Names of God 13. Jehovah Shammah

             Names of God 13.  Jehovah Shammah

  The last name I am going to look at is Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there, found in the last verse of Ezekiel, but I would like to take a tour through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation to arrive there by following the presence of God with mankind and the lack thereof.

     Let's start in Genesis. God made Adam and Eve and placed them in a garden and they were without sin. The Bible says "they were both naked and felt no shame" Gen 2:25. After they sinned we see God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from Him. Gen. 3:8 Shortly after that, they were forced to leave the garden due to sin. Gen. 3:23. So we see, in the beginning without sin, mankind had direct contact with God in paradise. This is the contact we look forward to as paradise will be restored in the new Heaven, new Earth, and New Jerusalem. Rev. 21:1-3, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

     In the remainder of Genesis  we see two episodes of  God's presence. We see Him through preincarnate appearances of Christ. First, one of the three men that visit Abraham and Sarah at the tent is called "the Lord" in Gen. 18:10. In Genesis 32 we see Jacob wrestling with a man whom Jacob identifies as God when he says in Gen. 32:30," I saw God face to face and my life was spared". Here we see that there was already a common understanding that sinful man cannot enter into the presence of a Holy God and survive. It doesn't end in death in these instances because God's son, Jesus, temporarily puts on a man's body foreshadowing the day when He will come as Jesus Christ, but we are getting ahead again.

     In Exodus we are introduced to a man named Moses who experiences God's presence through phenomena like burning bushes, pillars of fire,  cloud, and ark of the covenant but we see that direct contact couldn't be had like in the garden. Moses gets as close as anyone (except maybe Saul on the road to Damascus who got his eyeballs fried by the glory of God's presence) when God places him in the cleft of the rock and Moses sees God's backside causing his face to glow for some time afterward. Ex. 33:21-23, 34:29-33. Moses got directions on that mountain how to build the tabernacle where God's presence would abide in and on the ark in the Holy of Holies, and this presence of His glory would have to do for the meantime. We see God's glory filling the tabernacle in Ex. 40:34, and in Leviticus we see specific rules on how to approach that presence by a select group of individuals once a year and how to do that without dying. We do see some dying, losing kingdoms, and getting diseased by improper following of these rules in Lev. 10:1,2  1 Sam 6:19  2 Sam 6:6,7  1 Sam 13:11-14  1 Sam 2:16,17,34  2 Chron. 26:19. So even though God chose certain people such as prophets to speak to and through, His presence was closely guarded because of the over arching theme of the Bible that sinful mankind cannot enter into the presence of a Holy God.

      In 2 Chronicles 7:1-3, we see somewhat of a change in the presence of the glory of God where Solomon builds the first of 5 temples that we will see in the remainder of history and God's glory fills the temple until the days of Ezekiel. Ezekiel was called to be a prophet at the age of 30 to the exiles in Babylon approximately five years after their second deportation of which Ezekiel was a part. He was given a series of visions similar to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with Ebeneezer Scrooge being transported by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. We see in Ezekiel 8-11 that Ezekiel sees an angel who grabs him by the hand and hair, takes him to Jerusalem and shows him the horrendous idolatry occurring even among the elders and then shows Gods future judgment on the people as if he is looking in on the people but they can't see him. With this judgment comes the departure of God's presence from the temple slowly as if reluctantly or patiently leaving from between the cherubim on the ark of the covenant to the threshold of the temple( Ezek 10:4) then from there to the entrance of the East gate(Ezek.10:19), and lastly from there to the mountain east of it.(Ezek. 11:23). The temple was razed and completely destroyed and burnt to the ground shortly thereafter as described in 2 Chron. 36:18-19.

      The second temple was built by Zerubbabel  as he led a group of refugees back from Babylon to Jerusalem as commissioned by Cyrus (Ezra 1:2) in 536BC. When the temple was finished there was a dedication service in Ezra 6 very similar to the one in Solomon's day but the thing missing was the glory of God's presence did not enter the temple. Herod remodeled it 37-4 BC and the Romans destroyed all but one wall (the wailing wall) in 70AD and throughout that time God's glory never entered it. Or did it? The glory of God came to the temple in 4/6/32 in the person of Jesus Christ - fully God and fully man - Immanuel God with us, but he was rejected. As he grieved over Jerusalem he said "If you had known on this day what would bring you peace.... but you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you. Look your house (temple?) remains desolate (empty of God's presence?) . You will not see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"

     That didn't occur until the time of the third temple. What is it ? We are currently in the time of the third temple which is stated in 2 Cor. 6:16" we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” God's glory is in us and on us. Paul says that the mystery is revealed which is Christ in you the hope of glory. That means, currently, the only "Holy Place" on Earth is you if you are a believer. Everywhere you go you are an Ark of the Covenant with legs. We need to let His glory shine through us. Jesus says, "Let your light (my glory) so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven" Matt. 5:16.

