Remembering Who God Is

We talked in recent weeks how the great prayers in the Old Testament always talk of "remembering the Lord".  This list from the Navigators offers thirty days of names of attributes to remember, recount, rehearse, recite...

30 Days of Praying the Names and Attributes of God

by The Navigators

Though God is infinitely far above our ability to fully understand, He tells us through the Scriptures very specific truths about Himself so that we can know what He is like, and be drawn to worship Him. The following is a list of 30 names and attributes of God. Use this guide to enrich your time set apart with God by taking one description of Him and meditating on that for one day, along with the accompanying passage. Worship God, focusing on Him and His character.

God is Jehovah. The name of the independent, self-complete being—“I AM WHO I AM”—only belongs to Jehovah God. Our proper response to Him is to fall down in fear and awe of the One who possesses all authority. 

—Exodus 3:13-15

God is Jehovah-M’Kaddesh. This name means “the God who sanctifies.” A God separate from all that is evil requires that the people who follow Him be cleansed from all evil.       

—Leviticus 20:7,8

God is infinite. God is beyond measurement—we cannot define Him by size or amount. He has no beginning, no end, and no limits. 

—Romans 11:33

God is omnipotent. This means God is all-powerful. He spoke all things into being, and all things—every cell, every breath, every thought—are sustained by Him. There is nothing too difficult for Him to do. 

—Jeremiah 32:17,18, 26,27

God is good. God is the embodiment of perfect goodness, and is kind, benevolent, and full of good will toward all creation.   

—Psalm 119:65-72

God is love. God’s love is so great that He gave His only Son to bring us into fellowship with Him. God’s love not only encompasses the world, but embraces each of us personally and intimately.    

—1 John 4:7-10

God is Jehovah-jireh. This name means “the God who provides.” Just as He provided yesterday, He will also provide today and tomorrow. He grants deliverance from sin, the oil of joy for the ashes of sorrow, and eternal citizenship in His Kingdom for all those adopted into His household. 

—Genesis 22:9-14

God is Jehovah-shalom. This name means “the God of peace.” We are meant to know the fullness of God’s perfect peace, or His “shalom.” God’s peace surpasses understanding and sustains us even through difficult times. It is the product of fully being what we were created to be.

—Judges 6:16-24

God is immutable. All that God is, He has always been. All that He has been and is, He will ever be. He is ever perfect and unchanging.

—Psalm 102:25-28

God is transcendent. We must not think of God as simply the highest in an order of beings. This would be to grant Him eminence But he is more than eminent. He is transcendent—existing beyond and above the created universe.

—Psalm 113:4,5

God is just. God is righteous and holy, fair and equitable in all things. We can trust Him to always do what is right.

—Psalm 75:1-7

God is holy. God’s holiness is not simply a better version of the best we know. God is utterly and supremely untainted. His holiness stands apart—unique and incomprehensible.

—Revelation 4:8-11

God is Jehovah-rophe. This name means “Jehovah heals.” God alone provides the remedy for mankind’s brokenness through His son, Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the physical, moral, and spiritual remedy for all people.

—Exodus 15:22-26

God is self-sufficient.  All things are God’s to give, and all that is given is given by Him. He can receive nothing that He has not already given us.

—Acts 17:24-28

God is omniscient. This means God is all-knowing. God’s knowledge encompasses every possible thing that exists, has ever existed, or will ever exist. Nothing is a mystery to Him.

—Psalm 139:1-6

God is omnipresent. God is everywhere—in and around everything, close to everyone. “‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.”

—Psalm 139:7-12

God is merciful. God’s merciful compassion is infinite and inexhaustible. Through His provision in Christ, He took the judgment that was rightfully ours and placed it on His own shoulders. He waits and works now for all people to turn to Him and to live under His justification.

—Deuteronomy 4:29-31

God is sovereign. God presides over every event, great or small, and He is in control of our lives. To be sovereign, He must be all-knowing and all-powerful, and by His sovereignty He rules His entire creation.

—1 Chronicles 29:11-13

God is Jehovah-nissi. This name means “God our banner.” Under His banner we go from triumph to triumph and say, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

—Exodus 17:8-15

God is wise. All God’s acts are accomplished through His infinite wisdom. He always acts for our good, which is to conform us to Christ. Our good and His glory are inextricably bound together.

—Proverbs 3:19,20

God is faithful. Out of His faithfulness God honors His covenants and fulfills His promises. Our hope for the future rests upon God’s faithfulness.

