Weird little "Church Words"...Why do we say "Amen"?

Have you ever gotten into the habit of using "church words" so often that they have lost all real world meaning? How about the word "Amen".  Christians routinely end prayer with this word. Without knowing why, we use it like a period at the end of prayer. If you can spare a minute of your time, you will see why the word "amen" is a most remarkable word. 

Please, indulge me for a little word study...

 

1. “Amen” comes from a Hebrew root word pronounced ‘aman. In Hebrew this is a verb which is translated into English the following ways:

"to support,   confirm,   be faithful,   uphold,   nourish;   to be established,   be faithful,   be carried,   make firm;   to stand firm,   to trust,   to be certain,   to believe in"

2. Old Testament examples of the word “aman”…

a. Abraham’s belief in God

 "And he [Abraham] believed {'aman} in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." Gen 15:6

b. Israel’s belief in God

"And the people believed {'aman}: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped." Exd 4:31

c. God’s is faithful

  "Know therefore that the LORD thy God , he is God, the faithful{'aman}…" Deu 7:9

d. God’s Promises David an “aman” house

"And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established {'aman} for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."  2Sa 7:16  

3. Amen in the New Testament

The Hebrew word was transliterated into Greek and carried this meaning:

"firm, faithful, verily, amen"

a) When the word is used at the beginning of a discourse it is translated as "verily, surely, truly, of a truth".
b) When it is used at the end of a discourse it is translated as - "so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled."

Saying "Amen" is a custom that was carried over from Jewish synagogues into early Christian worship.  The custom was for the congregation to "Amen" after a prayer as an affirmation of agreement with a public prayer. This made the substance of the prayer theirs as well as the individual's who had prayed.

a. In our English New Testament Translations the word “Amen” shows up about 50 times, but the Greek word “amen” is in the New Testament 152 times and translated into English using different words…

b. For instance, here is how some of the more popular translations render the beginning words of  Matthew 5:18…

ESV   "For truly {amen}, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

KJV    "For verily {amen} I say unto you...        

NKJV  "For assuredly {amen}, I say to you...

NLT     "I tell you the truth {amen}…        

NIV      "I tell you the truth {amen}…

4. We typically end prayer with an “Amen”. Why?

When you say “Amen” you are expressing your trust in God, and affirming his faithfulness.

Jesus taught us to pray after this pattern:

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. [I am more concerned about your exaltation than my own.] 

Thy kingdom come. [Even if it brings me discomfort. Ie. Believers in Jerusalem suffering persecution.] 

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. [Speedily, eliminating any excuse I might have to procrastinate.] 

Give us this day our daily bread. [Please just give me what I need today, I’ll trust you with the long term stuff.] 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. [I will demonstrate your grace even as I have received it.] 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: [I will follow your lead and steer clear of sin.] 

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.     Amen.

The purpose of the word “Amen” is not to cue God on when we are done praying. We don’t say “Amen" so that God knows when to open his eyes and look up.  It is a means by which we affirm our trust in Him, and place ourselves in agreement with his will!

Amen!

Have a great day!

Go for Wood...

 Musings about Noah and the Ark...

First off, please pardon the play on words. Several translations of the Bible transliterate a Hebrew word in Genesis chapter six as "gopher wood".  This is the wood from which Noah was to build the famous ark that would preserve terrestrial life on earth. Although many speculate that it is a variety of cypress, no one knows for sure. Anyway, please stay with me...

God told Noah to build an ark that measured approximately 450 feet long by 75 feet wide by 45 feet high. He was to make it of "gopher wood" and then cover it with pitch inside and out. 

Here are some calculations you may never have stopped to consider.

-The surface area of the walls required 94,500 board feet of lumber at 2 inch thickness.

-The surface area of the roof, bottom and decks required at least 270,000 board feet of lumber at 2" thickness. 

-If my math is correct, by the time bracing and interior walls are calculated, the total amount of lumber to construct such an ark could well have exceeded 729,000 board feet.

That is a lot of lumber.

Here is the thing...

