Unpopular God But I Love Him

You Don’t Love God? What’s Wrong With You?

Unpopular God But I Love Him

Genesis 22:14

And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. Genesis 22:14

It is becoming a crime in America to publicly express a love for God.

Despite the fact that the nation itself was built upon godly principles, founded by men and women seeking religious freedom, and predicated on godly ideas, the nation has drifted away from open expressions of godliness.

Then there are those who want to remove "under God" from the pledge of allegiance.

Still others, want "In God we trust" removed from American currency. There are great debates in hundreds of cities across America as to whether prayers can be said in schools or mumbled by those beginning a work or classroom day.

Those who openly express faith in God are called far right, religious fanatics and borderline nut cases. It is not politically correct these days to even say "Merry Christmas" or "Jesus is the reason for the season."

The next step after being dubbed politically incorrect is for faith in God to be declared wrong as it has been outlawed in many nations of the world.

Expressing a faith in God is becoming unfashionable at the least.

There are many who hear the words of scripture recorded in Deut.6:5 which reminds us that we should Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

As Christians, we should openly express our love for God and for Jesus Christ His son.

This text concludes the description of the Patriarch Abrahams decision to comply with the command of God that he sacrifice his son Isaac.

The willingness of Abraham to obey God is one of the greatest examples of Faith in the Bible. When he traveled to the mountain top Abraham carried with him the essentials of the sacrifice, fire, wood and his son.

Abraham's obedience is often referenced but there is a wealth of importance in the question asked by young Isaac, Where is the lamb?

Abraham's reply was prophetic, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering," and with this promise from God Abraham was content.

As we look at this story his prediction or prophetic statement was amplified with further details as time went on. This was a type and shadow of Jesus who would be "brought as a lamb to the slaughter" for the transgression of Jehovah's people.

Just before he sacrificed Isaac, God showed Abraham a ram caught in the bushes that became the ultimate sacrifice instead of his son.

He named the place Jehovah-Jireh, or The Lord will provide.

The power of this text is in the name that Abraham gave the site. It is commonly reported that Jehovah-Jireh means, God will provide but its just as important to know the full meaning of the name in Hebrew which is that the Lord sees or foresees and He provides.In the Hebrew Bible, it is translated "to see" or "to appear", and it is often used to refer to certain people who could foresee such as the Prophets. Obviously, there might be some confusion as to how the word "to see" can then also be translated to "provide", unless we consider the nature of Almighty God who is El Shaddai which means that God is "The All-Sufficient One".

Now lets break these words down: the Hebrew word "Shaddai" signifies One who nourishes, supplies, and satisfies (Isaiah 60:16, 66:10-13).

Combined with the word for God, "El", it then becomes the "One mighty to nourish, satisfy, and supply".

While Elohim is the God who creates, in the name "Shaddai" God reveals Himself as the God who compels nature to do what is contrary to itself. He is able to triumph over every obstacle and all opposition; He is able to subdue all things to Himself. All of these names — whether individually or collectively — naturally would be intensified when combined with "El" and would refer to YHWH as the One who mightily nourishes, satisfies, protects, and supplies His people. El Shaddai is our All-Sufficient Sustainer. It is God as "El" who helps, and it is God as "Shaddai" who abundantly blesses with all manner of blessings. One commentator said, "the idea of One who is all-powerful and all-mighty is implied . . . for only an all-powerful One could be all-sufficient and all-bountiful. He is almighty because He is able to carry out His purposes and plans to their fullest and most glorious and triumphant completion. . . . So He is able to save to the uttermost. And He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think."