PODCAST
Living In Love
December 18th, 2019
John 3:16-21
The Jewish people in the Old Testament had many names for God—Yahweh, Jehovah, Adonai—just to name a few. None of these titles, however, referred to God as Father. Jesus was the first in the Bible to call God “Father,” and He did so in every prayer recorded.
It was this reason so many of Jesus’ enemies sought to silence Him. This departure from tradition could not be tolerated by the religious leaders. God used the intimate relationship between a parent and child to illustrate the new bond He desired with the world. He even sent His only Son Jesus to model it for us.
When we accept this deep, abiding love that God provides, it brings a freedom we have never experienced. God’s love creates a sense of security and confidence in our lives. Living a life in God’s love provides us with the ability to truly love others.
Begin today by asking God to teach you how to give and receive the love He has for you.
Author: Patty Craft
December 18th, 2019 at 4:43 am
It is okay to try to make a point but those three names are all the same. Jehovah is just a German transliteration of the divine name Yahweh. And “lord” or Adonai was put in place of the tetragrammaton. All three are the same. It would be good to do more research instead of simply writing what you feel or have heard from others. Jesus did call God his Father, but it was still YHVH. Also, it is not a departure from Scripture to say that God even called Israel his son. So any among the people of Israel could call God, “Father.”
Love is a lofty ideal. The reason the people did not love Jesus is because they did not love God. They were utter corrupt in their affairs with pagan nations and idolatry. They loved money not God.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:04 am
I love this. I have a brother who says he could never understand the trinity. The association of family is what it’s all about. Good devotional, that you.
December 19th, 2019 at 9:48 am
The Hebrew Scriptures normally portray God, not as the Father of individuals, but as Father to His people, Israel. In the OT, God’s Fatherhood of Israel is often implied—by Israel being called His child (Hos. 11:1; Isa 1:2; Jer. 31:20). God was understood as “Father”; however, there were proper ways that were used by the people in the Old Testament to address God–the term “Father” was not among them. In light of this, Jesus calling God “Father” was a radical departure from tradition. For this reason many of Jesus’ enemies sought to destroy and/or silence Him. Pious Jews would never have dared address God as Ab (Hebrew) or Abba, the Aramaic word for “Daddy,” which gradually came to mean “dear father.”
I appreciate the devotional writer’s comment that “Living a live in God’s love provides with the ability to truly love others.”