"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46)

What does 'Lord' mean here?

This statement by Jesus clarifies his perspective regarding those who say they might follow Jesus but do not follow his teachings.

By asking this rhetorical question - "Why do you call me "Lord, Lord and not do what I say?" - Jesus is focusing upon those who act as if they are Jesus' followers, but do not follow Jesus' teachings.

The phrase, "Lord, Lord" is being translated from the repetition of the Greek word κύριος (kyrios), which in this context, according to the lexicon, means "a title of honor expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master."

In other words, κύριος, κύριος could also be translated to "Master, Master" just as well as "Lord, Lord."

The focal point in this definition is the phrase, "with which servants greet their master." This is critical because Jesus is speaking here to his disciples who had gathered around him. This is confirmed by the description of Jesus as he began this lecture: Looking at his disciples, he said:... (Luke 6:20)

What is a disciple?

By ancient definition, a disciple is a student who also presents themselves as a servant of a spiritual teacher. Their spiritual teacher is to be considered their master - which is why spiritual teachers are often referred to by their students as their "spiritual master."

So Jesus is asking those who were presenting themselves as Jesus' disciples by greeting Jesus as their spiritual master - "Lord, Lord" or "Master, Master" - but, as Jesus states, were not following his instructions.

The phrase, "do not do what I say?" is very clear. The second "do" here is being translated from the Greek word ποιέω (poieō), which means "to make;" "to produce, construct, form, fashion, etc.;" and "to make a thing out of something," according to the lexicon.

This means that Jesus is referring to his students physically following Jesus' instructions. ποιέω (poieō) means, in this context, to perform service - following Jesus' instructions.

What kind of service is this? What were Jesus' instructions? What was he teaching?

We can start with his most important instruction:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

From this foundational instruction we can consider Jesus' clear instruction contained in these two (along with other) statements:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21)

and

"For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt. 12:50)

We can thus see from the clear statements above that first and foremost, Jesus is instructing that his followers love the Supreme Being with all their heart, soul and mind - their entire being. Then he is clearly instructing that they do God's will.

But what is God's will?

Clearly, we know from Jesus' teachings that God indeed has a will. This means that God is a person - as only a person can have a will and purpose.

And the fact that Jesus is teaching his students to do God's will means by default that God's will must be different than their own will.

This means that God is not only a person who has a will, but is a Person who has a will different from our will.

How is that? Those of us living within the physical world are here because we decided we didn't want to do God's will. At some point in our past - each of us fell from the spiritual realm (our home) and took on these physical bodies in the physical world.

The spiritual realm is that place where God's will is done, and the citizens of the spiritual realm are loving God and their lives are centered around pleasing God (doing His will).

The reason we got kicked out of the spiritual realm is because we decided we didn't want to love the Supreme Being - our Best Friend - any longer. We wanted to chase our own dreams instead. We wanted to be independent of Him. We wanted to do our own will. We wanted to do what we wanted, not what He wanted.

So He cut us loose. He set up a virtual universe where we could pretend to be someone that we are not for a while. Because we really cannot leave the Supreme Being's presence, He set up a virtual world where we could be in the illusion that He doesn't exist - or if He does exist, He exists to give me whatever I want - whatever I pray for.

This forgetting the existence of the Supreme Being is granted by the Supreme Being because He loves us, and He wants us to choose to love Him. He never forces Himself upon any of us.

This is the perfection of love and kindness, which is present in the Supreme Being. No one could ever love us as much as God does.

So Jesus is trying to teach his disciples to turn their lives around. His teachings are about changing their consciousness. He is trying to teach them to give their lives to the Supreme Being and do God's will, rather than remain focused upon doing their own will.

What is this called?

It is called selfishness or self-centeredness. When we are focused on our own happiness, we are being self-centered. This is misery. When we live in this consciousness, we are empty and unfulfilled.

A person who loves another is focused upon the happiness of the one they love. And when that person is God, the person who is loving God is completely fulfilled and completely happy.

Jesus is trying to bring this happiness to his disciples. He loves them and wants them to be happy.

Jesus' teachings and his life also illustrate what God's will is. Throughout the life of Jesus as portrayed in the Books of the New Testament we find he gave so many instructions about how to live one's life in a way that is pleasing to the Supreme Being. He teaches them to not put their faith in the things of this world, as they are like building a house on the seashore at low tide. He teaches them to focus upon God - "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness...."

Jesus also teaches them to glorify the Supreme Being - to praise God. We find this as Jesus tells his students how to pray:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' (Matt. 6:6-10)

Of course, his prayer continues, but these verses provide clarity on Jesus' instructions. Jesus is instructing his students not to make a show of their prayers - or their relationship with God. He is telling them that they need to establish a private loving relationship with God.

Did Jesus teach his followers to praise God?

Jesus' prayer - 'The Lord's Prayer' - also instructs his students to praise God's Holy Name. That is the meaning of "hallowed by Your Name." To "hallow" someone's name means to praise and revere that Name. The word "hallow" is being translated from the Greek word ἁγιάζω (hagiazō), which means to venerate or consecrate. This is also related to the fact that Jesus, and John the Baptist before him, as well as David, utilized and were described with the accolade: "Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord."

These indicate that part of Jesus' teachings was to praise God's Holy Names. God's Name can be praised in song, with prayer, or with incantation. Simply repeating any of God's Holy Names brings our consciousness in focus towards God. By praising God's Names - even by simply saying "Praise be to God" (ברך אלהים (barak 'elohiym)) as David often did within his Psalms - focuses our consciousness on our Best Friend and Companion, the Supreme Being.

The next statement by Jesus in his suggested prayer once again confirms Jesus' instructions about the importance of using one's life and performing service to please God:

"Your will be done"

What is God's will? Jesus' life and teachings clarified God's will. This is because Jesus is God's representative.

As we've indicated above, Jesus asked us to focus our lives upon God. And he showed us with his life how to do it: Through prayer, activities, words and the choices we make for our lives.

This is God's will: God wants us to renew our loving relationship with Him. God wants us back. He wants us to come home because He knows this and only this will make each of us truly happy.

“Let the dead bury their own dead ...” (Luke 9:60)

He said to another man, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:59-60)

Why did Jesus instruct the man not to bury his father?

Jesus' statement is clear. Jesus has asked someone to follow him and that person felt they needed to attend to the funeral of their father first. So Jesus is telling him to leave the funeral to the "dead" and instead "proclaim the kingdom of God."

What about those who preach that the family is all-important? And what about the importance of burials? Many churches even have graveyards as part of their institution, and the priests claiming to follow Jesus will typically preside over burial rituals.

These rituals, in fact, illustrate how far these institutions have wandered from Jesus' teachings. Instead of embracing Jesus' teachings as Jesus' followers, these institutions have embraced the very elements that Jesus asked his students to de-emphasize in their lives.

Why would Jesus instruct a potential follower not to attend his own father's funeral?

Isn't the family important to Jesus?

Jesus did indeed teach that the family of the physical body was not important in spiritual life. This is why, when his mother and brothers came to visit him during a sermon, he said:

"My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." (Luke 8:20-21)

Yes, Jesus is teaching us about our larger family. The family of God's children, which we are a member of. And those of God's children that are accepting the Supreme Being are our dearest family members.

But what about Moses' teaching to "honor your mother and your father" (Exodus 20:12)? Yes, this is one of the instructions of Moses. So what is going on? Why is Jesus telling this potential follower not to attend his father's funeral?

Jesus wasn't instructing his students not to honor their mother or father when they were alive. He was teaching them not to honor dead bodies. The soul of the man's father was gone, leaving the dead carcass. The man had the opportunity to follow Jesus. Surely the dead body of his father was not so important in comparison.

At issue is the nature of the physical body with respect to our identity and the importance of our spiritual life.

“Let the dead bury their own dead" is a metaphorical homonym comparing a dead physical body with a dead spiritual life.

What did Jesus teach about who we are?

Jesus taught that we are not the physical body. He taught that we are spirit by nature.

The physical body is only alive when it is animated by the spirit-person - the spiritual self that is not perceivable by the gross physical senses. When this spirit-person leaves the physical body the body dies. It is lifeless.

