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“And Moses built an altar and named it Jehovah-Nissi, which means ‘The Lord is my banner'”.  Exodus 17:15

This name of God comes from the story in Exodus 17 when the Israelites fought with the Amalekites.  Joshua led Israel’s troops into battle while Moses climbed to the top of a hill where he could see the entire battle play out from a strategic vantage point.  God told Moses that as long as he held up his staff, the Israelites would gain an advantage.  When he lowered it, they would lose ground.  Moses was graced with the stamina to keep the staff raised high. 

When the battle was won, Moses built an altar and named it, ‘Jehovah Nissi’, meaning ‘God is my banner.’  There was no doubt that God had led them to victory. 

Revolutionary and Civil War movies show opposing armies advancing toward each in confrontation.  A single soldier, called a Standard Bearer, carried the flag bearing the ensign of his country or government.  He was always in the front line, making this the most dangerous assignment in the army.  He traded in his gun for a flag, all the while knowing that his enemies would probably shoot him first.  He would never put the flag down to engage in the fighting nor would he surrender the flag if he was wounded.  In fact, he was instructed to wrap his body with it even as the final blows come.  As long as the flag was held high, morale was boosted.  People remembered what they were fighting for.  If they lost their bearings, they looked for their flag and were reminded of who they were and why they fought.  Under the flag, they shared a vision and set of ideals. 

A waving flag also grated against the enemy and intimidated them.  It stood for everything they did not believe in.  No wonder there was always an attempt to capture it and destroy it. It was usually burned.    

This is one of my favorite names of God. It’s extremely touching to me that God places Himself as a banner over my life.  Flesh and blood may not see Him, but it still affects them.  Spiritual beings do see Him: heaven’s angels rejoice and work with Him for my good, and hell’s angels stand down and know that their efforts are under His sovereignty.  

A sanctified imagination can see His banner waving high.  I see it, do you?  In this spiritual battle, I remember whose I am, why I’m fighting, and unlike earthly wars when the outcome is uncertain, I know who wins this epic battle.  Jehovah Nissi has already secured victory.

**Standard Bearers on the front lines usually won many medals.  (though post-mortem)

My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  Job 42:5

The Egyptians wrote a medical book in 1552 B.C. called “Papyrus Ebers.”  Inside were prescriptions and incantations for all kinds of illnesses. Their remedy for hair loss was to apply the fat of a horse, a hippopotamus, a crocodile, a cat, a snake, and an ibex.  The drugs they mentioned might turn your stomach: lizard blood, swine teeth, putrid meat, and moisture from pig’s ears.  Aren’t you glad you live in this century?

Moses was alive in Egypt when this book was written. He probably saw some of these applications in the palace. Years later, he would live to experience God revealing Himself as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. God needed only His own power to bring about healing.

The Book of Job is 400 years older than Genesis, so I’m sure many of these primitive methods existed during Job’s suffering. We don’t know if Job’s wife encouraged him to try any of them.  

Job had always been a righteous man. He would arise early in the morning to offer sacrifices to God for himself and each of his children.  They were offered to prevent harm, not because harm existed.  It was Job’s way of ensuring his children’s well-being.  Job did all the right things, yet God permitted Satan to afflict him.  This, alone, proves that suffering isn’t always due to sin. 

Job also suffered from the spiritual interpretations of his three closest friends. Though they claimed to speak for God, they did not, eventually driving Job to take his case directly to God. At this point, his relationship with God became personal and intimate. Before this, sacrificing animals to interact with the Almighty had been largely impersonal by comparison.  We know that because of the testimony reflected in today’s scripture.  My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.  Job 42:5

To experience God as Jehovah-Rapha, the Healer, we often pay the price of discipleship to know Him more intimately. We are tested with bitter waters for a season, and though grievous, it is beneficial (in retrospect) because it drives us to the heart of God. This is the place where scriptures became personal.  This is the time when we feel we are connected to God in a life-saving way.  This is the season we won’t trade for anything – even though we’ll never want to repeat it.  Knowing God is our highest privilege and the deepest longing of our hearts.  

This scripture is also my testimony.  Only because of affliction did the props and idols fall away.  Only because of affliction did the eyes of my heart open to see what had been hidden.  

Sometimes, I saw You heal me when I was sick.  But mostly, You have healed my orphaned soul.  You are my Jehovah Rapha.  Praise Your name!  Amen

If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.  Exodus 15:26

As the Egyptian army bore down on the people of Israel, they fled all the way to the Red Sea.  Cornered at the water’s edge, it sure looked like they would be slaughtered but God parted the waters, and His people walked across safely.  As the Egyptian army pursued them, their army, including horses and chariots, weren’t so blessed.  The walls of water, held up by the mighty hand of God, were collapsed and they all drowned. Israel rejoiced, built an altar, and sang a song of victory to their God.  

