ABBA FATHER Part 2

When I reflect on the heart of Father God, I think about God’s tenderness toward man. He is a forgiving, loving Father, intimately involved in every detail of our lives.

In my last post I mentioned the narrative of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32.   The younger son is asking for his inheritance and by doing so will break all ties with his father and family.  In biblical culture this request was considered a serious act of rebellion which would have resulted in refusing the request, anger from the father, and severe punishment toward the son.  In the story we see that the father did not respond this way, but instead gave the son his inheritance and allowed him to leave.  As we read further the son loses all he had, is truly sorry for his behavior, and desires to return to his father.  Verse 20. His father sees the son coming toward him and runs to meet him.  For the father to run and meet the son is completely against Jewish culture.  This was an act that never would be done in public. Jewish men did not run because that would require them to pick up their skirt and expose their bare legs.  In this situation,  it would be appropriate for a father to punish his son by making a public spectacle of him and not allowing him inside the city gate for several days. The father’s motive would to bring shame on the son. Also, when a son lost his inheritance to Gentiles, there was  a ceremony that the community would perform called “ kezazha”.  This consisted of the people yelling at the son, “you are now cut off from your people!”  Then they would totally reject him and not permit  him to come back into the city.  However, by running to his son the father allowed himself to take the shame, humiliation, and rejection that the son deserved.  Instead of rejection and unforgiveness toward his son, the father forgave him and welcomed him with unconditional love.  The desire of the father’s heart  was one of reconciliation.

The Pharisees were shocked as Jesus described the father’s unorthodox behavior. They did not understand that Jesus was introducing them to Abba Father.

Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39  For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Father, I thank You for Your desire to be our Father. I  request that as we seek You, our eyes are opened to Who You are and to Your unconditional love for us.

ABBA FATHER

Throughout the first four books of the New Testament, (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Jesus referred to God as Father.

When Jesus was teaching His disciples how to pray He instructed them to address God as our Father. (Matthew 6:9).

In Mark 14:36 Jesus cried out to God and addressed  Him as Abba Father.  “And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.”  

This name Abba reflects a relationship of personal intimacy which also consists of our submission, dependence, and trust in God.

That same intimacy that Jesus had with God is available to all born again Christians. Romans 8:14-15 and Galatians 4:6 explain that when you accept Jesus as Your Savior, you become adopted by God and are entitled to all the advantages of His natural Son (Jesus). What a wonderful privilege we have as an adopted child of God to be able to call Him Abba Father.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult to know God as He really is. We may view Him based on our experiences with our earthly father. For example, If our earthly father was absent in our life, we could see God as not being there or not providing for us. If our father was abusive we might look at God as unloving. An authoritative father could cause us to form our relationship with God based only on rules rather than intimacy.

The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 expresses the unconditional love the father has for his sons. Not only did he accept the son who left home and squandered his inheritance, the father also reached out to the older son who was filled with anger. Both were rebellious and both received grace from their father.  This is a picture of God’s love for us

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Isaiah 30:18 gives us a beautiful description of the love that Our Father, Abba God, has for us.  “And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!

Abba Father, open our eyes to the revelation of Your heart for us, a Father’s heart. Help us to see the reality of Who You are.

JEHOVAH-ORI

GOD'S LIGHT PROTECTS, DIRECTS, REVEALS TRUTH, AND GIVES LIFE

The translation of this name is, “Lord light”, or “the Lord is my light.”

Psalm 27:1 states, “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation—whom shall I fear or dread?”

My first response to the question, “What is light?” would be, it is the opposite of darkness. When we are in the dark physically, we cannot see which direction to go and we may not be safe. If you have ever experienced a power outage it is common to fumble around until you can find a source of light. At this point you no longer fear which way to turn or fear bumping into some unknown object. The light has offered you protection and direction.  

1 John 1:5 says, “ And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him (Jesus) and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way]”.   

Because God is light, He gives us protection and direction.  

2nd Kings chapter 6 gives an account of  Elisha being surrounded by enemy soldiers. When Elisha’s servant saw the magnitude of the enemy he was frightened. Verse16, “ Elisha told his servant ‘Don’t be afraid! For there are more on our side than on theirs!’ 17 Then Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!’ The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.”  (this was an army of angels)

God’s light miraculously showed the servant that the army of the Lord was with them and it was greater than the enemy’s army. God’s light revealed the truth to the servant.

2nd Corinthians 4:4 states, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God”.

However,  Jesus told the people in John 8:12,  “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, (no longer be blind)  because you will have the light that leads to life .”

The light of God gives us life by revealing Who He is and the Truth of His Word.

In Genesis 1:3 God spoke light into existence. God desires today to speak light into our life, into our situations, into our hearts.

    

JEHOVAH Part 2

Another meaning for the name Jehovah is “the Revealing One.” It communicates God’s name in a very personal way. It is a supernatural disclosure of God as our intimate, personal God.

Romans 1:20 says,  “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

God reveals Himself to us in many ways:

His written Word: 2nd Timothy 3:16

His good works: Psalms 40:1-5

Works of believers: Psalms 9:1

Through Holy Spirit: John 14:26

His Creation: Psalms 19:1

The most powerful revelation of God to man was through His Son, Jesus. Because of God’s love for mankind, He was willing to send Jesus to take our punishment of death, so we could be reconciled with God. This sacrifice shows man the enormity of God’s love. Through the life of Jesus, we are able to see the character of God. John 14:9-11  If you have seen Me (Jesus), you have seen the Father.

