What is God teaching you during this Lenten season? Are you worrying less and trusting Him more? Are you repenting more quickly and learning to recognize your sin? Each season of life brings new challenges and new ways to walk with Him. The psalmist here in Psalm 37:7-9 is in a season of waiting, maybe you can identify.
Psalm 37:7-9 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Do you need to wait and not fret over evil? 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. Do you need to hold yourself more in check? 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Do you trust God is in control?
Learning to walk with Jesus causes us to stop and listen to Him. Letting the Holy Spirit fill us and then allowing Him to help us practice self-control. Learn to let yourself lean into Jesus and trust Him for the outcome. I know this is easier said than done, but God has a plan and purpose for each of us, special things for us to do and we need to focus upon those things. Claim Jeremiah 29:11 -God has good plans for you! “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” and -God has work for you to do Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can walk with Jesus each day and be filled with His Holy Spirit to guide and direct me. He will lead me in His pathway if I listen to Him. Meditate on Psalm 37 and learn to Be Still before Him. Leaning into Jesus will bring results of the heart and mind.
I find this name for God more of a concept, our Source. God is creator of all things and is in all things too. The dictionary defines source as: the point of origin, the initiator, supplier, the fountain head. All of these meanings can be related to God as He is the beginning of all as He existed before creation. He initiated the creation of the universe and all that we know. He supplies all needs and is the living spring from which all things flow.
Here are some scriptures that match these meanings in amazing ways! Point of origin and initiator, John 1:3 “Allthings were made throughhim, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Colossians 1:16 “For by himallthings were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—allthings were created throughhim and for him.” Romans 11:36 “For from him and throughhim and to him are allthings. To him be glory forever. Amen.” All of these describe our Creator God as the one who started it all and made everything as we know it! The true Source!
We all know God as the ultimate supplier or source. Philippians 4:16 “I can do allthingsthroughhim who strengthens me.” and another way of saying this is, John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you candonothing.” Apart from Him we can do nothing. With Him we can claim all things are possible, Mark 10:26-27 “And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Lastly, the beginning of a river is called its source. Jesus is the Source of our life giving water from God. John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of livingwater.’” Revelation 7:17 speaks of this living water in heaven, “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of livingwater, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Jesus is the lamb of God and will be the source of living water in heaven!
In my second book Promises for Dynamic Living, I used 2 Peter 1:13 as my guiding verse. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,” He has granted us divine power for living so we can glorify Him in our lives. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,I can know the Source of life, taste of His water, be under His care and know all things come through Him. He is the perfect source to provide for me both physically and spiritually. Is He your Source too? Know the Source by trusting in Jesus.
Linda
Promises for Dynamic Living is available on Amazon, Promises for Dynamics Living/LindaKnight or from my publisher, Certabooks.com
Today’s name of God, Jehovah Mekoddishkem or The LORD Sanctifies is essential to our Christian theology. Since man’s sin in the garden we have been separated from God by our sin. God is holy and we are not because of our willfulness, rebellion and outright rejection of God. To make a way for man to be reconciled to Him, God provided the law to show the way of right living and the sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people. The sacrifices were only a temporary fix to the problem and were a picture of Christ to come. Jesus was the perfect holy sacrifice that through faith in His work on the cross and resurrection, we can be restored to a relationships with God. The name- The LORD Sanctifies describes God’s part in this to bring us back to Him. Leviticus 20:7-8 “Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” Only Holy God can restore us and make us pure, sanctified, so we may come before Him.
The writer of Hebrews explains this a bit more and helps us to see Jesus as the atonement provided by God. Hebrews 10:10-14 “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Chris had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. What thousands of sacrifices had not been able to accomplish permanently, Jesus did on the cross. Once was enough and it was accomplished, the way of forgiveness and the pathway back to communion with God was opened to us. Thank you Jesus!
Paul talks about our sanctification, which is a process of becoming more and more like Jesus. We are clean before God through the cleansing blood of Jesus but we live in a sinful world. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.“ Walking with Jesus grows as we mature in our faith and are more able to cast off sin and temptations that surround us in this world and focus on Him. We will never be free of sin until we are with Him, but we can become more and more like Jesus as we walk with Him.
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,Through faith in Jesus I can experience the process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit as I seek to live for Him. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 that we can rely upon God for this process and trust in His faithfulness. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.“
One of the names for God that we are probably most familiar with is Adonai in Hebrew or Lord, Master in English. Generally, it was used to mean someone in charge or of greater station in the society. Those usages totally apply to God as He is indeed the Lord and Master of all. When it is written in all capitals, LORD, the name refers to Yahweh or Adonay referring to the God of the universe, creator of all things. It was a personal name to the Jews for their Lord God. The name Lord or LORD appears over 6,000 times in scripture and Master 179. At times the words can be used as a person performing or acting as say the lord of his estate or master of a slave, but most references refer to God or Jesus.
