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Holy Spirit

says the Lord of Hosts

1/15/2007 · Comments

in meditations

I was looking at the often-quoted Zechariah 4:6 the other day and noticed something new. I always hear, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit” or maybe, “…by my Spirit, says the Lord.” But here’s the complete verse:

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

In most Bibles, you’ll see Lord written in small caps, like this: Lord. This variation in type is the standard denotation in Bibles that the word being translated is actually Yahweh. This distinguishes it from lord and Lord (regular type), which mean master. So, in this passage, we have both being used:

Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”

When Zechariah says, “No, my lord,” he’s saying, “No, master.” And in reply, the angel tells the prophet that this isn’t the word of the master but the word of “the Lord”, Yahweh, and that Yahweh of hosts said it.

You may be thinking, “and so…? What’s here besides a lesson in typography and translation?”

God’s choices about how He represents Himself are worth noting, because they give us insight into the character and nature of God. read the complete post

Tagged as: Bible translation, God, Holy Spirit, Lord-of-hosts, might, names-of-God, nature-of-God, power, power-of-God, Yahweh, Zechariah

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Jeremy Taylor on prayer

1/4/2007 · Comments

in meditations

Last night’s compline prayers included a passage by 17th-century British clergyman Jeremy Taylor:

There is no greater proof in the world of our spiritual danger than the reluctance which most people always have and all people sometimes have to pray; so weary of their length, so glad when they are done, so clever to excuse and neglect their opportunity. Yet prayer is nothing but desiring God to give us the greatest and best things we can have and that can make us happy. It is a work so easy, so honorable, and to so great a purpose, that (except in the incarnation of His Son) God has never given us a greater argument of His willingness to have us saved and our unwillingness to accept it, of His goodness and our gracelessness, of His infinite condescension and our folly, than by rewarding so easy a duty with such great blessings.

I like this because it is so wonderfully expressed–Taylor is noted more for his good writing than for his deep theology–but there’s a lot to think about here. In particular, I’m drawn to Taylor’s definition: read the complete post

Tagged as: blessing, easy, father, gifts, God, Holy Spirit, Jeremy-Taylor, prayer

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personal attention

January 3, 2007

Most of us like personal attention, knowing that someone else has given thought to us individually and specifically. But so many Christians don’t seem to believe that personal attention can occur between themselves and God, and certainly, the lost don’t believe that such a thing exists–and they often make fun of us who not only […]

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Daniel: “God is my judge”

January 2, 2007

I have come to dislike resolutions because they don’t work very well for me–or apparently for most other people, based on what I read in magazines. Instead, I ask myself, “How do I want to grow in this new year? How would I like to be different in 2007?” Because I teach one-semester courses, I view my year as having three beginnings, spring, summer, and fall. And I like that, because it gives me plenty of opportunities to step back and evaluate where I’m headed and how things are going. So, as I enter January, I try to think more about the next few months rather than the entire year, and that makes the task much less daunting.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reminded that I tend toward criticism. Some of it is personality: I’m detail-oriented, and as I take in the details, I tend to notice the problem areas. That can be a blessing–if you’re in a situation that requires evaluation. But it’s not a blessing when it becomes the normal mode of interaction with life.

I find it easy to focus on the negative, both in myself and in others. This personality trait was magnified by past experiences. Growing up in a religious tradition that constantly evaluated who was in and out of the Kingdom made it easy to live in perpetual judgment. This, coupled with a dominating sense of God as Judge, set me up for some problems.

I think I’ve come a good ways in changing this.

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good news! humility is God’s work

September 27, 2006
This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series humility

This is the 10th post in a series on humility.

As I’ve already noted, it’s easy to get caught up in developing humility on my own, out of my strength and determination. And certainly, determination is required–but it’s a determination not to do but to be, to rest, to trust. Andrew Murray makes that clear as he continues his exploration of humility.

In the chapter “Humility and Faith,” he states that pride works against faith and that “faith and humility are at their root one” because both focus on God as all in all. The next step in Murray’s study is to consider humility and death to self. Murray writes, “Humility and death are in their very nature one: humility is the bud; in death the fruit is ripened to perfection.” The obvious question is “how do I let God become all in all? How do I die to self?” I love Murray’s answer, because it takes the pressure off of me:…

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let God bring the change

September 13, 2006

The next chapter in Murray’s Humility opens with this quote from Thomas àKempis:

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish yourself to be.

Doesn’t that just stop you in your tracks?

We started our fall small group last night, and we’re doing Emerson Eggerichs’ Love and Respect, a wonderful teaching on marriage. As I prayed yesterday about what to say by way of introduction, three things came to mind, with this quote very much in the mix:

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humility and grace: free from “not”

September 11, 2006
This entry is part 8 of 10 in the series humility

8th in a series on humility

Last Thursday’s meditation on rest and peace was just what I needed. In the midst of seeking to grow in humility, I was wearing myself out trying to do it myself. It seemed like I was trusting God, because in difficult situations, I was praying, “Holy Spirit, help me not to say the wrong thing.” That sounds good, and it got me through the people problems, but it took a toll on me.

That subtle focus on not is the problem. It’s harder to keep yourself from not doing one thing than it is to do something else; as I’ve noted elsewhere, not doing is an anti-goal. Living out the prayer “Holy Spirit, I will speak when you show me what to say” requires less effort than does the constant monitoring of “I want to say this; is it the wrong thing? What about that? Is that wrong?” A not focus requires vigilance; we become gatekeepers of our thoughts, words, and actions…

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