The Manhattan Declaration

Have you read The Manhattan Declaration yet? If not, and if you are serious about standing for what is right, you need to read it. It is a read that requires some concentration, but it is all about drawing a line in the sand regarding the sanctity of human life, marriage, and religious liberty and saying
'enough is enough'. It has been signed by over 140 well known Christian leaders and thousands of lay people.

I'm taking a Thanksgiving writing break next week, but will be posting excerpts from The Manhattan Declaration a couple of times. There are links in this post to The Manhattan Declaration and there is also a link in my sidebar.

I've already sign the declaration. Will you?

Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

"Like those who have gone before us in the faith, Christians today are called to proclaim the Gospel of costly grace, to protect the intrinsic dignity of the human person and to stand for the common good."

Thursday Thought and Question

Today I want us to think on the two concepts that I have written about this week: God being the Boss of our lives, our Adonai; and our ability and willingness to have complete confidence in Him.



If the first is true, really true, then the second should be true as well. If we are truly allowing Him to be the Boss, the King, the Ruler of our life, then He is worthy of our complete and total confidence. Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen like that. All too often I allow Him to be Boss over one area, but not another. Or perhaps, I give Him the rule of my life, only to snatch it back when I don't like the way things are going. Sound familiar?



So, I have two questions for you. Please feel free to answer anonymously.



1. What area(s) of your life is He absolutely, no question, positively the Boss of and the One in whom you have complete confidence?



2. What area(s) of your life do you need to turn over to Him completely and allow Him to be Adonai?

Tuesday Quote - Marita Littauer

Today's Tuesday quote is one that the Lord has been working out in my heart and life for several months now. I am finding it easier and easier to say, "yes, i know this is true" as I walk with the Lord through this season. I hope this quote speaks into your heart as well.

"Complete confidence is knowing that where you are, is where God wants you." - Marita Littauer

Names of God - Adonai

I heard the story of two children who were playing a game. One of the children, the older of the two, began telling the younger child what he was supposed to be doing. After listening for a bit, the younger child looked up at the older and said, ‘You are not the boss of me.’

Today I want us to ponder the question, “Who is the boss of you?”

I once worked with a woman who was very adamant that she did not have a boss. She had an employer, but not a boss. She was unwilling to place herself in submission to anyone and her attitude toward the word ‘boss’ made that very evident.

Each of us has someone or something that is the boss of us and a master to whom we bow in submission. The ideal boss of our lives is God. For some, though, the boss of their life could be another person, or perhaps a habit or stronghold. For many years, anorexia was the boss of me. I allowed it to determine the course of my life and dictate virtually every move I made.

The name of God that we delve into today, Adonai, means Lord and Master. If God is Adonai to you, He is the one to whom you submit or bow down; He is the Boss of your life. Adonai is the ultimate authority figure in your life and the One to whom you owe your allegiance.

The first time we find this name for God is in Genesis 15: 1-2.

“After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me, since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"

Abram had followed God out of his homeland and into a new and strange land. He had relied on God to care for him and his family. Yet, in this passage, Abram seems to despair of ever having the one thing that would seem bring him satisfaction. (Perhaps Sarai’s constant fretting over not bearing children had something to do with this????) He believed that he needed a son in order to be complete and fulfilled.

Despite the Lord telling Abram that He, God, was Abram’s very great reward, Abram said, in effect, “Yes, but there is something else I want and need. Something that is more important to me than you.” Abram was calling God ‘Adonai’ with his lips, but he had not truly allowed God to be the Lord and Master of his life in the area of an heir.

How often do we say with our lips that God is our Adonai; the Boss, the King, the Ruler of our lives, yet with our actions we convey something very different? Again, I ask you…….who or what is the boss of you?

Another Question for My Writing

Thank you, thank you for your willingness to bare your souls and respond to my question last week about regret. Your honesty and vulnerability touched my heart. I can certainly identify with so many of those regrets, but I am so thankful that we have a Savior who is able to redeem all that He allows.

I have another question for you. Your answers will help me as I write the Bible study based on my message about our Legacy as Christian women. This question is not quite as personal as the one from last week, so you may leave your answers anonymously or use your name, whatever you prefer. However, please answer honestly. This Bible study focuses on three different aspects of our legacy: our faith, our character and our holiness.

