Wha'cha Gonna Call Him?

"May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, and the God of their father, judge between us." Genesis 31:53

Wha'cha Gonna Call Him?
By Rev. William Dohle

Names are powerful things. Of all the things parents give their children, their name is I believe one of the most important.

Choosing something that fits the family situation, the child themselves, and where you're from is key. Choose a name that's ordinary or common and there will be LOTS of kids sharing their name. Choose a name that's a little too strange and the child will bear that out for life. But just the right name can help define the person throughout their life, both for themselves and for others.

But what do we call God?

If someone were to ask you to swear by God's name, to show your sincerity, what would you call him?

Jacob was asked to do just that. After his father-in-law, Laban, catches up to Jacob, Laban makes a truce with Jacob. In a place called "Mizpah", named that because Laban said: "May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other." There Laban he tells Jaob: "If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with you, remember that God is a witness between you and me." Of course Jacob swears to keep Laban's daughters safe.

Then Laban says: "This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that i will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side and harm me." Thus marking out the boundary-line between Jacob and his father-in-law.

Finally, to seal the deal, the Bible says : "Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac."

So... why call God "the Fear of his father Isaac?" What was behind this name?

Was Jacob remembering how, because of God's command, his grandfather almost killed his father on Mt. Horeb? Was he remembering that incident?

Or was there something else that he was remembering that scared him about God? Maybe the stairway to heaven wasn't as blissful as it seems?

Whatever the reason, Jacob swears by "the Fear of his father Isaac" making me wonder... what do you call God? And where does that name come from?

Is God the God of your ancestors? Of your mother and father, your grandfather and grandmother? Is God the God of your family? Do you trace your connection with God, as Isaac and Laban did, back through the generations to your grandfather or your great-grandfather? Does their faith live in you? Do you define God through their experiences?

Or perhaps you have your own experience of God that define who God is for you. Maybe God is the God of your suffering and pain. God is the God of your cancer, your heart problems, your painful shoulder, your hurt knee. God is the God who has stuck by you through your pain...and that is how you know him.

Or maybe God is the God of the Rock Concert and the high moments of your life. Maybe you found God at church, in the sermon, Holy Communion, or the people around you. Is God defined for you to be the God of your church? Is that how you know God?

I know God through Jesus, who has stuck by me throughout all my life. I have seen his presence in both the rough moments and the smooth ones. I find him in Holy Communion. I find him in worship. I find him when I sit down quietly in Scripture. I find him outside my doors, in the faces around me.

I call him Jesus. I call him Savior. I call him Lord. What do you call God?

God beyond all names, since creation you have moved over the waters and now, in this time, you reveal yourself in Jesus Christ. Open our eyes that we might see your presence and know you for ourselves, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"I Had A Dream!"

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." Joel 2:28

"Hey! I had a dream!"
By Rev. William Dohle

Dreams are something else, aren't they?

Dreams can make our hearts beat wildly in our chest as we're being chased down by wild mammoths. They can make us cry out aloud as we struggle with our brothers over some imaginary fight. Dreams can calm our nerves and set our minds at ease or disturb us with how real they are. They can guide our thoughts and actions in the day or make us uncomfortable with the revelations they bring.

In ancient times, dreams always meant something. They always foretold some event or cast something in a new light. They were messages from God, portents of things to come. They were the way God communicated with people.

That is why Jacob, explaining himself to his wives, mentions a dream he had in which God spoke to him, told him how to double-cross their father for double-crossing him, and then told him to flee back to his father, Isaac.

“In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’” Genesis 31:11-13

Rachel and Leah believe Jacob, telling him: "Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you."

But did Jacob REALLY hear God speak to him in a dream? Or was it all made up...a way to calm his wives and explain his behavior without going into so much detail?

One thing we do know is that Jacob, at this point especially, is a deceiver. He has, so far, deceived his father, his brother, and each of his wives. He has been in the business of deceiving his father-in-law, Laban, amassing for himself a wealth that was not his to begin with.

So... did Jacob REALLY hear God in a dream?? Really??

We'll never know the answer to that question...but here's one we might. Does God talk to YOU in YOUR dreams? Does He tell you, whisper to you, remind you of things in your dreams that you might not hear clearly in real life? Does He speak to you, calm your fears, and soothe your soul all while you slumber in your bed?

Most of the time we take a secular approach to dreams. Dreams are just things our subconscious dreams up. They aren't really real. And God doesn't speak through them. But if we take Scripture seriously and we believe the countless people for whom God does speak in dreams than we must conclude:if them...then why not us?

A couple weeks ago I had a dream that I believe was from God. In my dream, I was at Six Flags with a group of youth. Only we weren't having a good time there because we couldn't agree on where to go. One person wanted to go one way. Another wanted to go another. We wound up not going on any of the rides because we didn't want to upset anyone.

After I woke up I told my congregation the dream and explained how God told me: "Stop trying to please everyone!" It's a hard lesson that I am still learning. And sometimes I need a dream to reinforce the point.

This week think hard about your dreams. Think what God might be telling YOU in them? What God might be whispering into your heart? What lessons might God be trying to tell you as you slumber tonight?

Heavenly Father, when your Spirit comes our young men will see visions and our old men will dream dreams. Come to us when we're awake and when we slumber. Teach us your ways and guide us in your paths, for Jesus sake. Amen.

All for the Good?

"So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. " Genesis 31:9

All for Good?
By Rev. William Dohle

Sometimes I admit a shot of envy pierce my soul. Especially of the very rich.

It happens when I read articles that say things like this one.

