Names of God
This side of Heaven, it is impossible for our finite minds to fully comprehend the infinite and majestic nature of the Divine. The scriptures, however, unveil enough to draw us with awe into faith and worship. Each name of God in Scripture reveals something more about the character, personality, and nature of God. Meditating on these names will grow our relationship with the one who loves us more than we can ever imagine.
Names of God: Jehovah Raah, The Lord our Shepherd
The Bible speaks of God as the Shepherd of his people. The New Testament presents Jesus as the Good Shepherd, who protects the lives of his sheep by forfeiting his own life. When you pray to the Lord your Shepherd, you are praying to the One who watches over you day and night, feeding you and leading you safely on the path of righteousness.
Easter Sunday. Names of God: Jehovah Shalom, The Lord Our Peace
Each name of God in Scripture reveals something more about the character, personality, and nature of God. Meditating on these names will grow our relationship with the one who loves us more than we can ever imagine. Today is Easter Sunday! God is our Shalom. At Easter, we celebrate the peace that can be found in Christ. To live in the presence of God through the power of the Holy Spirit is to be at peace—at peace with God, with others, with ourselves. He is the source of true…
Good Friday. Names of God: Jehovah Repheka, the Lord Our Healer
Each name of God in Scripture reveals something more about the character, personality, and nature of God. Meditating on these names will grow our relationship with the one who loves us more than we can ever imagine. Today is Good Friday! God is our Healer, not just in the sense of physical illness but in the deep sense of making us whole through what Jesus has done for us. This theme dovetails well with Good Friday when we remember the…
Names of God: Jesus: God our Saviour
Each name of God in Scripture reveals something more about the character, personality, and nature of God. Meditating on these names will grow our relationship with the one who loves us more than we can ever imagine. This week’s name is “Jesus”. Jesus means “Jehovah saves”. This week is also Palm Sunday! The crowd cried out “Hosanna! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna means “Save us!” Easter week reveals the heart of the God…
Names of God: Immanuel: God, God with us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWU2_oFBLhEImmanuel means “God with us.” God told King Ahaz (Is 7:14), through Isaiah the prophet, that a mother would bear a son and that people would call Him Immanuel. That child would be a sign of God’s presence with His people. The baby Mary was to bear on that first Christmas, Jesu, was called Immanuel. In everything He did, Jesus showed ‘God with us.’ Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave a promise that He would remain with His followers…
Names of God: Jehovah Nissi, The Lord Our Banner
This week we examine Jehovah Nissi – The Lord our Banner. Nes (nês), from which Nissi is derived, means “banner” in Hebrew. In Exodus 17:15, Moses, recognizing that the Lord was Israel’s banner under which they defeated the Amalekites, builds an altar named Jehovah Nissi (the Lord our Banner). Nes is sometimes translated as a pole with an insignia attached. In battle, opposing nations would fly their flag on a pole at each of their respective front lines. This was…
Names of God: Jehovah Tsidqenu, The Lord Our Righteousness
This week the words ‘Jehovah Tsidqenu’ cannot be found in any commonly used Bible as they are a transliteration of a Hebrew phrase that is translated as ‘The Lord our Righteousness’ (Jeremiah 23:6 and 33:16) in our English language bibles. Righteousness is an attribute of God. God always does what is right, just, proper, and consistent. When we say that God is righteous, we mean that there is no wrong, dishonesty, dissonance or unfairness. God is the perfectly righteous one and God’s righteousness is an everlasting righteousness
Names of God: El Shaddai, Almighty God
Though often associated with the military might of God, “El Shaddai” conveys more than the raw power of God alone. The root “shad” means “breast” and of the six times that the name “El Shaddai” appears in the Book of Genesis, five are in connection with fertility blessings for the patriarchs. Biblical scholar David Biale argues that this original understanding of “Shaddai” as related to fertility and nourishment was forgotten by the later authors who understood it as being related…
Names of God: Jehovah, The Personal God, The I Am
Jehovah (Or Yahweh) is more like a personal revelation. This is the Personality who takes the initiative and reveals himself to us as covenantal, ethical and passionately involved with humanity. In subsequent scriptures, adjectives are often added to this name to disclose aspects of his personhood. (EG. Peace, Provider, Righteous, Just, Shepherd etc).
Names of God: Elohim, the Powerful One
As a general rule, when our English scripture translations use the word “God” the Hebrew words behind it is either “El” or “Elohim.” This is the most general name for God – God’s surname! It means the almighty one, the powerful one, the worshipful one, the supreme being. It is significant that Elohim is the plural form of El. Yet it is used as if it were singular when it refers to the God of the Hebrews. Inherent in this…
Names of God: Introduction
One of the great questions that comes to us is: “Is there really a God; a Being of some sort beyond the created order who creates and somehow oversees reality?” And if there is such a Being (or beings); what are they like? Can they be known and do they in some way engage with creation? And if there is no God or gods, how do we best make sense of our experience of the world? How do we navigate…
