Do you know God as your Redeemer? In the Old Testament God refers to himself as Redeemer in Isaiah 44:24 “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,” Because God is creator of all things, only He has the power to redeem, buy back or save His creation. If you know God as your Savior and Redeemer you are in the know just like Job, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Zachariah and Paul who referred to God as their Redeemer. Read their powerful words and claim them for yourself.
Job 19:25-26 “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,” Job knew the eternal God as his Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” David knew God was his Redeemer and desired to be humble before Him.
Isaiah 47:4 “Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah knew God as his Redeemer and revered His name.
Luke 1:68 ““Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.” Zachariah prophesied the coming of Jesus as our Redeemer.
Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” Paul knew that Jesus’ death on the cross redeemed us from the curse of sin.
What about you? Can you say that God is your Redeemer? We like to save money by using coupons as we shop. They help us to redeem more for our money than we deserve. Jesus did that for us by paying the full price for our sin on the cross. We are able to be redeemed as we put our trust and faith in Him knowing He is always faithful to carry out His work within us. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, Ican know Jesus as my Redeemer and depend upon the power of His blood to redeem me before Almighty God.
There is only one place where God in the person of Jesus the Christ was referred to as a man of sorrows. It was written of Him in Isaiah 53, when Isaiah was describing the suffering servant of God that was to come. He told where he came from and what would happen to him. Isaiah 53:2-4
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He grew up as a regular man. he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He knew the hard things of life and was rejected. he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, He took the punishment for our sins. smitten by God, and afflicted.
These verses describe Jesus as the suffering servant. In Matthew 20:17-19 Jesus describes what is about to take place. “Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Many references call Jesus the cornerstone of our faith. Acts 4:11 speaks of how he was rejected, “Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” We see the sorrow Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:37-39 “He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Going to the cross caused Jesus great anguish, but He was obedient to the will of the Father, regardless of this personal cost. The attitude of the crowd shows their ‘we don’t care’ feelings towards Jesus and his innocence. Matthew 27:21-23 gives the scene as it unfolds; “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. 22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” 23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
How do you identify with Jesus and the sorrow He felt by dying on the cross? Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,I can know freedom from the sorrow and death my sins deserve. He was the man of my sorrow as He bore my sins on the cross. Thank you Jesus!
This name of God was spoken to Jesus’ disciples to give them hope and clarity as He was going away and He knew they would be confused and even bewildered. He wanted them to know that He was The Way. Given time all would become clear, but Jesus spoke these words in comfort to the disciples as He was preparing them for His death and departure. Jesus said in John 14:1-4 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.4 And you know the way to where I am going.” Jesus wanted them to know He was leaving but for them not to fear and know He was going to get a place in heaven ready for them. Thomas did not understand and questioned Jesus in verse 5, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus’ answer is profound and complete. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 He went on to tell Thomas and the others how He and the Father were one and if they had seen Him then they also had see God the Father and knew Him to be true.
What did Jesus mean with His I AM statements? I am the way– the way to heaven and eternal life, the way to a relationship with God. I am the truth– He is the truth of God, the gospel. He is the Life-He is the giver of life-both physical and spiritual, the one who brings eternal life through faith in Him, the one who provides fullness of life here and now. The way to God is only through faith in Jesus. Jesus was God and knew that men would doubt, men would seek to earn their way to heaven, that men would claim they knew another way to get to heaven through faith in another person or things. Jesus knew what was coming and His answer leaves no room for those thoughts. He is the only way to God and He knows that way perfectly. He is the truth of God, the Life giver for now and eternity and the pathway to reach full relationship with God is through Him alone. Martin Luther had it right in His 5 Solices- Faith Alone, Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone and Glory to God Alone. Our faith in Jesus rests on His Word, His person and His Work on the Cross on our behalf.
Paul wanted believers to know Jesus was the only way to God and spoke in Acts 4:12 about this truth. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” One can only be saved by the only one who can save us = Jesus. He was the perfect sacrifice acceptable to God and His blood atones for our sin through our faith in Him. In 1 Timothy 2:5 we read, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” Jesus is the the one who cleanses us and presents us able to stand before God. The only way that can happen is found in Jesus.
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can know the way of salvation and relationship with God, experience the fullness of the life He has for me and know as much truth about God as I can absorb. Thank you Jesus for providing a way for all of us to be with God, see His truth and promises of a life worth living now and in the future!