Psalm 123 offers us a beautiful look at our LORD and His merciful character throughout time towards His people.
I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven. God dwells in heaven. 2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, Others look to earthly masters so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy. We look to Lord our God for mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt. Lord look on us with mercy as we are suffering, 4 We have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, We have suffered for you Lord at the hands of others. of contempt from the proud.
I particularly love the prophesy in Isaiah 40:3-5 about the coming of John the Baptist who would herald the coming of Jesus.
A voice of one calling: John the Baptist was that voice to come. “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; The Lord Jesus was coming soon. make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, Jesus would reveal the Lord’s glory to us. and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
I find comfort in the Lord, as I know He is my comforter. Isaiah 49:16 “Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.”
Jesus was referred as Lord and Master by his disciples. One night they had been out fishing and had caught nothing. Jesus came to meet them and told them to put their nets out again. Luke 5:4-8 “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Peter recognized a divine power within Jesus. 10b continues, “Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” They knew immediately that Jesus was different, and a Lord and Master they could follow.
Paul uses the name Lord for Jesus when he speaks of salvation. Romans 8:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our LordJesus Christ,” Jesus is our Lord and through faith in Him we can be made clean and pure- justified to stand before God! Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Without Jesus we would still be lost in our sins, thank you Jesus for the gift of enteral life and forgiveness. Philippians 2:10-12 tells us of a future time when all will know and bow before Jesus our Lord. “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
How do you see your Lord and Master? I hope these scriptures have helped you to see the great depth of God’s love and devotion to us. The names Lord and Master show the great privilege that God is granting to us through His grace and mercy that we can call Him our master and Lord. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead,I can call Jesus my Lord and Master. It is an honor to be loved and cared for by Him.
A name that God called himself is I AM (YHWH). The Israelites so revered the name of God that they used YHWH when referring to Him as it has no vowels and cannot be pronounced. They felt God’s name was so sacred that they should not utter it. God used the term I AM in reference to himself in Exodus 3:14. God was going to send Moses to confront Pharoah so the people would be released from slavery. Moses was hesitant and one of the problems he foresaw was that the people, the Israelite slaves, would not know him and not believe that he had come to be God’s instrument of release. Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God was proclaiming that He was the self-existent God, God Almighty, the God of their fathers.
Prior to this encounter, scripture refers calling upon the name of the Lord. The patriarchs knew God and worshipped Him and called on Him often. Genesis 4:26 “To Seth (the third son of Adam and Eve) also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.” From that time on, the believers called upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 12:8 Abraham called upon the name of the Lord, “From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.” Isaac called upon God, Genesis 26:25 “So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.” The Israelites were familiar with the patriarchs calling upon the name of the Lord and would have recognized God’s name.
In the New Testament, Jesus uses the “I AM” to let us know facets of His character. He tells us He is the bread of life in John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” The door, John 10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” The connection to the Father, John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” The source of God’s light to the world, John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The direction in which you can find God, John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. The caretaker of all believers, John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The source of resurrection power and life eternal, John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,” Lastly, Jesus himself identifies with the name I AM from His heavenly Father in John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, our triune God, existed before the creation of the world and are eternal. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can know the great I AM personally and call upon His name in worship and prayer!
Has worry crept into your week? Are you frustrated by the state of the world and are things taking your focus off God? I totally understand how easy it is to get sidetracked and/or distracted. When I face times like that, I enjoy reading Psalm 37. In these first 6 verses we see the Lord’s answer to our worried and frustrated soul. As you read these verses, let your mind focus on what God is promising and telling you about the world. His truth is eternal and His will cannot be thwarted, trust in Him alone.
Psalm 37:1-6
Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! 2 For they will soon fade like the grass God’s perspective- evil will soon be gone. and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, God’s perspective-trust, do good, immerse yourself in Him. and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. God’s perspective-commit to Him and let Him be in control. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Remember God is Sovereign and always in control. He wants us to trust Him and leave the troubles to Him. By focusing on Him and His power, might and love. This week we saw God as Truth, Jehovah Shalom- Peace, our Hiding Place, Jehovah Nissi-our Banner, our Abba Father and Jehovah Jireh -the Lord who will Provide. God is bigger than anything or anyone we will face and sovereign over all the happenings in the world. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can live worry free by focusing on Sovereign God, our Savior.
