Reformátusok Lapja, 1971 (71. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1971-08-01 / 8-9. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 12 JEHOVAH IS THY GOD Exodus 20:2 Let our hearts be silent and listen to what the everliving God says to His chosen people and through it to all of us by the starting Words of the so-called Deka-Logos, the Ten Commandments. The first sentence of the Ten Commandments is the heart-beating of the law given us in the Old Testament. Let us see now what is the true meaning of this Revelation. “I am Jehovah thy God.” This proper name “Jehovah” means Spirit- father or Creating Spirit, that is, invisible reality existing above the created worlds and our human organs. He is the God who brought this world into existence from nothing (creatio rei ex nihilo), who appointed the course of all the celestial bodies, who is the last cause of every little moment, who gave a law for life and formed order in the chaotic uproar of the world. And since He himself is the most perfect Spirit, the absolute intelligence, He gave man, this crown of the creation — will power, plan and aim. It is good to know that all these facts are not mechanical activities of this most perfect Spiritual Reality, but results and consequences of His blessed will. His power is not a destroying energy without any law, of which all creatures have to be afraid, but dear manifestation of His fatherly heart, that is; love, goodness, mercy by which He keeps and saves this world and in it He gives sinful man life. The existence of Jehovah, this absolute Being, sovereign Lord, in the created world will be evident and in His fatherhood, in His merciful love, in His grace incarnated in Jesus Christ, will be comprehensible and full of significance. We would like to emphasize that His fatherhood is determined by His spirituality. It means that He is essentially different from the earthly fathers. To His children He is patient and merciful, but at the same time, He is just and righteous. Before Him no base feeling, no wicked thought, no sinful act is hidden. He will judge all sins and iniquities according to His faithfulness and righteousness. He is not such a Father with whom man could play as whom man would evade. He in His fatherhood also remains Holy God, who demands every day, every moment of our life, an explanation of our acts committed, of our duty neglected, of our boast, unbelief and blasphemy, of our suppressed prayers, of our rebellion against Him, and of our comradeship with the godless, with Christ- deniers, with the prince of darkness, with Satan. Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer, who is “full of grace and truth” calls Him “heavenly Father.” And this Jehovah, this almighty God of the creation and history, who is able to annihilate the world with a single movement of His eyes, this Govenor of the immeasurable all, this sovereign Lord of the invisible and visible creatures without the knowledge of when a single hair or a miserable worm will not be destroyed, this providential King who disposes of all lives; who will remain an eternal King even if a million devils would attack Him, and even if His existence would be denied by all men; this absolute and one Reality, who makes everything to His own glory — is thy God. In this little word “thy” the eternal truth is hidden, that God thought of you before worlds were created; He loves you and awaits you to the service of His kingdom. “I am thy God!” Your God, dear Christian friends, who are sitting within the walls of your homes, or are working in the factories, in your offices, on your fields, who are bringing up your children and preparing them for the service of God’s glory among the people of this powerful nation. As Jehovah became God of the whole mankind through the chosen people of Israel, so He will be the God of America and of the world through your and my service. You must then believe that the life and future of all nations is in the hand of Jehovah, the creating and saving God. You must confess by your feelings and thoughts, by your whole life, that God is everything, and everything else is nobody and nothing. Here you have to become a servant of God that others may also become His servants through your faith, prayers and obedient life. Never forget that Jehovah will show His power in the life of the whole mankind as He showed it to Israel in the liberation from Egyptian bondage. Do you wish triumph, prosperity, blessing, peace? Then keep the sacred commandment: “I am Jehovah Thy God . Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Dr. Joseph Aruai-Zsiros Annual Spring Women’s Conference Ever since 1957, in the Spring of each year, the Women of the Hungarian Reformed Churches in the Central Classis of the Calvin Synod have met in Conference to refresh and renew their Christian Fellowship. Up to and including 1970 these Conferences were called the “Palm Sunday Women’s Conference of the Central Classis of the Calvin Synod,” and as the name indicates these meetings were always held on Palm Sunday of each year. Due to the inclement weather experienced on Palm Sundays when Easter came early in the year, the 1970 Conference voted to change the date for the Conference from Palm Sunday to the First Sunday in May, and in conjunction therewith, it was resolved to change the NAME of the Conference to: “Annual Spring Women’s Conference of the Central Classis of the Calvin Synod.”
