In the Gospels, Yeshua (Jesus) tells us that when we pray in his name, that which we ask for we will receive. But if we have accepted Yeshua as our Messiah, wouldn’t God already know that? Why do we have to speak it?

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Maybe I am preaching disobedience or rebellion… I’m not sure.

For many years I would always end my prayers, as well as often interjecting while praying, “I ask this in Yeshua’s name”. Then, a couple of years ago, I began to think that because the word “name” in the Bible is really just a reference to a reputation and renown, there isn’t any power in Yeshua’s reputation.

However, there is plenty of power in what he did for us; the real power we can receive is not from the word “Yeshua” or “Jesus”, but from the blood he shed. That is what allows us to be cleansed of our sins; that is what enables us to come into the presence of the Lord, God, Almighty and ask for forgiveness, which is only achieved through the shedding of innocent blood (Hebrews 9:22, which references the sacrificial system God created in Leviticus 1-7).

Now when I pray, I finish my prayer by saying “I ask this by the shed blood of the Messiah, Yeshua.”

But still- I wonder why I need to reference Yeshua, at all? I wonder why God doesn’t already know that, because I have accepted Yeshua as my Messiah, whatever I ask for in prayer is always going to be based on the power of the blood he shed for me?

Is prayer now some form of spiritual Simon Says? If I say, “By the blood of Yeshua” I get what I ask, but if I don’t say that does God reply, “You didn’t say ‘Yeshua says’, so you don’t get what you asked for.”?

I don’t think so.

I think that God knows I always ask for forgiveness of sin by the shed blood of the Messiah, and yet I still say it. Maybe I am just conditioned to do that? Maybe I feel more comfortable and that I am covering my you-know-what when I add “By the blood of the Messiah” at the end of my prayer?

I don’t know.

I will continue to ask for forgiveness, of course. And to lift those I love and care about to God for healing, whether physical or spiritual. And I will continue to refer to Yeshua as his son, my Messiah, the one he promised to send and thank him for doing that, as well as for all the blessings he gives me.

I had written that when we thank God there is no need to refer to Yeshua because thanking God is not asking for anything, which I wrote a while ago when I was still using the actual name of Yeshua in my prayers. (Here is a link to that message)

In the meantime, I will continue to ask for God if he desires me to say, “By the blood of Yeshua” or “In Yeshua’s name” every time I ask for something in prayer and be open to hearing his answer.

I hope it comes soon because I can’t just get rid of this question: If he truly knows my heart and mind, won’t he know when I pray that asking as Yeshua said to is a “given”?

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry continue to grow. Also, buy my books- if you like what you get here, you will like my books, as well.

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And remember that I always welcome your comments.

I’d really like to hear what you think about this one.

That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

UPDATE:

It’s the morning of May 6, 2023.
I have been praying to God to help me come to a final conclusion about what to use, if anything, with regard to pryaing in Yeshua’s name. I received good comments from people and some good points were made for always using Yeshua’s name, and not even using “by the blood”(which is not what Yeshua said).
This morning in prayer God made it clear to me.
I have always stated that God knows what is in our hearts and minds, and when I was thinking about that it came to me that because he does, and because (as someone pointed out) even though he knows this, he still wants us to pray, then it doesn’t matter which words I use to refer to Yeshua- God wants us to pray to him and Yeshua wants us to pray referring to him as our Intecessor no matter how we phrase it.
I don’t have to concern myself with should I use Yeshua’s name, or say “by his blood” – it doesn’t matter so long as I refer to Yeshua in some way because, just like God knows what we need but still wants us to pray, Yeshua knows God will answer us but he wants us to recognize his role in our prayer as Intercessor, so we should acknowledge him, as wel, when asking for something from Godl.
Whew! That’s a load off my minnd. 🙂
Thank you, Lord, for answering prayer!

The Book of Kohelet has often been misunderstood, and I suppose that’s because it starts off telling us that everything is pointless, and that all our efforts are no more useful than chasing the wind.

Okay, I get it- someone isn’t happy with how things they have done has turned out.

So, who wrote this treatise on disappointment?

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Most agree that it was King Solomon, although in recent years some have stated it may have been written by someone else pretending to be a king of Jerusalem. Personally, I don’t buy that.

