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Dream Small….

The first time I heard the song titled “Dream small” by Josh Wilson, I was vexed in my spirit. These words are contrary to everything I heard as a child and to what has socialized my adulthood. You dream big… the sky is the limit.

The more I have listened to the song https://youtu.be/dOBaLrItEyc and as I reflect on the words today, I see the truths in the lyrics. As a type A overachiever, I have very big dreams and on my way to achieving these big dreams, I have experienced many incredible things: things that would be for others, the proverbial dream come true. However, with my eyes set on bigger things, I rarely stop to smell the roses. Sometimes, my gratitu-do-meter falls short as far as these incredible things are concerned.

The ten lepers had their sights set on the big dream: getting to the temple to show themselves to the priest. Only one took the time to appreciate the small steps that were to become that big dream… and because he returned to say thanks, he enjoyed a fuller life.

Life is amazing; each day is a rare gift with none unparalleled! Today, I am grateful for the small and even mundane things. Thank you Lord for the small steps; thanks for the incredible things that have happened in my life so far… and thanks for the big dream.

A glorious birthday to me…

Yours truly.

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Putting in our best

Over the past year, I have found myself in places where Christians I know are the subject of confidential and sensitive discussions in relation to their work ethics. I have often been appalled at how very often these people are described so badly and usually I am ashamed to admit that I know them.  Every time this happens though, I am humbled and I reflect on my own life and wonder “What are people saying about my work ethics behind closed doors?” “Am I putting in my best?” “Do my work ethics bring glory to God?”

We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God here on earth and everything we do must reflect that. Our diplomatic mission is to enact the Kingdom of God in every aspect of our lives and people must see it and be able to report nothing but your good works back to the King of Heaven. 

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 NIV

So I have no choice but to put in my very best! A few weeks ago I read something from my devotional which has stayed with me and I’d like to share it with you. It is taken from  3-Minute Devotions for Families:

Doing our best. As children, the point is driven home to us: Do your best on that test! Do your best on that team! As adults, we are still inundated with the “best” message: Give it your all at work! Be the best possible mom, dad, worker, friend, etc. you can be. It is not a bad message. Not at all.

But we have to remember that even our very best is nothing until the Spirit of God breathes life into it. Today instead of just striving, striving, striving, why not concentrate on asking God to be at the center of all you do, so that your work will be supernaturally empowered from on high.

Hope you are blessed by this!

Yours Truly.

 

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This Thing Called Choice

Recently I came across a posting for a job that I considered applying for. So many people encouraged me to apply but I wanted to hear from God and get the final green light. For days I kept praying, looking for a sign and after many days of waiting it hit me. God was not going to give me a sign! Instead, He would bless my choice like He promises in His word:

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm 1:6 NIV

God doesn’t make the choices for us. He orders our steps; He points us in the right direction through His word (Psalm 119:105) and through the counsel of trusted men and women (Prov 15:22); He may go as far as to give us the desire of our hearts to pursue certain choices (Psalm 21:2). But God will never make that final choice for us.

Two things intrigue me about Psalm 1:6 quoted above. The first is that my choices are not automatically the right ones because I profess to love and serve God. This scripture and others in the bible emphasize that this privilege is reserved for the godly, for the righteous. I need to be in right standing with God. When I am godly, I attract the presence of the Holy God into my affairs and He comes in, rejoicing over me with singing! How can my choices be horrible when God Himself delights in all the details of my life and is excited to share my successes and joys with me?

If you do what the LORD wants, he will make certain each step you take is sure/The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Psalm 37:23 CEV/NLT

The second thing from Psalm 1:6 was the emphasis on the word way. There is a binary contrasted here: the way of the righteous and the way of the sinner. Let’s read the entire passage that culminates to this ending.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm 1:1-6 NIV

By our choices, the way in which we walk, we are either blessed or condemned. I recently heard an argument by a so-called preacher for a God that loves so much He cannot send people to hell!  Well… to that I say God does not send people to hell. People send themselves there by the choices they make. What God did for man in that regard was that He himself paid the ultimate price of death for atonement of sin for everyone. He continues to love everyone regardless of race, creed,  sexual orientation, and any other socially constructed categorization. He earnestly wills and desires that everyone will be saved (1 Tim 2: 4). What God will not do is make the choice of life everlasting or eternal damnation for anyone.

