Mentoring Minutes

“In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.”  Psalm 44:8

Immanuel – God With Us (Isaiah 7:14)

First of all a very Merry CHRISTmas to you and yours in The CHRIST of CHRISTmas! No this is not CHRISTmas in June, it’s simply that our first Name of God this week is The Name that makes everything possible for us.

It is an incredibly unique Name and the most personal Name of all as it encompasses all that God did in sending Himself in the form of His Son to us and what we celebrate at CHRISTmas and hopefully throughout our lives in Him!

The Name is first found in Isaiah 7:14 and is not only given but defined…it is “IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US!” How powerful and reassuring is this Name! Those under the Old Covenant could never know fully what this meant until in the fullness of time God came in the form of Christ as a Babe, The Highest of Kings in the lowliest of settings to redeem us, to save us, to set us free (Galatians 4:3-4)! Think about that…not just at CHRISTmas time but always!

Isaiah’s prophecy came true in that perfect timing as read in Luke 2:4-7 and Matthew 1:21-23 where God gave Him the Name Jesus…God Saves and literally the Name “IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US!” Not just with us…He became us to save us!

Think about this with regard to this name…if Christ never came as IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US none of the other Names and related character of God would mean anything. Savior, Shepherd, King, Lord, Healer, Redeemer, Father, Counselor, Friend, Prince of Peace and on and on would mean absolutely nothing because it was in His coming to us, as us, that He could restore and redeem us back into a right relationship with Himself.

Without IMMANUEL we would have nothing because we would have no relationship with our great God. Because He came and because he became us we can know Him and have all that He is and that He gives to us!

Thank You, Father, for coming to us in Jesus as “IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US to save us. Without IMMANUEL in the manger there would be no empty cross or empty tomb. Praise God that He came and Merry CHRISTmas in June!

El Yeshuati – God my Salvation (Isaiah 12:2)

Having explored the Names of God found in the Advent and Incarnation of Christ as expressed in Isaiah’s beautiful and reassuring prophecy in 9:6, we continue with the great prophet as he reveals more of God’s Names to us. The next one we will look at is in Isaiah 12:2 and should remind us of what we all need more than anything…”El Yeshuati – God my Salvation!”

The Book of Isaiah is generally broken up into two segments… Chapters 1-39 and then Chapters 40-66. The first section is largely prophetic warnings during the last days of the Northern Kingdom of Israel for them to turn personally and collectively (nationally) back to God. Woven in these dire warnings is the Hope of the coming Messiah and ultimately that Savior and Salvation of Israel (and all peoples – all who believe in Christ).

This is where we find Isaiah proclaiming that thanksgiving in Chapter 12 and in particular thanks to “El Yeshuati – God my Salvation!”

As already pointed out, Isaiah is not only calling the people of Israel to repentance for past and present sin but pointing them to the ultimate Salvation found in Christ who is “El Yeshuati – God my Salvation!” Yeshua is the Hebrew Name for Jesus – God Who Saves.

This is found no more poignantly or powerfully than in Acts 4:12 when Luke declares that it is in the very Name of Jesus alone that we find Salvation! How much more plain does it need to be stated that Isaiah proclaims one of God’s Names as literally Salvation and then Christ’s Name is given as the only Name for Salvation. PTL!

Paul takes it to the next level in 1 Corinthians 3 when he’s writing about how we are to live out that salvation in right living and states in vv. 10-11 that the entire foundation for this “saved life…and living” is found in no other than Christ.

Have you received Jesus Christ as “El Yeshuati – God my Salvation?” Are you daily walking in that salvation in the only Name that it can be found…Jesus Christ?

El Mishpat – God of Justice (Isaiah 30:18)

The final Name for this post is one that we all love to know but often have difficulty receiving it according to God’s design and perfect Truth. We desire it our own way as is evidenced by the success of many movies and stories that proclaim the world’s idea of this character trait.

This Name of God is revealed in Isaiah 30:18 as “EL MISHPAT – GOD OF JUSTICE.” Referring back to our own and the world’s concept of justice we find it rooted in our own selfish will and desires. God’s Justice is rooted in His perfect righteousness, holiness and wisdom and includes His perfect grace and compassion. While it is not always easy we can always trust His Justice just as Isaiah shared with the Israelites in the southern kingdom of Judah when they were seeking protection and justice in Egypt knowing the Assyrians were coming against them.

