What’s In A Name – The Names of God – ELOHIM

The name Elohim means God-Mighty, Strong, Prominent One

“Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: ‘I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and it’s rider He has thrown into the sea! The Lord is my strength and song and He has become my salvation; He is my God and I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.’” Exodus 15:1-2

“Who is like You O Lord (ELOHIM), among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 15:11

What an awesome tribute to the Lord. After all, He had just parted the Red Sea, led the children of Israel through on DRY ground, coaxed the entire Egyptian army in after them and if that wasn’t enough, He caused the waters to crash down killing most of Pharaoh’s army!

That’s my God, mighty, strong, the Prominent One! It makes my heart feel good that the children of Israel saw that great and mighty wonder and followed God, unquestioning for the rest of their journey into the Promised Land. Oh…wait…what does this say here in verse 23 and 24 of the same chapter?

            “Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefor the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses saying ‘What shall we drink?’”

And the people complained… Isn’t that the way it goes sometimes. We see the Lord work in our lives in some amazing way. We praise Him and give Him the glory for the great thing He’s done and in the next breath we’re complaining about some small thing that didn’t go our way.

“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God.” Deuteronomy 10:17

Lord, God Elohim, it is my prayer that I would always keep your great and mighty works in mind especially whenever I start to complain about the little things. Amen

Red sea photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ammadoux/

What’s In A Name – The Names of God – RAV-CHESED

The name, Rav-Chesed, means Abounding in Love. The Hebrew word chesed means kindness or loving-kindness.

“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.’” Exodus 34:6

Way back in 1964 the Righteous Brothers sang about bringing back that loving feeling. I’m relatively sure they weren’t talking about the ‘chesed’ type love that comes from God Almighty. Chesed is love that suggests loyalty, faithfulness, a pledge or promise. Our God is abounding in love. He loves us with a greater purpose. And here’s the most amazing part…His love doesn’t require our love in return.

            “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 106:1

A songwriter by the name of Billy James Foote penned the song, Amazing love, You Are My King. This song reminds me of the boundless love of God when it says:

Amazing love
How can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love,
I know it’s true.
It’s my joy to honor You,
In all I do, I honor You.

“How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 36:7

Thank you Father, Rav-Chesed for Your unfailing love. The undeserving of this world continue to flourish and prosper, but You are unchanging in your constant, steadfast love for Your children. All praise and glory I give to You. Amen

Picture Courtesy of: Paul McRae

What's In A Name - The Names of God - ADONAI

The name, Adonai, means Lord..Master
According to www.thefreedictionary.com, the word Master means: One that has control over another or others
There are several instances of master/slave (servant) relationships in the Bible; some good, some not so good. This reference of God as our Master refers to a loving, caring, master who gives the utmost of care to his servants.

I imagine it to be like the relationship between a war dog and his master. These animals are 100 percent obedient to the one who controls them. Why? They are trained to, but also…because he loves the master and the master loves him.

To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God. Psalm 123:1-2

God is the only Master who gives more to his servants than is given to Him.

He gives us His grace

He gives us His mercy

He gives us His boundless love

He forgives our sins

He gave us His Son

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God. Deuteronomy 10:17

Father…God…my Adonai, You are my Great Master. In You I put my trust and my faith. I praise Your holy name for loving me and taking care of all my needs like a beloved servant. All my love I give to You! Amen

Picture courtesy of: ww2incolor.com

What’s In A Name – The Names of God – YAHWEH

Names were very significant in biblical times. Names had meaning reflecting everything from the hopes of the mother to certain circumstances surrounding the child’s birth. A name could also reveal a divine purpose or perhaps a prophecy concerning the child’s future.

One of these instances is seen in the book of Ruth with Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. Naomi means “pleasantness,” but when she becomes greatly afflicted following the death of her husband and sons, Naomi asks to be called, Mara, meaning “bitterness.”

Another reference to the meaning of a name occurs in 1 Chronicles 4:9 which states that Jabez was so named because his mother gave birth to him in pain. The actual word meaning is “sorrow.” Poor guy! I’d hate to carry that around my whole life.

Our obsession with names may be the reason Moses felt the need to know the name of the one who addressed him from the burning bush.

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14

The name God provided was Yahweh, LORD, Jehovah, Self-Existent One. By telling His name, God was saying He wanted to start a relationship with Moses…that He was willing to communicate with him. God also revealed His character by stating His name.

I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Isaiah 42:8

Holy Father, Yahweh, I praise your holy name. Yours is the name above all names and there is none like You. Thank You for revealing Yourself to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and even to believers today. Without you in this world and in my heart I would want to be called Mara just as Naomi did. Praise be to Yahweh, the great I AM!