In this current season of your life, what words would you use to describe your faith in God?

Remember you may answer anonymously or using your regular identity. Thank you so much.

Quote - Jennifer Rothschild

Once again, our Tuesday quote comes from my current small group Bible study by Jennifer Rothschild, Me, Myself & Lies. Please stop to consider this quote today, in light of the busy lives we lead.

"The Holy Spirit will not shout down the noise of our busy world to counsel you. He won't try to silence all the racket in your thought closet to be heard. To hear His counsel, we have to quiet ourselves and truly listen."

Did you get that? WE have to QUIET ourselves! Tough assignment!

Names of God - Jehovah-shammah

For reasons I really cannot explain, I am particularly drawn to this name of our God in this season of my life - Jehovah-shammah. In Hebrew, shammah simply means “there”.

We find this name for God used in reference to the earthly Jerusalem in Ezekiel 48: 35: “The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. “And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE”.

This would identify, to all who were Hebrews, that God dwelt in Jerusalem. It was His city and those were His people. Today I want us to think ‘outside the box’ about this name for God.

So many people are looking ahead to some event, some time in their lives, some potential disaster, some looming date and are wondering if or how they will survive it. Perhaps it is a doctor’s appointment or a court date or your child leaving home or your mate passing away or any one of a zillion things. There is something in your future that causes you to have a knot in the pit of your stomach every time you think about it. Be it real or imagined, this future occurrence causes you huge amounts of stress, angst and worry.

Jehovah-shammah. THE LORD IS THERE!! Our God is already in your tomorrow. He already knows how your future plays out and He has complete control over it. Jehovah-shammah. THE LORD IS THERE!! You can’t be in your future now, but He can. You can’t control the future events of your life, but He can.

In the Bible, wherever God’s presence appeared, His blessings flowed down on those who acknowledged, trusted and obeyed Him. God is THERE in your tomorrow and in my tomorrow. He simply desires that we trust His heart.

Question #1

I am in the process of writing a Bible study based on the message that I consider to be my hallmark message, "Legacy". The Bible study, as with the retreat message, will examine legacies left to us in the Bible--godly and ungodly. It will also encourage the student to think through how to build a godly legacy for the coming generations.

I would like your help with a few questions. Because of the nature of these questions, I am going to ask that your answers be left ANONYMOUSLY. If you would rather email me your answer, please feel free to send an email to this address.

Here is today's question:

What is your biggest regret in life?

REMEMBER: Choose ANONYMOUS at the bottom of the comment box after you have typed in your answer!!!!

Quote Day

I heard this song this morning and the opening verse pierced my heart!! I hope that you will allow it to speak a challenge to your heart as well.

"Father, I see that you are drawing a line in the sand and I want to be standing on your side, holding your hand. So let your kingdom come, let it live in me. This is my prayer, this is my plea."

from Phillips, Craig and Dean

The Names of God - Jehovah-mekoddishkem

In the Hebrew, the words sanctify, set apart, and holy are derived from the word qadash. We find this name for our heavenly Father, Jehovah-mekoddishkem, used in Exodus 31 where God is instructing the children of Israel about the Sabbath day and the significance of sanctifying or setting apart a day of rest and worship.

12 Then the Lord said to Moses,

13 "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

14 "'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.

15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.

16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'"

In this passage we also find the Lord sanctifying, or setting apart, the Israelites as His very own people. Notice in verse 17 that the covenant was between the Lord and the Israelites forever. God was telling them that they were a set-apart people, a holy people. They were to look different and act differently from all the other peoples of the land.

This applies to you and me as well. Over and over in the New Testament, we are told that the blood of Jesus sanctifies us; sets us apart. We, too, are to look and act different from the other people in this world. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul tells the Corinthian believers that only those who are washed clean and sanctified by the blood and in the name of Jesus will inherit the kingdom of God.

So, I ask you….in what way do you look different from the world? When the unbelieving world cruises around your life, do they consider you to be odd or peculiar? Do those who are not Christians avoid telling you crude jokes or saying curse words because they know of your stand for Jesus? Do your unbelieving friends know that Sunday is a day of worship for you, rather than a day of only rest and pleasure?



If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord, then His blood has sanctified you. The million dollar question is whether or not you are living the sanctified life. Think about it!!