Names of God Series: Building Your Foundation on the Rock

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Getty Images

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

~Psalm 18:2

In our series on the names of God, we come next to a name assigned to God by David - the name "my Rock". My Bible points out that David proclaimed "the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the power of Saul." If anyone knows what it is like to be forced to rely on God as your only hope, your refuge, shield, and rock, it's David! This name he ascribes to God reminds us that He is our firm foundation, reliable and unchanging.

This proclamation from David makes me think of the words of Jesus found in Luke 6:47-49:

"I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.” 

God is our Rock, our firm foundation, and our refuge. He is our only hope and help in the storms of life. But as Jesus makes clear here, the safety of that refuge, the strength of that foundation, is not automatic. It is not something we are promised with no conditions. We only get to take full advantage of the blessing it is for God to be our Rock and refuge if we are not only hearing His words, but actually obeying them. That is the key. 

So, friend, be sure that you are not only a hearer of the word, but a doer also. And then, when the storms of life do rage, when the waves threaten to topple you over, run to your Refuge, cling to your Rock, and be blessed by your Shield.

"I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages.”

~Charles Spurgeon

Reflection Questions:

1) Have you ever viewed God as your Rock? If so, in what ways has He shown up as your Rock during the storms of your life?

2) Would you say you tend to be more of just a hearer of the Word or a doer also?

3) How does knowing God can be your Rock increase your faith and trust in Him?

The Christmas Ancestry

 By: Joanne Viola

 

The commercials have begun reminding us of various gifts we can give for Christmas. It is curious how one such gift is can help one discover their ancestry.

What is it about this time of year that causes us all to want to know our ancestry, where we came from, and the history of our families?

Opening up to read in the Gospel of Matthew, we find that, he too, was interested in ancestry:

“This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, 
a descendant of David and of Abraham.” 
(Matthew 1:1, NLT)

Matthew did not take us back to the beginning of mankind. He did not start with Adam and Eve. And this is the only Gospel account which does include the ancestry of Christ.

Ancestry was obviously important as the Old Testament is filled with genealogies and yet, in the most important of all genealogies, Matthew does something entirely different. Why?

“Matthew did not write to tell us about himself. He wrote to give us a picture of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah.

 (from The Wiersbe Study Bible, page 1389)

Matthew was writing to establish that Jesus is not only the long awaited Messiah, He is the One who fulfills all of the Old Testament prophecies.

This is a royal ancestry.
And more.
This is an ancestry proving the faithfulness of our God to His Word.

The very names – David and Abraham – are meant to bring us back to two covenants God made with His people.

• God’s Covenant with Abraham. God called Abraham to leave his country, relatives and family, and go to a land which God would show him. He told Abraham that all people would be blessed through him. You can read of this covenant in Genesis 12 and 15.
• God’s Covenant with David. God formed this covenant with King David in which He promised to provide the line of kings promised to Abraham, which would lead to the King of Kings. You can read of this covenant in2 Samuel 7:8-13.

Matthew was making certain all people for all of time would know that God is faithful to His Word. He will do exactly as He said.

“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, 
not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” 
(Matthew 5:18, NLT)

 

Reflection: 
Do you ever wonder about the past generations in your family? Are you the first in your family to honor Christ this Christmas or will you be carrying on a family tradition? May you find a renewed joy in being a part of this spiritual ancestry.

 

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

 

Gratitude is Spiritual Warfare

By: Lauren Thomas 

Gratitude is spiritual warfare. 

This November, I made a brown paper tree skeleton. Throughout the month I and my children wrote gratitudes on leaves of different shapes cut from colored paper. It was a fun visual exercise in gratitude, for as the gratitude increased, the tree and background became more and more beautiful, filled with shapes and colors. That gratitude was contagious, for whenever a guest entered our home, my children asked them to “do a leaf” and add a gratitude to the tree. There was so much excitement about giving thanks!

Gratitude is spiritual warfare because it is obedience.

 

Scripture actually tells us that giving thanks in all circumstances is God’s will for us!

 

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV

 

Gratitude is spiritual warfare because it resists the devil.

