GOD KNOWS YOU BY NAME

Many of us have a view of God as this magnificent being in the heavens, pure and far removed from the earth, sordid as it is. Yes, God is magnificent, He dwells in the heavens and He is pure. But He is also everywhere and He is with each of us, His children, because He chooses to be.

God is near us, He is with us, and He knows every detail of our lives. One of the first signs that someone knows another is if they know his or her name. Well, believe it, my dear: God knows your name. He knows your first name and your surname. He even knows your middle name and your nickname (if you have any of those).

Friend, you're not a stranger to God. He knows you by name. That also means He will not forget you when He is sharing blessings to His children. We just came out of the Christmas season. Gifts were packaged and labelled in families so that each person could identify the gift/s specially chosen for Him or her.

That is how God specially prepares what He has for you and puts your name on it. Don't fret if things seem slow or scattered. God Has plotted your path and has placed what you need at appropriate points along the way. Each package has your name on it and will serve just the right purpose in your life.

See yourself like Moses to whom God made the following statement:

"... I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name." - Exodus 33:17 

Moses had begged God to go with the children of Israel as they travelled to the promised land although they had been repeatedly disobedient to His commands. And God said He would do it because Moses had found favour in His sight and He knew him by name.

How do we find favour in God's sight today and ensure that He acknowledges us by name? By receiving His Son, Jesus, of whom He declared during His time on earth:

"Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." - Mark 1:11

Receiving Jesus makes us children of God.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name"- John 1:12.

Then God our Father will know and call us by name and answer when we call on Him.

Amen in Jesus' name.

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The scriptures used in this post are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
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If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, pray this short prayer:

PRAYER FOR SALVATION:
Almighty God, I repent of my sins and ask you to forgive me. I receive the work Jesus did for me by shedding His blood for my sins. Write my name in the Lamb's Book of Life and send your Spirit to live in my heart and teach me your word. I receive the grace to live a life that honours you henceforth in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, you are born again. Join a Bible-believing group of believers to help you learn, through studying the word of God and prayer, how to live and practise your faith. You are blessed in Jesus' name.

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TROUBLE DOES NOT LAST FOREVER, BUT GOD DOES

When difficulties surround one, they have a way of getting worse and seeming insurmountable. A sickness may bring complications, low wages may translate to unemployment and a bad marriage may lead to separation or divorce. It is at such times that one is tempted to ask, "Where is God?"

If you're going through any such negative cycle, I want you to remember this: Trouble does not last forever, but God does. When the enemy starts an evil project, he boasts and may seem to be very successful. Don't be dismayed because eventually, God will step in and crush him. 

Remember how ISIL overran territories in different nations just lately claiming it would build the ultimate Islamic State. It meted out brutality and was so sure nothing could stop it. Now, it barely exists in one or two pockets, surrounded and bombarded. 

In your personal life, hold on to God and put your confidence in His word. Don't lose courage because of the threatenings of the enemy. This was what the prophet Isaiah told Ahaz, king of Judah, who was panicking because of his desperate situation. Pekah son of Remaliah (the king of Israel) and Rezin (the king of Aram) were planning to conquer Judah and install a puppet in his place.

"3. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, ...

4. And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

5. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,

6. Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:

7. Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass." - Isaiah 7:3-7 

When the Lord brings you relief, it shall be like what Isaiah prophesied to the children of Israel. 

"18. In your heart, you will ponder the former terror: 'Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?'

19. You will see those arrogant people no more, those people of an obscure speech, with their strange incomprehensible tongue." - Isaiah 33:18-19 (NIV)

Many of us have no idea how terrifying it is to live under a foreign power. The taxes are crippling, rights trampled on. The Israelites knew this firsthand but Isaiah was telling them they will look for their oppressors and not find them. Moses had said the same thing to the Israelites when they left Egypt and were hotly pursued by Pharaoh and his army.

