Category Archives: Knowing Him

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May 25, 2026

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Church & Worship, God's Word: The Bible, Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him, Sharing Our Faith, Wisdom & Guidance

ELOHIM (The Trinity – Part 1)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. [Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)]

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is the commandment cited by Jesus as the most important commandment of all [Mark 12:29-30]. It tells us there is one, and only one, God. Yet, as Christians, along with our belief in only one God, we profess our belief in the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How can that be?

Although we find a variety of names for God in Scripture, we never find the word “trinity.” Nevertheless, it appears in Christian doctrine. Then again, words like divinity, omniscience, incarnation, and omnipresent don’t appear in Scripture either. Nevertheless, like the Trinity, their concepts are found throughout Scripture. The absence of a word doesn’t invalidate a doctrine. While there is only one God, from the first words of Genesis to those in Revelation, we find a plurality to that one God—what we call the Trinity—consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In Hebrew, the singular form of God is El, but when Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” the word translated as “God” is Elohim, which is the plural form of God. However, wherever we find the plural Elohim referring to God, the verb used is singular, which clearly implies only one God! In Genesis, we have God (Elohim) speaking of Himself in the plural saying, “Let us make man in our own image,” [1:26] and man “has become like one of us.” [3:22] God isn’t speaking to the angels because they are nothing like Him or us nor is God using a royal “we” since there are no other examples of its use in Scripture. In fact, the earliest evidence of royalty referring to themselves as “we” is not found until the 4th century!

The personages of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are found in both the Old and New Testaments. In Genesis 14:18, we have the Father when El (the singular form of God) is used for “God Most High.” In Isaiah 7:14, we have the Son in Immanuel meaning “God with us.” In Job 33:4 and 37:10, we find the Holy Spirit as ruach el, meaning spirit or breath of God (el). In the New Testament, we have all three personages present when Jesus was baptized. God the Father (a voice out of the heavens) publicly proclaimed Him (Jesus) as His Son while the pneuma theou (Spirit of God) descended like a dove upon Him. [Matt 3:16-17] We have that same voice validating Jesus as God’s son in the Transfiguration. [Matt 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35] Finally, we have Jesus putting all three persons together when He gave the disciples the Great Commission. [Matt 28:19]

Yesterday, Christians celebrated Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus’ followers. While Pentecost, like Christmas and Easter, celebrates an event, Christians will celebrate a vital part of our doctrine—the Holy Trinity—this next Sunday on what is called Trinity Sunday. While God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit have existed eternally as three distinct personages, there still is only one God! Our triune God was there in the Old Testament when Elohim decided to make man and our triune God was there when Elohim chose to save man in the New! While difficult to fathom and impossible to fully understand, this is one of the most important beliefs of our Christian faith. Thank you, God!

When I know it is the Word of God that declares the Trinity, that God has said so, I do not inquire how it can be true; I am content with the simple Word of God, let it harmonize with reason as it may. And every Christian should adopt the same course with respect to all the articles of our faith. [Martin Luther]

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)]

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May 18, 2026

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Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, Knowing Him, Peace of God, Thanks & Praise

MY PORTION

Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” [Lamentations 3:21-24 (CSB)]

“The Lord is my portion,” wrote the prophet Jeremiah. Throughout the Bible, a wide variety of metaphors are used to describe God— rock, refuge, shield, shepherd, fortress, potter, and light—but portion is one of my favorites. Portion refers to one’s share—be it of plunder, an inheritance, or food. Not being a soldier, I can’t relate to the spoils of war and I’ve seen way too many inheritances argued over or squandered to associate those meanings with God. Food, however, is something to which we all can relate.

Indeed, God is our portion—our nourishment—He is what fills and fuels us. As our portion, He’s not one of those amuse-bouche one-bite treats served in fancy restaurants to whet our appetites nor is He a snack to tide us over until dinner time. He’s not a first course like soup or salad, nor a side dish to accompany the main course. God is not that uneaten parsley or edible flower garnishing our plates. He certainly isn’t our dessert, enjoyed only if we’ve saved room and which, while looking delicious, rarely lives up to its promise. He’s not even our entrée—the roast turkey or all-you-can-eat ribs of our lives. No, God is our entire portion—our soup to nuts—our all.