     The fourth temple is called the tribulation temple. This will not be filled with God's presence as God's presence will have been removed from the world (2 Thes. 2:6,7) and replaced with God's wrath. People will still get saved during this time but I wonder if it will be in an Old Testamental way without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as He has been removed. The existence of the temple is spoken of in Rev. 11 and Matt. 24 and Dan. 9:27

     The fifth and last temple is the Millenial temple spoken of by Ezekiel 40-46 and illustrated in this way.

             

 

 

In Ezekiel 43 we see the Glory of God coming back to the temple. Jesus comes back from Heaven after the seven year Wedding Feast of the Lamb with His resurrected and raptured saints, leading them to the battle of Armegeddon which will be no battle but an extermination. (Zech. 14:12-15 and Rev. 19:9-21) He will land on the Mt. of Olives (the one He left from in Ezek.11:22,23), the Mount of Olives will split and a great river will run from it (Ezek. 47, Zech. 14:4-8) and He will  reverse His path of exit, seen in Ezek.10 & 11, placing His presence will be there throughout the Millenial reign. In fact, Jerusalem's name will be changed from that time on to Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there.

This is not just His glory as seen in the Ark and its various dwelling places, nor is it like in us where we spiritually commune with Him. Rather it is physical presence of Jesus where we can see Him and talk to Him.(Hag. 2:6-9) What could be better than that?

 

Only one thing. No temple! In  the New Jerusalem coming down to Earth after the Millenial Kingdom, the millennial temple will be destroyed (2 Pet. 3:10) and Rev. 21:22 -25 says 

 

" I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut"

 

We will have free access to God for all eternity in a way much improved from the Garden of Eden though brought to fruition through thousands of years of unbelievable pain, suffering, and torment not only for saints but also God Himself. Come quickly Lord Jesus!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hZk_n0VrBg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YSN42eIpaY

Names of God 12, Jehovah Sali

                                     Names of God 12, Jehovah Sali

The Lord is my rock(Jehovah Sali) and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³¹ For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?

⁴⁶ The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted. Psalm 18:2,31,46

  God is referred to as a rock approximately 50 times throughout the Bible. The characteristics of a rock are solid, heavy, permanent, immovable and these qualities are demonstrated in these 50 verses. As I looked at these verses I divided them into 4 categories - they all seemed to fit in one of these

1. Refuge/fortress/stronghold
    
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Ps. 18:2, 2 Sam 22:2,3

But the Lord has been my defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge. Ps. 94:22

     Throughout the Bible we see people hiding in rocks or caves from their enemies - David as he hid from Saul, the 5 kings hiding from Joshua, The Israelites hiding from the Midianites, and in the end times as those in the tribulation hid from the wrath of God. Some views of end times prophecy see the Jews in the last 3 1/2 years of the Great Tribulation running to Petra where they will be supernaturally protected from the AntiChrist.

      How is this pertinent to us? Ps.32:7 says God is our hiding place. When the cares of this world get too much for us, we can retreat into His arms and know that we are safe. Nothing can harm us there. We get reenergized, encouraged, and ready to go out and face the World. Unfortunately a lot of people in the midst of attack run away from the church, the fellowship of believers, and the Lord. Bad move!

2. "Chips off the block"

¹⁷ They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
To gods they did not know,
To new gods, new arrivals
That your fathers did not fear.
¹⁸ Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful,
And have forgotten the God who fathered you.  Deut 32:17,18

Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness,
You who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn   Isa 51:1

Therefore I have set My face like a flint    Isa. 50:7

Ezek. 3:8,9  Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. ⁹ Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

   Rock is used to refer to us; if God is the big Rock we, like Peter are little rocks made to resemble God. Believers were first called Christians in Acts which may have been a mocking, yet complimentary term, which meant "little Christs". 1 Cor. 15:58 illustrates why we would be called stones.

      Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.


3. Rock of our salvation and redemption

   May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer  Ps. 19:14

They remembered that God was their Rock,
    that God Most High was their Redeemer.  Ps. 78:35

  He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
    my God, the Rock my Savior  Ps. 89:26

“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
    Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!  2Sam. 22:47

   So why would He be called the Rock of our salvation? Because with God our salvation is permanent, secure, immovable, fixed, certain. No one can pluck us out of God's hand.


What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord  Rom. 8:31-39

 

 

  4. Our firm foundation

 

     He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

⁴ Blessed is the one
    who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
    to those who turn aside to false gods Ps. 40:2-4

 

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.  Matt. 7:24-29

     You can see from the Psalms passage, there are 2 foundations to build your life on - the Rock (Bible) or sand (the miry clay-shifting foundation of the world) or as Psalms says - idols.  Kyle Idelman and Tim Keller talk about these idols and you can categorize them in 4 ways

     A. Idols of pleasure - food, sex, entertainment
     B. Idols of power - success, money, achievement
     C. Idols of love - romance, family
     D. Idols of me - safety, peer approval, body, health, fitness, beauty

   When you build your life on these idols they will eventually collapse or implode. If you think of how an atomic bomb works, an external explosion causes the atomic material to collapse or implode causing a tremendous counter release of energy. In the same way, when our foundation collapses, we have an explosion of anxiety, anger, worry, despair, etc. As a side note, you can use these explosions in your life to analyze your idols that you are trusting in.
     When you build your life on the Rock, your foundation won't collapse or even wobble because God's word never changes. It is a firm foundation. Is that an archaic thought? Contemporary culture would think so judging by a recent song by Macklemore - Same Love

    For those that liked the same sex
Had the characteristics
The right wing conservatives think it's a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made rewiring of a predisposition
Playing God, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don't know
And "God loves all his children" is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago
    Why do we feel that it still can be trusted?
    1. Jesus trusted it   John 17:17,  Matt. 5:17-19
   
    2. God is outside of time - It stands to reason He would write a timeless book

    3. The inexplicable changed lives it causes

    4. The fulfilled prophecy

    5. The number of manuscripts we have even dating back to 100AD

    6. The external evidence from historians both Christian and secular

    7. Archaeologic findings

  Psalm 119:128 says

¹²⁸ and because I consider all your precepts right,
    I hate every wrong path.
    The root of precepts is the word from which we get prescription. God's word is our prescription. Prescriptions work because they are true remedies. They work whether you believe they will or not. Placebos are pills that aren't true but sometimes if you believe they will work, they do. Contemporary culture, which doesn't believe in absolute truth (they do, they just think they don't) treats religion as a placebo - if it works for you - great. This belief of no absolute truth causes great problems. The best treatment of this that I have ever seen is done by Frank Peretti - The Chair. If you have time watch it at this link.  http://thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2012/02/christian-world-view-peretti-video.html  I Washington we have The Bureau of Standards where we have THE INCH and THE POUND and THE GRAM, etc. These are standards we need because everyone can't have their own unique yard stick or scales - that would cause chaos.

   Like all the other names, in conclusion. The Rock is fulfilled in Christ.

" and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ"

  Christ was that rock that was struck and out flowed the living water of salvation. That is a major reason why Moses striking the rock a second time was a major offence

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age ⁶ and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Heb. 6:4-6

What must our response be? The cornerstone, Christ (the most precious rock on which the building rests and it's precise lines determines the shape of the building) stands in our path and we must make a choice. Either we must fall on it humbling ourselves and pride and be broken before Him, or wait till the final judgment day and have Him crush us.
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’

 ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

 

Some songs that go along with this are

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je2Vk83kuzg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvLxZEU02uI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOvW9pEIZ9Y

 

 

     
















            

The Young Messiah 1979 Album to Digital

   I can't find this anywhere so I thought I would post it. I loved this LP!

