Ava Pennington - Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional

2010 by Ava Pennington

Published by Revell

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.revellbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2012

Ebook corrections 06.18.2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-4496-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture marked GW is taken from GODS WORD, a copyrighted work of Gods Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by Gods Word to the Nations. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture marked Message is taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture marked NLT is taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

To the glory of God,

whose name is worthy of all praise

C ONTENTS

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am ever grateful for the team of prayer warriors who faithfully interceded before the throne of God each day as I wrote. Thank you, Frankie, Karon, and Marilyn.

I am also grateful for the blessing of fellow writers who caught the vision of this devotional and encouraged me to write with excellence to glorify our awesome God. Thank you, Joyce, Sharon, Jenness, Faith, and Della.

Most important of all, I am forever grateful for the love and encouragement of my precious husband. He picked up the pieces and kept our home running smoothly while I immersed myself in the names and attributes of God. Thank you, Russ, for your unconditional love.

To God be the glory as His name is lifted up!

I NTRODUCTION

Shakespeare once asked, Whats in a name?

When it comes to our wonderful God, the answer is, Everything!

Many strange ideas are floating around our world today as to who or what God is. Some have been passed down from generation to generation, even within the church.

People often speak of my God or your God. My God would never allow pain and suffering. Your God is archaic. My God is ... and so it goes.

What is your understanding of who God is and how He works? Is it a biblical perspective, or have you been molding your understanding of God to fit your desires and expectations? If your perspective is not biblical, then its time to look at who God says He is and how God says He works.

Every name of God revealed in the Bible shows us something about His character and His ways. As the multiple facets of a cut diamond combine to reflect its brilliance, the names and attributes of God combine to reveal the transcendence of His nature and the glory of His ways.

With each new revelation, its as if God whispers to us, Come closer, My child. I have something new I want to tell you about Me. The more we learn, the easier it is to trust Him and rely on Him.

In Daily Reflections on the Names of God , we will explore 122 names and attributes of God in three ways. In the first devotional for each name or attribute, we will look up to see how and why God describes Himself the way He does.

Even then, it is possible to have an intellectual understanding of who God is without changing who we are in relation to Him. The apostle Paul exhorts us to be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1). In the second devotional, we will look in, as we focus on how the particular name or characteristic applies to our lives, and how it changes or strengthens our relationship with God.

Look for the arrow symbols by each name or attribute of God to indicate whether the devotional is focusing on looking up , in , or out .

Finally, in the third devotional focused on the same name or attribute, we will look out, as we apply what we are learning about God and ourselves to our relationships with others.

Use the next 366 days to learn who God is according to how He revealed Himself in His Word. As you do, it is my prayer that your relationship with Him will deepen more intimately than you ever imagined.

G LORY

A RE Y OU R EADY ?

Exodus 33:1223

Give to the L ORD the glory his name deserves.

1 Chronicles 16:29 GW

H ow intimately do you know God? How intimately do you want to know Him?

Moses knew God in a way few other people knew Him. Its possible for us to know God in a similar way, simply by making the same request Moses did. Let me know Your ways that I may know You (Exod. 33:13).

After God said He would go with Moses and the people, Moses still was not satisfied. He made a bolder request of the Lord: Show me Your glory! (Exod. 33:18). Instead of becoming angry with Moses, God granted his request, causing His glory to pass by him.

What is the glory of the Lord? It is the combination of all His attributes. When He passed Moses in the cleft of the rock, God proclaimed His goodness, graciousness, and compassion. Gods glory is who He is. It is impossible to separate His glory from His character and His ways.

As we read Gods Word and spend time with Him in prayer, He opens our spiritual eyes to see His glory in ways we had not previously recognized. Are you ready to see His glory?

Lord God, I want to know Your ways more intimately than I have, that I may know You.

Have I become complacent in my relationship with the Lord? How will I look for Him to show me His ways today?

G LORY