This means that we are not these physical bodies. They are temporary vehicles we occupy for a while. Then they die.

But those who are enamored by the physical world - those of us who identify ourselves with our physical body - will mourn the death of a family member. What we are not seeing is that the person has not died. They have simply left their physical body.

Thus to attend the funeral of the father is not related to Moses' commandment, because that person whom we should respect for raising us and taking care of us as children is gone. Their lifeless physical body may remain, but the person is gone.

Thus, Jesus is classifying those who mourn the death of the physical body as "dead" because they are incorrectly identifying the spiritual self with the physical body. They are "dead" because they are not seeing that the spirit-person has simply moved on. And they are "dead" because they are not focused upon their relationship with their real Father - the Supreme Being.

In other words, they are spiritually "dead."

This statement, in fact, is testimony that Jesus himself taught about our identity as spirit, not the physical body. Other statements confirm this, such as:

"And don’t fear those who can kill the body but are unable to kill the soul." (Matthew 10:28)

"Watch out and pray that you will not be tempted – for the spirit may be willing but the physical body is weak." (Matt. 26:41 and Mark 14:38)

“For this reason I say to you, don’t be anxious about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body and what you will wear. Is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothing?" (Matt. 6:25)

"It is spirit that gives life; the physical body provides no benefit." (John 6:63)

"That which arises from the flesh is flesh, and that which arises from the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6)

"But when you see your true self that existed before your body, which never dies nor becomes visible, how can you rely on it?” (Gospel of Thomas 84:2)

"For my mother bore my body, yet my True Mother gave me life.” (Gospel of Thomas 101:3)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear." (Luke 12:22)

In the last statement, if we single out the phrase "or about your body," we get:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your body"

Jesus is telling his students not to worry about their bodies because we are not these bodies. Our body is a temporary vehicle.

Meanwhile, Jesus has a mission to do. He is teaching others about the Supreme Being. He is guiding others by educating them about God. And on the scale of importance, this takes precedence over mourning over a lifeless body.

What did he mean by 'go preach'?

But is Jesus necessarily telling the student to immediately go out and begin preaching, even though he hasn't been following Jesus yet? (As Jesus has just asked him to "follow me.")

Both of these words, "preach" (KJV) or "proclaim" (NIV) come from the Greek word διαγγέλλω (diaggellō), which means, according to Strong's lexicon:

1) to carry a message through, announce everywhere, through places, through assemblies of men etc.
2) to publish abroad, declare

Would Jesus be sending out a brand new follower to preach - before he began hearing from Jesus and learning his teachings?

This interpretation - to preach - actually contradicts Jesus' first statement, "follow me." (Luke 9:59) He can't go out and preach if he hasn't followed Jesus yet. He must become Jesus' student and learn from Jesus before he is ready to preach.

So yes, we can certainly interpret this to mean Jesus wants him to go out preaching, but there is a more appropriate translation and interpretation of this statement - given the circumstances:

Did Jesus encourage him to glorify God?

The reality is that Jesus wanted his follower to glorify the Supreme Being. To "proclaim the kingdom of God" doesn't just mean preaching to others. It means to praise the Supreme Being. It means to glorify Him and glorify His Holy Name.

Preaching is also glorifying God: but simply in the role of a teacher.

The fact is, many have completely missed this part of Jesus' teachings. He wanted those around him to glorify God and praise God's Name.

This is evidenced by how Jesus wanted his students to say about him:

"Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Luke 13:35)

And why, after practically every miracle Jesus performed, do we find people praising God:

When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God... (Matt. 9:8)

The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. (Matt. 15:31)

He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God... (Mark 2:12)

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God... (Luke 2:28)

They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” (Luke 7:16)

Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. (Luke 13:13)

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. (Luke 18:43)

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God... (Luke 23:47)

And with these verses, we discover the real purpose of so many of Jesus' activities, such as performing miracles. He wanted those around him to praise God!

We also see that Jesus' disciples followed this instruction of Jesus after he left them:

And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:53)

This act of praising God was also taught by David - whom Jesus followed and quoted often:

Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. (Psalms 113:2)

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised. (Psalms 113:3)

From these verses and many others, we find that Jesus indeed was teaching his students to praise God - to glorify the Supreme Being. This also meant as David stresses, glorifying God's Holy Name.

Actually, we find this teaching throughout the Books of the Bible. Why? Because this is a universal teaching of any bona fide representative of the Supreme Being.

As this statement and all these verses clearly indicate, praising the Supreme Being and glorifying His Holy Names is the pathway to returning to our relationship with the Supreme Being. And what is the nature of that relationship? Jesus emphasized this:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Luke 10:27)

This is why Jesus taught us to glorify God.

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart ...'" (Luke 10:27)

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)

What is the context of this statement?

Here is the context within which Jesus taught this most important instruction:

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" (Luke 10:25-26)

We can see from this that the expert in the law quoted Moses' commandment from Deuteronomy 6:5. Then Jesus validated that this quote was correct:

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." (Luke 10:28)

This means that Jesus confirmed that in order to "inherit eternal life" one must come to love the Supreme Being.

Is this Jesus' teaching?

Jesus also quoted this teaching by Moses, who made this a cornerstone of his teachings over a 1,000 years before Jesus came to our planet.

Jesus also quoted Moses directly at another time. Jesus quoted Moses as a result of a different yet similar question:

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" (Matt. 22:35-36)

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" (Mark 12:28)

And we see Jesus' answer is basically the same in the other two Gospels:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (Matthew 22:37)

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’" (Mark 12:30)

What does it mean to inherit eternal life?

We can thus see in Luke that Jesus is being asked what one must do to inherit eternal life. The answer also happens to be the most important law or commandment of the teachings of Judaism - the teachings of Moses and the other prophets. And we see that Jesus is quoting Moses, who said:

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Does it matter whether or not Moses or Jesus said "strength" or "mind" or both? No. The statement is clear - Jesus is quoting Moses practically word for word. This is the greatest commandment. And this is the most important commandment. And this is what one must do to "inherit eternal life" - equating "life" to love for God.

This was also expressed by Jesus when he said:

"“Let the dead bury their own dead..." (Luke 9:60)

And we find that Moses did not just state this "most important commandment" just once. He stated it over and over. He made his message very clear:

"Love the LORD your God and keep His requirements, His decrees, His laws and His commands always." (Deut. 11:1)

"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul—" (Deut. 11:13)

"If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to Him and to hold fast to Him—" (Deut. 11:22)

"...because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the LORD your God and to walk always in obedience to Him—" (Deut. 19:9)

"For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to Him, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws..." (Deut. 30:16)

"...and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the LORD is your life..." (Deu 30:20 )

And we find that Moses' disciple, Joshua, also passed on this teaching:

"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to keep His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Joshua 22:5)

"So be very careful to love the LORD your God." (Joshua 23:11)

and David also taught this instruction:

"Love the LORD, all His faithful people!" (Psalms 31:23)

So we find this instruction as not only the primary instruction according to Jesus, but according to Moses and the rest of the lineage of Prophets.

But why? Why is this the most important teaching of Jesus and the Prophets?

Just look around.

Why do we all seek love?

Everyone is looking for the perfect loving relationship. We are looking for someone we can love who will also truly love us in return.

This search is in fact, our primary concern throughout life. From the time we come out of the womb to the time we leave our bodies at death we are on the prowl for love.

This is why we do so many things. When we are babies we cry for the love of our parents. When we are school children we strive for love as we want our classmates to like us and accept us. We seek love as we go to dances, or seek that boyfriend or girlfriend. We strive for love as we play in the schoolyard or act out in class.

As we get older we strive for love as we seek to succeed in some sport or art form. We want others to like us and appreciate us. We strive for love as we go to parties or nightclubs, looking for love and the acceptance of our friends.

When we get out of school we strive for love as we try to position ourselves in society with our careers. We strive for love as we want to drive the coolest car. We strive for love as we seek our wife or husband.

Even when we find that husband or wife, we continue to strive for love - as our husband or wife doesn't quite satisfy our need for love. Many strive for love and have children - seeking loving relationships with the children of our bodies - thinking they belong to us. Some may seek love outside the marriage as they cheat on their spouses, join a club, or get a pet.