As our portion, God is our breakfast, lunch, dinner, and between-meals-snack rolled into one. He is what gives us sustenance and strength. All-sufficient, He is our confidence, our comfort, and our hope. Moreover, unlike earthly portions that disappear as they are consumed and leave us hungry again a few hours later, God keeps our plates filled to the brim and will satisfy our souls forever. He continually replenishes us with His mercy, guidance, love, and forgiveness. Our cupboards can become empty, and our wells may run dry, but God’s mercies will never end. He is and always will be our more than enough portion!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! [Thomas Chisholm]

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. [Psalm 73:26 (CSB)]

Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future. [Psalm 16:5 (CSB)]

I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my shelter, my portion in the land of the living.” [Psalm 142:5 (CSB)]

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May 7, 2026

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Church & Worship, God's Grace & Love, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Sharing Our Faith, Wisdom & Guidance

CONFUSED?

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we declare with our mouths that we believe, and so we are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.” [Romans 10:9-11 (NCV)]

You will find all true theology summed up in these two short sentences: Salvation is all of the grace of God. Damnation is all of the will of man. [Charles Spurgeon]

Steamboat - ColoradoThinking we’d never be old enough to retire in Florida, we used to spend our winters in a Colorado mountain town and our days skiing on the slopes. The lift line crew at one lift often posted riddles or trivia questions on a board at the bottom of the hill. As we pondered the answer while riding up, we’d see the answer at the top as we skied off the lift. One day the question was, ”What is greater than God? The poor have it, the rich need it and, if you eat it, you will die!”

We pondered the riddle while riding to the top of the run. I was perturbed that someone would think anything or anyone was greater than God, even in a silly riddle. Seeing no answer posted at the top, I skied back down to get it. When getting on the lift again, I complained that nothing had been written on the upper board. “But, you’ve just said the answer!” replied the lift operator. Duh! I’d completely ignored the obvious response while concentrating on the second part of the riddle. By focusing on the rich, the poor, and some sort of poison, I’d missed the first and obvious response—nothing is greater than God! The poor have nothing, the rich need nothing and, if we eat nothing, we’ll die!

I made a simple riddle far more complicated than necessary, something we often do with our faith. For example, during one Bible study someone asked what would happen to our dogs during the Rapture. While it made for a fascinating discussion (did you know some non-Christians offer “After the Rapture” pet care?), the various Christian views about the end times are perplexing. As for me, I’m not going to complicate my faith by pondering the Rapture’s date, let alone worry about pets when it happens or whether dogs and cats will be in heaven. We have a loving God and I’m sure He’s got everything planned out quite thoroughly.

It’s admirable that some people want to dig deep into questions of theology, doctrine, and dogma. I do it myself at times but often end up going down a rabbit hole which leaves me more confused than when I started! It’s incredibly easy to get bogged down in complex and unclear issues that make Christianity and the Bible far more difficult than they need be. Our relationship with God won’t suffer if we can’t hold forth on subjects like the Rapture and tribulation, annihilationism, predestination, Calvinism, Arminianism, and the various doctrinal differences between denominations. Trying to come to terms with the minute details can keep us from the big picture: having a relationship with God the Father, believing in his Son Jesus Christ, and feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We don’t have to be theologians to be Christians; we just have to be followers of Christ. It’s not necessary to know Greek or Hebrew to read or understand the Bible. Attendance at seminary isn’t a prerequisite for prayer; it’s no more difficult than talking on the phone. We don’t have to take lessons in how to worship to be able to lift our hearts in praise and no evangelism seminar is required for us to share God’s message of love.

Let us remember that we have a God who designed caterpillars so they become butterflies and gave marsupials pockets in which to carry their young! He doesn’t repeat fingerprints or snowflakes, keeps our solar system functioning flawlessly, turns tiny acorns into giant oaks, gives us incredible rainbows, and made crying babies loveable. A God so powerful and resourceful that he merely spoke the universe into existence certainly was able to create us in such a way that knowing Him, understanding His word, having faith, saying a prayer, offering praise and thanksgiving, and sharing His message are well within our capabilities. Let’s remember—none of the Apostles were rocket scientists or Greek scholars and they did just fine!

