The Names of God

There is a large amount of information on the Names of God. I will merely scratch the surface enough for you to be able to determine which name of God is being used and why it is important to know the names of God.
There are two Hebrew names from which most of the names of God are built. The first is El. Meaning God. I think its use is much the same as 21st Century America uses “God.” It is generic and can mean anything that the user wants it to mean: such as Mother Nature, a cosmic force, or the sum of all peoples love, etc. So the Hebrews were very inclined to add a suffix to the name in order to define which God they were talking about. The word for God used in Gen 1:1 is Elohim meaning “strong one”. The form of the word is plural, indicating plentitude of power and majesty. The word could be translated as the plural of majesty. So one could say Gen 1:1 says, “In the beginning the Majesties created…”
Anyone see a problem here? The Hebrews believed in One True God. Moses is the hero of the Hebrew people and Moses wrote a plural form for the word God in the beginning. As one theologian put it to me, “They didn’t understand it, but they knew better than to change it.” The important thing to note here is that the word allows for the New Testament revelation of the Trinity of the Godhead.
For the purposes of a simple layperson anytime you see the word God by itself you can assume the Hebrew word used is Elohim. Not totally accurate but close enough as all names are talking about the same God. Other compounds are actually spelled out in the text. El Elyon for instance means God Most High. Look at Gen 14:22 and you will see “God Most High” in the text. So you don’t really need to know that it is El Elyon, just be aware that whatever Hebrew word was used it means “God Most High.”
The second base compound word is YHWH. This is the word the Hebrews valued so highly that they would not pronounce it. While reading the scriptures the Hebrews would pause when reaching the YHWH and then say “Adonai.” We put vowels in the word making it Yahweh and have no problem pronouncing it. The meaning of the YHWH is “I am that I am.” The name first appears in the second chapter of Genesis so was well known to the Hebrew people when passed down from generation to generation in their oral tradition. When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, this is the name He called Himself so the Hebrews knew exactly who had sent Moses.
The YHWH is translated into English as LORD. Notice the capital letters. When there are compound names associated with it like YHWH Jireh (or Jehovah Jirah from the Greek) then once again the whole meaning is translated into the English. Look at Gen 22:14. You will see imbedded into the verse “The LORD Will Provide”. It is not a sentence, it is a name. Notice all the capital letters. Again, you don’t really need to know that it is YHWH Jireh, just be aware that whatever Hebrew word was used it means “The LORD Will Provide.”
The last word you need to know is Adonai. Adonai is translated as Lord. Notice the lack of capital letters. The most famous use of this is in Psalm 110:1. “The LORD says to my Lord…” In English this looks rather silly, but with your new found knowledge you now know to read it, “YHWH says to Adonai…” This is another Old Testament allowance for One God in multiple Persons.
Now that the surfaced is scratched we ask, Why do I need to know the names of God? Look at John 3:18. You will see imbedded in the verse a command to “believe in the name…” What does it mean to believe in the name? The names, as you have seen, have meanings. You need to believe what the names are telling you. So which name does John 3:18 tell us to believe in? “… in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Which leads us to ask, what does the name Jesus Christ mean?
Matt 1:1 leads off with the name of Jesus Christ. The notes of your Study Bible tell you that Jesus is from Jeshua which means “the Lord is salvation.” Christ means “anointed one.” So we must believe that Jesus Christ is “the Lord is salvation” and “the anointed one.”
So what’s in a name? Now you know.

One Minute Devotional for Atheists

I have decided to enlist Atheists to help me in my quest of encouraging Christians to read their Bibles. Hope you enjoy.

Does God Cause Disasters?

Does God Really Cause Disasters?

Here are some verses to consider, then you decide.





Isa 45:7

7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.'

NKJV



Ex 4:11-12


11 So the LORD said to him,"Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?

NKJV



Lev 14:33-34

34 "When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the leprous plague in a house in the land of your possession,

NKJV




Deut 32:39


39'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal;

NKJV




1 Sam 2:6-7


6 "The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. 7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.

NKJV




Lam 3:31-38


31 For the Lord will not cast off forever. 32 Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. 33 For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men. 34 To crush under one's feet All the prisoners of the earth, 35 To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High, 36 Or subvert a man in his cause — The Lord does not approve. 37 Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed?

NKJV





Eccl 7:14


14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

NKJV


Job 1:21


The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;

NKJV




Why Would God Cause Disasters?


Well, if you came to the same conclusion as I did then the next question is “Why does God cause Disasters?” The writter of Hebrews gives us the answer.




Heb 12:5-11


5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:


"My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,

Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens,

And scourges every son whom He receives."


7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

NKJV


The NIV puts verse 7 this way: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.” So the hardships of this world are the things which we struggle against and by struggling we grow. If we had nothing to struggle against, then how would we ever grow. Why would a basketball team ever want to get better if they don’t have another basketball team with which to struggle against? How could you measure how good a basketball team is unless they have another team with which to compare?


Therefore, consider the hardships of this life as the measuring stick with which to measure your confidence in your Creator.




Jeanne Guyon in the book “Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ” says that we should treat everything that happens to us as if it comes from God. Maybe we should treat it that way because that is the way it is!


Don’t forget Paul’s wonderful words on suffering. Rom 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Jesus answer's the question, "Why does God allow suffering in the world?" In John 9:3, Jesus says that the man was born blind so that the power of God may be demonstrated in his life. So when a disaster happens in your life, your job is to ask the question, "How do I demonstrate the power of God in this situation?" His Spirit is demonstrated through Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

May God bless you even in times of trouble.

That is why God Causes Disasters.