2021-09-21
Ezekiel 48:35 NIV
During Israel’s twenty-fifth year in captivity, Ezekiel received from God the name Jehovah-Shammah: the Lord is there. He described their future home, Jerusalem, saying, ‘The name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.’ It applies not only to the Lord of the old covenant, but equally to Jesus, the Lord of the new covenant whose name, ‘Immanuel’, means ‘God is with us’ (Matthew 1:23 NLT).
It means that at all times, in all places, under all circumstances, for all of us, He’s available and present. David discovered: ‘I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me’ (Psalm 139:7-10 NLT).
The name Jehovah-Shammah means that God’s presence is all we need. He brings peace, comfort, healing and confidence. With Him by our side, fear, loneliness and helplessness disappear. In Israel’s worst moments, God’s response was always the same: ‘I am with you.’ Those words guaranteed their needs would be met abundantly. And today God’s saying to us, ‘I’m with you, and neither death, life, angels, spirit-powers, present or future fears, height, depth, nor anything else in all creation will separate you from my love’ (see Romans 8:38-39).
That promise is for all of us, whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, so let’s take hold of it today.
2 Cor 11:16-13:14; Luke 22:39-53; Ps 19; Prov 21:3
2021-09-20
Jeremiah 23:6 NLT
The name Jehovah-Tsidkenu: the Lord my righteousness, was given by God to Jeremiah, announcing the coming of Jesus. ‘I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line…And this will be his name: “The LORD Is Our Righteousness”‘ (v.5-6 NLT).
Before Jesus came, our righteousness was dependent on our own efforts. ‘We will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the LORD our God has given us’ (Deuteronomy 6:25 NLT). But when we failed the righteousness test, the ‘Lord our righteousness’ became our solution. Here’s how: ‘Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could become right with God’ (2 Corinthians 5:21 NCV). In Jesus we’ve been made righteous before God.
If we’re trying to do what’s right just so we can feel right before God, or to generate a supply of good deeds to draw from when we need a bit of credit, we’re doing it for the wrong reasons. We’re supposed to draw what we need from the righteousness deposited into our account by Christ. If we need humility, purity, patience, kindness or love, we shouldn’t look within ourselves. We should draw them by faith from the supply stored up for us in Jesus.
Guilty hearts can draw forgiveness, anxious spirits can draw peace, weary souls can draw strength, and confused minds can draw guidance from our inexhaustible supply in Jehovah-Tsidkenu. Just as we receive salvation by faith, we can draw righteousness and everything else we need through faith in what God has done for us and stored up for us in Jesus – the Lord your righteousness!
Lev 23:33-44; John 7:1-40; Zech 14:16-21
2021-09-19
Judges 6:23 NIV
Gideon discovered the name Jehovah-Shalom: the Lord my peace when God assigned him the job of leading Israel against the Midianites – a position Gideon thought was way beyond his abilities. ‘How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family’ (v.15 NIV). The Lord responded, ‘I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites…Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die’ (v.16, 23 NIV). A frightened Gideon believed God before the battle was even fought and the victory secured. Through the eyes of faith, he envisioned peace already secured, and built an altar to Jehovah-Shalom: the Lord my peace.
We assume that we can only have inner peace when our outer circumstances are good. Let’s learn, like Gideon, that our inner peace doesn’t depend on changing our external circumstances. It depends on believing that Jehovah-Shalom is with us, which will bring us through the battles we face with inner peace.
Jesus said: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace [which is inner, and faith-based] I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives [which is based on external circumstances]. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’ (John 14:27 NIV). Today, let’s think about these words: ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace…take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33 NIV). Our job is to ‘take heart’ because Jehovah-Shalom is with us, and to trust Christ the ‘overcomer’ to handle the circumstances for us.