As our bodies get older we strive for love as we seek to hang on to our relationships with the grown children of our bodies. (Which is often difficult.) And/or we strive for love with the grandchildren of our body.

While our bodies change dramatically from childhood to elderly adult, only one thing is constant: The fact that we are continually seeking love.

Just about every art and media form is about love. Love stories pervade novels, movies, television. Love songs pervade the airwaves. We are all about love. Love is our thing. Practically every top-selling pop song is about love or about losing a love - "all you need is love" and so forth.

Why is love so important to us?

Because love is an inseparable part of us. We need it. We have to have it.

But - we never seem to be satisfied with the love we find in the physical world. Even those who believe they have found their "soul mate" and marry them will, after some time, begin to lose that "in love" feeling they once had. They might still feel love for the person, but it is not the fresh love that everyone seeks. For this reason, we will seek love elsewhere as described above.

Most people will simply wander from one worn-out relationship to another, looking for that fresh love.

And even if we were to somehow keep our loving relationships fresh over the years, we will still lose those relationships when our body or the body of the one we love dies. Then they leave us behind. We might still feel love for them, but because the foundation of our love was the physical body - the body's death makes it impossible for us to continue to exchange that love.

When this happens - when one of the couple or family dies - this typically either leads to depression or we have to go out and try to find another love - another person who will ultimately also die or otherwise leave us.

In other words, the love we find here in the physical world not only does not satisfy our craving for love. It is also temporary. It doesn't last.

What we seek is permanent fresh love. Why?

Because this is how we were created. The Supreme Being created each of us spiritual persons - not the physical body - with the purpose of exchanging a constantly fresh loving relationship with.

God created us with the purpose of exchanging a dynamic, continually fresh loving service relationship with Him - the greatest, most attractive, most lovable, most kind, most gentle, most gracious, most thoughtful and most playful funny witty Person. He is the Supreme Person - that perfect person and soul mate we are always looking for.

This is why we were created - and thus, our purpose for existing.

First, real love requires the freedom to love or not to love. No one can be forced to love. The Supreme Being needs us to decide by ourselves if we want to love Him or not. And those who decide not to love Him are allowed to get away from Him. Those who decide they don't want to love Him are given temporary physical bodies and the opportunity to get away from Him and not have to see Him or even accept His existence.

Okay, just imagine if you were in a loving relationship with someone who suddenly decided that they don't want to be with you anymore. What do you do? Do you force yourself upon them? Do you chain them to your bed and make them hang around you?

If you are a sane, rational person you will let them go. You may be broken-hearted, but you will nevertheless let them go. If they are living with you, you will help assist them in moving out.

Now, what if you also support them? What if they needed your money for support, but still rejected you? This might be the case, for example, in a parent-child relationship. Assuming you had the ability to, you would probably set them up with their own place to live, far away from you. You might still pay the rent or buy the place.

In this case, you will still give them their space, right? You wouldn't force your way in the door just because you were paying for the place right? That would be rude and mean. If you were kind you would not visit unless they invited you. You would not bother them or intrude upon them. If you truly loved them you would still pay the rent but still give them their space. Right?

This is precisely what the Supreme Being is doing. We rejected Him so He is giving us our space, and not intruding upon us. He gave us these temporary physical bodies, and this different dimension - the physical world - which is designed to block our ability to see Him or otherwise be in touch with Him. In this way, He is accommodating our wishes to be away from Him.

Unless of course we sincerely decide we really want to return to our relationship with Him. Then He begins to open Himself to us again.

It may not be all of a sudden, however. Just as in any broken relationship, there needs to be a rebuilding of that relationship. This is often a gradual process, where trust is re-developed and so forth.

In the case of us and God, it is not that God cannot see our hearts and know where we are with things. But we need to be sincere and serious. He needs to see that we are seriously wanting to return to His loving arms and not just trying to get something from Him.

This is often the case as someone who has been living a self-centered life begins to re-develop their awareness of the Supreme Being's existence. They will often see Him as the Genie - the order-supplier. We ask Him for stuff and He goes and gets it for us. So our prayers may be filled with, "can I please have this and can I please have that."

This is not a loving relationship. This is a usury relationship. God is being used for His position of authority over the physical world.

Yet this is the relationship that so many ecclesiastical institutions and their teachers encourage us to have with the Supreme Being. They encourage us to ask Him to heal our leg, or get us a job or make us rich. This is not the teaching of Jesus, nor the Prophets as indicated clearly above.

And this is not the relationship that we are looking for either.

It is rather ironic and sad actually - how so many of us will scramble around our entire lives looking for that special person to love, but when it comes to dealing with God, He is simply someone we ask to get stuff for us.

We will even go to the ironic extent of asking Him to help us find our soul mate - praying to Him to help us find someone else to love.

It is like driving up to a gas station and asking the attendant where the nearest gas station is.

And yet we still find - even after we find someone who wants to exchange a loving relationship with us - that we have expectations that are unrealistic. We expected the person to be that special person for us. We expected them to be, well, perfect. At the beginning of the relationship we expect the person to be wonderful - kind, generous, thoughtful and so on. But then after hanging out with them, we find they aren't so wonderful after all. And we find they are a bit selfish, and not always very thoughtful. And over the years, as their body gets a little older or fatter, we find they aren't so attractive either.

We may even find, after a while, that they are someone we actually abhor - we just didn't realize it in the beginning because we were so blinded by this feeling we had that we finally found someone.

So why did we have all these expectations of this person? Because deep within us, the person we are looking for is perfect. Our true soul mate is always kind, always thoughtful, always loving, always caring, and always attractive.

Why else would we have this unrealistic expectation about our soul mate? Are we just stupid?

No, we may be naive about people on this planet - but each of us knows deep within - and this is why it is a popular saying - that there is someone special "out there" for me.

So where is "out there"?

It is so comical, actually. The Supreme Being is right here, next to us. He is so close with each of us, but we do not see Him because we want to be away from Him. Through His super-abilities, He is able to expand Himself and be right next to each of us. (Referred to often as the "Holy Spirit.")

So while we are running around looking for love, the Perfect Person - our Soul Mate - is right next to us, waiting patiently.

And it is this very reason that Jesus taught, Jesus' teacher John the Baptist taught, and Jesus instructed his own disciples to teach:

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matt. 3:2)

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matt. 4:17)

And Jesus told his disciples:

"As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'" (Matt. 10:7)

Yes, the spiritual realm - God's kingdom - is near. It is close. It is nearby. This is not about the end of the world. This is about the Supreme Person being close by - near enough for us to reach out to Him and connect with Him. Close enough to ask Him if we can return to our loving relationship with Him.

This is what John, Jesus, and Jesus' disciples were trying to teach, along with love for the Supreme Being.

What is this teaching? Let's consider it carefully:

" 'Love the Lord your God..."

Notice first that Jesus and Moses say "your God" here. The Supreme Being belongs to each of us. He is not the God of the Jews or the God of the Christians or the God of the Hindus or the God of the Muslims or the God of this religion or that sect. He is my God. He is your God. He has a distinct and unique relationship with each of us. This means that the love is to be extended personally - from me to my God. From you to your God.

"...with all your heart"

This gives context to the idea of love for God. Love for God isn't a passing emotion. It means diving in with everything. It means giving our life to the Supreme Being. A person who loves someone with all their heart is fully committed. They are caring about that person. They are living for that person. They will give themselves to please that person. Their heart is "all in."

"...and with all your soul"

This word "soul" is translated from the Greek word ψυχή (psychē), which means, according to the lexicon, "the vital force which animates the body," "a living being," and "an essence which differs from the body and is not dissolved by death."

So we see that the "soul" is not some sort of organ or part of us - it is who we are. Beneath this temporary physical body, we are the living being - the soul.

And it is this inner being - who we are beneath the false identifications we have related to the body (our age, our sex, our skin color, our hair color, our job, our role in the family and so on) - that needs to place our love upon the Supreme Being. "All your soul" means to give up our false identifications with the physical body and love the Supreme Being within the spiritual context.