“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. Deuteronomy 30:15 NLT

There is a way that leads to life and prosperity; and one that leads to disaster and death.  And the choice is yours to make. Scripture describes the way of life as narrow – a path less trodden; a path that seems contrary to mainstream thinking; a path you might be alone on in the company of your family, your coworkers, your spouse, your friends (Matthew 7:13-14). Finding the narrow way is very easy- Jesus said I am the way to life! That’s the first choice. Now staying on/ in the way of the righteous is a series of choices that we make daily. A line in one of my favourite songs is that “every choice is an act of war”– a war to stay on the path of the righteous or to walk in the way of the wicked. The comforting news here is that God watches over the way/ path of the righteous!

So what do you choose today?

…follow the steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous. Psalm 2:20 NLT

Yours Truly.

 

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Forgiven

I have done some really stupid things in my short existence here on earth… some of them I have chocked to immaturity but no matter how much I excuse others,  they have got a hook in my conscience and can bring me to a place of shame with just a fleeting thought. And yet most days, I strut about guilt-free, not carrying the weight of my careless past around. More often than not, I feel FORGIVEN. I say more often than not because there are a few days where a random event triggers memories from my past and with the memories come a twinge of condemnation. But even then, I still feel FORGIVEN.

Over the past few weeks, I have come to the realization that forgiveness is not free and should not be taken for granted. It always comes at a cost both to the forgiver and the forgiven; a cost which is manifest in expectations.

As we continue with our series on the Lord’s Prayer (sorry for the hiatus), I have had time to ponder over the next section:

Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. Matthew 6:12 GNT

Two expectations of the one who is forgiven are that:

  1. He or she does not become a repeat offender.  John 8:11: “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.” BSB. Jesus expectation of the woman caught in adultery was that having been forgiven, she’d not put herself in that position again.
  2.  He or she would replicate such forgiveness.

“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” Matthew 18: 23- 35 NLT

The expectation of the forgiven is that they will, in turn, become the forgivers.

Forgiveness needs to be given freely and often. It is to be given without any demands of the offender; knowing full well that the offender may require to be forgiven for similar or other offences over and over again.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! Matthew 18:22 BSB

It seems like a difficult task and frankly a futile one. Why forgive with the understanding that you can be hurt again? Another lesson from weeks of pondering is that forgiveness is not easy. It is easy to say to someone who owes you money, “Don’t worry. It’s all good!” only if you can afford to do so. Cancelling another’s debt  (sin, offence, trespass is likened to debt in scripture) like the King in the story above did can only come from one place: abundance.

It is not the abundance of things that I speak of; cos life does not consist in an abundance of possession (Luke 12:15). Rather I speak of the abundant life that Jesus promises: I came that they may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10 ESV). This abundant life is the impetus for forgiveness. When God forgives you of all your wrongdoing, and you walk about guilt and condemnation-free, that’s winning the lottery of abundant life! You’ve got it good. You’ve been made and so you can afford to freely cancel other’s debt.

That’s not even the best part. The best part is that as we forgive others, God forgives us too. For those who love science, that’s a positive feedback loop! The more you forgive, the more you are forgiven and the more you are forgiven, the more you forgive. It sounds glamorous, I know, but forgiveness is far from glamorous. It is painstakingly difficult.

The reality of it all is this: To whom much is given, much is expected. The expectation of the forgiven is to become a forgiver. And if there’s anyone who has been forgiven much it is me! And so for me, forgiveness is not a choice. It is God’s expectation of me. And I know I can count on God’s spirit to fill me abundantly with His love and grace in my time of dryness so I can graciously forgive as God has forgiven me.

