What’s in a Name? (part 3): Names of God

Psalm 9:10 “They that know Your Name will put their trust in You. For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown Him Lord of all!
Edward Perronet

The Hebrew word (YHWH) that God gave Moses in Exodus 3 has no clear-cut simple translation. The closest translation is “I am who I am”. This not only reveals God as the being who is absolutely self-existent, but here, the “to be” verb means more than just “to exist.”

Waymaker

The names of God describe the wondrous glories and provisions wrapped up in God’s name. However, God reveals these aspects of His nature to us by actually doing for us what He proclaims Himself to be. We are covered on all fronts, so we can always stand confident in the Lord. The more we get to know God, we see that He is giving us an ever-increasing revelation of the awesome character of Himself.

The following are names of God and Jesus in English from the Hebrew and Greek languages:

Yahweh-Jehovah/The Lord is God (Exodus 3:14)
Adonai (Genesis 15:2)
El-Shaddai/The Almighty God (Genesis 17:1)
Jehovah-Elyon/The Lord God Most High (Genesis 14:19,20)
Jehovah-Jireh/The Lord will provide (Genesis 22:14)
Jehovah-Repheka, Rophe, or Rophi/The Lord who Heals (Exodus 15:26)
Jehovah-Elohim/The Lord is God (Genesis 1:26)
Jehovah-Tsebaoth/The Lord of Hosts (Isaiah 37:16)
Jehovah-Rohi/The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
Jehovah-Shalom/The Lord is Peace (Judges 6:24)
Jehovah Makadesh/The Lord who Sanctifies (Leviticus 20:8)
Jehovah-Nissi/The Lord is my Banner (Exodus 17;15,16)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu/The Lord is our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)
Jehovah-Shama/The Lord is There (Exodus 48:35)

Check out the lyrics of the chorus of the following song that lists many of the names of God:

You Are Holy

Other names of our Lord:
God is Savior (Matthew 12:1); The Anointed One/Messiah/Christ (Luke 3:21,22); Master (Matthew 8:19); Immanuel/God With Us (Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23); Son of God (Luke 1:35, Mark 14:6, Matthew 16:16, and John 11:27); Son of Man (Matthew 24:30);
Redeemer (Job 19:25)

And: Creator; The Way; The Truth; Love; Light; Bread; Wonderful; Counselor; The Word; Lily of the Valley; Morning Star; Prince of Peace; Alpha and Omega (The Beginning and the End); Living Water; Wisdom; Everlasting Father; Friend; The Vine… and more!

“Give unto the Lord the glory due His Name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
Psalm 29:2

As in the Days of Noah

The condition of the world at the time of the Lord’s return is compared to the days of Noah and the Flood. The condition of humanity at the time of Christ’s return will be pleasure-oriented and motivated by self-interest. Unconcerned about God’s purposes, they will instead mock God’s Word. The eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage probably refers to being busily caught up in the normal course of life without heeding the warnings of the coming judgment. Just like the people of Noah’s day didn’t know the severity and suddenness of the coming destruction, so this present generation seems totally unprepared for Christ’s return.

Although Matthew 24:36 says that we won’t know the exact day or hour of His return, verses 1-6 in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 tells us that as followers of Christ, we will not be totally surprised. Just as a pregnant woman knows the approximate time that she will have her baby, believers know from prophecy and what Jesus told His disciples in Scripture the “approximate season” of His return. However, for those who are in darkness, His coming is compared to a thief coming in the night. Verses 4 and 5 tell us that believers shouldn’t be surprised, because it says that we are children of light and not in darkness concerning His return. Therefore, we are to be alert!

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all children of light and children of the day: we are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.”

Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, there has never been a time in life where sin hasn’t existed. However, due to the extreme wickedness that will exist in the end times, there’s a verse in the Bible that asks if there will be any faith on earth at the time of Christ’s return; Also, 2 Timothy 3:1-5 gives a description of that wickedness that will be prevalent in the last days: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

Just as in Noah’s day, there was widespread corruption and violence, rebellion against God, immorality, etc., so these things are all characteristic of the days in which we are living. And yet, even with so much apathy in our nation and our world, as Christians, we must not allow apathy to dull our senses. We must not allow our love for God and others to grow cold, nor forget that there is a coming judgment.