A1		Comfort Ye		2:49
A2		Every Valley		3:25
A3		Who Shall Abide		2:58
A4		O Thou That Tellest		3:51
A5		Unto Us A Child Is Born		3:17
B1		He Shall Feed His Flock		3:00
B2		He Was Dispised		3:50

B3		How Beautiful Are The Feet		2:36
B4		Hallelujah		2:37
B5		I Know That My Redeemer Liveth		2:53
B6		Finale (Hallelujah)		1:22

Frozen Pizza Playoff Brackets - Central Time Zone

      The winner of the West bracket - California Pizza Kitchen
       The Winner of Mountain bracket - Food City Self Rising
       Now for the next 8 which we will call the central time zone






                        

                                                     

                


             

     

                



                             
       

                     



   Amy's Pizza wins this bracket!!!

My Top 40 Christian Songs of 2014

               My Top 40 Christian Songs of 2014

   A lot of good songs this year. My criteria are similar to my album criteria; performed and written by professing Christians about distinctly Christian themes as defined by me sice it is my blog :). Also, if the song got played a lot on Christian radio, it has to be very good to make my list because I am either sick of it now or it means it probably was never very cutting edge. With that in mind, here goes. I will try to include links so you can hear them.

40. Almost Home  - Guardian
        If you like the band The Almost or Decemberadio check out Guardian. I do hate the squeaking of metal guitar strings on acoustic songs though which keeps this song lower than it could have been.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjmGyMDfgkQ  17:17 mark

39. The World You Want - Switchfoot  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQevo3OfR4A

38.  Hurricane - Shonlock  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQJejmUaGGY

37. Future Back - Fellowship Creative  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSHModt1ey0

36. Difference Maker - Needtobreathe  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2LtB9KLf98

35. My Lighthouse - Rend Collective 
        Trite, tiresome but easy to play on the guitar and youth groups like to sing it
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPtIv2lnkTY

34.  Born This way - Thousand Foot Krutch  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygnR71KX0f8  It rocks and so do they - because they were born that way.

33. Fightback Soundtrack - We Are Leo  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6441-_I1Xvo

32. Untraveled Road - Thousand Foot Krutch  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSD5vSSGLOM

31. Cage - Manafest  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhZtWntOzTg

30. Do Life Big - Jamie Grace  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXmgbTeY0xU

29. Walk On Water - Family Force 5  The guys try to do something CCM friendly. Thanks!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OLwCk4Jw-4

28. Oceans - Digital Age  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi9If3vt83c
      My last year band/album of the year did some rehersal songs releases (coincidentally released the same week Crowder released his CD) and they killed Oceans with screaming passion towards the end. Their two songs are sort of like a workout routine - warm up, intense, cool down

27. Boldly I Approach The Throne (Art of Celebration) - Rend Collective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QDnVD7gu5Y

26. The Takeover - Fellowship Creative  (Worst band name of the year award)

25. Beyond This World - Shonlock  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-Hv6Ta2z3s

24. Everybody Get Up - Rapture Rukus  (2nd worst band name)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbIQ8viFCrU  WARNING!! Lyrics PG13  (but hilarious)

23. White Boots - Jamie Grace   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0Q0mw1zv4s   Abstinence!

22. Edge of My Life - Manafest  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtaLTVeYKGg

21. Fix My Eyes - For King and Country https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM-Bf9gE0gw  Even radio couldn't ruin this song but it did drop it down quite a bit

20. The Moment - Manafest  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkAihH8VUw8

19. Just a Friend - Jamie Grace featuring Manwell of Group1Crew  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiJ71ZLkUSk  Manwell is awesome. He makes any song sound good!

18. Shine Like the Morning - Lights of Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3l_diXYd4A  First of 5 techno dance sounding worship songs

17. All Rise Jesus Majesty - Digital Age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6_O8mqoFm4  Let it build; don't give up on it! Looking forward to rocking out to this in church - someday...

16. Keep Goin' - Group 1 Crew featuring Capital Kings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EytmhFuqmX0  Manwell again. Capital Kings make everything sound better ,too.

15. When we Come Alive - Switchfoot - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMmTRwuvMiw  Heard this one too many times too. Still great

14. Closer To Your Heart - Desperation Band  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFYdQEYCKO8

13. Oh Your Love - Planetshakers  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ucUvDqdJJ4

12. Holy (Strengthen My Weary Arms) - Willet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_Pm1VDKAo  Under produced, singer is off occasionally, words boldly Biblical, out of nowhere talks about "a thief in the night"... Awesome. 70s Jesus music throwback

11. You Came to My Rescue - Passion  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AjKkezp49o  Christy Nockels finally gets the good song and a breath taking performance! (always sounds like she is out of breath - but I think that is a cool sound)

10. Chasing You - Bethel Music  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGJUcor30M  Are you sure this isn't Abba?