Gen 2:7-25; 1 Cor 15:39-55
2021-09-18
Exodus 14:13 NIV
Let’s look again at Jehovah-Nissi: the Lord my banner. It isn’t easy to hand our battles over and let God fight for us. We feel like we’re backing out or being irresponsible. We feel like we should be doing something. But just because God fights for us doesn’t mean we’re not involved. The hardest part about the order – ‘stand still and watch the deliverance of the Lord’ – is we mistake standing still for doing nothing, or for not doing our duty. Fear says, ‘Just do something!’ Faith says, ‘Stand in faith. Let God do it!’ That’s about as far from doing nothing as you can get. It’s faith at its highest.
So if we don’t do the fighting, why do we need spiritual armour? Paul said, ‘Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes’ (Ephesians 6:11 NIVUK). Notice that we wear God’s armour – not our own. We’re told to stand – not fight. ‘The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh’ (2 Corinthians 10:4 NASB).
Standing still and trusting God to fight can be very difficult. We want to do things our way, in our time. We like to have control, and handing control over to God can be uncomfortable. But human methods get in God’s way. Natural abilities are useless against spiritual forces. Our solutions and strategies aren’t often the best ones, the ones God chooses. We only have a limited view of the circumstances; He sees the complete picture. So instead of trusting in our own human effort, we must trust only in Jehovah-Nissi.
2 Cor 9:1-11:15; Luke 22:24-38; Ps 24; Prov 21:1-2
2021-09-17
2 Chronicles 20:15 NKJV
When Israel was threatened by the armies of Amalek, God gave them a glorious victory. Moses realised that God was fighting the battle for them, so he built an altar to Jehovah-Nissi: the Lord my banner. Fighting our own battles was never God’s idea. The Bible says, ‘The LORD is a warrior (Exodus 15:3 NCV). ‘You only need to remain calm; the LORD will fight for you’ (Exodus 14:14 NCV). ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’
As human beings we get exhausted and discouraged because we keep trying to fight in our own strength. We go through fruitless cycles of repentance, resolution, struggle, defeat, discouragement, and repenting all over again. The only spiritual conflict that’s ever successfully won is the one God fights for us. He doesn’t expect us to win the battle, but to let Him win it on our behalf. We need to ‘fight the good fight of faith’ (1 Timothy 6:12 KJV).
Our battle isn’t one of exhausting effort, it’s the battle of believing and trusting in God. When Jacob wrestled with an angel, his victory came in surrendering to God. He didn’t win by wrestling, he won by acknowledging he was too weak to carry on wrestling and needed God. When we’re at that point – when we’re worn out by struggles and battles in life – we need to let go and trust Jehovah-Nissi to fight for us, because ‘the battle is not yours, but God’s’! Then we can declare with Paul, ‘When I am weak, then am I strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:10 KJV).
2 Cor 5-8; Luke 22:14-23; Ps 78:65-72; Prov 20:26-30
2021-09-16
Psalm 83:18 NCV
The Israelites called God Jehovah, a name they thought of as inexpressible and inexplicable. The name means the ‘self-existing one’; the ‘I am’. He existed before all things, He is the creator of all things. He was perceived as an awesome but seemingly impersonal, unknowable being. But God wanted us to know Him in a personal way, so in Scripture He added five revealing titles to the name Jehovah, five word-portraits to help us understand and relate to Him. The Israelites usually discovered the truth of these word-portraits during times of crisis and distress. And they can encourage us too.
The first one we’re going to look at is Jehovah-Jireh: the Lord will see, the Lord will provide. Abraham was about to sacrifice his son when God provided a lamb as an offering in Isaac’s place. And in response Abraham called God Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who sees and provides. But it doesn’t just apply to Abraham. Jesus said, ‘Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things’ (Matthew 6:32 NKJV). Like a caring, responsive parent, God sees His children’s needs before they do, and provides the solution. We don’t have to beg, bargain and plead to get what we need.
That might make us wonder why we don’t always get what we ask for. It’s because God knows what we really need, and He’ll provide it at exactly the right time. Often the things we think we need turn out to be things we want. God knows the difference. Remember Jehovah-Jireh sees our needs, and because He sees them He will provide for them!
Lev 16; Lev 23:26-32; Heb 9:1-14; Heb 13:11-16
