Wednesday, 2 April 2008
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Getting To Know our Father Who Art In In Heaven
Hosea 4:6 states that my people are killed for a lack of knowledge and the Word of God further exhorts that in the day of trouble you can call on The Name of God and He will save you.So this means if you don't know Him,i.e as you know your husband or wife intimately then you may miss the mark.In the book of Daniel we are told that them that know their God will be mighty and do exploits.Now getting to know someone starts with a name ,not so.like the old chat up lines.And then it follows from there.The purpose of this series is to try as much as possible to reveal those names of God that maybe important to us today(mind you they all are).So that you may get to know our Father.
In reality God only has one name as revealed to his servant Moses in Exodus 3:14."God said to Moses,IAM WHO IAM,this is what you say to the Israelites,IAM has sent me to you"
And although the ancient Hebrews used many other names for God, these mainly describe His nature and character.El Elyon,El Shaddai,Jehovah Rohi etc are in truth expressions of who God is.In this first article we will just list the names of God that we intend to study together with the meaning of them.Of course the list is by no means exhaustive but we will aim at a thorough look at the names so our hearts can receive for our spirits to be fed .He who has ears let him hear.....
In reality God only has one name as revealed to his servant Moses in Exodus 3:14."God said to Moses,IAM WHO IAM,this is what you say to the Israelites,IAM has sent me to you"
And although the ancient Hebrews used many other names for God, these mainly describe His nature and character.El Elyon,El Shaddai,Jehovah Rohi etc are in truth expressions of who God is.In this first article we will just list the names of God that we intend to study together with the meaning of them.Of course the list is by no means exhaustive but we will aim at a thorough look at the names so our hearts can receive for our spirits to be fed .He who has ears let him hear.....
- Jehovah Rohi.........................the Lord my shepherd Psalm 23
- Jehovah Jireh........................the Lord who sees and who provides
- Jehovah Rophi.......................the Lord who heals you Exodus 15:26
- Jehovah Makkeh...................the Lord who smites you Exodus 15:23
- Jehovah Nissi.........................the Lord our banner(victory) Exodus 17:8-16
- Jehovah Tsebaioth..................the Lord of hosts Joshua 5:13-15
- Jehovah Shalom.......................the Lord our peace Judges 6:22-24
- Jehovah Tsidkenu..................the Lord our righteousness Jeremiah 23:5-6
- Jehovah Shammah.................the Lord is there Ezekiel 48:35
- El Shaddai................................God is all powerful and all sufficient
- El Elyon....................................God most High-Creator and Posssessor of Heaven and Earth
- Immanuel................................God with us Isaiah 7:14
- Christ our Intercessor...........Hebrews 7:25
W.O.Gs
Women of God, this an "especially for you" moment..eh column.It is hard hitting,it is relevant to our way of life today,it is fresh and absolutely jiving.
In each issue we will be looking at the women in the Bible ,the Word of God,and seeing how they speak to us where we are.Yes it has been done before-but remember the Word of God is quick,and active and sharper......So whether this is the 1st, 2nd or whatever time,WOG sit back grab a latte sista, and read on.
Well our sista Rahab was a prostitute.I mean who would have thought she may be in line for such rich blessings and worthy of salvation,well naah...For goodness sake. She saved herself and her family from certain death..her the wrecker of homes and relationships..aah tsk !!!
Lets look at how the drama unfolds,lets work this very unlikely situation out.She is a wench,OK beautiful,good company, especially amongst the men!!,the life and soul of the party this one.Then there is the intrigue surrounding her,a shady past,wrong choices etc.surely the outcome should have been a foregone conclusion,the wrath of God!But no she is a woman with and of substance,she is brave and a heroine!Well talk about the mercies of God!Indeed!And worst of all she gets included in the genealogy of Christ the Messiah,the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.In the scriptures,Joshua 2;1 it tells us how she gets the attention of the right people, at the right time.
She hides the Israelite spies on her rooftop.The very ones whose awesome reputation had the whole of Jericho on tender hooks.Ridiculous.They were here to destroy them, just as they had Og and Sihon..for the glory of their God.Everyone in Jericho had heard of their story.Crossing the Red Sea was nothing short of a miracle..and here they were on her rooftop!.Here,up on the roof, was Caleb and Salmon and before long the king of Jericho's men were at her door.After diverting the kings men,she quickly goes and tells the spies what has happened and also drives a hard bargain(Josh 2;9-14).Caleb and Salmon don't leave until they swear to her safety and give her further instructions(Josh 2:17-18).The deal is done.
And yes there is that fairytale ending..don't be a sista hater girl!!!Rahab marries one of the heroes,Salmon.She gives birth to Boaz,who marries Ruth the Moabite who begat...(Matt1:15)
And what does this spunky girl teach us today?