9.  Amnesia - We Are Leo

8. VIP - Manic Drive featuring Manwell  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nbnHlfvR7k   If you like Russel Wilson check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwpD-daFx8U

7. To The Dreamers - For King and Country - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujrcvpw9Zcc  Sounds a little like Imagine Dragons but that isn't a bad thing

6. Caught in the Middle - Bellarive  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEtwjLvpoOM

5. I Like to Win - Shonlock  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2jXoEDyJEM  Don't you? We do!

4. Wasteland - Needtobreathe  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se2C3v1a7OY

3. Let it Out - Switchfoot  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl9focF2tvg 

2. Commodity - Remedy Drive  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0PWtCWiKKc  Do yourself a favor and download the 5:21 version off the CD

1. Run Wild - For King and Country featuring Andy Mineo  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lky7U8ygU78 At first I wasn't sure I liked this but the more I listened to this the more impressed I became with the words, talent, uniqueness of it

My Top Christian Albums of 2014

                        My Top Christian Albums of 2014

  Here are my top 10 Christian albums of 2014. Kind of a weak year and I think this is going to be a trend as more and more artists release singles and EPs. Just remember, music is all about personal preference like pizza. Even my definition of "Christian" music may differ from yours but I try to pick albums that teach Biblical principles throughout and are performed by confessed Christians. So without further delay...

                  10. The best Christmas album. So good it makes the top 10. House of Heroes and others had good EPs but this was a complete album with traditional songs not frequently recorded.
                            

                 9,    This one came out of nowhere, a band from Ed Young's church that is a fun, creative, upbeat, quirky worship album. Good stuff. I see they also put out a Christmas album...
                            

              8. The worship band that blew everyone (me) away this year was Planetshakers. Their worship albums are very upbeat and electronic rock and they toured internationally. I would say they are rivaling Hillsongs but that may just be me. Anyway they put out not 1 but 3 albums this year and they were all good, especially Nada Es Impossible. The other 2 were Endless Praise and This is our Time

                    

            7.  For King and Country put out their second album which was very creative and had some standout songs. If they had a few more of them this could have been at the top.

                    

      6. My vote for new artist of the year - We Are Leo - kind of a cross between Hawk Nelson and Royal Taylor

                    

      5. Gotta admit, I like Manafest and he keeps maturing. If you like TobyMac, you have to like Manafest.

                   

        4. Jamie Grace did not have a sophomore slump. Creative, clever, catchy songwriting and performing put her up with Britt Nicole as the best two female Christian artists.

                    

         3. Rivers in the Wasteland by Needtobreathe returns them to more blatantly Christian words and they give the best concert. I personally think they sound better live than recorded (unlike Switchfoot) If I liked their style better they would probably be #1

                          

       2. I always have to give a bizarre #2 and this year is Shonlock. What great songwriting, very Christian (although many songs can go both ways) and just a breakout album for him.

                           


         1. Possibly the best Switchfoot album ever (I think I say that every time) - Fading West - tops the chart. Just one of those bands that are head and shoulders talent wise (like Needtobreathe) above all the others.
                               

Names of God 11. Father

              Names of God 11. Father

This name for God sneaks up on is because it is taken for granted. In fact as we look at the names of God, we have been Old Testamental purposely avoiding Jesus and focusing on the Old Covenant God using Hebrew names. We have been trying, in other words to focus on God the Father rather than Jesus or the Holy Spirit. It is interesting that Jesus keeps cropping up in these names once again showing the harmony of the trinity. Look at the previous names and their fulfillment in Christ;

    Elohim the creator - for in him (Jesus) all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him  Col.1:16

     Jehovah (I AM) -Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” ⁵⁹ So they took up stones to throw at him

     El Roi -the God who sees - “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathan′a-el answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”  John 1:48

  Adonai - Lord (the most commonly used name of Jesus) - because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord... Rom.10:9

   Jehovah Jireh - "God will provide a lamb" - The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

    Jehovah Rapha - The Healer - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24