"...with all your strength"

This refers to rendering whatever we have available to us in the loving service of God. Loving God is not just an emotional thing. People can get pretty emotional too - crying and so forth. But if that supposed love doesn't come with loving service - activity that is pleasing to the one we love - then it is just sentiment. It is not love.

"...with all your mind'"

This relates to desire. We utilize our mind to focus on those things that we hold most dear to us - our desires. If we are loving someone, then we are desiring to please them. Our desires become one and the same with their desires. This has also been referred to by Jesus as doing God's will:

"Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35)

Jesus sees this - wanting to please the Supreme Being - as all important. It is linked to loving God. We can't say that we love God and not want to do God's will. They are indelibly connected.

Our path towards returning to our relationship with God and coming to love God in this way is not an easy one. Yes, it is difficult, because we are so far away from that relationship now. At the moment all we can think about is me, me, me, with maybe a little bit of my spouse, family or country mixed in. We are so far from loving God it is ridiculous.

In fact, the only way we can come to love God is if we come to know Him. We cannot love someone we don't know.

And we cannot come to know God by ourselves. He has set up the barrier between Himself and us so deep that we simply cannot break through it ourselves.

Only He can allow us to come to know Him.

That means that we have to reach out to Him and sincerely ask Him to allow us to come to know Him and love Him.

One of the facilities He has given us to reach out to Him with is His Holy Names. As has been stressed by the Prophets and Jesus alike, the Supreme Being has given us the ability to reach out to Him by reciting, singing and otherwise calling out to Him with His Holy Names.

This is typical of any relationship.

Let's say that we don't know someone. What comes first? We come to know their name. Why? So we can connect with them. If we know their name and call that name, it indicates to the person that we are interested enough in them to get to know their name.

But God's Holy Names are more than just names. They have the power to purify our consciousness, gradually preparing our ability to re-develop our love for Him.

Should we sincerely reach out to the Supreme Being by calling His Name, and sincerely and humbly ask Him to take us back, He will guide us back to Him. He will allow us to come to know Him again and learn to redevelop our innate loving relationship with our Perfect Soul Mate.

"... the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." (Luke 12:11-12)

"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." (Luke 12:11-12)

How does the Holy Spirit teach what to say?

Jesus is speaking to his disciples about how to allow the Supreme Being to speak through them. Speaking what the Holy Spirit taught them to say means they were allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through them.

For example, if a government leader's spokesperson is speaking on behalf of the government leader, they would first need to connect with that leader, and find out what the leader wanted them to say, right? Then once the spokesperson knows what the government leader wants them to say, when they say that, the government leader would effectively be speaking through the spokesperson.

This is the case for Jesus, who is instructing his students not to speak on Jesus' behalf, but to speak on behalf of the Holy Spirit. This also means that Jesus is also a spokesperson for the Holy Spirit.

But how do we know this is directed at Jesus' disciples?

Jesus began to speak first to his disciples... (Luke 12:1)

And how do we know that Jesus is referring to God speaking through them? We can understand this from the version of this statement from the Book of Matthew:

"But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matthew 10:19-20) 

Who exactly is the Holy Spirit?

The Supreme Being is the Ultimate Person. But He is also larger than even that. He is larger than what we might imagine Him as, but He is also a Personality - the Greatest Personality.

For this reason, Jesus and Moses taught us to love the Supreme Being. We can only love someone who is a someone. One cannot love an impersonal void, or a statue.

Thus we find that Jesus taught that the Supreme Being is an individual - rather than some vague force that becomes divided. We can understand this plainly from the use of the phrase "Spirit of your Father" (Matt. 10:20) - translated from the Greek phrase, πνεῦμα τοῦ πατρὸς (pneuma sy pater).

But in Luke and elsewhere, the phrase "Holy Spirit" is being translated from the Greek phrase, ἅγιον πνεῦμα (haglos pneuma). But we can know that this is also describing an individual. The word πνεῦμα (pneuma), which means according to the lexicon - when speaking of a person - "the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated." It also means, "a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting."

As we review the uses of πνεῦμα (pneuma) in the New Testament we find that it is used numerous times when describing individual spirits (persons) exorcised by Jesus:

“Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” (Mark 5:8)

We also find that Jesus used it to describe the inner person of each of us:

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:38)

We also find that the word πνεῦμα (pneuma) was used to describe Jesus' spirit, as he left his physical body at the time of death:

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. (Matthew 27:50)

The bottom line is that Jesus' teachings describe each of us as essentially an individual spirit-person. We are not these physical bodies. We are the inner spirit - the person within - these temporary physical bodies. And at the time of death, this spirit-person leaves the physical body and the body begins to decompose.

And the reason we cannot see this spirit-person with our eyes? Because it is of another substance: A spiritual substance, which is on another plane of existence from the physical world perceived by the physical senses.

We know that the word πνεῦμα (pneuma) can also be used to describe the Supreme Being - when it is prefaced with the word ἅγιος (hagios).

But now Jesus is describing the Spirit of the Supreme Being - the "Spirit of your Father" - the real Holy Trinity.

This all means that each of us is of the same essence as the Supreme Being. We are His children - and we are made from Him. So we are of the same essence.

How are we the same essence as God?

We might compare this to a baby being born of a mother and father. Because the baby was produced through the combination of sperm and the mother's ova, the baby will be made of the same genetic stuff as the mother and father - in other words, skin, bones, tissues and so on.

In the same way, because the Supreme Being is our Creator and He is spiritual in essence, we are also spiritual in essence. We are made of the same substance.

And just as we cannot see the spirit-person within with these physical eyes, we cannot see the Supreme Being. Why not?

Because these physical bodies - these physical senses and mind - were created specifically to separate us from our spiritual essence.

We might compare this to a sports mascot. A sports team might have a team mascot that is, say, a bear. In order to set up the mascot, the mascot person will put on the bear costume, and in order to create the full effect, the bear costume will cover the entire body of the person. If the person's human head or arms were sticking out of the costume then it would completely destroy the effect and the entertainment element of the mascot costume. So the real body underneath the mascot costume must be completely hidden from view.

In the same way, the only way we can truly become enmeshed in the physical world - and escape the spiritual realm - is if we cannot see our spiritual selves. So the Supreme Being created these costumes for us which cover our real selves, in order to allow us to escape the spiritual realm.

This is described symbolically in the Book of Genesis:

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

Many have depicted this as Adam and Eve wearing animal skins or something. As if God went out and killed a couple of animals to clothe them or something - a bizarre concept.

The reality is the ancient oral tradition of the teachings passed down which became mistranslated and misinterpreted as the Book of Genesis taught that when we fell from the spiritual realm, the Supreme Being gave us physical bodies - "garments of skin" - and created the illusion that we are these physical bodies in order for us to be able to get away from God and forget His existence.

This is because at some point each of us rejected the Supreme Being - loving Him and serving Him - and became self-centered.

But now that we are in the physical world wearing these physical bodies ("garments of skin") it is not as if the Supreme Being is no longer around. It is not as if this is our world and He can't come here.

Can God expand Himself?

The Supreme Being is all around and within the physical world. We just cannot see Him with these eyes. God has expanded Himself throughout the physical universe. This is why Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as being available to each of his disciples.

We may not be able to fathom this with our physical mind because our senses have never seen this. But He nonetheless has the power to expand Himself infinitely - even though as Jesus clearly teaches that He remains a person - the Supreme Person - as Jesus said, "the Spirit of your Father."

The phrase "your Father" taken from τοῦ πατρὸς - is a personal designation. Not only does "Father" denote an individual Creator, but "your" indicates possession. We belong to the Supreme Being. We belong to Him because He created us.

Why did God create us?

To share life with Him. To serve Him and exchange a loving relationship with Him. But because love requires freedom, we have the eternal choice to love Him or not. This is clearly taught by Jesus, who instructed his students that if they wanted to become fulfilled and happy, they need to come to know and love the Supreme Being:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’" (Luke 10:27)

"Go tell that fox, 'I will keep on driving out demons ...'" (Luke 13:32-35)

"Go tell that fox, 'I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Luke 13:32-35)

Jesus is responding to this statement presented to him:

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you." (Luke 13:31)

Who is the 'fox'?

