A New Name

The movie Gladiator is one of my favorites because it’s packed with themes of loyalty, betrayal, and identity. Maximus is a Roman general and trusted leader under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. But after the emperor’s death, his son, Commodus, seized power. Insecure and threatened by Maximus’s influence, Commodus orders him executed—and even has his wife and son killed. Maximus survives, but stripped of everything, he is sold into slavery. Once a man of…

Moses was apprehensive about accepting God's invitation to liberate the people. During the dialogue, God chooses to reveal His personal name to Moses. God says His name is, "I am."In Hebrew, the meaning comes across with much more meaning. Let's unpack this for a moment. When God speaks His name, the Hebrew word is "Ehweh," which means "I am and will be." When Moses or others use God's name, the Hebrew word is "Yahweh," "…

The Lord heard Sarah’s skeptical laughter a year earlier when He promised her husband Abraham that they would have a child. Believing such a thing must have seemed to her like too much of a stretch. But then, this elderly woman’s uncertainty was turned into joy with the miraculous birth of her son. The baby was given the name Isaac, just as God had instructed Abraham in Genesis 17:19. Isaac’s name means “one who laughs.” Sarah’s earlier…

Doing hard things requires us to be lion-like – bold, steely and courageous. Doing things the right way means being like a lamb – gentle, meek and submissive. We are supposed to be a godly mixture of the qualities of both the lion and the lamb. But how can one person be both ‘the Lion’ and ‘the Lamb’? In C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, the lion, Aslan, represents Jesus. In the most famous of these books, The Lion, the Witch and the,…

It stars Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando. Set in the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now is a 1979 epic war film. The use of the word ‘apocalypse’ is based on the popular misunderstanding of the word as ‘destruction’. The Greek word apokalupsis, translated ‘revelation’ (Revelation 1:1), is made up of two Greek words – apo (out of) and kalupsis (‘hiding’). The word actually means ‘disclosure’. In the book of,…

Having the “image” or “likeness” of God means, in the simplest terms, that we were made to resemble God. Adam did not resemble God in the sense of God’s having flesh and blood. Scripture says that “God is spirit” (John 4:24) and therefore exists without a body. However, Adam’s body did mirror the life of God insofar as it was created in perfect health and was not subject to death.The image of God (Latin, imago dei) refers to…

If I am saved and all of my sins are forgiven, why not continue to sin? The apostle Paul answered a very similar question in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” The idea that a person could “trust in Jesus Christ” for salvation and then go on living just as he/she lived before, is absolutely foreign to the Bible. For the truly,…

The man possessed by many demons asked Jesus, “Why are You interfering with me?” You know the answer. It’s the same one He has for you. Because He loved him. And He loves you. If we are to find healing and true joy, we need to lean into His interference. And to do that, we must first ask ourselves the question, what part of our lives is He interfering with? Think about it. Picture Jesus approaching you with searching eyes that look straight into your soul,…

Charles Spurgeon said, “I will never have it that God created any man, especially any Christian man, to be a blank and a nothing. He made you for an end. Find out what that end is. Find out your niche and fill it. Do something in this great battle for God and Truth.” Mark Twain proclaimed a serious truth in the following statement. “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Wow. Perfect. Everyone…