In the first chapter the writer tells us that he has been a king over Israel in Jerusalem. Not only that, but this book is filled with wisdom and proverbs, very much like those Solomon wrote.

For example:

1:18- there is much wisdom in grief.
2:14- wise men have eyes that see, but fools walk in darkness.
4:5- better an armful of tranquility than both arms full of effort that yields nothing
5:1 nightmares come from worrying too much, and a fool chatters too much
5:9- the lover of money never has enough money

There are other wisdom sayings throughout the book that indicate the writer is a man possessed with great wisdom. Not to mention that he tells us in 1:16 that he has acquired more wisdom than anyone else ruling in Jerusalem- that is exactly what we are told in the Bible about Solomon (1 Kings 4:30).

Now, what about this statement that everything is pointless, that nothing matters, and what does a person gain after all their efforts? These sound like the ramblings of a depressed, cynical man, but when we realize the reason he is saying this, it makes sense.

In Kohelet 1:12, he tells us that he applied himself to seek out and investigate everything that is done under heaven. I believe what Kohelet was saying was that he wanted to understand the “why” of everything- he wanted to have the same level of understanding that God does. Well, no wonder he was disappointed and found everything pointless! No one can understand anything at the same level of God.

However, he did come to an understanding of what might be the most important lesson of all- that whatever we do we should do with joy and appreciation because this is what God has given us.

Kohelet tried to understand everything by starting out with the pleasures of the body. He went on to build palaces, gardens, pools, have slaves, amass wealth, have singers and musicians, and many other material things. Yet, in the end, he realized that it was all worthless, just chasing the wind.

Why? Because when he dies, everything he worked his whole life to attain will go to someone else who will just waste it.

Throughout this book, we are given a number of examples of what is pointless:

• attaining wisdom is useless because no matter how wise or how stupid a man becomes, in the end, we all die and are treated the same.
• the pursuit of material things is pointless because the rich never have enough and the money they accumulate will go to someone else when they die.
• no matter how good a king is, it’s pointless because when the king is dead the ones coming after him will not regard him highly.
• having goods and wealth will not please a person, who will always want more, and when they die someone else gets to enjoy them.
• the righteous person can perish in his uprightness while the evil person lives a long and happy life.

Despite the overriding depressive feel of this book, Kohelet does come up with a number of revelations that are messages of hope and the lessons we need to learn in order to have a contended life:

Revelation #1: Kohelet tells us all that is left to us to do in this life is to eat, drink, and enjoy whatever fruits of labor that we have attained, because this is what God has given to us (2:24; 5:17; 8:15; 9:7).

Revelation #2: Everything that happens has its own time (3:1-11), nothing is new under the sun (1:9), and this is the way God has designed the world.

You may remember the song by the Byrds called “Turn, turn, turn” (1965) which was from this passage; it was originally written by Pete Seegar in 1959

Revelation #3: People who love things of the world will never be satisfied.

Revelation #4: Everything happens to everyone: rich or poor, wise or stupid, righteous or evil. In the end we all die, although those who live a righteous life will be in better shape when facing God.

The final and ultimate lesson that Kohelet has learned, which he tells us at the very end of the book, is this:

We should worship God and obey his laws, for that is what being human is all about;
in the end, God will bring to judgement all that we do.

This is unquestionably the wisest thing anyone can do.

Kohelet, with all his wisdom, riches, and achievements, concludes the only thing we really need to do is enjoy the fruits of our labors, the simple things in life, such as eating and drinking, and be thankful to God for giving that to us. I believe this was confirmed by Yeshua who, when telling us how to pray, said we should ask for our daily bread- nothing more, nothing less, and that we shouldn’t worry about tomorrow.

So, the next time someone tells you that they just don’t get the Book of Kohelet, asking why is such a “downer” even in the Bible, you can tell them that the real message of Kohelet is one of contentment. It teaches us we will never understand why things happen the way they do, that all things happen for a reason and that God has determined the correct time for all things that occur under the sun, and that to be at peace and enjoy life all we need to do is worship God, obey his commandments, and appreciate what God has given us because that is what being human is all about.

Whoa!! Stop the music! How can Satan rule the earth when we all know that God rules the universe?

