Saturday, June 29, 2013

Hallowed be Your Name

 "Hallowed be Your name."

Hallowed, according to Merriam-Webster:

Sacred, consecrated, holy, revered.

To me, "hallowed" has always been more of a picture and a feeling: a place of silence, pure shining light, a sense of awe, a feeling of deep power and reverence, great power, something to be respected and feared, set apart, not to be touched, tread on, or even spoken of by the unworthy, rest, peace, incomparable beauty, something priceless, one-of-a-kind, a sense of huge greatness and grandeur. All at the same time.

Think of God's name in this way, for that is just a taste of what it truly is.

"Hallowed be Your name."

God's name alone is hallowed. His name alone is worthy of praise.

"Therefore God has highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Paul, Philippians 2

Wow. The first two phrases of Jesus' prayer are both repeated here in different words. God's name is above every other name, and His name alone has power.\

"Hallowed be Your name."

Taken from About.com:
  • Advocate - 1 John 2:1
  • Almighty - Revelation 1:8
  • Alpha - Revelation 1:8
  • Amen - Revelation 3:14
  • Angel of the Lord - Genesis 16:7
  • Anointed One - Psalm 2:2
  • Apostle - Hebrews 3:1
  • Author and Perfecter of our Faith - Hebrews 12:2
  • Beginning - Revelation 21:6
  • Bishop of Souls - 1 Peter 2:25
  • Branch - Zechariah 3:8
  • Bread of Life - John 6:35,48
  • Bridegroom - Matthew 9:15
  • Carpenter - Mark 6:3
  • Chief Shepherd - 1 Peter 5:4
  • The Christ - Matthew 1:16
  • Comforter - Jeremiah 8:18
  • Consolation of Israel - Luke 2:25
  • Cornerstone - Ephesians 2:20
  • Dayspring - Luke 1:78
  • Day Star - 2 Peter 1:19
  • Deliverer - Romans 11:26
  • Desire of Nations - Haggai 2:7
  • Emmanuel - Matthew 1:23
  • End - Revelation 21:6
  • Everlasting Father - Isaiah 9:6
  • Faithful and True Witness - Revelation 3:14
  • First Fruits - 1 Corinthians 15:23
  • Foundation - Isaiah 28:16
  • Fountain - Zechariah 13:1
  • Friend of Sinners - Matthew 11:19
  • Gate for the Sheep - John 10:7
  • Gift of God - 2 Corinthians 9:15
  • God - John 1:1
  • Glory of God - Isaiah 60:1
  • Good Shepherd - John 10:11
  • Governor - Matthew 2:6
  • Great Shepherd - Hebrews 13:20
  • Guide - Psalm 48:14
  • Head of the Church - Colossians 1:18
  • High Priest - Hebrews 3:1
  • Holy One of Israel - Isaiah 41:14
  • Horn of Salvation - Luke 1:69
  • I Am - Exodus 3:14
  • Jehovah - Psalm 83:18
  • Jesus - Matthew 1:21
  • King of Israel - Matthew 27:42
  • King of Kings - 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16
  • Lamb of God - John 1:29
  • Last Adam - 1 Corinthians 15:45
  • Life - John 11:25
  • Light of the World - John 8:12; John 9:5
  • Lion of the Tribe of Judah - Revelation 5:5
  • Lord of Lords - 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16
  • Master - Matthew 23:8
  • Mediator - 1 Timothy 2:5
  • Messiah - John 1:41
  • Mighty God - Isaiah 9:6
  • Morning Star - Revelation 22:16
  • Nazarene - Matthew 2:23
  • Omega - Revelation 1:8
  • Passover Lamb - 1 Corinthians 5:7
  • Physician - Matthew 9:12
  • Potentate - 1 Timothy 6:15
  • Priest - Hebrews 4:15
  • Prince of Peace - Isaiah 9:6
  • Prophet - Acts 3:22
  • Propitiation - I John 2:2
  • Purifier - Malachi 3:3
  • Rabbi - John 1:49
  • Ransom - 1 Timothy 2:6
  • Redeemer - Isaiah 41:14
  • Refiner - Malachi 3:2
  • Refuge - Isaiah 25:4
  • Resurrection - John 11:25
  • Righteousness - Jeremiah 23:6
  • Rock - Deuteronomy 32:4
  • Root of David - Revelation 22:16
  • Rose of Sharon - Song of Solomon 2:1
  • Ruler of God's Creation - Revelation 3:14
  • Sacrifice - Ephesians 5:2
  • Savior - 2 Samuel 22:47; Luke 1:47
  • Second Adam - 1 Corinthians 15:47
  • Seed of Abraham - Galatians 3:16
  • Seed of David - 2 Timothy 2:8
  • Seed of the Woman - Genesis 3:15
  • Servant - Isaiah 42:1
  • Shepherd - 1 Peter 2:25
  • Shiloh - Genesis 49:10
  • Son of David - Matthew 15:22
  • Son of God - Luke 1:35
  • Son of Man - Matthew 18:11
  • Son of Mary - Mark 6:3
  • Son of the Most High - Luke 1:32
  • Stone - Isaiah 28:16
  • Sun of Righteousness - Malachi 4:2
  • Teacher - Matthew 26:18
  • Truth - John 14:6
  • Way - John 14:6
  • Wonderful Counselor - Isaiah 9:6
  • Word - John 1:1
  • Vine - John 15:1 
Think on some of these names. Look up the passages attached to them. Remind yourself of Who God has been in your life. What name have you or can you personally given to God by which you can praise Him?