One of the more personal names for God is friend. Jesus told his disciples He was their friend and that applies to each of us as we embrace Jesus by faith. We too become His friends. I love the old hymn, “What a friend I have in Jesus”. The lyrics speak of our friend Jesus bearing all our sins and griefs and our privilege of taking our problems to Him in prayer. Jesus called us His friends in John 15:14-15 “You are my friends if you do what I command you.15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
Being called a friend of Jesus means we follow His Word and walk beside and with Him in our daily life. He is right there to help us when we stumble, give a word of comfort or be our companion. By following His pathway we are no longer just like a hired servants or one who receives orders to go along with him, but a friend to be confided in, helped and taught. He also promises to reveal what He knows about God the Father to us. A few verses later in John 15:18 Jesus warns us that being called His friend will put us in a position to be hated by others. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” He also speaks of this in Matthew 10:22 “and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” I love the promise Jesus gives at the end of the Matthew verse. Standing with Jesus and enduring the derision and persecution that the unbelieving world places upon us because we proclaim Him, will bring a great reward.
Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have a friend in Jesus who will never leave me nor forsake me.Where do you need such a friend today? Reach out to Him in prayer and let Him know of your thoughts, hopes and struggles. He will be there for you as no one has ever been before!
Linda
Suggestion: Spend some time with your friend Jesus today. Go for a prayer, praise walk with Jesus. Talk with Him as you walk along and praise Him for His provision and the glory you see along the way. Can’t get out? Just gaze out a window and spend time journeying with Jesus in prayer.
This name for God, Jehovah Raah, The Lord is my Shepherd is a bit different from God is the Good Shepherd. There the emphasis is on the goodness of God and His role as shepherd in our lives. The Lord is my Shepherd involves a declaration by the Sayer, that God is the Lord and Shepherd of their life.
We see this used by David in Psalm 23 as he declares that God is his shepherd. In this beloved psalm, David tells us of the qualities of his Lord and how He shepherds his life as no one else can.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. God provides and guides David. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. God restores. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; God protects and comforts,even in the scariest of times. your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; God is with him and watches over him. you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.God blesses now and into eternity.
David, the shepherd boy who became king, remembered how he cared for his sheep and sees that quality of care and tenderness, protection and comfort in His God. David realizes that God is his protector and blesses him now and into eternity.
Jesus also spoke of himself as the good shepherd and as He is also Lord and Savior, He fits this description too. In John 10 Jesus describes his role as shepherd and Lord. He speaks of himself as the gatekeeper in John 10:3 and the door in John 10:9 which are both images of protection and care. In verse 11, He speaks of being the one who will lay his life down for his sheep, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” His precious promise in John 10:28-29 could only be made by the Lord himself, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,I can know the Lord Jesus as my shepherd and entrust my life now and in the future to Him! Thank you Jesus!
One of the lifechanging names of God for me was El Elyon or The Most High God, Sovereign God. I did not really grasp the Sovereignty of God until I read the Old Testament. Woven in the stories of their trials, tribulations and rebellions against God, I saw how God watched over all and was always in control, Sovereign. How do we know that God is always in control? Scripture gives us many examples so that we can know it is a truth about God’s nature and character. It is a truth we cand depend upon.
To start us off, I want to use Psalm 91:1-2. Here the Psalmist points us to the Most High God who is our protector as He holds us within His sheltered wings! “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
The Kings of Judah were not all followers of the Most High God but here are the prayers of David, Solomon and Josephat which point us towards the Most High Sovereign God. King David’s prayer before the assembled Israelites at the dedication of Solomon as king. 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 “Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.” David recognized the true power and majesty of God and how all belongs to Him.
Solomon prayed before after bringing the ark into the temple. 1 Kings 8:21-23 “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;” I love the acknowledgement of God’s sovereign control of all above and on and under the earth, and His steadfast love for those who follow Him.
Here King Jehoshaphat prayed before a battle and beseeched God to give them victory. 2 Chronicles 20:5-6 “And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.” He knew that if God was with them they could not be defeated! He knew that God was bigger than their enemies and was in control.
Isaiah 45:7 speaks of God revealing Himself and His sovereignty, “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
Jesus also reveals God’s sovereignty in regard to those who follow Him. John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” I love these verses and take great comfort in know that God has me and no one or nothing can take me away from Sovereign God.
Paul makes a plea to the Athenians in his speech to their ‘unknown’ God in Acts 17:24-27 “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,” They were not aware of Jesus and Paul was making him known to them in a very clever way so that they would see the truth of Sovereign God.
There are so many wonderful scriptures that describe the truth of our Sovereign God. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,I can call upon Sovereign God praising Him for his provision, protection and steadfast love towards me.
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week before Passover and His death on the cross is a wild an joyous event. I have walked the Palm Sunday Road and it is a very steep hill leading down from the Mt. of Olives that leads to the eastern gate. As I walked that road, I could see this scene in my mind that is included in all four gospels.
