Talking or Trusting?

AWSA Nonfiction Book of the Year!!

Congratulations to my beautiful and talented wife who was today awarded The Golden Scroll Award for 2014 Nonfiction Book of the Year!  Tina shares the honor with her long-time friend and coauthor Dena Dyer.  I couldn't be prouder!

Wounded Women of the Bible by Dena Dyer and Tina Samples

Grace River Baptisms 2014

El Shaddai

It's been my habit for several years to focus on one of God's names or one of His character traits as a daily spiritual exercise of praise.  Today, I'm taking a look at a name that God reveals to Abraham in Genesis seventeen--El Shaddai.

I have to admit the first thing to pop into my mind when I hear "El Shaddai" is Amy Grant's classic song by that title from the early 80's.  I like the song and I like the song writer--Michael Card.  As a high school student, I frequented a small coffee shop in Knoxville, Tennessee where Michael Card was a frequent artist.  I graduated from high school in '81 and so "El Shaddai" is included in the soundtrack of my life as a staple of those late teenage years.

The meaning of the word, "El Shaddai" is a bit uncertain.  "El" is simple enough to translate. It means "God".  The "Shaddai" part is a little less cut and dry.  Depending on the word origin that you go with--it can either mean destroyer or it can mean sustainer.  That's a pretty big divide between the two options.  To sustain and to destroy are pretty much opposite ideas.  The biblical translators seem to try to split the difference and opt for God Almighty as the preferred translation.

God first reveals himself as El Shaddai in the Bible when He makes a covenant of blessing with Abram, "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.  I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to make you into a mighty nation" (Gen 17:1-2, NLT).  Just a few verses later El Shaddai promises, "I will make you the father of not just one nation, but a multitude of nations!" (v4).  In verse 5, God changes Abram's name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of many). In verse 6, God promises, "I will give you millions of descendants who will represent many nations."  In this same passage, Sarah's name is also changed and a baby is promised.

I was taught in hermeneutics class in seminary that context is huge when interpreting scripture. That said, the context of Genesis seventeen seems to point to sustainer as the best interpretation of El Shaddai.

One more interesting perspective to add is that acclaimed biblical archaeologist William F. Albright suggested that "Shaddai" comes from shadayim, the Hebrew word for "breasts".  This option gives us a wonderful metaphor of God as provider, caregiver, and nurturer.

Let me invite you to join me in worshipping God as "El Shaddai" today.  How marvelous it is to realize that God is nurturing me and nourishing me even as a mother feeds her baby.  I will thrive today because of God's great and gracious care.

I've included links to a couple of videos that might prove inspirational as you worship today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkhS-IKmwm8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dorEYyfuUQ&feature=kp

For further study:

http://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Shaddai

The Sin of Being Stupid

I'm fond of saying, "God's not mad at you". And the Bible insists that when we're under the blood of Jesus, He isn't mad!

Apparently though, suppressing and denying the truth really ticks God off! ...

Note this verse:

"But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves" (Romans 1:18 NLT).
Those who push the truth away are labeled as sinful and wicked and are, as a consequence, the object of God's wrath. To push the truth away--to refuse reality--to embrace ignorance--is to enrage God. Thus, it is a sin to be stupid!

The Bible tells us to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) and we spend a lot of time talking about how to do this effectively . . . but maybe it's time we learned how to "hear the truth in love". It's been said, "You can't fix stupid!" Well I've got news for you--Jesus can fix anything--even stupid!

If you're tired of stupid, take a look at James 1:5 and James 1:19-25.

Never Trust a Crowd!

1 Crowd - 2 Outcomes

"But even so, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.  Now some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the crowds into a murderous mob. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, apparently dead" (Acts 14:18-19).

You can't trust the crowd!  When they are cheering, when they are applauding, when they are loving and gracious--you can't trust the crowd!  I'm tempted to trust the crowd. I want their love and I want their praise.  It feels really good to be accepted and honored.  But I know that I can't trust them.

Paul and Barnabas had healed a man who couldn't walk and the observing crowd immediately concluded that Paul and Barnabas were gods worthy of great sacrifice and honor.  Just one verse later, the crowd is trying to kill Paul and Barnabas.  Conclusion? You can't trust the crowd!

Jesus didn't trust the crowd!  In John 2:23-25, the crowd had begun to love Jesus because of the miracles that he was doing.  "But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like" (v23-25).  Sure enough, later, we see the crowd giving Jesus a parade in Matthew 21 to begin passion week--only to crucify him by the end of the same week. Never trust a crowd!

Though I'm certainly not Jesus, Paul, or Barnabas, I am quite familiar with the ability of a crowd to quickly turn.  I've tasted the sting of betrayal by friends and coworkers--sheep for whom I've provided care.  Maybe we all have?  Never trust a crowd!

So if we can't trust the crowd, who can we trust? "This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I TRUST HIM" (Psalm 91:2).