Give me this day my daily bread, O God,  so out of my abundance of love, and grace, and truth, and mercy, I can confidently say to those who offend me, “Don’t worry. It’s all good!

Yours Truly.

 

Picture from Clear Sky Group. (2018, November 23). The importance of forgiveness in recovery. Retrieved from https://clearskyibogaine.com/the-importance-of-forgiveness-in-recovery/

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This is who I am…

A couple of months ago I was having a conversation with my mentor and I made the statement ” this is who I am” and after a few minutes of listening to me go on and on about “who I am” she said something to the effect of , “the beauty of life is that we can change” (paraphrase). Her statement stopped me in my tracks and I have pondered over it for the past few months.

I have great pride in the fact that I know who I am. I know what my favourite things are, I know what makes me happy, I am conscientious of my values and of things that I will/ will not do. As I thought some more about all the things that I know, I realized what the problem with the statement “this is who I am” is…

There is nothing wrong with knowing who I am but it is more important that I know who I am in Christ. If I purport to live a surrendered life, then my identity should be rooted in Christ and therefore malleable to His will. As I am conformed to Christ’s likeness, who I am also needs to be conformed.

I frequently quote the scripture, I am a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that I may declare the praises of him who called me out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9 NIV emphasis mine). This means that who I am is for God’s praises and therefore my identity cannot be static. Transformation and a renewal of my mind are needed often.

I came across a scripture recently that got me thinking about this some more:

A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way? Proverbs 20:24 NIV

As I surrender every part of me to God’s will, He directs my steps. And as He directs my steps and I lose a part of “me” in the process and become like Him. This means the more I become like Christ, the less of me there is and therefore “this is who I am” should become ” this is who Christ is”

Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Yours Truly.

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Our Daily Bread

Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 NIV

I have spent almost a month pondering over what this scripture means to me and I learnt two lessons from this line of the Lord’s prayer.

Lesson 1

Many times in my life when I have prayed about my needs and wants, there is some measure of extravagance to it. I am asking God (with all earnestness) for some really big things… we are talking lots of moolah and always for many good causes but in the course of thinking of this scripture, there was a paragraph from the book I am reading, Pursue Overtake Recover, that really struck me. The author, Kerry Kirkwood said:

Many of us pray big prayers and yet prepare little for the answers. Without wisdom from above, the answers to some prayers would be destructive. For instance, you may ask for a million dollars to flow through your hands and yet are not prepared because you have not been faithful and responsible handling hundreds of dollars… The receiver of the gift must be equal to the size of the gift so as to contain the answer when it comes.

That really hit home for me. so what has this got to do with my daily bread? Everything. I am learning to ask for my DAILY bread. Not more than what I need but exactly what God knows I need each day. Since I learnt from Psalm 23 about not wanting because God is my Shepherd, god has proven Himself to me and my family. We have had enough to get us through every day. Some days, this means we have enough to give generously to others and other days it means we have just enough for our family unit. Regardless of the day, whatever God blesses us with is enough for the day. It is our DAILY BREAD. I am 100% in agreement with the prayer of the wise man:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God. Proverbs 30: 8-9 NIV

Lesson 2

A lot of times when we think of daily bread, we think of our physical and financial needs and while that is all well and good, bread in scripture represents far more than that! let’s look at these scriptures together:

Yes, I am the bread of life! I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” John 6: 48, 51, 58 NLT

Jesus contrasts two kinds of bread. One is for physical sustenance and the other is only found in Him and it gives life, even eternal life. Because it is Jesus himself. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world (John 6:38 NIV).  So when Jesus is teaching us to pray for our daily bread, we are asking God to give us enough of Himself for another day; enough presence, enough power, enough revelation, enough of His spirit for the day.