What a difference three days would make though.  They traveled on into the Desert of Shur (on the heels of the greatest miracle they had ever experienced) and faced the first of many tests.  This one also involved water.  The people were extremely thirsty, and desperate.  Relieved to finally find water, their hopes were dashed when they discovered it was undrinkable.  They named the water Marah, which means bitter.  Moses turned to the Lord and God showed him a piece of wood.  He was instructed to throw the wood into the water, and it would sweeten it, changing the mineral properties to make it drinkable.  It was at this moment that God identified Himself as Jehovah-Rapha ~ the God who heals. 

God spoke and promised to spare His people from any of the diseases He had brought on the Egyptians in the form of the ten plagues.  But like many of the Old Testament promises to come, it was conditional.  They were to ‘diligently listen to the voice of God and do what was right in His eyes, to give ear to His commandments and keep His statutes.’   

Throughout scripture, God has made many promises regarding healing but, honestly, isn’t this a tricky subject?  Sometimes Jehovah Rapha heals when we stand in faith but sometimes, after vigorous seasons of prayer and fasting, He does not.  This tests our faith and often sets up private disappointments.  In the dark, where unspoken doubts fester, Satan loves to work and malign God’s character.  We might even feel we have to make excuses for God when we’ve announced to others that God has promised healing.  Our arguments sound rather hollow coming from a heart that suffers from unanswered questions.

This is the week to explore some of these topics. What can we believe God for?  How do we live find peace in the mystery of waiting?  How do we interpret scriptures about God healing our diseases?  And where does deferred hope intersect this topic? 

We belong to a powerful God who will make all things perfect.  It’s a promise.  Eden will be restored.  For now, we wrestle and trust.  We ask questions but not with a fist.  I’m glad you’re with me for such an important week.  

Jehovah Rapha, we stand together in faith and proclaim that You do all things well.  And on time.  Give us spiritual understanding beyond what we have at this moment.  We believe but help our unbelief.  Amen

We who have been made holy by Jesus, now have the same Father he has. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers. Hebrews 2:11

Behavior modification is something I can do myself.  No matter what my heart feels, I can rise above it and force myself to do the right thing.  That is not the case with sanctification. I can’t change what my heart wants.  

Sanctification is growing to have a heart more like Jesus.  I can do absolutely nothing to bring that about.  It’s a holy process generated by God.  

Think about it.  How can I possibly force myself to love someone I don’t love?  How can I make myself desire to make a personal sacrifice when it’s the last thing I want to do?  How can I delight in putting others first when I am overcome with my own needs?   I can’t.  I need a new heart.  God must change the one I have so that it will value what He values.  

Sanctification is also about having a mind transplant.  I can do nothing to bring this about, either.  It, too, is a holy process that God generates. 

Think about it.  I’m incapable of processing anything with kingdom logic.  I can’t guess what those concepts might be.  I am confined to my own head and to the logic I was born with.  Only God can facilitate a mind transplant, and He rewrites what I think through His Word.  It’s living and active and does spiritual surgery.

The only requirement to all of this is that I am willing to defer and stay teachable.  Over a lifetime, my inner landscape can be transformed by small acts of submission to Jehovah Mekaddishkem. To God be the glory!

Plain and simple.  I want Your heart.  I want Your mind.  I will not get off course.  Amen

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.  I Corinthians 15:49

God makes a life-long commitment to sanctify His children, changing the way we think, what we desire, and what we treasure.  Though we are new creations at the time of spiritual adoption, it takes time for that to fully take effect on the inside.  

Before the cross, we bore the image of fallen Adam.  After the cross, the image began to change in the mirror.  The outline of Jesus began to appear and as time progressed, that outline began to fill in. When we die, the picture will be completed as we gain our perfection.  Sanctification will be complete.  

For now, Jehovah Mekaddishkem re-parents us for the rest of our lives.  He is invested no matter how long it takes for us to understand what He’s teaching us.  He is not daunted by how wounded we are, how far we’re behind others our age. The truth is ~ there’s a lot to sanctify in each one of us.  Others who know us well can’t begin to see the extent of our flesh.  We can look pretty impressive on the outside.  

But on the inside, the place where God’s Spirit works, only one thing matters.  How much are we like Jesus?  Do we think like Him?  Do we love who He is?   Is there a longing to be more like Him?

If so, it will be easier to disown and renounce any vestige of things Jesus died for.  We won’t fight Him when He points to something dark and calls us away from it.  We won’t shun the Light and avoid what His Word exposes.  We’ll welcome it.  The payoff is becoming more like Him.

Even I can see a new person in the mirror.  My new heart has made its way to my eyes.  Amen

“For the message of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”            I Corinthians. 1:18

God’s love undergirds everything He does.  I must see His gracious nature in the work of sanctification or I will miss this ~ God loves me so much that He will keep saving me.  

If I only see the cross as what was necessary to make me a child of God, I will miss the loveliness of sanctification.  In today’s scripture, Paul was writing to believers.  When he spoke of  ‘’being saved’, he wasn’t talking about the moment salvation occurs.  He was referring to something else ~ ongoing salvation from sin.  Daily sanctification.

*Every single day, we will battle with our motives.  We need to remember the cross and ask God to save us from selfish desires and hidden intentions.

