand because we are finite. We have an expiration date. But not every part of us is finite. Our spirit, the “real” us, is eternal, just like the One who created us.

Everlasting seems to be the poetic term used by Bible translators to describe God. The phrase “Forever God” doesn’t roll off the tongue, but it would be just as true. The first use of El Olam (Everlasting God) in scripture is found in Genesis 21:33:

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.

Abraham marked this place by declaring that God is eternal. This would be an everlasting covenant. Olam does not mean “old”. It means eternal. There is a huge difference. Many think of the Bible as an “old” book. Jeremiah gives us a different perspective.

Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16 (ESV)

The word ancient is “olam”. God’s ways are not old, but eternal. The New Testament way of stating this idea is Hebrews 13:8. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (ESV) Being a Christian is not old fashioned. It is embracing the Eternal God and His eternal salvation provided by the sacrifice of Messiah, Jesus, who paid the price for sin so we could be reconciled to God.

Be blessed today by knowing when you place your trust in the Eternal God you inherit eternal life with Him!

Sunday's Blessing - 08/09/2026 - Selah

Sunday's Blessing - 08/09/2026 - Selah

There is a Hebrew word used in scripture that is very intriguing to me. It appears 74 times in the Old Testament, mostly in Psalms, and three times in Habakkuk. It’s a musical term that means “suspension of music, pause.” It is placed in music to allow for time to consider what preceded it. The listener can contemplate the meaning of the passage and allow the message to settle in them before the music resumes.

Ironically, as I “paused” to consider the meaning of this word a couple of interesting things came to mind. The first application of this idea is “margin.” My pastor at the time, Bobby Gourley, introduced this term to me early in his tenure at Christ Chapel. It means to leave space in your life for the Lord to work. Do not fill your every waking moment with activity. Do not spend all the money you make. Always leave room for the Lord to direct you in ways to be a blessing to others.

This is why God implemented the Sabbath. It was designed to force Israel to rest. They were to spend the day in worship and contemplation on their Creator. When Jesus came and fulfilled every part of the Law of Moses, including the Sabbath, we received complete liberty; spirit, soul, and body. Jesus had become our Sabbath. We are now to find our rest in Him.

Most have heard this before. Even so, it is good to be reminded of these things from time to time.

The second thing that came to mind when I was considering the word Selah is not as familiar. There is a not-so-common marking in music known as a Grand Pause. It appears as G.P. in a musical score. This is different than the fermata (𝄐), which also means “pause.” The fermata is only held for a short time, the length of which is implied by the composer of the piece. The G.P. however leaves the amount of time totally to the discretion of the conductor.

As a follower of Jesus, we are to live our life in a Grand Pause; a time under the direct control of the Conductor, the Holy Spirit. The entire orchestra and singers, if any, would wait on the signal of the Conductor before acting. So, too, we as followers of Him.

The G.P. might come at any place in the musical score. Regardless of the passage previously played, or the music yet to be played, everything comes to a complete halt until the conductor allows things to continue.

The next time you hear Selah or see it in print I hope it serves as a reminder to keep margin in your life. Leave room, always, for the Holy Spirit to direct your actions. Whether it is a fermata or a G.P., be prepared to wait on the Conductor’s cue to move forward. Doing so will assure the music He is attempting to make in your life will be exactly as composed. Selah!

Sunday's Blessing - 08/02/2026 - The Names of God - El Gibbor - Mighty God

Sunday's Blessing - 08/02/2026 - The Names of God - El Gibbor – Mighty God

Isaiah 9:6 (ESV) 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (El Gibbor), Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The majority of the time, when you see Jesus portrayed in film, books, and art, you see the “gentle” Jesus, one who is compassionate, long-suffering, tender-hearted, and quiet in nature. However, there is another side to this Man who came as the Messiah to save mankind. You see this in the cleansing of the temple when He chased out the money changers with a whip, or when cornered on the brow of a bluff where the crowd was about to throw Him off, He “walked through the midst of them.” In this prophetic scripture from Isaiah, he speaks of one coming who would be all of these things: Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father. But one of these names stands out as being a little more than gentle – Mighty God.

The Hebrew words used to express this name is El Gibbor, which means, “champion, chief, excel, giant, man, mighty man, one, strong man”, according to Strong’s Concordance. Yes, it could mean strength of character, implying Jesus was still the passive man portrayed in media. However, the word “gibbor” also means, “warrior or tyrant.” I picture a character more like Maximus, portrayed by Russell Crowe in the movie “Gladiator,” who only fought when he had to; but he would fight.

Perhaps when Isaiah’s words were first spoken, people scratched their heads trying to imagine one person embodying all of these characteristics: Wonderful Counselor – one who can listen intently to understand what you’re going through, then give sage advice which truly changes your life; Everlasting Father – a trusted mentor to teach how life is to be lived by showing his children daily by the way he lives; Prince of Peace – one who always seeks mediation to quell the tension and provide a win-win in every brokered agreement. But Isaiah adds a curveball in what was otherwise an at-bat with easy underhanded tosses toward the plate. This gentle giant would also wield a sword which would eventually topple the demonic kingdom that held the world captive. He would be El Gibbor, the Mighty God, who would save man from spiritual death by conquering the Serpent from Eden by crushing his head on Calvary.

This mix of temperament found in one Man became evident when Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” The responses could not be more varied. Consider these which had apparently been spoken to the disciples by those who had watched Jesus do what He did. “Some say you are John the Baptist returned from the dead.” This man, John, wore animal skin, ate locust and wild honey, and challenged the current religious and political establishments of his day. There was nothing passive about, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness; make His paths straight.”

“Others say you are Elijah.” This man, Elijah, challenged the followers of Baal to a showdown on the mountain to end the debate about whose God is more powerful. (see 1 Kings 18) After an open display of God’s power, Elijah then killed 450 prophets of Baal. That is far from soft-spoken. That is blatant domination of the evil which spoke against the Kingdom of God.

“There are also those who say you are Jeremiah.” This man, Jeremiah, was referred to as The Weeping Prophet, because of the heavy heart he carried for God’s people, Israel. Clearly there were some examples of this behavior shown by Jesus. Perhaps when He said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I long to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” Matthew 23:37

You see now how this Messiah spoken of by the prophets would come to earth to represent God in human form. He would epitomize the phrase God used with Moses when asked, “Who should I tell them sent me?” God responded with, “I AM!” This phrase in Hebrew means, “I will be what I will be.” The interpretation of this tells us that God will be whatever is needed in the moment. So, when Jesus presented such varied behavior to evoke the responses shared by the disciples, He was simply being “I AM”. 

It's good to know that wherever you find yourself at any moment in your life, you have a God Who is well able to meet you where you are and take you to where you need to be. Allow Him to be El Gibbor, Mighty God, to bring you back into fellowship with the Father and live life as the king or queen you were created to be.