We always look at the fantastic beginning of the story of Noah, and we look at the climatic ending where Noah and company ride out the flood, find land and disembark from the ark. What we often forget is the 120 years that passed between the beginning of the story and the actual flood. That's right 120 years.

During that time the real work was done.

Someone had to "go for wood"!

Someone had to carry pitch.

Somebody had body odor.

Someone ruined his clothes.

Somebody had blisters and sore hands.

Somebody was laughed at.

and then, once they were finished...

The ark was ugly! Noah's masterpiece looked like a large tar paper box! It was not sleek. It did not have masts or a mainsail. There isn't even mention of a rudder or tiller. It was a big ugly barge.

Now, have you ever noticed, my Christian friend, how often God gives us a task and we dive into it with enthusiasm and anticipation...and then we somehow get lost when we "go for wood"? 

Distractions abound in our world, but we can't afford to wander off. Faithfulness is essential, day in and day out. Noah, at least, got it right. How do we know? Well, centuries later, God saw fit to brag on him a little in Hebrews 11:7...

"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."ESV

Hebrews chapter eleven is God's brag book. In one sense, the addendum to Hebrews chapter eleven is still be written in the heavens. I certainly hope that someday my name is also found there in that list of God's faithful servants.

Just some guy named Joe...

    Joe was a good man and a generous man. He was well thought of by his church. Joe’s church was rapidly expanding and in serious need of funds. So he, like many others, sold his property and gave the money to the church.    

    Joe was wise. A young hot-headed preacher came to Joe’s town. This man had been giving the church a lot of trouble and had suddenly been converted. Many in the church weren’t convinced, but Joe brought him into fellowship with the believers.

    Joe was a man full of the Holy Ghost and faith. Joe’s church had some deep seated racial prejudices.  When evangelists began preaching to those the church had ignored, it was Joe who was sent to investigate. Joe was able to convince his church to cross the racial divide with the gospel.

    Joe was a man who would seek out young ministers and shepherd them through the early stages of their ministry.  He was a man others would trust with large offerings. He was a man of character and humility. He was calm and persuasive.

    Joe was preacher, yet his student did more preaching than he. Joe never wrote a book to bear his name, but those he mentored wrote many books.  Eventually the young men he helped eclipsed him in the mind of the church. 

    Joe is generally forgotten now, and when he is remembered, it is most often for the disagreement he had with one of his protégés who was outgrowing his mentor.

    Without Joe however, the church would have been seriously handicapped. Joe was in fact the Apostle Joe although he seldom makes anyone’s list of great apostles.

    The need for ministry like Joe’s is still very relevant, and yet, still very unappreciated. You see we don’t know Joe by his given name. The leaders of his church made up a name for him. They called him “Joe Encouragement”, or if you please Joses Barnabas. Barnabas, as he is called in the Bible, is the man who mentored both the Apostle Paul and John Mark.

    Great men do not become great men without encouragement along the way. On at least one occasion John Mark called it quits and went to the house.  Barnabas brought him back and made him profitable to the ministry once again. Paul suffered many things from within and without the church, yet he had Barnabas by his side.

    You may not be called to have your name in lights on the marquis. You may never preach to thousands. Your name may never be a household name like that of the Rev. Billy Graham. You may spend your life as the backdrop to great ministry. Don’t be discouraged! God needs people to carry the Barnabas load.
-------------------------------------------------
1. God does not call us to be great. He calls us to be obedient.

Mat 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, [thou] good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

2. God is fair in his reward for faithfulness.

1Sa 30:24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part [is] that goeth down to the battle, so [shall] his part [be] that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.

3. Twice God instructed Moses to encourage Joshua.

Deu 1:38 [But] Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

Deu 3:28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.

4. King David needed encouragement, and had to encourage himself.
 1Sa 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

5. Hezekiah encouraged the Levites and the Priests.

 2Ch 31:4 Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD.

2Ch 35:2 And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD,

6. God is an encourager to Israel.

Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.


We are not called to be great. We are called to be faithful, and we are called to infuse one another with courage. Dear God, let me be like Joe!