Isaiah declared that God is “EL MISHPAT – GOD OF JUSTICE” and that is where they (and we) should seek true justice and protection.

Christ is our “EL MISHPAT – GOD OF JUSTICE” as He came specifically for that purpose. He came as God in the flesh so that in sacrificing that flesh…dying on the Cross…He made us Just before God The Father. He satisfied God’s wrath against sin…our sin…so that we could stand justified is God’s presence. God in Christ became both Just in what He did and justifier in making us holy and righteous for all who believe in Christ. He truly is our “EL MISHPAT – GOD OF JUSTICE.”

Are you believing in your own sense of justice as those in Judah were doing by choosing Egypt over God? Are you trying to justify yourself in any way by the Law and your fleshly desires (Egypt)? The Only way we are just before a perfect God of Justice is in Christ as “EL MISHPAT – GOD OF JUSTICE.” Place your trust in Him as He has already made you just before God by His grace as you believe by faith. He alone can save, protect and make things right and just for you and for all who believe in Him.

He not only is the Only One that can save us but He is the Righteous Judge (2 Timothy 4:1, 8)…the God of Justice!

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – So, Merry CHRISTmas in June? No always because of Immanuel – God With Us in Christ who became us. Why is this so important because as He is also El Yeshuati – God My Salvation and in Yeshua or Jesus, we have the only Name whereby we can be saved. To wrap it up we find God as El Mishpat – God of Justice. What more Just Judge can we have…He is The Righteous Judge in Christ, who became us to save us!

Love and Lordship…Action Item –

1. Read the Scriptures in this article and ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
2. Write down what each of the Names of God in this post mean to you. 
3. God becoming Human in Christ and to become My Salvation and My Judge. How does this combination of Names reassure you of all that God is for you?
4. Which of these Names speaks most powerfully to you and why?

Contact us at Love and Lordship to find out more about how you can know God the Father, Christ His Son and The Holy Spirit and The Lord God.

Check out this week’s Love & Lordship Mentoring Minutes

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.”  Psalm 9:10

Sar Shalom – Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)

As we continue this week with the Names of God we find one more in the beautiful prophecy in Isaiah 9:6, and it is the most comforting of Names, “SAR SHALOM – PRINCE OF PEACE.”

Many wonder today why the world is full of chaos and brokenness if God is “SAR SHALOM – PRINCE OF PEACE” and Christ came to reveal that to us. We speak and sing about it at CHRISTmas but then often fail to experience it in our day-to-day lives or see it as people, marriages, families, even churches, and the world crumbles around us.

None of this changes the Truth that God in Christ is “SAR SHALOM – PRINCE OF PEACE.” Oswald Chambers reflects that often those in the world see Christians and wonder why they don’t face the same difficulties and struggles that others do, i.e., why they seem to be always at peace? However, when we peel back the layers and see that the Christian’s life is made up very much of the same day-to-day struggles and trials, others begin to wonder where the peace comes from? What a great testimony!

Jesus Himself stated as “SAR SHALOM – PRINCE OF PEACE” that He had come to give us peace (John 14:27; 16:33) but explicitly stated that it would not be the kind of peace (everything has to be calm…no chaos) that the world gives and clamors for. We live in a fallen, broken world among fallen, broken people. The only peace that does any good is the reconciliation that Christ came to give us…to put us back into a relationship with God. When you know and are by faith, firmly in the relationship…that is SHALOM or PEACE!

Jesus as “SAR SHALOM – PRINCE OF PEACE” also stated that He did not come to bring peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34)!?! How do we reconcile these statements? Simply put, Jesus knew that the “peace” of the world was false and that He had to bring a sword against any and all “peace” (false sense of peace) that was rooted in the world and flesh so we could know the peace of being reconciled to God…true peace in “SAR SHALOM – PRINCE OF PEACE!”

This is why He came. Do you seek for a peace that can never be found in this world? Or are you receiving the Shalom (wholeness) of Christ that freely gives you a relationship with Him and God The Father…this is the only true peace.

I pray that you know Him and know Peace today. Let Him strike down every peace in this world that is not of Him and rooted in His Truth and Love so you can know His real Shalom and the Peace that comes with it!