The "fox" Jesus refers to here is Herod - who felt threatened by Jesus. Herod wanted not only to be the king of Judea at that time. He also wanted to be its spiritual leader. For this reason, he claimed that he was a descendant of King David.

This interesting warning from some Pharisees indicates some Pharisees were indeed convinced of the wisdom of Jesus' teachings. This is certainly the case with Nicodemus - who was also a pharisee yet was a follower of Jesus. It was Nicodemus who arranged the tomb for Jesus, and he also brought spices and burial clothe for Jesus.

Thus we can know from this that not all the Pharisees were necessarily against Jesus. Those who were, however, are to be understood as being envious. This is because they saw Jesus with many followers.

This is a common goal among some preachers: having many followers.

Is having lots of followers the goal?

No. And some might try to disguise their seeking of followers as their mission to save people in the name of Jesus. But as we find in so many cases, it is often simply the desire for many followers that drives many of these evangelical teachers.

This is why so many appointed, paid preachers will stand up on their pulpit and say the things that people want to hear. They talk about the importance of family and they teach that we can ask Jesus for anything - whether it is getting rich, winning our baseball game or healing our leg - and he will do it.

Saying these things are a sure-fire way to attract followers. Just think about it. Anyone who says that all we have to do is make a request for wealth and we will get wealthy will naturally get lots of followers. But what kind of followers? Those who want to get wealthy. Or otherwise gain something else from prayer.

Did Jesus teach making money from teaching about God?

No. Jesus' teachings were to love and serve the Supreme Being. He did not suggest using God or Jesus as a means to gain wealth and lots of followers. This is why Jesus also said:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matt. 7:21-23)

This is why there were so many people - including Herod, the high priest Caiaphas - who wanted to get rid of Jesus. Jesus was threatening their positions of leadership. They were envious of Jesus because Jesus was teaching the Truth, and deep inside they knew this.

So why is Jesus speaking in this way regarding Jerusalem - using symbolism and such?

Jesus stated clearly that he was sent by God to teach the people of Judea - and Jerusalem was its capital:

“Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (Mark 1:38)

"I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him." (John 5:43)

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me." (John 6:38)

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me." (John 8:42)

But this was not only Jesus' mission. It was also Jesus' teacher's mission - John the Baptist, about whom it was described:

He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. (Luke 1:16)

Thus we know from this that Jesus is carrying on the mission of his teacher, John the Baptist. We also know that this is the same mission of Job, Ezekiel, David, Moses, Abraham and many other prophets: To bring back those of us who have fallen into this hellish material world.

Do God's Names have power?

Furthermore, we see that Jesus is discussing the power of the Holy Names of God:

"I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.'"

Jesus is glorifying the Holy Name of the Supreme Being and connecting himself with that. We can see this elsewhere:

“I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth" (Matthew 11:25)

He also taught the importance of praising God's Holy Names:

Matthew 5:14-16:
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

John 17:11:
"Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name, the Name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one."

And Jesus' activities provoked others to praise God:

Matthew 9:8:
When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God...

Matthew 15:31:
The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Mark 2:12:
He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God

Luke 2:28:
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God.

Luke 7:16:
They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”

Luke 13:13:
Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Luke 18:43:
Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

Luke 23:47:
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God...

Anyone can come closer to the Supreme Being by simply praising His Names.

"... do not take the place of honor ..." (Luke 14:8-10)

"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this person your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests." (Luke 14:8-10)

Why is Jesus saying this?

Jesus has sat down to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee and noticed that people selected the seats of honor:

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: (Luke 14:7)

Is Jesus teaching about how to attend a wedding or how to sit down at a table? Is Jesus teaching them about wedding table manners?

Is Jesus teaching about table manners?

Jesus is not teaching table manners. And he is not teaching about how to respond to a wedding invitation.

Rather, Jesus' symbolic parable or analogy and his observation at the table represent a more important issue: How important do we see ourselves with respect to others. Do we think we are the most important person in the room? Do we think that we are the smartest person around?

Not wanting to take the place of honor means not seeing ourselves as the most important person. It is about respecting others, and accepting that others are important - and sometimes more deserving than we are.

This also relates to how we see ourselves in relation to the Supreme Being. Does God exist in order to serve me? Is His role to wait around until we pray to Him to ask Him to do something for us or our family? In other words, do we think God is our servant?

In other words, Jesus is suggesting that none of us are the center of the universe. The world does not revolve around me.

This relates directly to the symbolism that Jesus is using. Where one chooses to sit is symbolic. It symbolizes how we see ourselves in relation to others. And to the Supreme Being. A person who approaches with confidence - being judgmental and feeling important and significant, is equivalent to "those who exalt themselves" according to Jesus.

And the consequence for this consciousness is very clear according to Jesus: "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled."

But those who see themselves humbly will receive another consequence: "those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Of significance here is one who feels superior enough to judge the Supreme Being and His representative: Feeling the mind powerful enough to be able to judge God and determine whether God exists, or whether God is fair and so forth.

Who are we to judge?

It seems that everyone has an opinion, and most of us think our opinion is the right one and anyone who disagrees is wrong. We think that we are so cognizant that we can see everything and that we are thus the most capable person to render a judgment.

This is also seen among materialistic scientists who feel their tiny minds are powerful enough to determine how the universe was created. Some have speculatively concluded that the universe comes from a random explosion without a source. This type of confidence only comes from someone unaware of their own insignificance.

Consider, for example, a bacteria living within the intestines of a human. Do those bacteria have the where-for-all to judge what their host is composed of? Do the bacteria have any idea what the human does or even that there is a living organism hosting its existence?

What if we saw such a bacteria make a judgment about its host - its universe - and conclude there was no life outside of its section of intestine? We would laugh at such ignorance, wouldn't we?

Is this about humility?

Yes, Jesus is referring to humility, but he is not referring to false humility.

He is not speaking of appearing humble or making a show of humility. Rather, Jesus is speaking of consciousness.

As such, a person who speaks softly and appears humble may still be feeling very significant and important. This is often paraphrased with "looks can be deceiving."

The false identity of the body

Most of us see ourselves and others in relation to what type of body we are wearing and what position our physical body is in at the moment. This, however, is circumstantial: it is false identification.

This is because we are not these physical bodies. Scientifically speaking, our physical bodies are vehicles we occupy temporarily. They are like clothing that we are wearing. Our physical body might be compared to an astronaut's spacesuit. Or even the space capsule itself. These are both coverings over the astronaut that allow the astronaut the ability to go into outer space.

In the same way, these physical bodies allow us to enter into and engage within the physical universe. Without the physical body, we cannot engage physically.

We can know this scientifically because the physical body is always changing. Just as we might change our clothes, the body is constantly recycling atoms and molecules. So the body we had when we were a child is not the same body we have now.

The constant entity - our person or personality - is composed of spirit. We have a body and identity made of spirit, which cannot be seen by the physical senses. It is of another dimension. Jesus confirmed this:

"The spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing." (John 6:63)

This dimension of spirit is the world of consciousness. In the physical realm, one can deceive others with false humility. But within the dimension of the spirit - the spiritual realm - our consciousness is inseparable from our spiritual self.

Is the soul innately humble?

In our pure state, our spiritual self is by nature humble and loving. But because we chose to reject our relationship with the Supreme Being, we have become separated from our spiritual nature. Our spiritual nature has become covered up by self-centeredness.

It is like having a bucket of mud thrown onto the windshield of our car. With mud covering the windshield, we cannot see out of or into the car.

When a person begins the path towards reviving our relationship with the Supreme Being - and reconnects with Him through prayer and through the glorification of His Names - that 'mud' of self-centeredness covering us gradually clears up, allowing us to begin to see ourselves more and more. This allows us to regain our natural love and humility - our natural consciousness as we begin to see our position as God's humble loving servant.

As one's loving service relationship with the Supreme Being increases, this understanding of our actual (humble) position will naturally carry over into the rest of our lives. We will begin to see our brothers and sisters as they are - not as their temporary bodies but as spirit-persons - and see ourselves in a humble light as we see all of our faults.