 

One morning, I came downstairs to notice a leaf was torn on our gratitude tree. I felt in my spirit that I needed to pray. My daughter immediately found some tape and repaired it. That week, I had written on one leaf “my mixer and working appliances.” But the night of the torn leaf, our furnace started having issues. With the weather forecasting overnight lows in the 20’s and 30’s F, I saw two options before me: despair or thanksgiving. I chose thanksgiving and trust. In just a matter of hours, a friend from church was able to temporarily fix our furnace!

 

Gratitude is obedience to God. The enemy of our souls doesn’t like obedience. He will try to get us distracted and off track. But when we resist him – and gratitude is one way of resisting him – he will flee from us.

 

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7 NIV

 

Your gratitude is spiritual warfare. It is obedience. It is resistance against evil. And it protects your heart from the discontentment, materialism, and greed that our culture celebrates. Gratitude is countercultural, Biblical, and powerful.

 

Today, how can you wage spiritual battle by giving thanks?

 

Reflection:

Does gratitude come easily for you? Why or why not?

How can you express gratitude to God today in thanksgiving?

What happens when you express gratitude toward another person?

Keep an Attitude of Gratitude on Thanksgiving

By: Jenifer Metzger

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him and bless His name.

Psalm 100:4

Tomorrow we gather together with loved ones to enjoy fellowship and feast. There will be love and laughter. Deep conversations and reminiscing. Football games and parades. Delicious food and desserts. We will have so much to be thankful for.

There will also be messes to clean up, empty chairs where loved ones once sat, and possibly even tension from a strained relationship. So how can we navigate the holiday and keep an attitude of gratitude even during the messes and pain?

Keep your eyes firmly fixed on God. Even though the holiday brings so much busyness, be purposeful to start your day with Jesus. Open your Bible and enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Don't let your day fully start until you've spent time with the Father.

Pause throughout the day to give thanks. When you look over and see Grandma sitting in her chair watching the little ones play, whisper thanks to God for her. When you see the guys head outside for a game of catch, give thanks for fun and physical ability to play. When the kids are playing and get a little loud, thank the Lord for youth and laughter. When you sit down to enjoy your meal, give thanks for God's provisions. And when you see the sink full of dishes, thank God for the loved ones you were blessed to share a table with.

Remember the good times. I lost three of my grandparents right around the holidays, my grandfather even moved to heaven on Christmas morning. So the holidays can be difficult and that sense of loss is always there. When those waves of grief come -whether from the loss of a loved one, broken relationship, loss of a job, or loss of a dream- remember the good times. Remember the laughter and love. Remember the blessing.

Be kind. It's no surprise that we don't always see eye to eye with everyone. Sometimes it's political. Sometimes it's in how we raise our children. Sometimes it's with a loved one who isn't a believer. Whatever your situation is, show kindness. Don't let differences cause discord. Be kind. Show love. And when necessary, gently agree to disagree and change the topic.

While the holidays are busy and can sometimes bring a degree of stress, they are also a special time to spend with those we love. Keep your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, give thanks for all the things big and small, and you'll have an attitude of gratitude.

Discussion:
1. What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?
2. How do you navigate difficult moments of the holiday?

Names of God Series: Being Loved by Our Abba Father

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Liane Metzler

"For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father!'” 

~Romans 8:15

We come next in our series on the names of God to a most tender and intimate of names - "Abba", which is translated "Father" and has a closer connotation to our American term Daddy, denoting God as being our loving, tender, involved, and intimate Father.

We see proof of this in a later portion of Romans 8, as well. Verses 35-39 declare,

"Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

Because of you
we are being put to death all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Our God's love and tenderness towards us is immense, deep, and incredibly compassionate. Consider, for example, these additional passages:

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him." ~Psalm 103:13

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" ~Matthew 23:37

Our God views us as His dearly beloved children and Himself as our Daddy, our Abba Father. 

This can prove a hold up for those whose earthly fathers have left a lot to be desired, but let me assure you, dear reader, there is no similarity between your Heavenly Father and your earthly one. 

Our God is holy, sinless, abounding in perfect and stedfast love and patience. He is trustworthy, the same yesterday, today, and forever, and One on Whom you can lean no matter what. It is good news that He is your Abba Father - it shows just how very much you are truly loved! Run to your Abba today, friend, and let Him touch your heart with His love and compassion.

Reflection Questions:

1) Is it easy for you to view God as your Abba Father? Why or why not?

2) Is there something you can do to make this easier?

3) How can you allow your heart to be touched and encouraged by this truth today?