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The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “ Abba, Father.  Romans 8:15

You can find out a lot about another person by asking them this question: ‘What comes to your mind when you think about God?’  Our concept of God shapes everything else in our lives.  Most unbelievers claim that God loves without a trace of judgment, or that He judges without a trace of love.  The first perspective keeps them comfortable in their sin, while the second keeps God at arm’s length out of fear. 

It’s important for each of us to answer that question, even as children of God. Although we know and claim to believe the scriptures, our perceptions of God can be distorted by our life experiences. 

Here’s a second question. ‘What do I believe God thinks about me?’ (I used to believe that God was disappointed in me, and it was a stronghold.) 

Our week-long study of ‘Abba’ can begin to heal what has been incurable, but only if we look at the distortions we’ve harbored over the years. 

Remember the story of the prodigal son?  The father stands on the porch, scanning the horizon for his son’s return.  He waits eagerly, and at the first sight of him, he gathers the skirts of his robe and runs to embrace him. 

If you were the son returning home and your earthly father was on the porch, how would you be received?  

And what if you were on the porch waiting for your child?  What would you feel and express?  Would love, forgiveness, and celebration define the moment?

Jesus tore the temple veil in two. He granted us radical access to His Father, whom we can now call Abba. This privilege invites us to tremble and draw close enough to heal every spiritual ailment. Healing can occur this week, but only if we identify our obstacles. I’m pressing in to examine mine, and let me tell you, this final scripture brings me to tears. 

As for you, I’ll come with healing, curing the incurable, because they all gave up on you.  Jeremiah 30:17

What do you do after you’ve sinned against someone important to you?  The thought of facing them is unnerving.  You’ve decided to avoid them instead.

Uncertainty plagues anyone before they’re about to give an apology.  After all, history proves that not all people are forgiving.  The propensity to hide is well-founded, especially if a past apology didn’t go well.  They refused to let you make things right and enjoyed holding your sins over your head. They were quick to remind you of who you were and what you did, even if it was twenty-five years ago.  This is emotional cruelty.

It’s difficult to separate God from this mix of fallen humanity.  We fear God will also hold our sin over our heads and withhold forgiveness. But God forgives every time, even after repeated failures.  God never gets weary of sincere apologies.  He is as excited to see me return to Bethel and call upon His name as He was the first time I built an altar.  No matter how many times I have failed, His loving-kindness is other-worldly.

And Abram journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.  Genesis 13:3-4 

After Abram was disgraced in Egypt with the Pharaoh, he didn’t decide to throw in the towel.  He traveled back to Bethel, the place where he met God the first time and built an altar.  This was the site of his spiritual homecoming, and he was quick, upon arriving there, to call upon the name of the LORD.  There is no record of shyness.

People’s love is imperfect.  I have many scars to prove it and still have a scared heart where certain people are concerned.  They are dependably judgmental and immovable but God is not like that.  No matter where I’ve gone, no matter what I’ve done, no matter how long I’ve been gone, I can always go back to Bethel.

On the other side of repentance, You will never keep reminding me of my sins.  No one loves like You. Amen

They [our ancestors] refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.   Nehemiah 9:17

This week’s name for God is rarely included as one of the top ten favorites. It was first mentioned in Nehemiah.  In this chapter, the Israelites gathered together for a day to review the sins of their ancestors.  They repented of their forefather’s sins for six hours.  For the next six hours, they read the scriptures out loud. They repented of personal sins for the remaining twelve hours and then worshipped the Lord. 

Knowing the backstory makes me wonder how much we embrace the power of God’s forgiveness. Corporately, it’s rare for us to assemble for hours on end to examine our spiritual history, enumerate our past iniquities, and then repent specifically of each one. Yet, it is against this backdrop that God is revealed as forgiving.

It’s hard to believe these are the same Israelites that will be mentioned later in the book of Hosea. God will say that they lacked strength, even though they viewed themselves as powerful. He will call them weak, though they believed themselves to be strong. 

Aliens have devoured his strength, but he does not know it; gray hairs are here and there on him, yet he does not know it. And the pride of Israel testifies to his face, but they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek Him for all this. Hosea 7

Oh, to be like the children of God in Nehemiah.  Our gracious and compassionate God, Eloah Selichot, offers radical forgiveness but I must be willing to turn away from what is unrighteous to pursue holiness. I must chase the things of the kingdom.  There is no need to live with the grievous sins passed down from my earthly family.  There is no need to suffer the ongoing consequences of their mistakes.  There is also no need for me to wring my hands in guilt over my own sin, wondering if God loves me enough to really forgive me.  He does ~ and He will ~ if I believe Him for who He says He is. 

Gracious and compassionate Father, thank you. Amen

If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Romans 8:31

God has assured me that He is my banner because I’m in a battle that will last until I take my last breath. Without Him hovering over my life, I’ll never be able to live from a place of victory. There are serious enemies; the world, the flesh and the devil.  Though I know that God is more powerful than all three, sometimes it feels like they are winning. But ~ wars are like that.

The world is against me because I have pledged my life to the One they stand against.  Those who are offended by Him are also offended by me.  They bristle at any mention of Christ.  He stands between us no matter how much I try to establish peace and good will.

