Contrary to popular belief, Christ isn’t Jesus’s last name. Christ, christos, is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. So what does messiah mean? Strong’s H4886, masah, means anoint. Closely related to it, Strong’s H4899, masiah, is the anointed one. Well, that’s clear as mud. Buckle up. What does “anointed” mean? To anoint is to consecrate, to set apart for a specific purpose, usually with oil. It has a spiritual significance. Who or what was anointed? The first mention of anointed is found in Genesis where Jacob anointed a memorial stone. The tabernacle and the altar were anointed, set apart for sacred service. But most often, anointed refers to people. Aaron…

I love lists. It’s the geek in me. Back in the day, I ordered The Book of Lists from the Scholastic Book Club. I pored over that silly book. From the windiest cities (my hometown was number one) to the intelligence of dog breeds, it had everything. One of my favorites was the list of most beautiful words. I still remember aurora, golden, and hush being on the list. I just did a quick search – most beautiful words – and came up with a new list. Aurora was still at the top. This one surprised me – incandescent light bulb. Mmkay. How about “chatoyant?” I had to look that one up.…

The prophet Isaiah tells us of the promised Prince of Peace in this familiar verse. For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of armies will accomplish this. – Isaiah 9:6-7 Jesus is our Prince of Peace, our Sar Shalom. But what is shalom? Shalom carries so much more meaning than just peace. In that way, it’s like “aloha.” Here are…

Jesus is the King of Kings. But what’s his kingdom? When Jesus was on trial before Pilate, the Roman governor, what did Pilate ask him? Are you the king of the Jews? Why? The Jewish leaders presented Jesus as a threat to Roman rule. They didn’t have the authority to execute Jesus, so they needed the Romans to do their dirty  work. Pilate needed to determine if Jesus really was a threat. How did Jesus respond? Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is,…

Last week’s name was Lamb of God. This week we have King of Kings. Could the contrast be any greater? The Passover Lamb, crucified for our sins, is the King above all Kings. We see the name in Revelation 19:16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” We’ll look at his glorious return in the next post. But he’s already our king – even before his return. In her book, Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks, Ann Spangler asks some really thought provoking questions. They’ve caused me to meditate on what sets Jesus apart –…