MARCH 5

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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Psalm 46:1

“God is our refuge and strength,  a very present help in trouble.”

Psalm 42:8

“The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.”

Psalm 73:23

“Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.”

Psalm 73:24

“You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.”

Psalm 40:11

“Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.”

Psalm 46:4-5

“There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,  the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.  God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;  God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.”

Psalm 3:4

“I cried to the Lord with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill.”

Ps 46:7

“The Lord of hosts is with us;  The God of Jacob is our refuge.”

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Our book for this month  is called “100 NAMES OF GOD”  written by Christopher D. Hudson.  Each day we’ll take one Hebrew name for God as given in the Bible to study and relate to.

JEHOVAH -SHAMMAH

THE LORD IS THERE

“The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits.  And the name of the city from that time on will be: the Lord is there.” Ezekiel 48:35

It is perhaps the most common, most haunting question we ever ask: “God, where are You?” We ask it in all kinds of situations:  when our child is rebelling, when we’re in the emergency room, when we’re unemployed, when hope seems lost, when evil is winning, when death intrudes.

But in these moments, the prophet Ezekiel has a good answer for us.  He was once gifted with a remarkable vision of the end of time.  He saw a heavenly city, the New Jerusalem.  He heard God give the city the name JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH, “THE LORD IS THERE.”

Technically, JEHVAH-SHAMMAH is less a title of God and more the name of a place.  But since heaven and God are so closely connected, SHAMMAH can be applied to God himself:  God is indeed THERE.  (He is everywhere).

Ezekiel’s vision is not only a foreshadowing of how things will be but also a reminder of the way things began – the way things were meant to be.  When God first created humans (Genesis 1-2), He walked with His human creatures in that paradise known as Eden.  Adam, and Eve enjoyed free, unfettered access to God. But when they chose sin in Genesis chapter 3, the human race lost that access.

In the days of the Old Testament, God could only be approached with the help of a priest and through the sacrifice of blood.

On the cross, Jesus, our Great High Priest, offered Himself as the final sacrifice for sin.  It is His perfect life, gruesome death, and glorious resurrection that make it possible for us to have access once again to God.

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH is the last new name the Old Testament gives for God.  It’s no coincidence that one of the first names for God given in the New Testament is a “nickname” given to Christ – Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

Momentary experience of God’s presence should whet our appetites for the unending day when we will see Him face-to-face.

When is the time you have had a deep sense of God’s presence?

PRAYER

God, please help me take a moment to enjoy – by faith – Your presence and let that inspire me to live for a kingdom where one day I will know and see Your presence at all times.  Amen

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