So how do I access this bread and how does it give me life? Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4 NIV). The Word of God is key and when God Himself inspires us with the exact Word we need for the day, how blessed will our day be! We will experience the life-giving power of God’s word. The same breath of life that was breathed into the first man’s nostrils making him a living creature is manifest in every word in scripture because All Scripture is God-breathed… (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV)

So if you have been following along in this series, we start by acknowledging who God is as our Father and identifying our place in His kingdom and the next step is to ask for God’s enablement by asking for enough of God for the day. Perhaps if I start my day with a measure of God’s spirit, I may not struggle as much with my thoughts, with what I say, with my actions, and with my motives and motivations throughout the day! So:

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me
And I’m desperate for you
And I’m lost without you

Yours Truly.

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Complacency

This year I started a journey of journaling my walk with God through this blog. While it has been such an amazing and eye-opening experience for me, I have had to face some very dark truths about myself and my walk with God. This week as I reflected on my life, I discovered that sometimes because of what I learn from God’s word, I get complacent and look down on others who I believe are still “ignorant”. Unfortunately, this behaviour is very rampant in churches and is partly to blame for the many doctrines and denominations that exist today. Many Christians believe that they have figured out the “truth” and castigate other churches/ fellow Christians for being “lost” because they do not have the same insights.

This week I was listening to a song and the lyrics really convicted me of my complacency and high-mindedness.

Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth’s become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they’re tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I’m so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided

Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who’s writing in the sand
Make the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of thieves
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
No one knows what we’re for only against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines, and loved like You did

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours
Songwriters: Mark Hall / Matthew West

I sincerely believe that when God draws us in and reveals more of Himself to us, it is not so that we go out there and point fingers or cast stones at others. I believe as we get to know more of God, the posture and attitude we need to have are these: humility and compassion. As we go deeper in our relationship with God, we ought to receive the truth that comes from knowing God with humility and our hearts need to break with compassion for those who have not yet come to the same reality. As people (believers and unbelievers alike) are finding their way to a deeper relationship with God, they should not be tripping over my judgements of them or their walk with God. They should not need to be shielded from my pointing fingers or my sword of self-righteousness.

And so I sincerely pray that God will open my eyes to the world at the end of my pointing fingers. I pray that my heart will be led by mercy and compassion and will break for whatever breaks God’s.

Yours Truly.

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Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Have you ever prayed for something that you really really want or need and ended that prayer by asking that God’s will be done? Once I was praying for a miracle for a loved one who was dying and my only request was that God heals them so they live. I finished that prayer with “but let your will be done” because I thought it was the Christian and humble thing to do when asking for such requests. In that moment all my hope was that God’s will was also that this person lives otherwise that would defeat my whole prayer! In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed a similar prayer asking that God’s will be done and we all know how that turned out for Him! (we will come back to this point shortly)

In short, I have never liked adding that caveat to any prayer. This week I dug deep into why I do not like to pray “Your will be done” and I realized it is because of two reasons: Many times I do not know what God’s will is and the second reason is a fear that even if I found out what God’s will was, it will be in conflict with what I want or think I need. This week, God taught me a few things to get me unstuck from this mindset.  So let’s delve in.

What is God’s will for me in any situation?

That is a difficult question for this very reason: For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?  (Romans 11:34 NLT). No one knows the mind and heart of God except God’s Spirit.

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11 NIV

But thank God that through the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross, we have been redeemed. And through this work of sanctification and justification and now have God’s spirit; the spirit of reconciliation (1 Cor 2:12). It is by this Spirit that we have the mind of Christ. As our minds are being renewed to become more and more like Christ’s, we are able to know the will of God.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12: 2 NLT

In every circumstance we face, God’s will for us is good, pleasing, and perfect. So back to my initial comment about how it ended for Jesus when he prayed that God’s will be done in the Garden of Gethsemane… well we know that He ended up dying a distasteful and painful death. However, we on this side of history, can look back and say that God’s will was good, pleasing, and perfect because that death brought us back into relationship with God (this is why Good Friday is really good!). Take solace in this promise of God:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) 

What do I do if what I want/need and God’s will are not in agreement?