Matthew 21:1-11 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Blessings today as we usher in the final week of Jesus’ life on earth with Palms, Shouts of Hosanna and Praises to Messiah, the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world. Let God know how you feel about Him today and choose a favorite name to praise Him. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can praise my Savior for all He has done and is doing for me.
The term My Glory as a name for God is a new one to me. I think of God’s glory as the sum total of all His attributes. God displays His glory in the beauty and wisdom of His creation. Throughout the Bible God has revealed His glory to His people through His power mercy, grace, judgement, holiness, love and all his other attributes. In the Old Testament, God revealed His glory in the cloud which came to rest upon the Tabernacle. It was called the Shekinah glory. In the New Testament, God revealed His glory completely in the Lord Jesus.
However, David used the term My Glory to describe God as an active name. Psalm 3:3 “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, myglory, and the lifter of my head.” He envisioned God as a physical barrier that protects and one who encourages him. God is indeed all those things and more.
In Psalm 57:7-9 David calls out to God using this term, my glory. Psalm 57:7-9 “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. David’s name is appropriate and honoring to God. He acknowledges that all creation will praise Him and that he loves God with a steadfast love.
In this passage from Isaiah, we see God addressing His glory as part of himself. Glory is His alone. Isaiah 42:8-9 “I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
God’s glory belongs to Him alone and it is His to do with as He pleases. He imparted His glory to Jesus, His Son, when he came to earth. Belief in Jesus and His work on the cross gives believers access to the power of His glory in Jesus’ name. There is great power in the name of Jesus! Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” James confirms the power of Jesus and His glory in James 2:1 “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” Jesus is God and His glory belongs to the Father. John 10:29-30 tells us in Jesus’ words as He is praying for His followers, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can, like David, call Him my glory and know the fullness of God’s glory in the person of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Thank you Jesus for revealing God’s glory to me personally.
Jehovah Roi was one of the first Hebrew names for God that I encountered in my study of Genesis long ago. It seemed to resonate with me and assured me that God sees Me too! Jehovah Roi means The God Who Sees and appears in Genesis 16 during the story of Hagar in the wilderness. Hagar was the slave servant of Sarai, Abraham’s wife. When Sarai was not getting pregnant, she devised a plan of her own to have children. She gave her servant to Abraham, as it was an acceptable practice to ‘claim’ children as your own from your servants. When Hagar became pregnant, she developed an attitude with Sarai that upset her. Abraham told her to do what she wished with the servant so she treated her harshly. Hagar ran away into the desert.
This is the scene that unfolded in the desert. Genesis 16:7-13 “The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
Hagar knew this was divine intervention in her desperate situation. God was gracious and gave her hope that her son would be a strong man to be named Ishmael. They would not die in the wilderness. She was important to God as He looked upon her situation and gave her hope. She knew the Lord had seen her, The God who sees.
How about you? Do you have confidence that God sees you and your situation right now? Just as God saw Hagar, He knows and sees you too. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,I can live assured that God sees me and knows the answer to the dilemmas of my life. I, like Hagar, often don’t see a way through a situation but God does and He will lead you through it. Walk with Trust in Him.
Today’s name of God describes a job God does and how He relates to us. He is our Intercessor. By definition an intercessor is one who prays, petitions or entreats favor for another. This is described in Romans as the job of the Holy Spirit towards us and in John we see Jesus interceding for us with the Father. What a privilege it is to know that we have an Intercessor God that loves and cares for us.
Romans 8:26-27 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” How many times have you been stuck and not known what to pray in a situation? In those times we can take comfort from the fact that the Holy Spirit is ready and willing to present our prayers properly to God. When the Spirit intercedes, He presents requests that are aligned with God’s perfect will. It describes His praying for us as groanings to deep for words. He is involved in our prayers and even in our fumbling He presents them faultless before God. Thank you Holy Spirit!
In Hebrews 7:24-25 Jesus is described as our Great High Priest. “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus will hold that position permanently and lives to intercede on our behalf before God. There is no ending to his intercession as he is eternal and never tires.
I love the 17the chapter of the gospel of John as in that chapter Jesus prays for the disciple then and for all believers in the future. He shows His great love, care and concern for those who believe in Him. John 17:8-10 “For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. John continues in 15-19 “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” Jesus wants us to know Him and when we do He lives to intercede on our behalf knowing the challenges we will face in this world before we join Him in eternity.
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can take comfort in knowing Jesus prayed for me and that the Holy Spirit is ready and willing to intercede for me each day. Be encouraged as God will hear your prayers no matter how inadequate they may seem. He will present them perfect before God with the intent of your heart. Keep on praying as Prayer Changes Things! If it didn’t, Jesus would not have prayed for us! Keep on praying!
Fearless Living 