In Exodus 19:4 God tells the Israelites He brought them to Himself. This is such a beautiful depiction of God’s desire for intimacy with man and it is still today, the desire of God’s heart.  I believe God is continually saying to us, “Here I am. Won’t You come to me?”

Many times I have asked myself, “why would God want a relationship with me?”  The answer is simple yet profound …..we were created for relationship.

God has given us a wonderful gift in the revelation of Himself.

JEHOVAH

Isn’t it amazing that there is no one single name that can completely describe the greatness of Who God is?  Yet God, Who is so magnificent, desires that we know Him intimately and in the fullness of Who He is. The more extensive our understanding of God’s greatness, the more we become in awe of Him.

One of God’s names is Jehovah. This name appears in the bible more than any other. The name Jehovah comes from the name Yahweh and has been considered by the Jewish people to be too holy to speak or to write. When scribes would translate the Old Testament manuscripts, they would remove the vowels and only write YHWH. This was a name that filled the Jewish people with awe because they realized the worthiness and holiness of the name. It saddens my heart when I see how today God’s name has been reduced to a slang phrase that is carelessly spoken and used almost in a comedic way.(OMG)

There are several dimensions to the name Jehovah. Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word that means “to be” or to become. He is the self-existent Creator Who always has been and always will be. He Himself was not created, He always was and is.  When Moses was going to speak to the Israelites in behalf of God, he asked God Who should I say that You are? Exodus 3:14-15

14 God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is My eternal name, My name to remember for all generations.”  In essence God was and still is saying, “I am that I am. I am the self-sufficient One. I am everything you will ever need. I am with you. I am eternal. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. This name, Jehovah, declares the absolute existence of God and reveals Him as the dependable, faithful God Who desires the full trust of His people.

God is saying those same words to us today.  “I am all that you need. Won’t you TRUST ME?”

KNOW GOD'S NAME

Do you want to know God intimately and have  a personal, loving, close relationship with Him? As in any relationship, part of the process of becoming close to someone is learning who they are - their personality and character. This principle is the same in our relationship with God. One way to become more closely acquainted with God is by knowing His names. The names of God are a manifestation of His character. His names are synonymous with Who He is.

The Word of God encourages us to love the His name. Psalms 5:11 “But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your name may be filled with joy.”

Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower ( a place of safety); The righteous runs to it and is safe and set on high [far above evil}

Psalms 113:1 declares, God’s name is blessed and encourages us to praise His name. “Praise the Lord! Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.  Praise the name of the Lord!  2 Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever.”

Isaiah tells us our soul longs for God’s name and to trust in the name of the Lord. Isaiah 26:8, Isaiah 50:10

Isaiah 63:12 states, “ Who caused His glorious arm and infinite power to go at the right hand of Moses, Dividing the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name.”

God’s name is above all. Nehemiah 9:5

In Malachi 1:11 God says His name will be great among the nations.

God’s name is so holy that reverence of it is one of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn (dispute) the character of God].”

These few verses tell us God’s name is:

1. A strong tower
2. Blessed
3. To be praised and trusted
4. Everlasting
5. Great among the nations
6. Holy
7. Above all

Won’t you join me in discovering Who God Is?

ELOHIM Part 3

The next facet of God’s name Elohim, is the God Who makes covenants.  A covenant is stronger than a promise as we know it. A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties, a life long commitment, and a guarantee. God’s covenant, or promises, are between Himself and His people.

The name Elohim, first appears in Genesis 9:11-13.  God declared to Noah that He would never destroy the earth by a flood again. He gave us a rainbow as a reminder of that covenant. God also used the name Elohim when He promised Abraham that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in heaven. (Genesis 15:2-6)  Abraham believed in that promise even though he and his wife were childless and well beyond child bearing years.

The greatest covenant God has given to mankind is salvation. Romans 10:9 “ If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Once we make the decision to allow Jesus to be Lord of our life, we are joined into a covenant relationship with God which gives us access to all of His promises.

When God makes a covenant with man, it is an agreement that He will not break. God differs from man in that He does does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever; and He cannot lie.

Numbers 23:19 says,  “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent (change His thinking). Has He said, and will He not do it?  Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?”

  

Hebrews 6:16-18 states, “Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. 18 So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.”

Think for a moment of the importance of these two truths...God can’t lie and He is faithful to His Word. God and His Word can be trusted in and through every circumstance. That statement gives me such a sense of security, knowing I can trust God completely and believe what He says is Truth.

Our faith grows as we begin to believe God’s Truth, His Word. We can depend on His promises and know that for every situation we face in life, God has an anecdote.

There is no situation that we can go through that God does not have an answer. God’s desire is always to be reconciled with His people and to bless us. Even when we feel we are alone God is saying: “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]. Hebrews 13:5

What an awesome promise. Just knowing God is always with me brings enormous peace and comfort.

I encourage you to stretch your faith, believe His Word and allow God to change your life.