Because the Bible says he does.

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Haven’t you ever heard of Chain of Command?

When I was a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, at one time I was the Executive Officer of the Headquarters and Supply Company, 2nd Marine Combat Engineer Battalion. I was able to “rule” over 365 Marines, including even a Captain who was, technically, my superior in rank but still under my command because he was the Platoon Commander of one of the platoons in the company, and I ruled over the entire company.

Yet, the Company Commander ruled over me, and he was ruled by the Battalion Commander, who was ruled by the Division Commander, and so on, all the way up to the President of the United States.

Satan might rule the earth, but God rules the universe, which means he rules Satan. It’s simply a matter of chain of command.

So, nu? Where does it say that Satan rules the earth?

In Luke 4:5, when Yeshua was in the desert and Satan was tempting him, he showed Yeshua all the kingdoms of the earth, and told Yeshua that he (Satan) had been given them all and they were his to give to whomever he wanted to. That certainly sounds like he rules them, doesn’t it?

Later, in Luke 10:18, Yeshua confirms this when he told his disciples that he saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven (to the earth).

Shaul (Paul) confirms Satan’s rule of the earth in his letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:2), when he told them they used to conform to the ways of the world and to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that causes disobedience in men. Clearly, that spirit is Satan.

The Tanakh also states that Satan is in the world: in the Book of Job, God asks Satan where he has been and he answers that he has been wandering here and there, throughout the world (Job 6:7). We are shown that Satan has authority in the world to come and go as he pleases. Even though God did control what Satan could do to Job, Satan had the power to do whatever he wanted to do, including to cause the death of people.

This is interesting: when he killed Job’s children (Job 1:18-19), he did so by sending a strong wind to destroy the house they were eating in; hmmm… maybe this is why Shaul calls him the ruler of the power of the air?

There you have it! Satan rules the earth, and that is why even though we are in the world we are not to be part of it, i.e., not to be ruled by the one that rules the world.

We are to be ruled by the one that rules the universe, who sent Yeshua the Messiah.

So, what’s today’s take-away? Don’t be concerned or afraid of the world or the one who rules it, because despite all the power he has, the one who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone! Subscribe to both this ministry on my website and my YouTube channel, click on the bell to be notified when I post, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you agree to the rules, or you can’t come in).

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

I think we all understand what this title means, so why am I talking about it in a message regarding our relationship with God?

Maybe it’s because so many people misplace the credit they give?

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I have been to many different houses of worship, both Jewish and Christian, as well as the “in-betweens”, i.e., Messianic Jewish synagogues and Hebraic Roots churches. And what I have found in too many of them is that they continually praise Yeshua (Jesus) for the wonderful blessings they have received.

Now, there’s no question that Yeshua deserves consideration when it comes to salvation; after all, if it wasn’t for his sacrifice, we would all be in deep trouble. With the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, which is the only place God says we can bring our sacrifices, without Yeshua’s sacrifice (which replaced the need to bring an animal to the temple) we would have no way to receive forgiveness. So, clearly, Yeshua is deserving and worthy of our thanks and yes, I suppose, praise, too.

But who did Yeshua say we should praise? And to whom did those who actually were there and saw the miracles Yeshua performed give praise to?

I can tell you that the Gospels tell us who that was, and (get ready for it) …it wasn’t Yeshua.

Let’s look at Matthew 5:16 (CJB), which is just after Yeshua was talking about people being a light to the world:

In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.

And later, in Matthew 9:8 (CJB), when he was healing people left and right, and the crowds were amazed, this is what happened:

When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and said a b’rakhah to God the Giver of such authority to human beings.

And these are not just one or two lines taken out of context, but verified by the other Gospels as showing that the people knew who to give the proper credit to- God, the Father, who empowered Yeshua.

Yes, thanks to Yeshua we can receive salvation, but it doesn’t come from Yeshua- he is the means to salvation, not the source. God, and God, alone, is our salvation. God is the one who forgives, God is the one who saves, and Yeshua is merely the instrument of God’s salvation.

And if you don’t want to believe me when I say this, then believe Yeshua, who never once took credit for any of the miracles he performed.

