Only One Name, Only One Verse

In my walk with the Lord, I’ve discovered that one verse can sustain me in times of crisis or challenge. Most of us have chosen what we call “life verses.” Mine is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” This verse has repeatedly exhorted and encouraged me when times were tough. And every verse in my favorite, Psalm 23, is a stand-alone verse. I’ve also learned that speaking out only the name of Jesus is enough to fill me with peace and assurance.

     The most vivid moment for me happened years ago in Romania when doors opened for adoptions. We were among many couples from the west searching to adopt a child. We prayed for months prior to our trip to Romania drawing her name from scripture. The Lord assured us that we would discover our baby daughter with His help and the help of our faithful Romanian translator. In Romania, following many leads, inquiries, and dead ends, we almost gave up hope in despair and frustration. Finally, in the late morning on the last week day before our scheduled departure via car and plane, we met-in the arms of her birth mother-a tiny infant wrapped like a papoose in a cigarette-smoke filled Romania courthouse. 

     I looked into her doll-like face asking myself, “Is this her Lord? What should we do?” We learned that her birth mother lived in a small house with 13 people on $25 a month. She knew her baby daughter would not thrive and wanted a better life for her. I

     My husband Paul fell instantly in love with her. Yet, my cautious nature swept in filling my mind with fear. My husband wisely suggested that I walk down the hall and pray because the decision was almost immediate to set a court date to move forward with adoption procedures. I found myself staring out of a tall second-story courthouse window with my life flashing in front of my eyes. Is this our daughter? What should we do? I couldn’t even pray or repeat a bible verse. All I could muster was saying “Jesus” over and over and over. My husband came to my side a few minutes later. “Arlene, what’s your decision? I don’t want to pressure you but time’s run out.” Looking at him, I asked, “Paul, are you convinced that this is our daughter?” 
     

The Lord assured me that my answer rested in Paul's joyous reminder. “Arlene, for months we’ve prayed and prepared for a newborn daughter. We chose a name from scripture. We’ve run across other children, but they weren’t newborns. And here she is on our last day to search before we have to take our return flight home.”

     We walked back to the brave, sacrificial birth mother. Through our translator, she agreed to sign the legal papers and appear before the Romanian court in a few days. She began unwrapping our precious baby’s white blanket, white clothing, and took off her tiny white crocheted cap. She only weighed four pounds, four ounces at 28 days old. Our translator explained that the clothes were borrowed! Fortunately, our almost three-year-old son was with us and we covered his baby sister in his small rain jacket. Later, we excitedly dressed her in the tiny clothes we brought from the states.

     Yes, be encouraged. God’s words in His scripture are life-giving. And sometimes only saying the name of Jesus is more than enough.
#PickAVerse

The Torn Curtain

     In a physical feat only the mighty Hands of God could achieve, He tore the purple, scarlet, and blue veil/curtain in The Temple in two. It happened at the moment Jesus exhaled His last breath of agony on the cross.  Matthew 27:51 verifies it. “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split.”  

Luke 23:44 wrote it this way, “It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.”

Imagine for a moment the chaos and fright of an earthquake, the sun turning off like a lamp, and darkness covering the land. Imagine the Priests’ stark terror and screams when they saw the curtain rent in two. It was incomprehensible.

     
For us in today’s world, curtains are coverings for our windows, available in many styles, sizes, colors, and patterns. Keep in mind though, the Temple curtain was not a window dressing. It served as a heavy barrier; 60 feet high, 30 feet wide and four inches thick. The curtain hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. For generations, from the exodus from Egypt until Jesus’ time and until 70A.D. the Jews viewed the Holy of Holies as the place of God’s Shekinah glory. Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and only once a year on the Day of Atonement-Yom Kippur.

On that day, the High Priest wore bells on the hem of his garment. If the bells stopped tinkling, the other priests assumed he had fallen or died. It is said that a rope tied around his ankle provided a  way for them to pull the High Priest out.  

Throughout the centuries from the movable Tabernacle in the desert, then Shiloh, and the First and Second Temples, the Jewish people revered the Holy of Holies with a profound sense of awe and fear. Three walls plated with gold comprised the Holy Place with one wall covered with a richly  embroidered veil. A beautiful aroma of incense filled the Holy Place which contained candlelight and fresh bread; a feast for the senses. The Holy Place symbolized bread for sustenance, the incense of prayers rising to God and candlelight for God’s singular light of life.

Yet when God tore the veil in two, He changed the course of human history in our approach to Him. Priests were no longer needed as an intermediary to ask God for forgiveness of sins. They were no longer needed once a year to sprinkle the blood of sacrificial animals and to light incense. Rending the massive curtain in two, God welcomed us into the Holy of Holies- the resting place for the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandment tablets and its lid, a Mercy Seat of gold.  

God’s beloved Son, His Perfect Lamb, became THE High Priest forever, pouring out His sacrificial blood making a path to approach God the Father directly. Hebrews 10:20 states, “Just as the veil was torn in two so Jesus’ body was torn to give us access to the Holy of Holies .” 

When we invite  Jesus into our hearts, we come under His tallit, His prayer shawl, under His blood covering. A song I wrote with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, describes it this way: 
Yeshua, you are the one who tore the veil in two. I stepped inside, you welcomed me to share this place with you…both Gentile and Jew. Under Your tallit, I dwell safe and secure. Under Your tallit, my hiding place is sure. Though life if full of struggle, your joy is fuller still. Under Your tallit I’m in your sovereign will. (C) Under Your Tallit 1999

While the physical rending of the curtain was spectacular, Jesus, our sacrificial Substitute bridged the cavernous, impassable gap between Holy God the Father and us.  Jesus is now our great High Priest making a forever path to a living, relationship with Him guaranteeing our eternal destination. The Lamb took His place as the only and forever High Priest.

"The cross shows us the seriousness of our sin-but it also shows us
the immeasurable love of God." -Billy Graham