This is the consciousness Jesus is speaking of here as he speaks figuratively regarding choosing ones seat. As we choose our seat at the table of the spiritual realm, we should realize all of our faults. We should realize how fallen we are and how our positions are completely dependent upon the mercy of the Supreme Being.

"Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:17-18)

"Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:17-18)

What is the point of Jesus' questions?

These two questions by Jesus disclose a critical teaching of Jesus that has been virtually ignored by many over the centuries.

The teaching of Jesus we are discussing is the praising of the Supreme Being's Holy Names.

Here is the verse providing reference to Jesus' statement:

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. (Luke 17:15)

Now we must ask, why would the man bother to return and be 'praising God in a loud voice'? And why would Jesus make such a big deal, saying:

Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?"

There is only one answer to both of these questions:

It is because Jesus placed great importance upon praising God and His Names. It was a critical part of Jesus' teachings.

Did Jesus' followers praise God as a practice?

We can also draw this conclusion based on the many occasions where others who followed Jesus praised God:

When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man. (Matt. 9:8)

The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. (Matt. 15:31)

He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God (Mark 2:12)

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God (Luke 2:28)

Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. (Luke 1:64)

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God (Luke 2:13)

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:20)

Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. (Luke 5:25)

They were all filled with awe and praised God.  (Luke 7:16)

Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. (Luke 13:13)

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. (Luke 18:43)

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:47)

And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:53)

So we see from these verses that praising the Supreme Being occurred with some frequency, revolving around the teachings and activities of Jesus. Practically every major miracle was followed by people who witnessed it praising the Supreme Being.

How do we know this was a critical part of Jesus' teachings?

In the last statement above - Luke 24:53 - "they" is referring to Jesus' disciples and students. And the timing of their sojourn at the Temple was following Jesus' reappearance to them after his persecution.

Thus we find that praising God's Holy Names was so critical to Jesus' teachings, that once he re-appeared to them, they all stayed at the temple praising God's Holy Names.

We also find a critical phrase in all four gospels, regarding Jesus:

"‘Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.’” (Matt. 21:9, Mark 11:9, Luke 19:38, John 12:13)

This phrase is actually derived from David's Psalm 118:

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let Israel say: "His love endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever." When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; He brought me into a spacious place. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The LORD is with me; He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the Name of the LORD I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the Name of the LORD I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them down. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: "The LORD's right hand has done mighty things! The LORD's right hand is lifted high; the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!" I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; You are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. (Psalm 118)

What does this mean?

We can see clearly from this Psalm that David is speaking of the Supreme Being - God. And thus the "Name of the Lord" here would be none other than the Holy Name of the Supreme Being.

And since David is stating clearly not only the power of God's Holy Name - but he is praising God's messenger who comes to teach of the glories of God's Holy Name. This is very clear from David's Psalm 118.

Now we can translate the importance of praising God's Holy Name - communicated by David - to Jesus. Why? Because as Jesus was heading down to Jerusalem, his followers were all chanting this phrase, "Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord."

Thus we can only conclude that indeed, Jesus did "come in the Name of the Lord."

Which means, quite simply, that Jesus taught the importance of praising God's Holy Names. And he praised God himself. Here is one example:

He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Luke 11:2)

We also find throughout the Scriptures of the Bible, many other Bible verses showing the evidence of the importance of praising God's Holy Names.

Is this a lost teaching of Jesus?

Yet despite all this clear scriptural evidence, we find that many institutions claiming to follow Jesus do not teach the importance of praising God's Holy Names. Surely they will on occasion say "praise Jesus." And surely there is nothing wrong with this. But as Jesus himself points out to the man who was healed of his leprosy who returned to praise God - praising God's Holy Names is one of the critical teachings of Jesus.

And we can see by the example of Jesus' disciples, who 'stayed continually at the temple, praising God' (Luke 24:53) that this activity pleases Jesus: Praising God's Holy Names.

We also see by Jesus' statements and the events surrounding Jesus that praising God's Holy Names should not only be the major ceremony taking place in the temple - this devotional activity can be done anywhere at any time.

We can apply Jesus' teaching directly to our lives. This can be done by simply choosing one or several of God's Names and repeating those Holy Names. Praising God can be done as one is walking. It can be done with music and singing - with family and friends or by oneself. It can also be done meditatively.

Regardless of how praising God's Holy Names is done, it allows us to connect with the Supreme Being. God presents Himself to us through this transcendental means by His mercy. Anyone seeking to reconnect with Him - and come to know Him and redevelop our innate love for Him - may do so through the process of repeating and praising His Holy Names.

This was a critical part of Jesus' teachings - as well as a part of the teachings of all the Prophets.

"What is impossible with man is possible with God." (Luke 18:27)

Can someone who is rich go to heaven?

Jesus said the above statement after being asked:

"Who then can be saved?" (Luke 18:26)

Which came in response to Jesus telling his students:

"Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." (Luke 18:25)

One person might feel rich with $100 while another person might only feel rich with more than $10,000 saved up. And still another person may feel rich with more than $100,000. So being rich is relative.

What Jesus is speaking of - as discussed with Luke 18:25 - is attachment: Becoming attached to material wealth - and the material things that are obtained with that wealth.

Not becoming attached to wealth material possessions within the physical world is extremely difficult. Why is it so difficult?

Because we identify with these temporary physical bodies. We think that we are the flesh and bones -  even though those atoms and molecules of the flesh and bones are constantly migrating. Science has determined that some 98 percent of the atoms in our body this year will be exchanged with new atoms within a year.

This means we cannot possibly be this physical body. Since we were around a year ago, and we are still the same person now, despite this massive atomic change over the past year - along with the massive turnover of the body's cells. Thus, there is no way we can logically claim to be these physical bodies.

Yet we do. We look at the mirror each day and say to ourselves - "That's me in the mirror: This body is me."

Even scientists who understand the constant turnover of atoms within our bodies will consider their bodies to be themselves. So while logic tells us we cannot possibly be the gross physical body, we will still act on the basis that we are.

Doesn't every body die?

Yes. Every body dies and every body is dying all around us. We live as though our bodies won't die. We think we'll be here forever, even though our body could die at any moment.

This is called illusion. The physical world has been designed by the Supreme Being to cover us with illusion. Why? Because we wanted to get away from Him. We wanted to exercise our freedom. We rejected our innate relationship with God.

So He designed a place that we could hide out: A universe where we could take on a new (false) identity and forget Him.

But how can someone forget someone they are intimately related to - as we are with the Supreme Being? After all, the Supreme Being is Our Best Friend - Our Creator - Our Protector. How could we forget Him?

Through this powerful illusory energy created by God. This illusory nature of the physical world acts directly upon our consciousness. It allows us to forget our relationship with God. And it forces us to identify ourselves as these temporary physical bodies.

In the Scriptures, we find this illusory energy being described repeatedly: As "Satan" or "the Devil" or "Beelzebub" or "the opposer" or "the adversary."

Do you really think that the Supreme Being - who created everything and controls everything - would really be threatened by an adversary? Could there really be some "Satan" guy out there running around out of God's control, and messing things up for Him?

Don't be ridiculous. God has no out-of-control adversary. He is always in control, and never loses control. To lose control would contradict the position of God.

Does God give us freedom of choice?

God does give those whom He created the freedom to love Him or reject Him. And He gives those who reject Him the ability to exercise their freedom - by creating the physical world and the illusory energy to hide Himself from us.

Still - it is also correct that the illusory energy can be - for those who have decided they want to return to their relationship with God - an adversary or opposer. But what the illusory energy is doing is opposing our ability to return to our relationship with God.

The illusory energy is, in fact, testing each of us - to see if we are serious enough to return to our relationship with God.

The reality of the "opposer" or "adversary" or "satan" or "the devil" testing us is clear within the scriptures. For example, when Jesus went to the desert, he was clearly "tested" by the "devil."

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1)

Most will remember the remaining part of this story, how the devil shows Jesus riches and offers him the opportunity to be the ruler of the earth and so on. And how Jesus rejects all of those temptations.