     Jehovah Nissi - our banner - As Moses lifted up the snake on a pole(Nissi) in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. ¹⁵ Then everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”

   Jehovah Tsidkenu - our righteousness - God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God

    Jehovah Mekkodihum - our sanctifier - To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ  1 Cor 1:21

    Jehovah Rohi - Our Shepherd - I(Jesus) am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep  John 10:11

  Now we get to Father, where is that fulfilled in Jesus? Certainly in John, Jesus tells Phillip, "If you have seen me you have seen the Father" and he tells those listening, "I and the Father are one". One of my favorite passages which I will be referring to over the next few weeks is Isa.9:6
     For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,(Jesus)
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

    The name for God, Father, was scarce in the Old covenant referred to only around a dozen times in those 39 books and used in the context of God being the Father of Israel - the nation. However when  you get to the New Testament it is used 156 times in the gospels alone. This is exclusively the name Jesus uses for Him except one time - on the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Why does Father become the preeminent name for the first person in the trinity - I think for 2 reasons.
      First of all because Jesus uses it. Was He God's literal son come down to Earth? Yes, if you are a Mormon but otherwise no. On earth, in His human body, He was conceived by God in Mary so in that sense, He is Jesus' Father. Maybe, though, Jesus uses it in an anthropromorphic way to relate to us humans the closest simile He has for His relationship to the first person of the trinity, God His Father. Thus, if Jesus related to the Father as He did we should also relate to Him as a child relates to his father.
     Secondly, and much more in depth, the name Father illustrates the difference between Christianity and Religion. The difference is a relationship. We have a relationship with God. Other religions can't say that. How is that relationship made possible? I think of it in this way. We are orphans living in the orphanage belonging to Satan. We meet Jesus and fall in love with Him. He takes us to His Father and introduces us. The Father says, "Is it true you love my Son?" We answer, "Yes, with all my heart". The Father declares, "I hereby adopt you into My Family." It is adoption by which He becomes our Father. Let me show you two passages that illustrate this.

    ³ So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world.(orphanage of Satan) ⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,Father.” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.  Gal. 4:3-7

 ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ  Rom. 8:15-17

  What do you know about adoption?
 
1. Time consuming - anyone who has gone through the process knows it" drags it's feet". How long was God planning our adoption - From the beginning of time up to as Galatians says "when the time had fully come i.e. Christmas

2. Expensive - We tend to think salvation is easy, and yes it is for us, but God had to pay the ultimate price - the death of His Son. Romans 5:8

3. Contested - Every adoption I have been involved in has been contested. When you read the parable of the sower and the seeds you see that the new believer suddenly is attacked by the World, the Flesh, and the Devil battling for our soul.

4. Gives equality with all siblings - suddenly we are all equal. How can there be factions, racism, pecking orders in the Body of Christ. Also, Jesus is our brother!

5. New Names - Quite often people leave the child's first name alone but give a new last name. We become part of the family of the King of all the Earth but retain our own uniqueness and identity.

6. Permanence - As far as I know you can't un-adopt someone. If you are part of God's family, "No one can pluck you out of His hand."

7. Access to the Father - Jesus teaches us," when you pray say Our Father". Who has unlimited access to the President, even in the middle of the night? Only his family. "We can enter boldly into the throne of grace" The veil has been torn from the top to the bottom.

8. Home - every adoption has to prove that the parents have a home and Jesus promises, "I go to prepare a place for you"

9. Safety - DCS inspects all homes before they allow the adoption to go through to insure that the child is safe. " the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them." 1John 5:18

10. Discipline - this is one we probably don't like but you can't spank an unruly child who isn't yours. However, once they are yours, at least in 2014, you still have rights to discipline them and God does that to us when we aren't living up to the name we have been given.

So practically speaking, what can we take away from this? First of all wonder; wonder that the God of the universe would do this for such a worm as I! Secondly, endless Thanksgiving for the grace we have been adopted into. Third, it should effect the way we view non-Christians. We should pity them as orphans who are looking for a home. Don't get mad at them for the way they behave. Try to introduce them to Jesus who leads them into adoption with the Father. Lastly, treat all believers as part of your new family - loving, sharing, caring, deferring, giving, fellowshipping, etc. If we have a Father, we also get His family!

  Here are a few songs that talk about the Father
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3UJIzZpiA8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGr6vmfZV4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jO7xhU_Pw