Praying the Names of God - August 23
From Praying the Names of God Week Ten, Day Five
The Names
The Lord is a Consuming Fire who will ultimately destroy whatever is opposed to his holiness. He is also a Jealous God, who loves us completely and who, therefore, demands our wholehearted response. If we love him, we can be confident of his mercy, and our own zeal will make us jealous for God's honor and glory. When you pray these names of God, ask him to give you and the church a deeper understanding of his holiness and a greater desire to honor and exalt his name.
Key Scriptures
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14)
Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:23-24)
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Friday
PROMISES ASSOCIATED WITH GOD'S NAME
Tolerance is a popular word these days. And no wonder. We live in a pluralistic society made up of people from a rich variety of cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. We need to respect each other in order to live peaceably. But when "tolerance" becomes an excuse for erasing important distinctions, we wander into slippery territory both intellectually and spiritually.
This is especially true when it comes to matters of faith. You can't sprinkle a little Hinduism on top of New Age notions, mix together ideas from Buddhist cosmology with Christian theology, toss in a few Jewish proverbs, stir it all up, and call it religion. It may be fashionable, but it's not faith. Faith is more rigorous. It doesn't respond to market forces or to the latest trends. Real faith arises from contact with the living God, who by his own definition is jealous for our attention, our devotion, our love. He's not interested in competing with other deities. He neither shares his glory nor compromises his holiness. This is our Jealous God, the one who loves us with an everlasting, all-consuming love.
Promises in Scripture
Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:23-24)
Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?
He who walks righteously
and speaks what is right. (Isaiah 33:14-15)
Continued Prayer and Praise
Consuming Fire
Realize that God's glory is like a consuming fire. (Exodus 24:15)
Pray for God's help. (Psalm 18:6-17)
Jealous God
Remember that the Lord our God is a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 5:8-10)
Call on the name of the Lord and strive to take hold of him. (Isaiah 64:1-8)
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Meet your spiritual ancestors as they really were: Less Than Perfect: Broken Men and Women of the Bible and What We Can Learn from Them.