OK, maybe once, in Mark 1:41, when he said he was willing to make the man clean. He did, in a way, make it seem that he was the one doing the cleansing, but still he told the man to go to the Cohen as the Torah required.

Other than that one exception, Yeshua always gave credit to their trust and faith, and often thanked God for what he (Yeshua) was able to do (like when he praised God for allowing the people to see him raise Lazarus so they would know that was God behind it).

God is the one who dispenses blessings, God is the one who forgives sins; read Matthew 9:6, where Yeshua said he was given authority on earth to forgive sins: meaning only during his ministry.

And remember how Yeshua also said (Matthew 7:21) that many people who worship him and call him “Lord” will not be allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven, unless they do what his Father in heaven wants, meaning obeying the Torah.

Yeshua always gave credit for what he did to his father in heaven, and I am pretty sure that is what he tells us to do, as well.

So, the next time you give thanks for a blessing, or for your salvation, or for your health, or any, and every, thing you are thankful for, give the credit to the one who the credit is due- God, the Father.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know. Subscribe to my website and YouTube channel, buy and share my books, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but please make sure you agree to the rules or I can’t let you in).

And remember that I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

What is your name? Mine is Steven. The reason I have this name is to identify myself as a unique individual within the society. And, since there are many other “Stevens”, I also have a middle and last name to help further separate me from all the other human males.

But what about God? Does he really need an identifier to separate him from all the other gods?

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I know this will sound totally off, some may even call it blasphemous, but God doesn’t have a name.
Oh, yes- there are many titles we know him by, even the one he gave to Moses, but that isn’t really a name.
The Tetragrammaton, those 4 Hebrew letters Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh (יהוה) have been generally accepted to mean “I am that I am”, or “I will be that which I will be”.

God told Moses to tell the people that “I am” sent him. But “I am” is not a name- it is a description, isn’t it?

The letters do not represent a unique label by which we can know this God from all other gods, although it certainly can be used for that, but it is more of a description of who and what God is: it tells us that he is infinite.

All the terms we use for him: God, Adonai, Lord, Jehovah, Yahweh, HaShem…all of these identify him by a title, but that is not the same as a name that is to make him unique from all the others like him.

There is no other like him.

For instance, Ba’al means Lord, and despite those very foolish people who say using the name “Lord” is praying to a pagan god, there are many other Stevens in the world, but when someone is talking to me, they aren’t talking to every other Steven in the world. It’s the same with God, which is further proof that since every religion uses the title “god” or “lord”, this is obviously not a unique identifying of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

In fact, there shouldn’t even be debate about this because God tells us how he wants to be known. Check out Exodus 3:15:

God said to Moses, “Say this to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

So, that pretty much settles it, wouldn’t you say?

Again, not so much a name as a description.

So, to all those “Holy Namers” out there- sorry to bust your bubble, but how we pronounce God’s name is not the important thing; God, himself, says to refer to him by what he is, not by a name.

Besides, we are saved by faith, not pronunciation.

And to all those out there who insist we should use his name all the time, well- go ahead. But make sure it’s the one He said to use., which means instead of God or Jehovah, or Yahweh, or whatever you prefer, God says to know him as the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

That’s a mouthful. I don’t know about you, but I’ll just stick with God or Adonai or Lord, and know that I am not praying to a pagan or Semitic, Roman, Greek, Hindu, or Buddhist supernatural entity, but to the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of…well, you know the rest.

I am not saying to stop using whatever term or title or “name” for the one who created everything and who sent Yeshua, the Messiah to us you are used to using is wrong. It’s fine, and if you are confused about pronunciation, remember that throughout the Bible we are told, over and over, that God knows your heart and mind, so as long as you are praying to the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, etc., then you are fine.

Believe me- God knows who you mean, and he isn’t so prideful as to reject your prayer because of what title you use when referring to him.

Even Shakespear knew this: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” (Romeo and Juliet)

God is the epitome of unique- there is nothing else like him anywhere: there never has been, there isn’t now, and there never will be. He is, he was, he always shall be HIM.

What it comes down to is this- God doesn’t have a name because God doesn’t need a name.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages, subscribe to my website and YouTube channel, and buy my books. I also invite you to join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but please make sure you agree to the rules, or you can’t come in).

And remember that I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (and early) Shabbat Shalom!