I'm doing the Take Refuge study with HelloMornings for my morning devotional time, and I'm loving it. We're going through a situation right now that on the surface looks nothing at all like Ruth's, and yet as we go through the study I am relating so strongly with the underlying message, the subtitle of the study being "Seeing Our Trustworthy God in the Story of Ruth". I'm seeing our trustworthy God in the story, or trial, we are going through right now, so clearly, and so applicably.
One of today's assignments in the lesson is "Consider journaling through the names and charactaristics of God. Start with an "A" word, ("Awesome") and move through the alphabet to Z ("Zealous") " I've done variations of this over the years, but not in such an organized manner. It might take me awhile to finish this, but I'm in love with the concept. (It's impossible to box God into just our english alphabet - there are so many options for each letter! But the process is a good learning opportunity for me.)
‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
Matthew 22:32
A - Awesome
For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. Psalm 47:2
Let them praise your great and awesome name— he is holy Psalm 99:3
Out of the north he comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty. Job 37:22
Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Exodus 15:11
In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. Psalm 89:7
B - Builder
For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Hebrews 3:4
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10
Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. Psalm 127:1
As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you Isaiah 62:5
C - Compassionate
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. Psalm 116:5
The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; Daniel 9:9
If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”
2 Chronicles 30:9
D - Deliverer
He said: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 2 Samuel 22:2
From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Psalm 3:8
Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle. Psalm 140:7
But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay. Psalm 40:17 & 70:5
and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. Romans 11:26
E - Eternal
Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. Psalm 93:2
Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Psalm 119:89
according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 3:11
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’ Deut. 33:27
But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath. Jeremiah 10:10
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrws 13:8
F - Faithful
But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”
2 Corinthians 1:18
God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
I Corinthians 1:9
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23:19
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Idol Feasts and the Lord’s Supper
I Corinthians 10:13
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
Deut 7:9
G - Great
Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? Psalm 77:13
For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psalm 95:3
“The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods 2 Chronicles 2:5
“But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal.
Job 33:12
If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything I John 3:20
H - Holy
Let them praise your great and awesome name— he is holy Psalm 99:3
Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? Psalm 77:3
J - Jealous
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14
For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:24
K - King
For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. Psalm 47:7
But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath. Jeremiah 10:10
L - Love
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. I John 4:8
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. I John 4:16
M - Merciful
For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath. The Lord Is God
Deut 4:31
N - Near
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? Deut 4:7
When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
Joshua 2:11
O - One
A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one. Galatians 3:20
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. Mark 12:32
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. Deut 6:4
P - Peace
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. I Corinthians 14:33
The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Romans 15:33
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Phillippians 4:9
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Thess 5:23
Q - Qualified
(able)
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20 - 21
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. II Corinthians 9:8
And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. Romans 11:23
God is able to make all grace abound to you… having all-sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8
fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised… Romans 4:21
R - Righteous
God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. Psalm 7:11
The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. Daniel 9:14
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity Romans 1:17
S - Strength
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. Psalm 54:4
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. I Corinthians 4:20
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 62:8
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent people you save me. II Samuel 22:3
T - Truthful
Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. John 3:33
Truth
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
John 17:17
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free John 8:32
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. John 16:13
God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23:19
U - Unequaled
No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.
Jeremiah 10:6
Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”
2 Chronicles 14:11
How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
2 Samuel 7:22
There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
I Chronicles 17:20
V - Venerable
(worthy)
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies.
2 Samuel 22:4
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. I Chronicles 16:25
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. Psalm 96:4
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145:3
W - Working
Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Exodus 15:11
There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work I Corinthians 12:6
In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” John 5:17
How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts! Psalm 92:5
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. Psalm 103:6
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Phillipians 2:13
God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. Psalm 47:8
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
X - Xenial
(Hospitable, especially to visiting strangers or foreigners; Of the relation between a host and guest; friendly)
“God shows love to the foreigners living among you, and gives them food and clothing. So, you too, must show love to foreigners.” Deuteronomy 10:18,19
“In Jerusalem the Lord ... will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear well aged wine and choice meat. There [in Jerusalem] he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears...” Isaiah 25:6-8
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink – even if you have no money! Come take your choice of wine or milk its all free!” Isaiah 55:1
Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Romans 15:7
Y - YahWeh
(I am)
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exodus 3:14
"You know the name Yahweh best from its shortened form Yah at the end of Hallelujah, which means “praise Yahweh.” I love to think about this when I sing. When I sing, “Hallelujah,” I love to really mean, “No! I don’t praise you Bel, or Nebo, or Molech, or Rimmon, or Dagon, or Chemosh. I turn from you with disdain to Yah! I praise Yah. Hallelu Yah!”"
Z - Zoetic
(of or pertaining to life)
I am the bread of life. John 6:48
yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:40
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 5:26
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Psalm 36:9
And this is what he promised us—eternal life. I John 2:25
In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Acts 2:32