—Psalm 89:1-8

God is wrathful. Unlike human anger, God’s wrath is never capricious, self-indulgent, or irritable. It is the right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil.

— Nahum 1:2-8

God is full of grace. Grace is God’s good pleasure that moves Him to grant merit where it is undeserved and to forgive debt that cannot be repaid.

—Ephesians 1:5-8

God is our Comforter. Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Comforter,” and the apostle Paul writes that the Lord is “the God of all comfort.”

—2 Corinthians 1:3,4

God is El-Shaddai. This name means “God Almighty,”the God who is all-sufficient and all-bountiful, the source of all blessings.

—Genesis 49:22-26

God is Father. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9), and the Spirit of God taught us to cry, “Abba, Father.,” an intimate Aramaic term similar to “Daddy.” The Creator of the universe cares for each one of us as if we were the only child He had.

—Romans 8:15-17

God is the Church’s head. God the Son, Jesus, is the head of the Church. As the head, the part of the body that sees, hears, thinks, and decides, He gives the orders that the rest of the body lives by.

—Ephesians 1:22,23

God is our intercessor. Knowing our temptations, God the Son intercedes for us. He opens the doors for us to boldly ask God the Father for mercy. Thus, God is both the initiation and conclusion of true prayer.

—Hebrews 4:14-16

God is Adonai. This name means “Master” or “Lord.”  God, our Adonai, calls all God’s people to acknowledge themselves as His servants, claiming His right to reign as Lord of our lives.

—2 Samuel 7:18-20

God is Elohim. This name means “Strength” or “Power.” He is transcendent, mighty and strong. Elohim is the great name of God, displaying His supreme power, sovereignty, and faithfulness in His covenant relationship with us.

—Genesis 17:7,8

We Are Warriors!

On October 20, 2015, DeDe shared with our group about what it means to be a warrior. A number of you weren't able to be there, so here is a summary of what she taught.

2 Samuel 10:12  "Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God.  The Lord will do what is good in His sight."

God goes before us and sees the scope of every battle. Trusting God for the outcome is what makes us strong warriors. 

Following up on Andra's teaching on War Room Strategy, our prayer closet is where we meet with Him individually, the place to be alone with God, the place of intimacy with the Savior.  There we pour out our heart and listen to the Holy Spirit. In the prayer closet, the Holy Spirit gives us the strategy and equips us to fight the battles.

In contrast, our prayer group is where we meet with Him together, where two or more gather in His name. Here, we also pour out our hearts and listen to the Holy Spirit. As we unite together, each operating in her own gifts,  we receive strategy and are equipped. Here, in our group, we deploy and fight the battle.

We are warriors, God's Warriors, and it is time to deploy.  

A warrior is a brave or experienced soldier or fighter.  

- signs on to fight because of blood of Jesus

- trains to fight by studying the Word

- wears gear to fight, the Armor of God

- knows his enemy

- knows his commander-in-chief

- expects to win

To deploy is to move troops into position for military action

- to have a deliberate purpose

- requires "action"/movement

- to gear up with full armor of God

- to follow orders from the Holy Spirit

- to move out in Faith

- to be focused on the course set before us

We have been given the gifts to fight. We have prepared ourselves. We know the battles that rage. We know the Word of God. We know our commander-in-chief, SO, why are we so hesitant?  Why are we insecure as warriors in God's army?  Do we lack faith or self esteem? Are we too busy or preoccupied with our selves and our lives? 

The battle belongs to the Lord, but He has called us to be His warriors in the battle. It is God's battle.  Although we are suited up, totally prepped and trained, we don’t have to fight the battle ourselves. If we wait upon the Lord and move at His command, we will be totally tuned into Him.  It will not be about us, but about Him. Jesus will then direct our paths: "enemy on the left", "enemy approaching overhead", "turn the corner", "clear".  Our job is to listen and follow. To trust and obey. He wins the victories! 

To hear His explicit directions, we must have clear communication with Him. As Lee has been teaching, this comes from true intimacy with Him. This is where prayer comes in - staying in the Word, worship, and spending time with the Holy Spirit.  For example, a warrior walking through a minefield must be totally focused on each step. God is shining His light on the path, leading us forward. He will show us the way through the minefields of the battle. We are called to look to Him for the victory.

In Linda's blog on Time to Deploy she states:

 I, for one, don't like to fight. Never really wanted to be a warrior.

 I never sought courage or battle skills because I didn't want to admit

 I needed them.

