Knowing God by the Names of His Character by Emily Carter

Recently, a group of ladies have embarked on the incredible journey of Knowing God by Name. We are working through Mary Kassian’s Bible Study by the same title. So far, God has used it to draw us closer to Him. Week Two is focused in on His names of Character.

El Hakkadosh: Holy God

Rav-Chesed: Abounding in Love

Rachum Ve-Chanun: Merciful and Gracious

Emet Elohim Emet: Faithful and True

Higdil Tushiyyah: Excellent in Wisdom

God's characteristics are immeasurable. Just when we think we know something about Him, we learn something new. The other night, my family had just reading all about baby bears. When grizzlies are first born, they are blind, hairless, and about the size of a banana. They are completely dependent on their moms not only care for them, but also to teach them everything they need to know.

My daughter, in her five year old wisdom, proclaimed, “I know everything I need to know!”

I responded, “Really? Right now I can think of three things that you are still learning how to do.” Of course she was intrigued. I explained, “You are still learning to read large words, you are learning how to play basketball, and you are learning to spell things correctly.”

My husband then followed up with, “And we are always learning more about God.”

To which my son replied, “You already know everything you need to know about God.”

What a beautiful opportunity to explain God’s vastness. I then told Coleman and Grace, “You could read your Bible every day for the rest of your life, and on the day you died, you would still not know everything that it had to say about God. He is that big.” They looked at me in utter disbelief, but they understood the importance of studying God’s word. The next day, they did not complain once about learning their verses for Wednesday night’s Awana classes.

As I did the lesson for week two/day one from Knowing God by Name, once again I learned something new. Did you know that the only characteristic of God that is mentioned three times is His holiness? Isaiah 6:3 and Rev. 4:8 state that, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty." God's holiness permeates every other characteristic. The three fold repeat means that this is very, very, very important information. The thing that I had not known before was that one of the definitions of the word holy means illustrious, to radiate, or shine brightly. I knew that holy meant to be perfect and separate, but I had always thought of it being God's glory that shines brightly. Doesn't it make sense that both His holiness and His glory would radiate?

On day two, we talked about God's love for us. God's love for us is both committed and passionate. You cannot separate His love from who He is and it is only by His love that we can truly experience and give love.

God is also merciful and gracious and faithful and true. These four characteristics are described in Exodus 34:6-7 in a very powerful way. "And He (Yahweh) passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet, He does not leave the guilty unpunished He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Make no mistake, dear one, the Lord is merciful and gracious. He spares us from what we deserve and He gifts us with good we could never earn. His faithfulness is wrapped up in His truth. You can depend on Him. No matter what dark time you are walking through, God can light your path and He will be your friend as you go on your way.

He can do all of this because He is Excellent in Wisdom. He has perfect knowledge over everything. He has knowledge over time: past, present, and future. He has knowledge over creation. He knows every detail about your life. You matter to Him. If you need some encouragement today, read Psalm 139:1-18 to know how special you are to Him.

God is so very in love with you! He is Holy, Holy, Holy! He is merciful, gracious, faithful, and true! He is Excellent in Wisdom and Knowledge. You can trust God because He is trustworthy!

An Angel With Strong Hands by Ann Wayne

Do you sometimes wonder if things happen by chance, or if God really sends people to help us in times of need? Do you believe in angels? In Psalm 91, the scriptures speak of finding refuge with the Lord. In verse 11, we read, “For He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.” The story below is true. I hope that you will never again question whether or not God sends angels to help us.

One spring afternoon, my daughter-in-law, Denise, was driving home from a meeting and her car began to make a noise. She pulled over on the side of the road and called my son, Isaiah, to come and help her. After an assessment of the problem, he decided it was the alternator. So they jumped in his truck and drove to a parts store to purchase the needed parts and returned to the car on the side of the road.

Thirty or forty minutes went by. Denise tried to help Isaiah get the alternator belt on, but even together they did not have the strength to accomplish this task. So Denise began to pray for a man to stop who had strong hands to help. She said that within a minute or two, she heard a truck behind them. She couldn’t believe how quickly her prayer was answered. A man jumped out and offered tools, and water and asked, “Do you need a hand?” Wow! Exactly what she prayed for. Shortly, the two men were able to get the alternator belt on.

Denise said that at first she did not notice what the man had on, but then realized his shirt had the words, “Jesus - Luke 9:20.” She said that all of this happened so fast that she did not even say anything to Isaiah until that evening. When she came to my house that afternoon to pick up Emma Grace; she told me the story and we looked up the scripture.

Luke 9:20 reads, “But what about you”? (Peter) he (Jesus) asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

I feel that this was definitely a God thing. That God sent this angel man to help them out. And not only that, but the scripture on his shirt will be a testimony to both Isaiah and Denise from this day forward. Young adults sometimes question their faith and how authentic God is. This angel man didn’t just show up. Denise prayed specifically for a man with strong hands. I believe that this man was sent straight from God. And the scripture was a testimony to both of them.