This question is easy. Remember that in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray “your kingdom come” before “your will be done”? If we come to the place of understanding that Jesus Christ is king over our lives and over the earth, then the choice becomes easy.

For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” Ecclesiastes 8:4 BSB

Frances Havergal captured the response of every Christian who has surrendered to the Lordship and Kingship of Christ in her famous hymn as thus:

Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Jesus conquered the world in an epic battle and now the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelations 11:15 CEV). He reigns supreme and sovereign over all the heavens and the earth. So as sons and daughters of the King of the heavens and the earth, not only should our prayer be “your will be done” but we can confidently add “…on earth as it is in heaven”

Yours Truly.

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Your Kingdom Come

This week I have been pondering over the next line in the Lord’s prayer: Your kingdom come. Why would Jesus, a man whose earthly ancestry was from the royal lineage of Israel and whose heavenly heritage is the King of Kings, ask his disciples to pray for the kingdom to come. Many times when I pray this prayer I get hung up on this line. I often ask myself if that means that God’s kingdom is not yet on earth and God has no rulership or authority on earth and so Christians have to pray for God’s kingdom to come. I have also wondered if it means we are asking God to hasten the day when the sky will be rolled back like a scroll and the Lord shall appear with great power and glory (Matthew 24:30).

To be honest, I had been dreading the thought of moving on to this phrase in the Lord’s prayer until this evening. As I was reflecting on what “your kingdom come” might mean, another scripture kept coming to mind:

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Rev 11:15 ESV

To English scholars, you will understand that the phrase ‘has become’ is a present perfect tense. This tense indicates either that an action was completed at some point in the past or that the action extends to the present. At face value that scripture implies that at some point the kingdom of the world was not the kingdom of God and has now become so. If God owns everything how did He lose the kingdom of the world and who did he lose it to? I started reading a book yesterday titled Pursue Overtake Recover by Kerry Kirkwood and I learned something that might help answer these questions.

In the book, Kerry describes redemption as such: Redemption means  to buy back or pay the ransom; but it is more than that , it means the original owner  never loses the right to redeem. It always has to be the original owner who redeems it not someone else down the line.  The original owner has first right to refuse the redemption or to pay the redemptive price required. Keep this in mind as we move along.

In the beginning, God placed Adam in the garden of Eden and gave Adam full authority to rule over everything on earth. God in essence gave the kingdom of the world to Adam (humankind). As ruler over the kingdom of the world, only Adam had the authority to  give up his rulership to another. The devil who had been cast down to earth for many many years (Isaiah 14:12-14) prior to Adam could not rule over the earth until Adam gave up his rulership to the devil through disobedience. The kingdom of the world which was man’s inheritance became the devil’s.

See Genesis 1:28 and compare with Genesis 9:1. You will notice that after the flood God made similar pronouncements of blessings upon mankind as he made in the garden of Eden when he first created man. But the second time around ,God never mentions anything about man’s dominion over earth.  Man had given away that dominion to the devil at this point. Have you ever wondered about the devil’s audacity in this scripture: Again, the devil took Him (Jesus) to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”(Matthew 4:8-9 BSB). Yeah that’s where it comes from.

Now remember I said to redeem something in biblical times, it could only be done by the rightful owner  not someone else in line. So to redeem the kingdom of the world, it could only be done by God who is the rightful owner and Lord of the earth (Rev 11:4). “Now the kingdom of this world belongs to our Lord and to his Chosen One! And he will rule forever and ever!” (Rev 11:15 CEV). Jesus the Chosen One, has redeemed the kingdom of the world but He did not hand that right back to man. Instead, He promised man keys to the kingdom of heaven.