Tradition!

This week on the American Christian Fiction E-loop, writers are talking about their Christmas traditions and where they originated. This idea has prompted me to blog about some of my own Christmas traditions; old and new.

Each year at Christmastime my family participates in a variety of conventional and even a few unconventional celebrations. Our first Christmas tradition we’ll call Chinese Light Night! This is the night, usually a Friday or Saturday night just before Christmas when our family eats Chinese food (the restaurant must have dumplings) and then travels around town to one or more of the beautifully decorated neighborhoods around Houston. This is followed by Starbucks! Why Chinese food? It’s in honor of what the family had to eat in the movie, A Christmas Story after the Bumpus Hounds ate their Christmas turkey. I know, it’s silly, but it’s meaningful to us. Oh, as an added bonus, this year we all wore our footie pajamas in the car…and in Starbucks.

Our second Christmas tradition (in the past) has always been a silent communion service the Sunday evening before Christmas Day. This was a beautiful celebration of the partaking of the body and blood of Christ performed in complete silence. This year was different. Not in a bad way, just different. The service took place on Christmas Eve, officiated by our new minister. He preached on “God’s Indescribable Gift.” The sermon was followed by the second-most interesting communion service I’ve ever attended. The customary cup of juice and cracker was replaced with a self-serve, disposable juice and wafer cups. These were amazing, but difficult to open. Note: When casually asking ex-military named Bubba for help opening something, be prepared to have a knife pulled on you…in church! I would elaborate on my first, most interesting communion, but that would require another blog entry.

Our third and newest Christmas tradition was our celebration of Advent for the first time. This beautiful time of preparation of the Second Coming of Christ was a wonderful way to begin the Christmas season.

Of course we have many more traditions, but just like Christmas, this blog must come to an end. Until next year, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Advent Season

This year our church is advocating the celebration of Advent. I’ve always been curious about the season of Advent, but never paid much attention to it since it wasn’t something my family had ever participated in. The strange coincidence is that I have been researching Advent for the book I’m currently writing. So this year it is my plan to participate in the Advent season with my family.

Advent literally means, “coming,” or “initiation,” or “arrival.” The purpose of Advent is to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ while celebrating His first appearance on earth at Christmastime.

The fourth Sunday before Christmas, or the Sunday closest to November 30, is the first day of Advent. The celebration consists of the following activities, reading of scriptures, prayer, singing of Christmas carols and lighting of candle(s). How is Advent celebrated? The first thing to do is to gather the needed supplies.

The Advent wreath is used nowadays to hold the five candles that will be lit each week. The wreath is usually round with four candle holders around the edge in the shape of a cross with one single candle holder in the middle of the four outer candles. The wreath has special significance as to its shape, etc, but not feeling crafty at this particular point in time I don’t plan on making a wreath. Instead I am collecting five candle holders from around my house and arranging them in a circle (unless, of course, I find one on clearance at the craft store) I’m sure Jesus won’t mind.

The five candles are significant as well with three purple, one pink and one white representing Christ. The three purple candles that will be lit on the first, second and fourth weeks represent Christ’s royalty. The pink candle represents God’s love in giving His only begotten Son. The white candle represents the purity of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Over the next few weeks I will write about how each week of Advent is celebrated. So for now, take this time to gather your supplies and if you desire to make an Advent wreath you can Google the instructions. Remember…the first Sunday of Advent this year is on November, 27, 2011 so get ready!!

Thanksgiving Writing Project For Kids

The coming week brings my favorite day of the holiday season…Thanksgiving! I consider myself an extremely thankful person. Why? Because I know what it’s like to be a sinner saved by grace and I know that someone had to die to save me from my sins. Who died? Jesus died; and for that I am thankful.


For many years as I decorate for the Thanksgiving holiday, I display a piece of writing in my kitchen that was done by my daughter when she was in the second (?) grade. (My daughter, by the way, is turning 19 this month. Happy birthday Casey!) I love the writing so much because it’s a treasured memory of course, but also because she has a special way with words. Here is what she wrote:

So many of us stay-at-home moms will have our children home from school this entire next week. What on earth can I do to keep the little darlings busy? Why not have them do this simple and easy writing exercise! Here’s what you do. Think of a topic and that will be the title of the work; such as autumn, Thanksgiving, Christmas…let them be creative. Then have them write what they think about, concerning that topic, using the five senses; sight, smell, touch, taste, sound. Let them decorate their work and viola, you have a memorable keepsake and you’ve given the kids a writing lesson all at the same time…easy as pumpkin pie!

I can’t wait to do this exercise with my youngest son. If you have a chance to do this with your own children I would love for you to share their work in the comments section!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 118:1