Have you had angels in your path? Did you recognize them and acknowledge God’s mighty hand on your life? Have you shared your experiences and testimony so that others will benefit from the power of prayer and the protection that God promises us if we will call on his name?

I love both of these examples. Why? Because I know the people involved and know that their stories are true. And I know God’s word is true. Jesus boldly confronted Peter and asked him, “Who do you say I am?”

Fellow writers…this is why we need to work diligently in writing our life experiences and sharing the gospel with others. We should ask ourselves, “Who do we say Christ is?” Well, if we believe He is the Christ of God, then we need to write about it and share our life experiences with others so they will see who Christ is in us and how God helps us through difficult issues.

Piece by Piece “HisStory” Unfolds by Gail Purath

God simply spoke and the world was formed
With a beautiful garden to welcome man
No waste, no pain, no sin or sorrow
Pure paradise just as God planned

But then the Serpent hissed his lies
And man chose death instead of life
One bite and sin was brought to earth
With pain and sorrow, sadness, strife

No more sweet walks and talks with Father
Man chose to walk away instead
But God still offered hope and love
One day He’d crush the serpent’s head

Sin’s ugly stain began to spread
As Cain’s anger shed his brother’s blood
Then man became so thoroughly evil
That the survival of goodness required a worldwide flood

But water could not cleanse men’s souls
God’s love they stubbornly refused
With pride they planned to build a tower
Until their language God confused

Now came the time for God to choose
A man who would a blessing be
Four promises for Abram’s heirs
His Seed would someday set men free

From Abraham through Isaac and Jacob
The Deliverer’s bloodline God maintained
Son Judah was the chosen tribe
But Joseph double honor gained

They moved to Egypt for God’s provision
But grew so great they proved a threat
Pharaoh despised these Promised People
Who did not have a land as yet

Then God sent Moses to the Pharaoh
Ten plagues, but still he answered “No!”
How hard the Pharaoh’s heart became
Before he let God’s people go

God’s breath then blew the Red Sea dry
And drowned Egyptian chariot rumble
He gave his people loving care
But all they did was gripe and grumble

In God’s own voice they heard His Ten Commands
Life principles to guide their way
But they would rather serve a cow
And to this idol bow and pray

Yet God still loved these stubborn people
And brought them to the Promised land
They had no reason to doubt or worry
They should have trusted in God’s plan

Twelve spies returned with mixed reports
“There’s giant warriors we can’t kill!”
“Not so!” cried Joshua and Caleb
“God said we’ll conquer, and we will!”

But fear replaced their sanity
They stubbornly maintained their grief
Again they pushed God’s love away
And lost the land through unbelief

When forty years came to an end
The next generation accepted the task
This time they let God fight for them
And took the Promised Land at last

But dark years of the Judges followed
“Right in their own eyes,” they chose to sin
God rescued them repeatedly
Repeatedly they sinned again

Then Samuel came and brought relief
He sought the LORD in everything
But still they didn’t want God’s rule
They longed to have an earthly King

King Saul had no respect for God
But David served with a repentant heart
Solomon lusted after pagan wives
Rehoboam’s pride split the kingdom apart

Eventually Israel turned completely from God
Years later Judah did the same
Israel was conquered and destroyed
Judah taken captive in Babylonian chains

But in God’s time King Cyrus took power
Wielding God’s justice through a Persian hand
He destroyed the Babylonian nation
And the Jews regained their Promised Land

History came and went thereafter
God always extending His loving grace
But man was bent on unbelief
Taking from God’s hand, but ignoring God’s face

Then all of history did converge
As Christ was born one starry night
God’s son became our loving servant
The only One able to set things right

When baptized and when tempted
Christ proved that he was qualified
The Incarnate Living Word of God
Exposed the Serpent’s deadly lies

Repentant throngs clung to Christ’s words
The Twelve lived with Him everyday
He healed the sick and raised the dead
But jealous leaders turned Him away

Then came the day it all was “finished”
The purpose Christ had come to serve
He paid a debt we could not pay
And took a death that we deserved

What hellish torture He bore for us
Nails tore his flesh, the sky turned black
His Father could not comfort Him
As He bore our sins upon His back

Yet still He cried in sweet forgiveness
“Dear Father, they know not what they do”
And when His task on earth was done
The temple curtain was rent in two


His death destroyed the Garden lie
It crushed the head of Satan and sin
Creating a path of hope and life
Securing redemption, He rose again

Can you believe this story…
God creating beauty
Man defiling it
God giving guidance
Man ignoring it
God speaking truth
Man preferring lies
God giving Laws
Man breaking them
God giving abundance
Man always wanting more

God offering love
Man doubting it
God offering love
Man mocking it
God offering love
Man refusing it
God offering love
Man crucifying it
God offering love…