The Bible is shallow enough for a child not to drown, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim. [Augustine]

God made the earth by his power. He used his wisdom to build the world and his understanding to stretch out the skies. [Jeremiah 10:10 (NCV)]

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April 30, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Knowing Him, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Today: Make it Count

SHE DID WHAT SHE COULD (Anointing – Part 3)

But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her. Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for me. You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me.” [Mark 14:4-7 (CSB)]

walking irisWhile anointing people seems a bit strange to us in the 21st century, in Jesus’ day it was a tradition among the Hebrews to anoint a guest with oil as a way of welcoming them into your home. Anointing them with perfume like nard, however, was a costly and significant act of devotion and honor—one saved for exceptional occasions. A major economic sacrifice, it signaled wholehearted commitment. That twelve ounces of nard used to anoint Jesus in Bethany represented a full year’s wages!

Unlike us, the people at that dinner in Bethany didn’t have the benefit of the gospels—they didn’t know what soon would happen. Had you been at that dinner some 2,000 years ago, what would you think if you saw a woman use an entire jar of expensive nard to anoint Jesus? Would that have seemed wasteful to you? If she were so willing to part with it, couldn’t she have used less on Jesus and sold the rest to serve the poor? The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with commands to care for widows and orphans and it was Jesus who told the rich young ruler to sell all his belongings and give to the poor! The disciples’ indignation at such extravagance is understandable and I might have joined in their criticism of her actions.

Were the disciples surprised when, rather than agreeing with them, Jesus said to leave his anointer alone and then praised her? He repeated the first part of Deuteronomy 15:11: “For there will never cease to be poor people in the land….” but didn’t say the rest: “that is why I am commanding you, ‘Open your hand willingly to your poor and needy brother in your land.’” True, the poor always will be with us in this broken world, but Jesus’ words seem somewhat callous until we understand His point. He wasn’t denying the importance of charity and the opportunities for charity will never cease. Nevertheless, there would not be another opportunity to do for Him what had been done! Unlike the poor, He would be there only a little longer and any chance to show Him love soon would be gone.

Had this been anyone else, Jesus’ words would have been outrageous and self-centered. But, Jesus wasn’t a narcissist, He was God! The God who, for our sake, “Though he was rich… became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” [2 Cor 8:9] Let us remember that the first of the great commandments is to love God above all others and that is exactly what the woman did! Yes, we are to care for the poor but, first and foremost, we are to worship God! When she saw an opportunity to serve Jesus, she did and saved nothing for herself. That alabaster jar of nard, worth 300 denarii, might have been her dowry!

Genuine devotion never considers the cost; it simply does all that it can. When she anointed Jesus that night in Bethany, this woman simply did what she could. Jesus asks nothing more of us—we are to do what we can. In his Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, J.D. Jones said this about her: “She spent herself to the uttermost. ‘What she could’: and I confess that I feel a stab at my conscience as I read the little phrase. How many of us can say that?” I can’t; can you?

She has done what she could; she has anointed my body in advance for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” [Mark 14:8-9 (CSB)]

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April 16, 2026

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Bible Stories, God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, Knowing Him, Trusting God

JEHOVAH RAPHA

He said, … “For I am the Lord who heals you.” [Exodus 15:26b (CSB)]

zebra swallowtailFor three days, Israel traveled across the desert without finding any water. When they arrived at Marah, the exhausted and thirsty group was disappointed to find the water undrinkable because of its bitterness. When Moses cried out to the Lord, God told him to throw a piece of wood into the water to make it sweet. It was then that God proclaimed His name to be Jehovah Rapha, the “Lord who Heals You.” Jehovah Rapha took the bitter out of the Israelites’ water and made it palatable.

Jehovah Rapha does more than turn bitter water sweet. He can heal any physical ailment. Scripture tells us He made the barren fertile, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers clean, and even raised people from the dead. While the hands that do the work may be mortal (as were Moses’ when he tossed that wood into the water, Isaiah’s when he applied a poultice to Hezekiah’s head, and a surgeon when he successfully removes a tumor), the healing always comes from God! Jehovah Rapha, however, is more than the Great Physician (and water purifier)!