While 68.3 million Americans struggle to get enough food to eat and wages are declining for 90% of the population, US millionaire household wealth has reached an unprecedented level. According to an extensive study by auditing and financial advisory firm Deloitte, US millionaire households now have $38.6 trillion in wealth. On top of the $38.6 trillion that this study reveals, they have an estimated $6.3 trillion hidden in offshore accounts. In total, US millionaire households have at least $45.9 trillion in wealth, the majority of this wealth is held within the upper one-tenth of one percent of the population.

Now I must admit that many of the very rich have earned their money. They are brilliant money managers and should be commended. And many are the largest philanthropists in the world!

But still... Envy sneaks into my heart...and jealousy...and a sense(sometimes) that they should really know how they rest of us live.

Now suppose you discovered one of those rich men obtained all their wealth by swindling his father-in-law out of his fortune. In fact, you discover that this rich man made his money from a deal he crafted with his in-laws as payment for a debt. This deal, which turned better for him than for his family, resulted in his father-in-law one losing most of his wealth to the rich man.

Is that fair?

Well, that's the situation Jacob is in. Laban, his father-in-law, who was never a nice man to begin with, makes a deal with Jacob for payment for his services. "Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages."(Genesis 30:32)

Of course all would be honest and fair...if Laban himself didn't first stack the deck against Jacob. He removes all the goats and sheep that fit this description, sending them with his sons.

But this doesn't stop Jacob from getting what's coming to him. Deceiving the deceiver, Jacob sets up an ingenious plan to take what was rightfully his...and more! "In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys."(30:37)

Now, I know how you might justify this. "He was only getting what was rightfully his..." ... "Laban shouldn't have tried to trick Jacob!"... But in the end, the fact remains, Jacob, the deceiver, gains all his wealth and prosperity by unjustly taking what should have been his father-in-law's...

...And what's more... God does NOTHING about it!

In fact, God in the very next chapter reaffirms the blessing he has given him and his father and grandfather.

Now why didn't God punish Jacob? Why didn't he teach him a lesson about fairness? Why does God put up with, and even seem to work in with, Jacob's deception? Isn't God fair? Isn't God just?

Well... no God isn't. At least, not as we of just.

God doesn't promise that everyone is going to have the same thing. Nor does he promise that the rich won't grow richer and the poor won't grow poorer. He doesn't promise us a house, a nice car, three children, parents who live into their hundreds, health, wealth, or the like.

Instead, he promises us this:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."(Romans 8:28)

Notice what is promised here. GOD is the one who will work. The good that God is for is defined by GOD...and it is all according to HIS purpose.

Let's remember that the next time the stab of envy hits us in the heart. God works for his good, for the lower class, the middle class, and the upper class. And in the end, it's all according to HIS purpose.

Jacob served the purposes of God in the end. Who's to say even the richest of the rich, even Donald Trump himself, won't serve those same purposes...God's purposes!

God, we don't understand why some of us are rich and some of us are poor, but we have been called, whomever we are, to serve your purpose. Give us faith to trust you in working for our good, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Facing the Impossible-to-Pleases

When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” Genesis 29:31-32

Facing the Impossible-to-pleases
By Rev. William Dohle

Ever had one of those moments that made you really stop and look at your life? A moment that challenged how you're living your life and what you're doing?

I had one.

November of 2010. I had just attended the best conference ever called "Courage to Lead." It's an awesome experience that dives deep into the heart of who we are. This one focused on clergy and who we are as leaders in our faith communities and who we are as people of God.

The whole retreat was amazing, but my moment came following an intensive clearness committee. A group of four people had surrounded me with their silence, their prayers, and their questions as I pondered why I keep trying to please people who are impossible to please.

Afterward, the rabbi in my group, grabbed me and took me upstairs.

"I know I'm not suppose to do this," he said. "But a Bible verse came to me and I just had to share it with you!"

He grabbed a Bible on the shelf and turned to the story of Leah and Rachel. We read it together, he translating what the words meant in Hebrew, me just listening. At the end he turned to me and said: "YOU are Leah! You are always trying to please everyone else, just as Leah tried to please Jacob. Do you ever think that Leah ever succeeded in winning Jacob's love?"

That question began haunting me then...and continues to haunt me now.

No one enjoys making people angry. That much is obvious. Even the most vocal of political commentators have apologized for offending another person with his words. We don't like to make people mad. We like others to be happy with us. Happy with what we're doing and how we're doing it.

But there are some people who will never be happy with you. Some people for whom you will work and work and stress and stress to please, but never come close to reaching their mark. They will always be upset with you about something or other. You will never be good enough.

I've faced those people. And so have you.

And if you continue to try to please them, we become like Leah, Jacob's first wife, who had over half Jacob's children, each time telling herself: "Now Jacob will love me!" Six times Leah conceives a boy for Jacob. After the sixth is born, Leah says: "This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons." Of course that never really happens.

Thankfully we have a God who is already pleased with us. Who loves us enough to send Jesus to die for us. Who accepts us as we are, forgives our mistakes, and transforms us by his Holy Spirit, all because of grace! He's already happy with us. He loves us no matter what!

And because of this grace, we needn't be tied to pleasing those impossible-to-please people. Our happiness is not determined by their happiness! I have found freedom from from this realization. I am not tied to the opinion the impossible-to-please people have of me. My soul is hidden with God. I already know He loves me and I can be happy!

Abba, Father. You have already demonstrated your love for me in Jesus Christ. Help me base my self-worth, not on the opinions of others, but upon your grace, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.