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”Matthew 16:19 NIV.

And so now man’s authority to rule on earth is subject to his authority in the kingdom of  Heaven as a joint heir with Christ.

So He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:19 BSB

So when I pray, “Your kingdom come” it is an affirmation God’s rulership and authority over the kingdom of the world. It is a recognition that I have authority on earth because I have ties with the kingdom of God. And finally it is to pray that more and more people come to this same recognition so that they can also have dominion and authority too as long as they too submit to the Lordship and authority of Jesus Christ, the owner and redeemer of the earth.

Yours Truly.

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Hallowed be thy name

For the past two weeks, I have been wrestling with this single line of the Lord’s prayer. I have been asking myself what it really means when I say to God, “Hallowed be thy name”. What does the word ‘hallowed’ mean? According to the Oxford dictionary, it means sacred, consecrated, holy. So why is it important that when Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to declare that God’s name is Holy? Here are a few thoughts:

Saying to God, “holy is your name” is an acknowledgement of who He is. If I were to describe a person I know, my first inclination will be to start with a name. So we start praying by acknowledging that we have a Father in heaven and then we call Him by name.

For the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is His name. Luke 1:49 BSB

He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever- holy and awesome is his name. Psalm 111:9 NIV

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy… Isaiah 57:15 ESV

Secondly, acknowledging that God’s name is Holy should put us in a certain posture before Him. Almost all the scriptures that describe God’s name as holy are accompanied by a call to praise, worship, give glory, exult in or exalt the Holy name of God. Acknowledging that God’s name is hallowed puts us in a place of worship.

Psalm 29: 2 says Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name; worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness. So in essence, if you recognize and acknowledge that God’s name is Holy, then you are postured to worship Him according to the worth you place on His name. This brings me to my third thought: What is God’s name worth to us? For many, the name of God and of His Christ have been reduced to swear words. I am deeply offended when I hear people throw the f-word in front of the name of God or of Jesus (as should be everyone who acknowledges that God is their heavenly father!). I would not take it kindly if someone used the f-word in reference to my father so why should it be ok that they can do so with my heavenly father? Hopefully, no true child of God does this but many of us are still guilty of not knowing the worth of the name of Jesus and so we do not ascribe Him the glory that is due to his name!

All week, two references to scripture have been on my mind in reference to the name of God:

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Prov 18:10

Not sure why I have been stuck on this scripture but I ask again… What is the name of the Lord your God worth to you, and do you give Him the glory due His name?

The second reference has to do with being called by the name of God; the name HOLY.

The LORD will establish you as His holy people, just as He has sworn to you if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you. Deut 28: 9-10 BSB

When we acknowledge that God’s name is holy, it is also an acknowledgement of our heritage and responsibilities as holy people. We are identifying ourselves as having a right to communicate.  I like sci-fi movies so I imagine it like a code to get access to the other side- when you say “Hallowed is your name”, the computer scans your voice and all of you; body, soul and spirit and runs its checks to see if belong. After a few seconds, the screen flashes “Holy Identified” and then the door swings open to give you access to enter into the presence of God (smh.. I think I watch too many movies! Help me, Lord…).

In my sci-fi movie, as in real life, there are things you have to do to be called by the name of God. You don’t just gain access because you say the password, “Hallowed be thy name”. Deuteronomy  28:8 says we must keep His commandments and walk in His ways. Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to falsehood, who does not swear deceitfully. John 10 talks about the Shepherd-sheep relationship. Many other scriptures attest to the life one must lead to be called by the name of God (HOLY) many of which I have spoken about in past blog posts.

So next time when you pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…”, don’t just recite it as a childhood prayer. Pause to think about God’s holy name and ask yourself the hard questions:

  1. Am I truly acknowledging that God is a Holy God?
  2. What does the name of God mean to me and am I postured to give Him the glory due His name?
  3. Am I called by His name (Holy)?

Food for thought!

Yours Truly.