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever." - Exodus 14:13 

God has won the victory for us in our Lord Jesus. We should, therefore, stand firm no matter what we see. Every power and situation on earth is subject to the name of Jesus. And although they may strut about for a while, they will finally bow to Him.

"He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." - Colossians 2:15

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 

"9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:9-11 

Continue to speak to that situation in the name of Jesus and you might just find yourself asking shortly:

"Where is the pain? Where are my debts? Where is the shame? Where did the sleeplessness and fear go?"

I pray that it won't be long before this happens in your life in Jesus' name. Amen.

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The scriptures used in this post are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible except where otherwise stated.

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3 ENCOURAGING TRUTHS FROM GOD'S DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL

A glance at God's relationship with Israel

The nation of Israel grew from the descendants of Abraham, whom God had called out of his native land, Ur of the Chaldees, to move to a land He would show him. During a time of famine in Canaan, Abraham's grandson Jacob carried his entire family to live in Egypt on the invitation of one of his sons, Joseph, who,had become the prime minister there. 

After the death of Joseph, the tables were turned and the Israelites went from being favoured to being enslaved by the Pharaoh. They suffered this servitude in Egypt for centuries. As far back as many of them and their grandparents remembered, they had been second-class and oppressed residents of Egypt. But they heard that God would someday take them out of Egypt to the land he had promised their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That land was so beautiful and rich it was called the land of milk and honey. Besides, everything was readymade there. This is how Moses described it to them:

"... great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not" - Deuteronomy 6:10-11

But generations lived and died without any change in their situation. And even when Moses came with the claim that he had met with God and was about to lead them out of bondage, it only made Pharaoh furious and he tightened his grip on the Israelites.

Notwithstanding, they eventually left Egypt and after mistakes that lengthened their stay in the desert, they overthrew the nations in Canaan and took possession of the land. Everything was as fabulous as God had promised. They only needed to exercise faith to get them.

Unfortunately, when their circumstances became easy, they forgot God and enemies overran them and sent them into exile away from the promised land. Seventy years later, as prophecy predicted, they were restored to the land. 

3 ENCOURAGING TRUTHS FROM GOD'S DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL

1. Some of the promises that God makes to us are almost incredible. They seem way beyond our reach and our station. That was how David felt when God promised in 1 Chronicles 17:7-14 to make him very great and establish his dynasty over Israel. But in His faithfulness, God fulfills His words. In the case of the Israelites, they went from being brutally oppressed migrants to having a nation of their own. 

What has God promised you? Do not look at your own abilities or the enormity of the task involved in appropriating it. Just trust God and He will do it. Pharaoh absolutely refused to let Israel go, Canaan had fortified cities and giant inhabitants but God defeated them for Israel.

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" - Jeremiah 32:27 

2. God never forgets His promises. Neither should you. From the time, God led Abraham to Canaan, He would often come to remind him of His promise to make his descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the sea shore. Even when it seems delayed, remember that God never forgets His promise.

"He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations" - Psalm 105:8 (ESV).

Be assured that God remembers you and your condition.

"14.But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. 

15. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

16. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." - Isaiah 49:14-16 

3. God will not forsake you when you err. Rather, He will punish and restore you if you repent and fulfill His word to you. Israel messed up in the desert and in Canaan. Their biggest problem was idolatry copied from Egypt and the earlier inhabitants of Canaan. But every time they repented, God sent relief. God is a merciful Father. He punishes sin but He also restores the sinner.

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." - Isaiah 55:7

God sometimes shows us what's ahead and warns us to help us escape sin and its disastrous consequences as He did for Israel through the song of Moses in Deuteronomy, chapter 32. If we heed the warning, we spare ourselves much pain. But even if we fail, we should pick ourselves up and come back to God. He will forgive and build us up again. 

I hope you have been encouraged by these truths about the mercy and faithfulness of God. You are lifted in Jesus' name.

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The scriptures used in this post are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible except where otherwise stated.

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