Sometimes we say, "I don't like conflict" and run from it.  What we are really saying is, "I don't want to battle". We are running from the battle, trying to dodge the bullet. At times we don't want to release control. There are times when He calls us to stand firm and other times when He wants us to move forward into battle for His glory. We must learn to have ears to hear and then trust and obey - release control!

This brings up Fear -  "Perfect love cast out fear!"  I John 4:18.  His love is perfect, and we march in His army. Both young soldiers and seasoned fighters face fear when they grab their guns and go into battle, but they move forward anyway. They fight for the love of their country. We fight because He first loved us. It is our response to Jesus dying on the cross for us. We are blessed to have God on our side and to be suited in the full armor of God.  With fear and trembling, we go into action. Let's not  run from the battle if He has called us to fight.

What must we do and How?

Deploy is an action word. It requires us to step out! 

I think of us as a Battalion. A battalion is  a group called together for a specific purpose.

For example, a medical battalion might man the hospital. An engineering battalion might build bridges. An air battalion might fly planes and drop bombs, and a ground battalion might fight arm-to-arm combat

We are a Prayer Battalion!  We must deploy. There is a war that is raging with lots of battles all over this world - in our homes, our church, our country and the Middle East, Thailand. Each of us has different gifts to use in our battalion. We need to identify what our assignment is and then be ready to edify the battalion to help it function in the battle. We do this for the glory of God for we are in His Army.  In the examples given above, the medical battalion is no less important than the air battalion. In our prayer battalion, each one has a different assignment  based on the gifts God has given us. There is no pride in acknowledging our gift, but just thanksgiving that God deems us worthy to be in the battle fighting for His glory.

In the Prayer Battalion, not everyone may be going out to the actual battle ground, but they are still deployed. Some are watching, observing and listening to the Holy Spirit in planning a strategy to defeat the enemy. While Lee was in Columbia on a mission trip, many fellow Christian soldiers stayed at home battling in the heavenlies for his safety and for his ministry. Some top ranking officers never leave the command post, but they send out orders to the warriors on the battlefield.

There is a spot for each of us in this Prayer Battalion. God has called us together to pray. There is a mission here for us.  He wants an effective Prayer Battalion. We need to seek His strategy.  We need a clear vision for "where there is no vision the people perish." (Prov 29:18)  Then we need to be ready to act on our vision and our strategy. Some of us may still be confused about our gifts/assignments, and that is okay. Your fellow warriors in the Prayer Battalion will have your back.  As we step out in faith, God will be faithful to show us and help us.  He provides everything we need to stand in the battle, from the trumpets to the slingshot. We are just to follow orders. We will grow in confidence of our gifts as we use them for His glory.   

WE ARE WARRIORS.  IT IS TIME TO DEPLOY!

"Onward, Christian soldiers!

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before."

Time to Deploy?

I was just thinking this morning --40 years ago, I longed for a group like we have. A group of ladies who I can trust and share deeply with.  A "support" group. I had to wait a long time for it. We are blessed. God wants us to enjoy that.

But, I feel conviction too- look around us. Things aren't like they were 40 years ago - not even like they were 5 years ago! My idea of a perfect ladies' Bible study group 40 years ago isn't as relevant in today's world or in today's church!

At our age, we certainly see progression and intensifying  of  the evil coming against our country, Israel, the world, Christianity, young people - even children in our church. Human trafficking, pornography, homosexuality, depression, terrorism. Even our pastors - actually "especially" our pastors. . The things Lee deals with daily in his office and on the mission field…

I would really like to get comfortable in our little group - it seems that soldiers have a real camaraderie - they have each others' backs. Each one is trained and performs his job - mans his post. It is imperative that we trust and value each other, that each person gain the confidence and ability to use their gifts, but what is God's purpose in giving us these gifts, these weapons, this trust, this camaraderie?

The comaraderie is not the warrior's purpose - not the reason the army was assembled.  The training is not the warrior's purpose . There is a war to fight. We began as a prayer group. That has been made clearer by the War Room movie and Andra's excellent teaching on warfare.

I, for one, don't like to fight. Never really wanted to be a warrior. I never sought courage or battle skills because I didn't want to admit I needed them.

Ps. 18:34 "He teaches my hands to war."

Unlike  the leader we talked about yesterday - I don't even know how to "organize" a prayer meeting! Much less really pray.

We have an army, we have a comaraderie, we have knowledge. Maybe it's time to DEPLOY.

Would you join me in praying for direction in how to be stewards of the gifts we have - of the love, unity and trust we have? How to employ these things on the actual battlefield? How to really stand against the evil we see?