Moshel – Ruler (Micah 5:2)

We have wrapped up the four beautiful and royal Names of God (and Christ) found in Isaiah 9:6, there are still precious Names that reveal His Truth and Love character to us especially at CHRISTmas.

Today we look at another incredible prophecy in Micah 5:2 in which God as “MOSHEL” or Ruler, in this case over Israel. Micah prophesied that out of Bethlehem would come a ruler over Israel (Moshel).

In Matthew 2:4-6 we see the fulfillment of this prophecy in Christ as that “MOSHEL” or ruler over Israel!

What an incredible story that God weaved throughout history and with the people, leaders, towns and times to bring about His perfect Son in His perfect timing and plan for our salvation (Galatians 4:4).

The question in all of this remains…Is Jesus the Ruler of your life? If not I pray that you will seek Him and seek out someone to help you know Him as Savior and Lord.

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh – I Am That I Am (Exodus 3:14)

As we think about all these incredible Names of God and what they mean to us as we seek to know God more and more, there is one Name that perhaps stands out above all the others…if that is possible.  This Name is revealed in the Old Covenant and it encompasses all that God is. It is given to Moses in Exodus 3:14 when He asks for God to give Him a Name he can share with the Israelites because they will ask and want to know His Name.

God’s reply is simple and profound, mysterious and comforting, powerful and all-encompassing. He declared “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh – I Am That I Am.” Even more encouraging is that it is also translated, “I Will Be What I Will Be” meaning that He truly is our All in All! That’s what He was declaring to Moses and to the Israelites and that has never changed. That is who He is to us today!

John in his unique and enlightening gospel account brings this Name of God to us in Christ in John 1:1, 14. John tells us that The Word (Logos – another name for God/Christ as the creative and self-existent Word that created and sustains all) was with God and was God and has always existed with and as God…”Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh – I Am That I Am!”

How awesome that John would reveal to us in His version of the “CHRISTmas” story that God in Christ and Jesus as God was, is and always will be our All in All…I Am That I Am…I Will Be What I Will Be!

Are you struggling and searching for meaning and purpose in your life? Our Great God in Jesus our Savior and Lord can satisfy all you will ever need.

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – Sar Shalom – The Prince of Peace gives us a peace that passes understanding because it is a wholeness or completeness found only in Him…even in the midst of the chaos. Moshel or Ruler declares that He is over all but will only rule in your life if you willingly choose to submit to Him as such. And, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh – I Am That I Am/I Will Be What I Will Be has shown us over and over again that God The Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the All in All and is our All in All if we make that choice for Him to be so in our lives.

Love and Lordship…Action Item –

1. Read the Scriptures in this article and ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
2. Write down what each of the Names of God in this post mean to you. 
3. Peace, Ruler, I Am That I Am may seem to be at times contradictory to us in our fleshly thinking. How do these come together in your life?
4. Which of these Names of God, maybe all three, have had the greatest impact in your life of late and how?

Contact us at Love and Lordship to find out more about how you can know God the Father, Christ His Son and The Holy Spirit and The Lord God.

Check out this week’s Love & Lordship Mentoring Minute Video

“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth,
You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!”  Psalm 8:1

Pele Yoetz – Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6)

I can’t think of a better way regarding our focus on the Names of God, and Christ, than to look at those Names found in Isaiah 9:6, one of the most recognized passages in Isaiah, prevalent at CHRISTmastime due to the Messianic prophecy! Why? Here in this prophecy each Name for God The Father is given to Christ The Son and our Messiah. Each and every Name is of God and of the Christ who became flesh!

We begin with “PELE YOETZ – WONDERFUL COUNSELOR!” Interestingly we translate “pele” as a descriptive word or adjective, “Wonderful.” In Hebrew the word is a noun so it is more clearly translated as “Wonder Counselor” giving us a little more to think about in the first Name that Isaiah declares for God and prophetically for Christ! Quite majestic…and wise, don’t you think?

Christ is our “PELE YOETZ – WONDERFUL COUNSELOR” or WONDER COUNSELOR as found throughout The New Covenant, or New Testament as we know it. He is full of Amazement and Wonder…or Wonderful and Wise in every way as described in Matthew 7:28-29; Luke 5:26.

