”I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).

 ”I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13).

 ”Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us” (Luke 1:78).

One of the many Hebrew words used for God is JEHOVAH or YAHWEH. This is the unutterable Name of God. It is LORD in our English Bibles (all capitals). YHWH is written without vowels in the Hebrew Bible, so no one can know that name. Men have made educated guesses as how to pronounce the consonants grouped together by adding their own vowels. YHWH is the covenant name of God and is written 6823 times in the Old Testament. It’s first use occurs in Genesis 2:4 (YHWH Elohim). From the verb “to be,” or havah, it similar to chavah (to live). It means “The Self-Existent One,” “I AM WHO I AM” or “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE” as revealed to Moses at the burning bush, Exodus 3.

I love the secret things about God, so many that my finite mind can’t begin to grasp. Imagine how much we love him and yet, we do not know his true name and many things about his beginning, existence, and future. It is something to be revealed in the future. There are many other names for God that we know and comprehend, but this one he has concealed. Someday, we will call him by that name too.

 But for now, it is marvelous to know its meaning, “I will be what I will be.” Truly, I have discovered the God that “will be who he will be”… a mother, father, friend that sticks closer than a brother, counselor, guide, husband, wisdom, joy, and hope. I feel him close to me in life’s circumstances in all of those roles at times.

 Let’s join our prayers together that the people of Israel and all the nations would not defame His Name, but come to know him in power and strength… YHWH!

 ”A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)

Friendship with God… the most precious of relationships!

Currently, Bonnie is living in Israel and Mary Jo in the states… so we will be sharing thoughts and photos of each of our worlds with you transatlantically! We are so happy to have you along for the journey.

ACT II

Theme: Friendship

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (I John 4:20)

Have you ever walked down the hall at church and saw someone coming that you just didn’t want to hug? In fact, maybe you dreaded it so much that you ducked into the restroom trying to avoid the inevitable exchange.

I am ashamed to admit that I have. I know it’s terrible.

Unfortunately, it is easy to allow those little offenses to spring up in my heart against someone to the point where I must avoid a brotherly or sisterly hug. 

But we are admonished here in I John that God’s love will show itself by the way we love each other. It is easy to worship and pray and praise in our own little worlds, to adore the living God with no one else but me and Him. And it is definitely harder sometimes to forgive or serve or love each other by keeping our hearts open to our brothers and sisters in the Lord. 

As Scripture says, we are many but one. If one hurts we all hurt. If one excels, we all excel. If we reject one, we are diminishing who we are to the world… to the kingdom of God.

Friendship is loving and accepting those in the Body of Messiah around us when they are unlovely or who have offended us, remembering that God’s love of people through us is a sign to the world that He is real.

Love of God is supreme, but it is worked out by putting our slippers in the same circle of friendship and commitment and keeping them there… no ducking in the restrooms!

Let the circle be unbroken…

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 40:5).

After a few months of respite, Mary Jo and Bonnie will return to “echogram”… echoing God’s glory in diptych photographs and scriptures. Look for us on September 16, 2009.

“This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it” (Psalm 118:20).