1)Rahab used her faith, the size of a mustard seed.. and her life changed beyond recognition after that.Where others doubted and feared,she believed and God took that and met her at her point of need.And not only that she is written in the annals of history..forever established in the heavens.Remarkable indeed.
2)She shows us further that your "behind" doesn't have to be your future,in other words she made a choice and truly repented before the Living God of all past mistakes and mishaps.So sista,while you are holding on to what Rahab did to you, she has sorted it out with God and moved on.She trusted that this God she had heard so much about, but never met yet would surely deliver her from this life of aimlessness..and He did.God gave Rahab the prostitute a new name, a new role ,rewrote her history, turned her world upside down!......she gave birth to a son ,Obed who fathered Jesse ,who fathered king David who fathered....
Let it go today and let God deal with you.
3)Thirdly Rahab stayed focused on the matter at hand and did not waiver.
4)And she gave legs and hands to her faith and did something highly significant to the glory of God.She may have been accustomed to taking risks with her everyday clients but this was unprecedented.She knew nothing,went on nothing but the assurances of 2 strangers,the very ones Jericho was warning everyone about,yet she launched into the deep.(Luke 5:4).And God came through and centuries later this lady is still ministering to us.God has not stopped using her century after century.This unlikely heroine who didn't grow up in church and never thought she would amount to much.She was never in the Youth Group much less targeted to be Youth leader,never spoke in tongues,never never never ..and yet God........
Be blessed
In each issue we will be looking at the women in the Bible ,the Word of God,and seeing how they speak to us where we are.Yes it has been done before-but remember the Word of God is quick,and active and sharper......So whether this is the 1st, 2nd or whatever time,WOG sit back grab a latte sista, and read on.
Well our sista Rahab was a prostitute.I mean who would have thought she may be in line for such rich blessings and worthy of salvation,well naah...For goodness sake. She saved herself and her family from certain death..her the wrecker of homes and relationships..aah tsk !!!
Lets look at how the drama unfolds,lets work this very unlikely situation out.She is a wench,OK beautiful,good company, especially amongst the men!!,the life and soul of the party this one.Then there is the intrigue surrounding her,a shady past,wrong choices etc.surely the outcome should have been a foregone conclusion,the wrath of God!But no she is a woman with and of substance,she is brave and a heroine!Well talk about the mercies of God!Indeed!And worst of all she gets included in the genealogy of Christ the Messiah,the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.In the scriptures,Joshua 2;1 it tells us how she gets the attention of the right people, at the right time.
She hides the Israelite spies on her rooftop.The very ones whose awesome reputation had the whole of Jericho on tender hooks.Ridiculous.They were here to destroy them, just as they had Og and Sihon..for the glory of their God.Everyone in Jericho had heard of their story.Crossing the Red Sea was nothing short of a miracle..and here they were on her rooftop!.Here,up on the roof, was Caleb and Salmon and before long the king of Jericho's men were at her door.After diverting the kings men,she quickly goes and tells the spies what has happened and also drives a hard bargain(Josh 2;9-14).Caleb and Salmon don't leave until they swear to her safety and give her further instructions(Josh 2:17-18).The deal is done.
And yes there is that fairytale ending..don't be a sista hater girl!!!Rahab marries one of the heroes,Salmon.She gives birth to Boaz,who marries Ruth the Moabite who begat...(Matt1:15)
And what does this spunky girl teach us today?
1)Rahab used her faith, the size of a mustard seed.. and her life changed beyond recognition after that.Where others doubted and feared,she believed and God took that and met her at her point of need.And not only that she is written in the annals of history..forever established in the heavens.Remarkable indeed.
2)She shows us further that your "behind" doesn't have to be your future,in other words she made a choice and truly repented before the Living God of all past mistakes and mishaps.So sista,while you are holding on to what Rahab did to you, she has sorted it out with God and moved on.She trusted that this God she had heard so much about, but never met yet would surely deliver her from this life of aimlessness..and He did.God gave Rahab the prostitute a new name, a new role ,rewrote her history, turned her world upside down!......she gave birth to a son ,Obed who fathered Jesse ,who fathered king David who fathered....
Let it go today and let God deal with you.
3)Thirdly Rahab stayed focused on the matter at hand and did not waiver.
4)And she gave legs and hands to her faith and did something highly significant to the glory of God.She may have been accustomed to taking risks with her everyday clients but this was unprecedented.She knew nothing,went on nothing but the assurances of 2 strangers,the very ones Jericho was warning everyone about,yet she launched into the deep.(Luke 5:4).And God came through and centuries later this lady is still ministering to us.God has not stopped using her century after century.This unlikely heroine who didn't grow up in church and never thought she would amount to much.She was never in the Youth Group much less targeted to be Youth leader,never spoke in tongues,never never never ..and yet God........
Be blessed
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