There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what his name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH. Over time we’ve arbitrarily added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH, presumably because...
02822 – Moses’ Learning Curve
Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody; forty years learning he was nobody; and forty years learning what God can do with a nobody.
01952 – Give Me a Break!
For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And, of course, that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them...
01379 – Interpreting “God’s Word”
The issue should not be oversimplified into whether people will live by God's word or mere human teaching. Given this choice, all religious people will choose "God's word." But for all sides of the debate, God's word is not available directly, only through human...
00635 – Jesus’ Ministry Was to be One of Suffering
This crowd of thousands was not the hard core of tested disciples but the first wave of inquirers coming to see if this kingdom which the twelve had been announcing was for real. As the devil had said it would, the distribution of bread moved the crowd to acclaim...
00466 – Gospel Demands Only Faith
Beware lest you make Christ into a Moses, and the gospel into a book of law or doctrine… In fact, however, the gospel demands no works to make us holy and to redeem us. Indeed, it condemns such works, and demands only faith in Christ, because he has overcome sin,...
00342 – What it Means to be Biblical
To be biblical is not simply to quote the Bible. We need to tell that to the fundamentalists. To be biblical is not to quote Moses; it’s to do what Moses did. To be biblical is to do what Abraham did; it’s not to quote the Abraham story. It’s to do what Jesus did;...
00297 – Being Myself
There is a Hasidic tale that reveals, with amazing brevity, both the universal tendency to want to be someone else and the ultimate importance of becoming one’s self: Rabbi Zusya, when he was an old man said, “In the coming world, they will not ask me: ‘Why were you...
00281 – I’ll Be with You!
Moses said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharoah and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11). The Lord answers, “I shall be with you.” That’s all. Simply, I’ll be with you! He wouldn’t tell Moses how to do it. He doesn’t give him a timetable, any...