But in this verse and throughout the description of the devil's temptations, the word "tempted" is translated from πειράζω (peirazō), which means, "to test: for the purpose of ascertaining his quality."

What is temptation?

Temptation is being tested. Those who attempt to make progress towards our lost relationship with the Supreme Being are tested in order to assess our determination: Just how determined are we to reach our relationship with God?

But it isn't as though the Supreme Being really has to test us to know how serious we are. He already can see our seriousness within. So why are we tested by the illusory energy if God already knows how serious (or not) we are?

Because these tests allow us to know just how far we still have to go in order to be serious enough to return to the spiritual realm. They provide us with a litmus test of sorts - to see what is more important to us.

And these tests (temptations) also allow those who aren't serious a way out - to continue our forgetfulness of our loving-service relationship with God.

Jesus might have passed the tests of the 'devil' (translated from the Greek word διάβολος (diabolos), which also means "opposer" according to Thayer's lexicon) - but most of us would probably not pass those tests that Jesus was tested with. Many who might be offered to be ruler of the whole world would probably take it.

And certainly, striving to be the world champion in some sport, or the head of a government, or a CEO of a big company is akin to the "ruler of the world" title.

In other words, unlike Jesus - who was perfect in his love for the Supreme Being - we are prone to failing such tests. We are prone to identify with these physical bodies and think that we will be happy if we can just get to the top. If we can just win this next contest and win the championship of something and have lots of adoring fans, we'll be happy.

Is this an illusion?

We can see this clearly by observing that these titles do not bring lasting happiness to those who gain those positions - even with all the adoring fans. Yet most of us who occupy physical bodies in the physical world will still seek adoring fans for ourselves. Today this translates for many into social media likes and followers.

So how do we get out?

Jesus is clarifying this: "What is impossible with man is possible with God."

In other words, the Supreme Being - who is always in complete control - has the power and authority to clear our consciousness of illusion. When we are ready.

Thus, what Jesus is teaching here for those who want to return to our relationship with God: To stay determined and focused as best we can, but to always know that we are dependent upon His mercy.

This is Jesus' message in Luke 18:27: If we trust the Supreme Being, and we become dependent upon Him, He will be there for us. Even if we might fail some of the tests of the illusory energy - if we focus our consciousness upon Him, and depend upon His mercy, He will guide us back to our loving relationship with Him.

This is one of the reasons for the importance of praising God's Names - as Jesus taught and the Prophets taught throughout the Scriptures. Through the praising of His Names, we can refocus our consciousness upon God, and reconnect with the Supreme Being, and thus become gradually purified of our attachments within the material world by rekindling our innate love for God.

“I tell you, if they became silent the rocks would cry out!” (Luke 19:40)

Why is Jesus responding this way to Pharisee demands?

Jesus is replying to some Pharisees as he was walking down the path from the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem. Here is the verse explaining what they said to him:

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” (Luke 19:39)

So what were his disciples doing that made the Pharisees request this of Jesus?

Once he neared the descent of the Mount of Olives, an entire crowd of disciples began glorifying God joyfully with loud voices – being touched by all the power they had been shown. They chanted, “Blessed is the spiritual leader who appears in the Name of the LORD! Peace through heaven and praises to the Most High!” (Luke 19:37-38)

We can see from the Pharisees' response to Jesus' disciples, that they were envious that Jesus was being glorified, and of Jesus' position with respect to the Supreme Being. They were, in fact, chanting that Jesus appeared as God's representative, and glorifying God at the same time.

This is the effect of someone who comes or appears "in the Name of the LORD."

What does 'coming in the Name of the Lord' mean?

Appearing or coming in the name of someone else has two simultaneous indications. The first relates to representation. The second relates to a relationship. Someone who comes or appears in the Name of the LORD is not only representing God, but has a loving relationship with Him. For this reason, such a person will be teaching love for God and glorifying the Supreme Being.

These two are related because glorifying the Supreme Being awakens our innate love for God.

In reality, this is the sum and substance of Jesus' appearance. He came as God's messenger:

"My teaching is not mine, but comes from He who sent me." (John 7:16)

Someone who delivers the teachings of someone else is certainly coming in the name of that person. This is why the Greek word ὄνομα (onoma) also means, according to Thayer's lexicon:

"By a usage chiefly Hebralstic the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is roused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembers the name...."

and

"To do a thing by one's command and authority, acting on his behalf, promoting his cause."

So we find that with this Greek word ὄνομα (onoma) it is being simultaneously conveyed that Jesus is representing God and praising the Name of God.

This aspect of Jesus' mission as glorifying the Supreme Being is overwhelmingly overlooked by those who seek to identify Jesus as the Supreme Being for the purpose of gaining their own authority.

Yet Jesus himself condemned this interpretation:

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘master, master,’ shall enter into the sanctuary of the spiritual realm – only one who does what pleases my LORD in the spiritual realm. Many will say to me at that time, ‘Master, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And I will say to them, ‘I never knew you: Get away from me, you who practice wickedness.’" (Matt. 7:21-23)

This illustrates clearly that Jesus' mission was not to become lord or master and be worshiped as God. His mission was to deliver God's message to us:

“‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is related: ‘Love others as yourself.’" (Matt. 22:37-39)

We must notice here that Jesus' instruction here is not new. Jesus is actually quoting Moses' instruction given more than a thousand years prior - from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

Why have these teachings been muted?

One might wonder why some claiming to be followers of Jesus are not emphasizing or passing on these clear teachings by Jesus?

It is the same reason why some priests have molested children. And it is the same reason why some who claim to be faithful are terrorizing people in the name of God. And it is the same reason why there has been so much bloodshed in the name of religion over the past two thousand years:

It is because those who are claiming to represent Jesus - or Moses or any other messenger of God - are not following this prime teaching themselves.

Because they don't follow these two critical teachings of Jesus, they have become fanatical. They have claimed that their institution or organization is the best institution and have focused upon creating power and authority for that organization or institution, sometimes by harming others in the name of their sect, institution or organization.

How are Jesus' teachings different?

Jesus' teachings portray the precise opposite of the fanatical doctrine. This is clarified in his primary teaching regarding "Love others as yourself."

Most translations suggest the Greek word πλησίον (plēsion) - and the Hebrew word רֵעַ (rea`) from Lev. 19:18 - mean "neighbor" as in, someone who lives next door or perhaps down the street, or someone of the same religion or country or race.

This, however, is not what these words mean in the context of Jesus and Moses' teachings. They mean, according to Thayer's lexicon, "any other person" - or "another person." These are captured in normal speaking by the word "others."

"Any other person" - "others" - includes by definition:

- someone from another family
- someone from another country
- someone from another race
- someone of another gender
- someone with another religious belief
- someone who doesn't worship God
- anyone else

Thus we find that those who terrorize people or otherwise harm others for the purpose of "spreading" their religious beliefs are certainly not followers of Jesus, or Moses - or any of God's representatives.

This is confirmed by Jesus when he instructed his followers:

"You have heard that it was taught, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, don’t resist the wicked, but whoever shall smack you on the right cheek, turn the other towards him as well. If anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And should someone compel you to go a mile, go two with him. Give to one who asks of you, and do not turn from one who seeks to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who despise and persecute you: Thus you will be servants of your LORD in the spiritual realm, for He makes the sun rise on the wicked and the good, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, where is the benefit? Even the publicans do this, do they not? If you only salute your brothers, how is this different from others? Even the publicans do this, do they not? Be therefore perfect, just as your LORD in the spiritual realm is perfect." (Matt. 5:38-48)

The verses above are quoted from the Lost Gospels of Jesus.

"They like to walk around in flowing robes ..." (Luke 20:46-47)

"Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely." (Luke 20:46-47)

Who is Jesus speaking to?

Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples, but so the people in the audience could also hear. This is confirmed by the prior verse:

While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, (Luke 20:45)

This also means that Jesus was speaking specifically to those who were following him. But he was also sending a message to everyone. This includes those he was referring to as well as the general public.

What is Jesus saying?

He is speaking of the Temple teachers who controlled the interpretation of scripture and dominated the Temple society at the time. The phrase, "teachers of the law" comes from the Greek word γραμματεύς (grammateus). This word refers to a scribe or teacher that interprets scripture.

