JEHOVAH SHAMMAH Part 2

The meaning of God's name, Jehovah Shammah, promises in Ezekiel 48:35 that His Presence would be with us.  

As a born again believer, His presence is always with us because WE are now the temple where God lives.  He is alive in us...He is there.

There is a deep spiritual hunger in each of our hearts that can only be satisfied by the presence of God Himself. God’s presence brings to us a culmination of all that He is.  Let’s look at a few of these attributes.

1. PEACE..John 14:27  I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.   

2. WISDOM...James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

3. DIRECTION...Psalm 37:23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail.

4. FAVOR...Psalm 5:12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.

5. GRACE...2 Corinthians 12:9  My grace (undeserved favor and divine influence on your heart) is sufficient for you.

6. POWER...2 Timothy 1:7   For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].

7. JOY...John 15:11  I have told you these things so My joy may be in you and your joy may be full.

Scripture is clear that all of life is about being in God’s relational presence.  This is why David proclaims in Psalms 16:11, “in Your presence there is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore”  

The presence of God brings life.  His presence will take you through every situation you face.  What a privilege it is to have God’s presence in your life!

Father, I pray Ephesians 3:17-19: Christ may dwell in our hearts through our faith.  And may we, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love,  be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];  and [that we may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that we may be filled up [throughout our being] to all the fullness of God [so that we may have the richest experience of God’s presence in our lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

JEHOVAH SHAMMAH

Our relationship with God grows as we begin to learn about, and know Who God is.  God reveals facets of His nature and character through His name. Jehovah Shammah means “God is there”.

 This name is first found in Ezekiel 48:35, “and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.”  God was promising His people that He would be there in a new temple that was to be built.  God’s heart is the same today. He desires to have a relationship with His creation, to be there.  God no longer needs temples made of stone, because as born again believers, WE are now the temple where God lives.  No matter where you are, God is there. He will not leave you because His presence is with you. We are told in 1st Corinthians 3:16, “ Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”   In 2nd Corinthians 6:16 God says, “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”  

Jehovah Shammah is here with you and in you.  When our circumstances seem impossible, we must remember God is right there with us.   

In Daniel chapter 3, three Jewish men, who were being held captive, were ordered to bow and worship a golden idol.  Because they refused to worship another god, the king vowed to throw them into a fiery furnace. The men responded by saying in Daniel 3:16-18, “ We do not need to defend ourselves before you.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us.  He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty, but even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”  The king was so angry, he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. The three men were bound, thrown into the furnace, and fell into the midst of the fire (Daniel 3:19-23). When the king looked into the fire, this is what he saw: verse 25:  “Look! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”  Verse 27 goes on to say, “they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed, nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.”   Jehovah Shammah was there with them as they were going through the fire.

Are you going through a situation, like the three Jewish men, that may look as though it is impossible? When you are surrounded by difficult circumstances, know that Jehovah Shammah is there with you. You are not alone.

Father, thank You for always being with us and never leaving us alone.  I pray that we would continue to have revelation of how powerful your presence is in our lives.

JEHOVAH SHALOM Part3

In Ephesians 6:11 Paul encourages us to, “ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”  He continues in verse 15 by saying, “and having shod your feet (put on shoes) with the preparation of the gospel of peace.“  In the Greek, preparation is defined as a solid foundation and peace is defined as: a state of rest, quietness, calmness, absence of strife, or a peace that rules in all situations.

 Paul is telling us to put on shoes of peace, which come from God, so that we will be fully prepared to face life’s challenges. He is comparing peace to the shoe the Roman soldiers wore in battle.  This shoe consisted of two parts, the greave and the shoe itself. The greave was a metal tube which began at the knee and extended down the length of the leg, ending at the upper portion of the foot.  It completely shielded the lower leg from being bruised, cut, or broken. The greave was a defensive weapon which protected the soldier and kept him from being vulnerable to attacks. Like the greave, God’s peace protects your mind and emotions from fears which could make you defenseless by weakening your faith. God's peace is a divine weapon that will insulate you from satan’s attacks and enable you to navigate successfully through every situation in life.

On the bottom of the soldier’s shoes were spikes which were one to three inches in length.  As the soldiers stood ready for battle, the spikes in his shoes were planted firmly into the earth allowing them to stand their ground.  Similar to these spikes, the supernatural peace of God causes you to: stand firm, be immovable, and hold in place.

Philippians 4:7 portrays a promise to all believers.  “And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is YOURS].”

We do not have to live a life full of chaos, confusion, and fear.  As we surrender our life to God and begin to trust in Him completely, His peace will guard our hearts and minds.

Father, I thank You for Your gift of peace. Help us to trust you in all things and surrender all that we are to you.

JEHOVAH SHALOM Part 2

We are looking at how God reveals Himself to us through His various names, each name describing a different aspect of His character.  Jehovah Shalom denotes God of peace. The word peace comes from the Greek word “eirene” which is defined as: a state of rest, quietness, calmness, and absence of strife.  Ultimate peace is a result of reconciliaing with God and placing faith in His Word.  Peace is NOT based on our circumstances or in our relationships with others.  True peace results from being in a right relationship with God. When we focus on God and not our circumstances, we can have peace even while everything around us seems to be falling apart.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10  “ The thief (satan) comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.”  I believe one of the first things satan tries to steal from us is our peace.  If he can plant doubt and unbelief in our heart, our thinking becomes disconnected from God and His Word, resulting in loss of our peace.  We need to remember, staying connected to God and believing in His promises, is a CHOICE. Choosing to place our faith in something besides God, is an open door for our peace to be stolen.  We must learn to hold on to this precious gift of peace from God and recognize its value.