Much of the world is indifferent to the hope of Jesus Christ, and many are working to bring in a new world order based on evolutionary humanism. Some deny the existence of God, and others do not believe in a personal Creator God–a God who out of love for humanity, sent His Son to take all the sin of the world upon Him; He died this horrible death on a cross to reconcile mankind to a holy God.

I want to encourage everyone who reads this blog to take these warnings seriously. I would also like to encourage you to visit the Answers in Genesis replica of Noah’s Ark (Ark Encounter). If you are already a follower of Jesus, you will find this museum a real faith-builder, and if you are not a believer, you will find answers to many of the questions that have made you doubt the historicity of the universal flood and the record of Noah and the ark.

I have also included 3 of the main passages of Scripture I used to write this blog:

Matthew 24:37-44 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then two shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and the other left. Two will be grinding at the mill; one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord comes. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore be also ready: for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of man will come.
2 Peter 2:4,5 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment: and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.
2 Peter 3:3-10 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days mockers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they are willingly ignorant, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water: but the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Check out this post from a fellow blogger: http://roadlesstraveledtours.com/our-help-in-time-of-trouble/

As a Peculiar People, Shine as Lights in a Dark World

The following verses in the Bible use the term “peculiar” to describe a people set apart for God:

Psalm 135:4 and Exodus 19:5 call them “a peculiar treasure” or His special personal property.
Titus 2:13 and 14 says, “….to purify for Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
Deuteronomy 14:2 says, “thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God…, a peculiar people”.
1 Peter 2:9 says…, “a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

What is meant by a “peculiar people”? Some of the Webster’s dictionary definitions for “peculiar” are listed as “out of the ordinary, different, special, distinctive, exclusive, and unique; and the definition for “light” is brightness or illumination.

In 1 John 1:5 and 6 we read, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all”, so in order to have fellowship with Him, we must walk in His light. The light of the world describes the mission of Christians in this dark world. Our light is to shine forth into the darkness of all human depravity. Even the small light of a candle can dispel great darkness, but darkness can never dispel light.

Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world” (and says that even a candlestick gives light to everyone in a house), and Matthew 5:16 says to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Two other imperative verses in the Bible concerning our call to be light in the world are John 12:36 which says, “….be the children of light”, and Ephesians 5:8 says that since we are no longer in darkness, we are to “walk as children of light.”

So what does it mean in practical terms to be a peculiar people and to walk in light? 1 Peter 2:12 helps us to understand. First, we are to have an honest or honorable lifestyle, so that others “may by your good works which they shall behold, glorify God…”
Philippians 2:15 says”that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation….”

“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

Matthew 5 is too long to write it out, but if you take the time to read it, you will see many examples of how to be a holy and unique individual “fit for the Master’s use” (2 Timothy 3:21). As you read it, pay particular attention to verses 3-12 and verses 38-48. When we become followers of Christ, our lives are changed. The command of Christ to love our enemies (verse 44) is based on the love that comes only from God, since it is not possible to love them on the basis of mere human affection. Love is the ultimate reflection of what it means to be a holy, peculiar people. Choosing to love our enemies is not an option. The Holy Spirit will work in us, ever conforming us to the image of Christ. The natural man often lets his anger control him; he wants to get even and strike back at others; and he has a hard time forgiving anyone who has hurt him or done him wrong. However, as Christ’s disciples, since we no longer walk in the flesh, we receive the supernatural power of God to walk in the Spirit. Now we are able to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21), and as peacemakers, we are able to be ambassadors of the gospel to our troubled world.

As I was preparing this blog post, the Holy Spirit convicted me of my negligence in this area of spiritual maturity. He showed me that even if we haven’t been living as light in this dark world, it isn’t too late to become a peculiar people. During this time of division, unrest, and turmoil, the world desperately needs our light.