During Jesus' time, a person in this role received great respect. The sentence of anyone who was accused of breaking scriptural law - or criminal law - was usually determined by such a scribe. As a result, they held the seats of honor and wore long robes. And when they traveled through the streets or markets, they were greeted with great respect.

Jesus comments here that they were not only interested in the respect of others. They also took advantage of their followers. They were profiting from their positions. This meant when the man of a household died, the Temple would seize the household wealth - thereby taking the money that should have belonged to the widow.

This is not an isolated situation. Throughout history we find many will utilize the post of religious teacher to take advantage of their followers. We find this even today, as so many hold positions of professional teachers, making comfortable salaries off the backs of poor people who are intimidated or coerced into making donations.

For this reason, Jesus didn't want his disciples to earn money from preaching. He not only railed against professional preaching as with this verse. But he also specifically instructed his disciples to not carry a bag or purse or belt to hold money as they went out to teach:

“Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals..." (Luke 10:4 NKJV)

The Greek word βαλλάντιον (ballantion) means a purse, bag or belt for carrying money.

Why did he instruct them not to bring a purse or money belt?

Because he didn't want them collecting money in return for their preaching. He wanted them to require or demand no compensation for their service to God.

This is an important point in terms of whom we choose as a teacher as well. Those who collect money in return for their teaching services are not serving God. They are performing a service in return for a salary. Therefore, they are disqualified as a true teacher and servant of God.

Such a position is evidenced by its fruits. Those who take salaried positions as preachers and priests become thirsty for power and authority. Their positions lead them to a need to be honored by others and they begin to take advantage of their positions - as we have seen with many Catholic priests who have abused their followers.

Why would they abuse their followers?

Why did they become abusive? Why did they like to be honored by others, and why would they think they have the right to take advantage of their followers?

Because they think of themselves as superior to others.

This feeling of superiority comes in various forms. Not just by professional preachers and priests - but people throughout the world who take advantage of others or otherwise mistreat others.

Despite their supposed roles in passing along Jesus' teachings and the teachings of the Prophets, they assume roles that are diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus and the Prophets.

Yes, these teachers were supposedly representing the Prophets and their teachings. Yet by their actions, they were contradicting those very teachings.

Consider for example, this statement about Moses:

Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3)

David reflected this in one of his hymns - referring to the Supreme Being:

"You save the humble..." (2 Samuel 22:28)

In this same hymn, David also writes:

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior — from violent people You save me." (2 Samuel 22:2-3)

Note that the word "LORD" is translated from the word יְהֹוָה (Yĕhovah). David is referring to the Supreme Being.

Isaiah also used this Name of God when he wrote:

Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD (Isaiah 29:19)

We find a similar statement written by Zephaniah as declared by the LORD:

"But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the Name of the LORD." (Zephaniah 3:12)

We find similar teachings by Jesus:

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Matt. 23:12 and Luke 14:11)

Thus we find the basic principle of humility common among the Prophets and Jesus. Why is this so important?

We also find in some of the verses above that humility is the key to being able to praise and glorify God. What is the connection? To praise and glorify the Supreme Being requires by default that we admit that we are not the greatest.

Is this a disease?

Yes. We think that we are something special. We think that we are, in one way or another, the greatest.

And this material universe allows us this illusion to think that each of us is the greatest. This material world gives us the opportunity to gain some kind of position or role that allows us to believe that we are something special. One might become, for example, a chess champion in some community. Or perhaps a person scores a game-winning touchdown or goal in the big game. Or perhaps a person wins a track race and gets a gold medal. Or perhaps a person becomes the CEO of a business or the mayor of a town.

Most of us would admit that none of these positions would allow a person to really become the greatest. Yet at the moment this person gains that temporary position of honor, that's exactly what we will do: We'll consider ourselves the greatest - the most important person.

This is the illusion of the material world. And it is set up specifically by the Supreme Being to allow us the opportunity to see ourselves in the role of being the greatest.

You see, this is because only the Supreme Being is actually the greatest. Yet because He endowed each of His children with a spark of Himself, each of us has the choice to want to be the greatest: Each of us has the choice to either love and serve ourselves as the greatest - or love and serve God as the Greatest. This means, in essence, the choice between love of God and envy of God.

This puts each of us in the precise situation where God wants us to be in: Where we have the complete freedom to love Him or not.

What if you were God?

Just think about it. What if you were God and you had all the control? You could do anything you wanted. But you also wanted to exchange a loving relationship with others. Would you create robots that did whatever you wanted them to do? That would get a little boring, wouldn't it?

No. You would create people that had the choice to love you or not, right? They could choose to love you or choose to be jealous of you. This is the only way that your creations could actually make a free choice to love you, right? And if you exerted your control over this freedom to love you or not, then it really would not be love, would it?

This is the position of the Supreme Being. He gave us this ultimate choice - to love Him and humble ourselves before Him - or become envious of Him and strive to be the greatest.

And those who decide to strive to be the greatest have the extra benefit of not having the Real Greatest Person (God) in the way. This is why we can't see God with the physical eyes in this world.

This scenario gives the Supreme Being the enjoyment of exchanging true loving relationships with those who freely choose to submit themselves before Him.

We are talking about the Supreme Person here, not some monolith floating in space. We are speaking about the Source of everyone and everything. The Person who everyone is a small spark of. He has every capacity we have, except that He is the source of all our capacities. Whatever capacity any of us have, He has that capacity at its maximum. He has every capacity to its perfection.

This means that whatever beauty exists - He is the perfection of beauty. Whatever kindness exists, He is the perfection of kindness. Whatever love exists, He is the perfection of love. The Supreme Being is everything we have ever wanted or wanted to be. He is everything we have ever wanted to see in others.

Is God is the Perfect Person?

Yes. If we decide to give up our fruitless chase for greatness, and we want a true loving relationship - one that never ends; one that has no limits; one where we can truly be ourselves - then we need the Supreme Being. We need to make the choice to return to our innate loving service relationship with God.

This requires humbling ourselves before Him - and accepting that He is the greatest and we are not. It requires understanding that He is our only real shelter. He is our only real protector. He is our only real Friend. He is the One Person we can trust at the end of the day.

Such a position achieves the ultimate in humility - because it states that we cannot provide our own shelter. We cannot protect ourselves.

Forget trying to act humble. Trying to appear to others as humble. This is not real humility. This is pretend humility. It is show humility - for the purpose of impressing others.

Needing God's protection is the only real humble position. Jesus clarified this position of protection by the Supreme Being:

"Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name, the Name you gave me..." (John 17:11)

We find this connection above among the teachings of the Prophets as well - this connection between humility and taking shelter in God - and praising and glorifying the Supreme Being and His Holy Name.

Jesus himself, in his prayer to God above, as well as Isaiah and Zephaniah above, testifies to the potency of the Holy Name of God.

Jesus says, "protect them by the power of Your Name." And we find similar statements above - "trust in the Name of the LORD". Why? What is so special about the Name of God? It's just a name isn't it?

No. It is the Name of the Perfect Person. The Name of the Greatest Person. The Name of the Person who is the Master of everything and everyone.

As such, this Name is not just another name. It is endowed with the potency of the Supreme Being Himself.

You see, in the physical realm, there is duality. The entities of this material world can be given one name now, and another name later. One can get their name changed, or get a new name after marriage. So here our name is different. We are separate from our name.

The Supreme Being maintains no such duality. The Name of the Supreme Being is not separate from God. His Name thus contains His potency. His power. Himself.

This is why God gave this instruction:

"Wherever I cause My Name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you." (Exodus 20:24)

Why? Because when we call upon the Holy Name of God with humility, respect, and love, He will be there for us.

This makes approaching the Supreme Being pretty simple. Not easy, because losing our sense of superiority and our feeling that we are the greatest isn't easy. But simple in that we don't have to join any church or religious institution to connect with God. To connect with God, we don't need to follow some professional preacher or institution that seeks to take advantage of their followers.

How can we do this? With humility, reverence, and love, we can call out His Holy Names and praise Him. This alone will save us.

Find more scriptural evidence for the power of praising God's Holy Names.