He is our Counselor, full of all wisdom and knowledge as written in Colossians 2:2-3 and as revealed to us throughout The Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. He is also our Counselor, Helper, Advocate and Comforter in the Person of The Holy Spirit that He has left with us as we walk by faith in Him (John 14:26).

Where do you find Wonder? Where do you go for Wonderful Counsel, Comfort and Wise Help? God in Christ and His Holy Spirit is “PELE YOETZ – WONDERFUL COUNSELOR” so turn to Him and know The Wonder Counselor and Wise Counsel for your life!

El Gibbor – Almighty God (Isaiah 9:6)

David and Isaiah were two imperfect but powerful men of God and between them and their writing inspired by The Holy Spirit we find many of the Names of God. We continue with our next incredible Name…

Isaiah 9:6 reveals another Name of God, some of which we’ve already focused on. Today’s Name is “EL GIBBOR – ALMIGHTY GOD!” As already noted, many of us know this prophetic verse very well as it is quoted in sermons, messages and at CHRISTmas services in churches and gatherings around the world.

As we hear it do we stop to think that each of these incredible Names of God as revealed and prophesied was manifested in our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ?

When He came as a helpless Babe in Mary’s womb and then laid in a manger in the stench and filth of a stable, He was and is “EL GIBBOR – ALMIGHTY GOD!” These texts in the New Testament reflect that Christ is The Almighty God as Son, and as He came in the flesh, we have His strength and might in us by faith in Him (Colossians 1:19; Hebrews 1:3; Philippians 4:13).

You can only know Him as EL GIBBOR – ALMIGHTY GOD if you’re willing to submit and receive Him as Savior and Lord. He’s done everything to make that possible. Will you accept Him as your personal Savior and walk with Him as your Lord?

There is no other way…but there need not be because He is The Almighty God Who has made The Way in Christ (John 14:6)!

Abhi Ad – Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6)

We continue with these profound and powerful Names of God found in the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 declaring the coming of Christ as The Messiah!

In this Name we find perhaps the most comforting of Names, “ABHI AD – EVERLASTING FATHER.”

We have previously seen a Name of God as El Olam depicting His Eternal Nature as God. This Name not only depicts that He is Everlasting but that throughout all time and Eternity He is our Father.

In some translations this Name is literally that the prophesied Christ is the Eternal Father and in others He is from the Eternal Father. I believe that as with many things pertaining to God the mystery is that both of these are true. I don’t fully understand it but I believe it because His Word tells me both are true.

In John 14:8-9, Jesus tells Phillip that if you’ve seen me you’ve seen The Father for that is one of His specific purposes…to reveal God The Father to us! PTL!

We also know that all who believe in Christ as Savior and Lord are children of “ABHI AD – EVERLASTING FATHER” (John 1:12) and we are given that Spirit of adoption that makes it so that He is our Abba – Our up close, tender, loving, faithful Daddy (Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:4-7)!

Christ is from The Everlasting Father and He Is… ABHI AD – EVERLASTING FATHER!

Do you know Him as your Savior and Lord? As Everlasting Father? He Is, and we are blessed because He came to make God The Father known as our Truthful, Loving Daddy…that is, to all who believe in Him! I’m so thankful and I pray that you are too!

Love and Lordship…Food for Thought – El Gibbor is Almighty God meaning that He has power over all things and is sufficient for us in every circumstance and we have this power in and through us in Christ! Do you believe this? As Pele Yoetz – Wonderful Counselor He is both full of Wonder and Wonderful in Counsel! Do you Trust in Him for wise counsel? As Abhi Ad He is our Everlasting Father and as Abba our Daddy as He has adopted us in Christ into His loving family? Are you part of the family through Christ? All of these Names are about God and prophesied of Christ! How awesome is that?  Do you know Him?

Love and Lordship…Action Item –

1. Read the Scriptures in this article and ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
2. Write down what each of the Names of God in this post mean to you. 
3. What does it mean to you that all of these specific Names in Isaiah 9:6 are Names of God, prophesied of Christ?
4. Think about and journal how these Names of God and Christ strengthen your faith?

Contact us at Love and Lordship to find out more about how you can know God the Father, Christ His Son and The Holy Spirit and The Lord God.

Check out this week’s Love & Lordship Mentoring Minute Video