*Every single day, we battle with careless talk, anger, despair, and criticism.  We need to remember the cross and ask God to save us from our personal strongholds.

*Every single day, we want to embrace what is temporarily satisfying over what needs to be deferred until eternity.  We need to remember the cross and ask God to save us from self-gratification.

These comprise the daily battle.  This is the fight for faith.  Whatever I choose to neglect will become easier to avoid.  Neglect is like a cancer.  Neglect will metastasize.

Salvation is near me today.  The cross centered life is meant to be mine.  Jehovah Mekaddishkem graciously offers me daily salvation from the tempter, the liar, the strategic planner, the deceiver, and most of all – from myself and my own flesh.

  I get it, Lord.  Conviction and sanctification are priceless gifts.  Thank you.  Amen

Consecrate yourselves there, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.  You shall keep My statues and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.  Leviticus 20:7-8

Harry Ironside, one of the first pastors of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, said… “A Christian is someone whose past has been altered.”  The resurrection power of Jesus that raised Him from the dead is making us new, in every way, on the inside.  

Jehovah is the God who sanctifies us. To sanctify is to become holy. God is slowly changing us to become like Jesus. Sanctification happens every single day if I yield to the process. I’m transformed in baby steps, and though I may not see massive changes in a week, the cumulative effect over a year should be enormous. In a decade, I shouldn’t resemble who I used to be. 

Here are some examples of what it may look like.  

• If an angry mother raised me and I still tremble in the presence of anger, Christ’s resurrection power slowly delivers me from fear and makes me bold.  I am sanctified to be calm and prayerful through another’s rage.
• If I was raised to be someone else’s puppet and never had a thought or dream of my own, Christ’s resurrection power frees me from the control of others. I am sanctified to follow Christ and embrace His plans for me.
• If I was criticized relentlessly for almost everything I did and still feel a crippling fear of doing something wrong, Christ’s resurrection power delivers me from playing it safe.  I am sanctified to become a Joshua who goes forward in confidence to conquer spiritual mountains.

You and I have been set apart from this world to be different.  We have each been singled out.  Jehovah Mekaddishkem picked us long before we were born.  We have great faith in the transforming power of Christ.  We thrill at every Word He speaks.  We tremble at the presence of the Holy Spirit.  We run out of the grave to new life.  

It takes a lifetime, though, for the grave clothes of the flesh to be unwrapped.  Daily, we die to ourselves and cling to new life in Christ.  As we do, we become more peculiar.  We live as aliens and strangers.  As I’m writing this, I’m aware that we are a family of daughters who know the pain and the exhilaration of the sanctification process.  Every sacrifice is worth it, and we cheer each other on to the finish line.   

Only true disciples can celebrate this name of God.  We’ve yielded to the Potter and seen His glory revealed in us.  

Thank you for choosing us and for patiently working with us. Amen

El Elyon, the ‘most high God,’ is ruler over all.  To ascribe to this truth as a doctrine is important, but to experience this in a life-threatening scenario is quite another thing.

In 2007, Elizabeth (my close friend and event coordinator) and I flew from Atlanta to Toronto. We sat in the back of a regional jet and were able to see clear to the front.  The captain reported that it was the perfect day to fly ~ blue skies all the way.  About halfway through the flight, a man sitting in the 3^rd row stood up, got a small duffle bag out of the overhead bin and walked past us to the restroom.  He was in there a long time before returning to his seat.  Sometime later, he turned around and motioned to another man sitting near us.  This guy then got up and went to the restroom and was also in there a good while.  When he returned to his seat, the man sitting in the front turned and mouthed something to him, then both men nodded.  

Something sure seemed off and Elizabeth and I were unnerved.  We began to pray that God would rule over the situation and would prevent something sinister, if indeed there was anything amiss.  

The pilot came on and said there had been a change in the weather and he admitted that he was surprised by it.  The clear skies over Toronto were no longer clear.  An unexpected series of storms had come up and we would now encounter bad weather.  Everyone was confined to their seats.  There would be no more getting up for these two guys.  We thanked the ‘most high God’ for ruling over the weather and having authority over the spirit world.  We continued to pray for protection from any harm.  

There was significant turbulence as we made our approach.  It was foggy and visibility was at a minimum. We disembarked and went our way.  We headed to baggage claim and immigration and replayed what had just happened, remarking how God had spared us from something.  At that moment, we saw a group of law enforcement appear ~ escorting and surrounding two men in handcuffs.  You guessed it ~ they were the two men from our plane.  There was no doubt in our minds that something had been planned and God supernaturally thwarted it.  What came to mind immediately was the famous CN tower in Toronto, similar to the Seattle Space Needle.   

I’ll add this note ~ During the flight, we were prepared to die, not knowing if our plane was going to be used as a weapon.  Knowing the power of God’s grace, we weren’t surprised when we were overcome with a peace neither of us could have manufactured.  The same God who controls the weather is also the One who notices the slightest tremor of fear in the heart of His child.  That day, the ‘most High God’ was in the heaven of heavens but also with us in the most intimate ways possible.  

The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lightened the world: The earth trembled and shook”.   Psalm 77:18