Let's just pray for direction and against distraction. Ask God to begin to show us how to be effective in war. We have the weapons. We need a strategy!   I am going to go back to the outline Andra gave us, and meditate on the verses.  God wants to give us direction, but it will come through each one of us as a body- together - each person bringing a piece of the puzzle.

The Desires of My Heart

This morning while lying in my bed, slowly waking up, I found myself falling into what could be called "default praying" - praying anxious prayers of protection and well-being for my kids. Even in my early morning stupor, I began to see the dysfunction in this prayer habit. As I had for so many years, I was striving to build safe little cocoons to shelter, comfort and keep each of my "peeps",  as I like to call my children and grandchildren. And, I sometimes still consider them MY peeps - MY responsibility!  It was if I was trying to surround them like feathers in a nest to coddle and keep them - a warm and cozy nest full of blessings, healings and protection.

Even Jesus acknowledged the strong parental protective urge in Luke 13:34 as He expressed His intense feelings toward Jerusalem.  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not."

We all know that the chrysalis has to work its way out of the cocoon to survive, and the baby bird has to be thrown from the nest to fly. But as the eagle hovers over its young, so there is one who promises to cover them with His feathers and under whose wings they can trust. (Ps. 91)   But the security promised here is for those who trust fully in Him, the One who is the hoverer. For those who commit themselves to Him. For those who daily seek Him and dwell in His presence. Verse 14 goes on to say “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name."

I thought I had long ago laid down the idol of  the "perfect Christian family" with perfectly protected and easy lives for all. But, in the process of continuing to lay down that idol -  perhaps it's time instead to pick up the shield and buckler of His truth. Surely, keep praying for their safety, health and happiness, but, even more than that, that each one learns to seek  Him and to dwell in His presence daily. That they seek His truth and commit themselves to His will and purpose for  their lives.

Lord, are my desires morphing more and more into Your desires? You did promise in Psalm 37 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will give you the desires of your heart."  As my own family has grown, the "perception" (and it was always just a perception) that I can control, even through prayer, every situation and possibility they may face is no longer one I can reasonably expect to hold onto! It was never reality anyway!  

Binding and Loosing

"Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, 'I am there in their midst'."   Matthew 18:18-20

Since last week's Sunday School lesson, I have been going over my notes and thinking on the meaning of these verses. Lee was talking about that when the church gathered for prayer, as it says in Acts 2, they were "of one mind" or "in one accord."

He said that, in this gathering, someone sees  what God is wanting to do  - what He wants to be bound on earth as it is being bound in heaven. In the prayer meeting that person speaks. Here in the seeing and the speaking we see the gifts of the Spirit operating in the body.  Then immediately, we go to God in prayer and bind it on earth.

We may not  realize it or call it "gifts of the Spirit" or "binding and loosing", but I believe we see this in operation at times in our little group. 

I have a long way to go in understanding all this , but, Ralph and I had an opportunity to grow in understanding this week. We were leaving our son's house where we babysat his four children. One of them had told us about the fear he experiences when he goes to bed at night. I  shared with him 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." I wrote it down for him on a card for him to keep. He began to quote back to me his school memory verse that he said was "for his heart".  Joshua 1:9 "Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  We talked and prayed for him.

In the car on the way home, I remembered the Sunday School lesson.  I saw what the need was - what God was wanting to bind on earth, as it is bound in heaven. I spoke it to Ralph and talked about how I was beginning to understand some of the things Lee taught.  So we joined hands in the car and bound the spirit of fear in our grandson's life.

I do believe the "seeing" -the "discerning" - is a vital step. It is the same as what Lee has recently talked about  - having a "thought of God." Actually, before this, the "of one mind" --the unity-- is crucial. Then we speak out. Too often, we only consider certain "manifestations" to be gifts of the Spirit -- prophecies spoken out in church or words prefaced with "I have a word", but this is the operation of the gifts as well!  Then, we respond in prayer. Let's continue to allow the Lord to teach us , use us and to grow us into operating as the body of Christ was meant to operate!

The Lord - our stronghold - our strong tower!

These images are from the internet - wish I had some DeDe or Toni photos to share!

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and is safe." Prov. 18:10

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock in whom I take refuge. My shield and he horn or my salvation, my stronghold."  Ps. 18:2

"He only is my rock and my salvation. My stronghold. I shall not be shaken." Ps. 62:2

"The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright." Pr. 21:22

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in him will I trust." Ps. 91:9

"The God of my rock, in Him will I trust; he is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior."   2 Sam. 22:3