Peace.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Our Father in heaven

So, I am working through a sort of assignment which was given to me (really, an excellent study project).

Go through each phrase of our Lord's prayer in Matthew chapter six, and ask God to help you understand what each part means and why He put it there. Jesus didn't waste words, after all, so everything in this prayer which He taught His disciples must have great significance.

"Our Father in heaven."

God really is our Father. He is the perfect fulfillment of what a father should be. He loves His children perfectly. He cares for His children perfectly, giving them exactly what He knows they need, and not necessarily what they think they need. He disciplines His children, but out of a perfect love for them. He protects His children. He gives perfect guidance, counsel, and comfort to His children. We can take our requests to Him with confidence because of His love for us.

"Our Father in heaven."

However, we can't physically see Him. We are not able to walk up to Him and give Him a big hug. In certain ways, we are temporarily separated from Him while we are on earth, even thought His Spirit dwells in us. He is perfectly holy, unlike an earthly father. He is greater and more powerful than all. He orchestrates His will from a heavenly, eternal perspective, with His glory in mind. His plans are far beyond ours. He demands holiness from His people, not because He is a tyrant, but because anything unholy would vanish in His presence.

He demands holiness and obedience because He is our Father Who loves us, and He wants us to be with Him.

Peace.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Father's Day

So, if you read my last post, you know that I was about to try to contact my real dad. Last Monday, I called him. This is pretty much how the conversation went:

"Hey, it's me Casey."

"Casey.......I'm so glad you had the heart to call me, because I just couldn't call you."

"Oh...well, yeah, I was thinking about heading out your way tomorrow or sometime this week; are you free sometime so I can see you?"

"Yeah, my buddy Terry and I are going out to the Wooden Nickel in Dansville right now, and you should come meet us there! That way there will be an extra person, and it won't be as tense."

"Wellll.....alrighty then. See you there!"

To keep it short, I was able to have some time talking with my dad: I told him I forgive him for anything that happened in the past, I don't hold anything against him, and I want to be his son...which is just what he wanted, too. There was lots of hugging. We both agreed that we just want to put the past behind us and be family from now on. The timing was so perfect...we were both ready for it.

Today I got to call him to wish him the first Happy Father's Day I've ever really been able to give, and we talked for a while again. I'm really happy to actually have a more real family now.

God is a good Father.

Peace.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Reconciliation time

So, God is good. I'll just start with that. I had a crazy and excellent weekend, and the crazy is still continuing. I now have a mentor at least for the summer, which is something I've been needing for a while. Thank You Lord. The same day that happened, I also had a very good talk with a friend which, among other great Jesus-things, got me motivated to get in contact with my dad. That's something I've been putting off for months now, but God has confirmed several times that it's finally the right time to sit down and talk with him.

So, thanks to my Uncle Tony, I have my dad's address and phone number. It's going to be awkward, for sure...but so far my uncles have given me enough encouragement, God has confirmed it, and my peers have pushed me enough to prove that it will be good anyway. Next week I'm going to call him and set up a day to go talk to him. Prayers are appreciated.





Last night, Jesus let me know how important this is to him. Of all the things I worry and pray about, He said this one takes precedence. Moving out West, relationships, all that stuff takes a back seat right now to reconciling with my dad. He said that we have a lot to work on, and this is the first thing. So, that's where I'm putting it. I've never had a very good chance to honour my dad as I'm told to do in Scripture, and now it's time.

Also, I received a prophetic picture on Saturday that God has ALREADY confirmed this week...didn't take very long at all. It has to do with how God is using me in my friendships. If you want to know more you can ask me personally, haha, but it just adds to the cool things God is doing.

Good stuff. God stuff. I love it.

Peace.