The Hebrew word rapha means to heal, to cure, to restore or repair. Originating from Arabic and Ethiopic words meaning to darn, stitch together or mend, rapha occurs about sixty-seven times in the Hebrew Scriptures. Rapha conveys the sense of restoring wholeness where destruction, harm, disease, unrest, or confusion have made inroads. It isn’t limited to making foul water drinkable or healing physical ailments. Rapha is used for restoring land, cities, broken hearts and minds, and covenant relationships as well as bodies. Emphasizing that it is the Lord’s choice to fix what has been broken or tainted, the subject of the verb rapha usually is the Lord.

In the true sense of the word, Jehovah Rapha is more than the Great Physician. He’s the tailor who stitches up the tears in the fabric of our lives. He’s the restoration specialist who scrubs out the gunk and mold left from life’s devasting storms and the handyman who fixes what’s no longer working in our lives. Instead of darning socks, He’s the one who weaves together the fibers that hold us together. He’s the mason who rebuilds our fallen walls and the contractor who brings back structural integrity to our crumbling foundation.

Bitterness, anger, shame, fear, depression, loss of faith, and guilt can poison our hearts and take away life. We still may be breathing but we’re dead inside. Just as the God who Heals, can provide healing to our broken bodies here on earth, Jehovah Rapha can take our ailing embittered minds, hearts, and souls and restore them to health. As He did with the water at Marah when he made the unpalatable palatable, Jehovah Rapha can transform the bitter in our lives into something bearable.

Christ is the Good Physician. There is no disease He cannot heal; no sin He cannot remove; no trouble He cannot help. He is the Balm of Gilead, the Great Physician who has never yet failed to heal all the spiritual maladies of every soul that has come unto Him in faith and prayer. [James H. Aughey]

But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. [Isaiah 53:5 (CSB)]

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. [Psalm 147:3 (CSB)]

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March 5, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Church & Worship, Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him, Prayer

SEEKING HIM DURING LENT

Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. [Daniel 9:3 (CSB)]

Even now—this is the Lord’s declaration—turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster. [Joel 2:12-13 (CSB)]

MOCKINGBIRDWe’re two weeks into the season of Lent. While we typically associate this time before Easter with giving up something, it is more than simply abstaining or fasting from some thing or things. Fasting without prayer is nothing more than a diet and abstaining from some pleasure without prayer is more like dry January than a Lenten discipline! Without prayer, fasting and abstinence are physical acts but not spiritual ones! When we give up something for Lent, we need to deliberately and intentionally seek the Lord in prayer at the same time!

Faith is a living thing, and like all living things, it needs to be nurtured and fed to grow. During Lent, as we abstain from worldly things, we feast on the spiritual so that this season of self-denial becomes one of growth. Lent is the time to feed our faith with extra servings of prayer and Scripture along with Christian fellowship, praise, thanksgiving, and worship.

If we choose to observe Lent, there are a few words of warning. We must be cautious of spiritual pride—thinking we’re better or “more spiritual” than others who may not observe this season or might practice it in a different way. How we keep this season is between us and God and not to be compared to anyone else’s Lenten practice. We shouldn’t be like the proud Pharisee in Jesus’ parable who compared himself to the tax collector while boasting that he fasted twice a week and gave away a tenth of all he received. Spiritual pride means we’re looking at ourselves instead of the Lord. Jesus reminded His listeners that “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” [Luke 18:14]

Just as self-denial is not a way to boost our egos, let us never make the mistake of thinking that giving up something for Lent has any merit as far as our salvation is concerned. Self-denial and fasting are not done to curry favor and earn ”brownie points” with God. Neither fasting nor abstinence give us special standing before God and they won’t make God love us any more than He already does!

Moreover, we must never give up something as a way of manipulating God into doing something for us; there no quid pro quo in God’s Kingdom! Fasting and abstinence won’t sprinkle spiritual vitamins and minerals on our prayers to give them extra power. We don’t adopt a spiritual discipline so God will do what we want—we do it so we’ll do what He wants! Fasting and abstaining change us, not God! They’re like cleaning our glasses so we better see God and cleaning the wax from our ears so that we hear Him more clearly. Rather than getting a better response to our prayers, self-denial leads to better prayers!

Finally, Jesus specifically warned us about the danger of hypocrisy while fasting. Lent’s purpose is not to impress others with our devotion. It’s personal and private—between us and God—it’s a secret commitment rather than a public display. May we always remember that we fast to please the Lord—not to impress others!

Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God. [Andrew Murray]

Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. [Matthew 6:16-17(CSB)]

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