“Abba” is the precious name we have for our beloved heavenly Father. It is like daddy, familiar and endearing to both father and son/daughter. Jesus used the term when praying to God at his hour of deepest need in the garden of Gethsemane. Mark 14:36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Later in Romans and Galatian the Apostle Paul uses the term “Abba, Father” for God in reference to our relationship with Him. Because we are believers and adopted into His family through our faith in Jesus, we can claim God as our Abba Father. Romans 8:14-16 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” He also references this in Galatians 4:6 “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
So what difference does this name of God make to you and me? It establishes a close family tie between us and our heavenly father. He is our loving, eternal father who has provided for us in Jesus a way to be reconciled and redeemed. He has indwelt us with His Holy Spirit and provided for us freedom from the slavery of sin and a perfect and protected inheritance kept in heaven for us. Ephesians 1:13 tells us we are sealed by His Holy Spirit, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” He has provided eternal protection for us and I claim the truth of John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and noone will snatch them out of my hand.” whenever I am in doubt about my salvation. He has me and won’t let me go!
Whatever you earthly father was like- good, bad, indifferent or even cruel, your heavenly father is totally, pure, holy, just, righteous, open, and filled with steadfast eternal love for you! Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can claim God as my Abba Father along with Jesus as we are family! Lean into God with Jesus and claim Him as your loving heavenly father, too!
Do you think of God as your hiding place? God’s Word describes God as our hiding place. It is a name of comfort for us as we strive to exist in this hostile world filled with sin and all its temptations. When does one need a hiding place? It is not a place where you bury your head in the sand and ignore the world. It is not a place to dwell constantly as if secreting yourself away from the world and its temptations. No, a hiding place in my mind is a place of refuge where I can go in times of need or trouble. God does not want me living there permanently, but He is there if and whenever I need it. Someday we will be with him always and His hiding place will be our home residence in heaven.
Psalm 32:7 describes the hiding place of God when in troubled times “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” What a comfort to know we have this place with God available 24/7.
Psalm 119:114 describes the hiding place God provides in His Word, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.” We can always go to God’s Word for encouragement and solace and He will provide us with cover, compassion, grace and mercy.
Isaiah 32:1-2 speaks of a time in the future that Jesus will be reign. “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. 2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. This assures us that being with Jesus in His kingdom will be the perfect hiding place for eternity!
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can be assured of a hiding place with God that is available to me 24/7, is filled with His grace and mercy and awaiting me as my final home in heaven.
Be sure to encourage someone else today with the knowledge of God as our hiding place! There is Hope in Him always.
One of the qualities we can always depend upon from God or about God is that He is TRUTH. God is truthful as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I love John 15:26 which describes God as the Spirit of Truth. “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit oftruth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” Jesus wanted to reassure the disciples that he was not leaving them alone, but that His Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, would remain with them after he was gone. As believers we too can take heart in this as once we believe, God’s Holy Spirit comes to indwell us. Romans 8:9a reassures us of His presences with us, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwellsin you.” This indwelt state is where all believers find themselves! Praise God!
God the Father is filled with truth, as we see in John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Any worship of God must be done truthfully, God does not honor insincerity. He questioned the returning Israelites as to their sincerity of their worship practices in Zechariah 7:5-6 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?” God did not want them worshipping Him without their whole hearts being involved. Rote worship is not really worship and God sees it as untruthful.
Jesus is associated with truth in so many passages. John 1:14 describes him, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus was the embodiment of God’s truth which He came to earth to show us. In John 14:6 Jesus describes himself, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus was and is the truthful way to God, only in Him can we be reconciled to the Father. In John 17:17 Jesus prays for us that God would sanctify or consecrate us in His truth, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
Jesus is also referred to as the Word in many passages. His Word stands for truth and is without error. Psalm 119:160 “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” Not only was Jesus the way and truth but by believing in Him and His Word, He promises that we would be set free, John 8:31-32“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The truth of the freedom of believing in Jesus speaks of our freedom from the burden of guilt brought on by sin, freedom from God’s wrath over sin and freedom of Spirit when we have His Spirit within us! Paul tells us in Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” We need to guard our freedom and stay steadfastly connected to Jesus, walking with Him, studying the Word and fellowshipping with other believers.
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am pure from sin in Christ, filled with His Holy Spirit and free to live for Him, a life that will glorify Him each day. Knowing this, how does this motivate you to live pure and holy lives? We can take direction many places in scripture about godliness but I love this passage from Romans 12:9-13. It gives us a lot to aim for in our daily walk. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.“
Have a blessed day as you seek to walk in His truth.
We have seen such wonderful names of God this first full week of Lent. Rewarder, Forgiver, Promise Keeper, Light, Righteousness and Everlasting, each of these give us hope, thoughts to bring to God in prayer and repentance. Here is a continuation of the Psalm we started last Sunday, 103:11-19.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; How big is your God’s love? 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Do you trust Him to thoroughly remove your sins? 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. Do you allow God to show you compassion? 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.Do you trust Him to number your days justly?
15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, God knows were are fleeting. and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, God covers us with his Love and righteousness. 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, God wins and has an eternal home for us. and his kingdom rules over all.
Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can know all things are Yes in Jesus and I can trust Him with all my questions. May your prayers be rich today and lead you to a deeper relationship with Him.
Fearless Living 