The flesh is against me.  When I love what God hates and want my own way, my own flesh becomes the enemy. God’s presence is a reminder me that I am alive to Him and dead to my old passions.  Though I have the freedom to sin, my desires for things of the flesh are continually transformed under the shadow of His presence.

The devil is against me.  He is a scheme-maker, trying everything to take me down. But Jehovah Nissi set new parameters for Satan’s activities at the cross. He is on a leash and his time to act out is short.

In this war, Satan must constantly behold Jehovah Nissi overshadowing the saints. God is no spectator who watches from afar off. In this battle, He is there in the middle of it. His promises give courage to the troops. His power infuses supernatural strength to the weak. His presence makes the most timid ones fearless.

Banners are there to make a declaration. And this one says, “I am with you to the end.” Amen

May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: The Lord fulfill all your petitions.  Psalm 20:5

When Julius Caesar, a great military leader, raised a banner for all to see, it was a call to arms.  Men stopped what they were doing and ran home to gather their weapons.  They knew they were going to war.  What set Caesar apart from other Caesars was that he went with his men into battle.  His men learned they would never be asked to do something that Caesar was unwilling to do.  Because of that, their love and loyalty to him were legendary, as were Caesar’s conquests and expansion. 

When my father left home to board a ship for France in the early 1940s, he did so after saying goodbye to his family. They didn’t go with him; there was only a send-off. They embraced him, eyes full of tears, and placed a few mementos into his army duffel bag: a small New Testament, some food for the journey, a letter, and the promise of love and prayers. (His father would die during my dad’s deployment.)

There is no send-off when God raises a banner and sends me out to live in His name.  He goes with me. No amount of danger will cause Him to shrink back.  Jehovah Nissi does not become a casualty, unlike the standard bearers in Earth’s wars.  He is Lord of the angel armies.  He has unlimited resources.  No matter how much courage I need, there is a promise.  No matter what provision I lack, He makes it available.  No matter what healing I require, He is the Physician on call. 

I can never say to Jehovah Nissi, ‘You don’t understand what it’s like.’ He does understand. Jesus came and lived as a mortal man, facing the same dangers, limitations, and vulnerabilities. He shared the same dependence on a God He could not see and the same need to live prayerfully, relying on the promises of Scripture. 

Living in alien territory with God as our banner has never been more vital, yet challenging. We live in a world that is hostile to God. Fifty years ago, identifying as a Christian often received positive reactions. That is rarely the case today. I may feel tempted to conceal my faith by leading a moral life and demonstrating kindness and grace to others. However, the world isn’t redeemed with niceties. Oh, that we would be eager and humbly grateful to call Jehovah Nissi our banner!   

Forgive me for all the times I’ve taken shortcuts in my testimony. I will wear the colors of Christ. Amen.

You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth.  Psalm 60:4

Jehovah Nissi has been my favorite name for God for a long time. In difficult times, I held onto God’s promises and envisioned them as a banner over my head.  God is His Word and God says that He is there gracing my life with His presence. 

What tight spot are you in today?  Over what is your heart aching?  Whose words have left you feeling powerless?  What spiritual test are you currently enduring?  Where are you tired of waiting on God?  God has a word for us, posted on a banner, for every kind of life scenario. 

Jehovah Nissi first came alive for me when I was in my mid-thirties.  Because I started performing in public events so young in life, I had some trauma that came back to bite me.  In the late 1980’s, I suffered persistent anxiety attacks before every concert, which at that time, numbered over a hundred a year.  I sat backstage, watched the clock, and as it ticked down to performance time, I got increasingly upset.  I felt trapped.  The clock became synonymous with a ticking time bomb.  Every tick moved me closer to a detonation. As anxiety ramped up, I often crashed, and either forced myself to perform while stuffing my panic, or cancelling at the last moment.  

A period of counseling proved to be lifesaving as I dealt with the past, unrealistic expectations placed on me as a child/musician, and my inability to say no to those who asked too much of me.  God gloriously healed me from anxiety (and it’s gone to this day) but how He did it was through His name, Jehovah Nissi.  He revealed that although my life was short and frail, He does not weaken or fail with the passage of time. He controls it and is, in fact, outside of it.  He is Lord over time.  The ticking clock was nothing but smoke.  “For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”  Psalm 90:4

Eventually, I could look at the clock backstage and be unmoved.  I could see my Eternal God as my banner, working outside of time, inviting me into spacious places with Him, out of confinement.  I felt suspended from the pressure.  Jehovah Nissi connected me with eternity, something infinitely bigger than a 90-minute concert, and walked with me onto the stage.  He was a banner, a tent, over my head.  I felt cocooned and safe and began to enjoy the adventure of singing, telling stories, and finding ways to share my passion over spiritual things.   

Today, no matter where you and I go, we need only be still, picture the banner, and know that He is with us.  His truth is holding us, surrounding us, cocooning us, and suspending us above the pressure.  May God give you the eyes to see the flag gently waving in response to the wind of the Spirit. 

You are the banner that goes with me into battle.  I will never lose my bearings.  Amen