I can almost hear you saying, “you don’t know what I’m going through.”  You’re right, I don’t, but God does and I do know God and His Word rise above every situation.  As we begin to shift our thinking from our circumstances to God’s promises, peace will fill our heart and mind.

Isaiah 26:3 tell us, “You (God)  will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].”

God has promised - when we focus on Him, peace is ours.

Father, I renounce any chaos and confusion that has ruled in the hearts of your children and I declare your Word over their lives:
“Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. “ Colossians 3:15

JEHOVAH SHALOM

God's name, Jehovah Shalom, is first found in the book of Judges. This is a narration about Gideon,  a young man who was filled with fear and felt inferior to those around him. God had instructed Gideon to fight the Midianites, but he could not envision himself as a warrior.  God reassured Gideon by speaking Truth into his heart. Judges 6:23-24, “It is all right” the Lord replied. "Do not be afraid. You will not die." And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means the Lord is peace).

God’s Word is filled with scriptures relating to peace for His children rather than chaos and confusion.

Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

 Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

In John 14:27 Jesus declares, “ Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]”

These scriptures clearly relate God’s desire for His children to live a peaceful life.

Jesus gave us the gift peace, but often life seems filled with confusion and chaos. We have to understand, our peace is NOT dictated by our circumstances or situations, but true peace is connected to our relationship with God. Peace is obtained when we trust in God completely.  We could define peace as the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever.

In upcoming articles we will see how this gift from God, peace, can become a way of life for every child of God.

Father, I pray that You will open the eyes of our understanding so we will see that Your peace is a promise meant for Your children. Show us how we can be at peace in the midst of our greatest battles. Stir up a desire in our hearts to know You more intimately.

JEHOVAH M'KADDESH

The holiness of God is revealed through one of His Hebrew names, Jehovah M’Kaddesh which means “Jehovah Who sanctifies”.  This name is first found in Leviticus 20:7-8, “You shall consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the Lord your God.  You shall keep My statutes and do them. I am the Lord (M’Kaddesh) who sanctifies you.”  In this scripture God is declaring He is sanctifying us and we are also to sanctify ourselves.

Some of the definitions of sanctify are: to dedicate, make holy, and set apart.  God is telling His people He is setting us apart, by making us holy, and sanctifying us for Himself.  God loves His creation and desires a holy people that He can have a relationship with.

Sin separates God’s people from Him, but when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are set apart and called out from this world.

Romans 12:2 says “ Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you.”

In 1st Peter 1:14-16 we are told to, “Obey God because you are his children; don’t slip back into your old ways—doing evil because you knew no better.  But be holy now in everything you do, just as the Lord is holy, who invited you to be his child.  He himself has said, “You must be holy, for I am holy.”

How are we to become holy?  God has provided the means for our growth in holiness.  Jesus said in John 17:17 God’s Word will sanctify us.  “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.”  Sanctification begins as we obey God’s Word and surrender our habits, wrong mindsets and behaviors to Him.  This is called working out our salvation.  Paul tells us in Philippians  2:12-13, “ work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;   For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey Him, and then helping you do what He wants.”

What a beautiful picture of a loving God.  As we allow God to influence our heart and we obey His directions, we are changed.  

Father, It is a privilege to be loved and set apart for You.   I pray we surrender our hearts to You.  Help us to become all You have created us to be.  

EL SHADDAI Part 2

El Shaddai is God Almighty, the all sufficient One, more than enough to meet our needs. That sentence speaks volumes regarding Who God is.  In Exodus 6:2-3, God reveals Himself to Moses as El Shaddai.  The people of Israel had been slaves to the Egyptians for over 400 years.  The Israelites called out to God for help (Exodus 2:23-25).  God heard their cry and chose Moses to go to the Egyptian king (Pharaoh) to bring them out of captivity into a new land (Exodus 3-5).  

This angered Pharaoh and his treatment of the Israelites became worse. In Exodus 5:22-23, Moses returned to God and said, “Why have You brought all this trouble on Your own people, Lord?  Why did You send me?  Ever since I came to Pharaoh as Your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to Your people. And You have done nothing to rescue them!”

At this point God revealed Himself as El Shaddai.  Exodus 6:2-3, “God said to Moses, I am Yahweh—the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—God Almighty.”

God wanted Moses to realize Who He was and that He was more than able to bring His people out of captivity.

The Israelites wanted to be free, but were afraid of the unknown and had grown comfortable in their captivity.  

Our lives are not much different than the Israelites.  There are many things that can keep us captive today.  Fear, depression, shame, hopelessness, rejection, drugs and alcohol are just a few.  We too may desire to be free from these mindsets,  but fear of the unknown, being comfortable in our situation, and even unforgiveness can keep us from moving forward.  Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. “

God is the same God today as He was in Exodus.  He desires to release us from those mindsets that keep us in captivity, and prevent us from having the abundant life Jesus came to give us.  He is El Shaddai, God almighty,  all sufficient One and is more than enough to meet our needs.