Names of God – Adonai

WEDNESDAY

Word: Adonai

Translated: Lord (only first letter capitalized in English Bibles)

Meaning: Master, sovereign ruler or lord. Adonai describes the relationship between a master and a slave, and emphasizes the absolute authority of God. It is more of a title than a name.

NAU Psalm 68:32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.

NIV Psalm 68:32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord, Selah

KJV Psalm 68:32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:

NAU Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”… 11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate,

NIV Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”… 11 Then I said, “For how long, O Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,

KJV Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me…. 11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

Names of God-YHWH

TUESDAY

 Word: YHWH

Translated: LORD (all capital letters in the NASB)

Statistics: Used 5,321 times in the OT

Meaning: ‘I Am that I Am’ or ‘I will be that I will be’ indicating the changelessness of God, the assurance that God will be with His people and that God will powerfully rpeserve His people.

 
NAU Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

 
NIV Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

 
KJV Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

 

 NAU Exodus 6:6 “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

 
NIV Exodus 6:6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

 
KJV Exodus 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:

 

NAU John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”

 
NIV John 8:58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

 
KJV John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Names of God – ELohim

MONDAY

This week we will embark on a study of the names of God. In many cultures, a name reveals the characteristics of a person. This is true of the names God chooses to reveal to us. They reveal who He is, what He is like and what He does. This could take a while to get through because there are 15 different names in the Old Testament referring to God and seven in the New Testament. We will begin with the most common term – Elohim.

Word: Elohim

Translated: God

Statistics: Used 2,570 times in the OT (2,310 in reference to the true God of the universe)

Meaning: Some say it is derived from a word meaning ‘fear’ and denoting th Divine One is to be feared. More commonly it is associated with the meaning of ‘mighty’ or ‘strong One’. Either way it expresses the power and pre-eminence of God.

NAU Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

NIV Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

KJV Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

NAU Psalm 68:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song. Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, And let those who hate Him flee before Him.

NIV Psalm 68:1 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song. May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him.

KJV Psalm 68:1 <To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David.> Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.

Interesting footnote: In the Hebrew language Elohim is the plural form of EL…God is referring to Himself in the plural rather than the singular (even though He very clearly tells us in the Decalogue that HE is the ONLY God in the universe). Some would say that it indicates the plurality in the Godhead (i.e. Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

In contrast, the Muslim God (Allah) is in the singular form in the Arabic language. This initially shows the difference between the revelation of God in the Judeo-Christian traditions, and the concept of God in Islamic thinking.

An Eternity of Service

FRIDAY

In heaven, believers will enthusiastically and untiredly divide their time between at least two primary activities – worship and….. SERVICE FOR OUR KING! All the more reason to begin now what we will be doing throughout all eternity.

 

NAU Revelation 7:15 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.

 

NIV Revelation 7:15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

 

KJV Revelation 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

 

 

 

NAU Revelation 22:3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;

 

NIV Revelation 22:3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

 

KJV Revelation 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

Eternal Worship

THURSDAY

 

In heaven, believers will enthusiastically and untiredly divide their time between at least two primary activities – worship and….. (something we will see tomorrow!)

 

NAU Revelation 11:1 Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.

 

NIV Revelation 11:1 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there.

 

KJV Revelation 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

 

We will join together with heaven’s spiritual leaders, heavens uniquely designed creatures, and angels.

 

NAU Revelation 4:10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

 

NIV Revelation 4:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

 

KJV Revelation 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

 

 

NAU Revelation 5:14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

 

NIV Revelation 5:14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

 

KJV Revelation 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

 

 

NAU Revelation 7:11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

 

NIV Revelation 7:11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

 

KJV Revelation 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

 

 

NAU Revelation 19:4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

 

NIV Revelation 19:4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”

 

KJV Revelation 19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

Seeing God

WEDNESDAY

 

Believers will see God as He is. God is Spirit (John 4:24). Presently our existence is primarily MATERIAL/spiritual but in heaven our existence will be SPIRITUAL/glorified material, enabling us to see and experience our Creator, Sovereign God.

 

NAU 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

 

NIV 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

 

KJV 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Persecuted for Christ’s Sake

FRIDAY

NAU Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

 

NIV Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

 

KJV Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 2 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

 

New commentary is not necessary. Remembering yesterday’s devo and reading today’s reverentially has a much greater impact than I can give in words. May we live this way!

Persecutecd for Righteousness

THURSDAY

 

NAU Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

NIV Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

KJV Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

According to Paul, persecution should be a way of life for the Christian. Just read:

 

NAU 2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

 

NIV 2 Timothy 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

 

KJV 2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

 

We in North America cannot relate to this teaching of Jesus very well. Most of the time it is because we fail to live our Christianity (i.e. proclaiming our faith in appropriate circumstances, or shunning behavior undignified as a follower of Christ.)

 

I know some friends who experience this verse…but I have to go to Belarus and Russia to see this verse come alive. Godly behaving believers being threatened with persecution for proclaiming the Gospel. Let us not only pray for the perseverance of those Christians being persecuted around the world but that we will live appropriately to attract persecution. After all, the reward is heaven!

Peacemaking

WEDNESDAY

NAU Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

NIV Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

KJV Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

This is a tough one because it goes against our natural inclinations. To make peace (according to the Greek word used here) is to make reconciliation with an enemy. That is not my first reaction when wronged but that is what I am taught by Jesus to do – especially if I have been wronged as a representative of Jesus Christ! I am called as a Christian to initiate reconciliation with the one who has wronged me rather than enact my revenge or to get even. For an even more challenging teaching of Christ in the same context, see Matt 5: 44, 45.

A Merciful Attitude

MONDAY

 

We are continuing our study of the BEattitudes.  Today we will look at being merciful.

 

NAU Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

 

NIV Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 

KJV Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

 

I marvel at the simplicity of Jesus’ teaching in the BEattitudes. Simple statements can have profound meaning. 

 

We all crave and seek mercy – on a daily basis! The driver who is pulled over by the Highway patrolman, or the person who finds a dent in the fender of a rental vehicle!

 

If you remember an earlier devotional regarding the attributes of God on mercy you will remember that mercy means not receiving what you deserve.

 

We deserve God’s justice but we experience God’s mercy when we accept the work of Christ on the cross by faith. If we have received so great a mercy from God enabling us to enter into His presence for all eternity despite the horrendous thoughts and actions demonstrated in our lives, then we owe the expression of mercy to those who have wronged us especially in the trivial issues. If we have been given mercy from God, we owe mercy to others. Let us be merciful because we have been shown mercy.