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With Lent behind us, I’ve developed a new idea for devotional inputs…The Names of God. Studying the names of God and the meanings behind them gives us historical and current perspective on the God we love. These will not be daily devotions, but I will try to post at least weekly! Each devotional will provide a short review of the name, followed by related scripture to contemplate.

I’ll start today with Elohim: God Creator.

Elohim (EL-OH-HEEM) is the most frequently used name for God in the Old Testament.  Elohim is the God Creator in Genesis, as well as the sustainer and the redeemer in Exodus, Isaiah and the Psalms.  In Hebrew, Elohim is a plural form in Hebrew that begins to reveal God’s triune nature of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Elohim is infinite and all powerful.  Elohim is righteous and knows our minds and hearts. We worship a mighty and strong Lord — Elohim who displays supreme power, sovereignty and faithfulness of covenant in His relationship with us.  Let us praise and worship our Lord God…our Creator and Redeemer.  Elohim.

Our scripture meditation for today is from Colossians 1:15-23 (The Living Bible translation):

 Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact, Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together.  He is the Head of the body made up of his people—that is, his Church—which he began; and he is the Leader of all those who arise from the dead, so that he is first in everything; for God wanted all of himself to be in his Son.

 It was through what his Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to him—all things in heaven and on earth—for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by his blood. This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies and hated him and were separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through the death on the cross of his own human body, and now as a result Christ has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are standing there before him with nothing left against you—nothing left that he could even chide you for; the only condition is that you fully believe the Truth, standing in it steadfast and firm, strong in the Lord, convinced of the Good News that Jesus died for you, and never shifting from trusting him to save you. This is the wonderful news that came to each of you and is now spreading all over the world. And I, Paul, have the joy of telling it to others.

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Today’s prayer is from the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Living God, through Jesus Christ

you emptied the power of death

and gave us the gift of life in fullness.

Now dry our tears and send us out

to tell the good news of the gospel:

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

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Today’s contemporary prayer was written by the Rev. Michaela Youngson a Methodist minister from London. She is a poet, author, and broadcaster.

When everything was dark
and it seemed that the sun would never shine again,
your love broke through.

Your love was too strong,
too wide,
too deep
for death to hold.

The sparks cast by your love
dance and spread
and burst forth
with resurrection light.

Gracious God,
We praise you for the light of new life
made possible through Jesus.
We praise you for the light of new life
that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection.
We praise you for the light of new life
that continues to shine in our hearts today.

We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy,
will live in us each day;
and that we will be bearers of that light
into the lives of others.    Amen.

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Today’s prayer, a prayer of forgiveness, is based on Psalm 51.
 
Have mercy upon us, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercies, blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin. For we know our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. Cast us not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation and uphold us with a willing spirit. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

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Today’s prayer is from the PCUSA Book of Common Worship.

Holy God, source of all love,

on the night of his betrayal

Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment,

to love one another as he loved them.

Write this commandment in our hearts;

give us the will to serve others as he was the servant of all,

who gave his life and died for us,

yet is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever. Amen.

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Today’s prayer is from the Sarum Primer (1500s), which was a book of prayers and Christian worship resources collected at the Salisbury Cathedral.

God be in my head

and in my understanding.

God be in my eyes

and in my looking.

God be in my mouth

and in my speaking.

God be in my heart

and in my thinking.

God be at my end

and at my departing

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Today’s prayer is by Augustine of Hippo (354-430), who was an early Christian theologian and philosopher. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern day Annaba, Algeria) and is viewed as one of the most important church fathers in Western Christianity.

Eternal God,

who are the light of the minds that know you,

the joy of the hearts that love you,

and the strength of the wills that serve you;

grant us so to know you

that we may truly love you,

and so to love you

that we may fully serve you,

whom to serve is perfect freedom,

in Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Today’s prayer is by Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) and is said to be one of her favorite prayers. 

Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly,
that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us, and be so in us,
that every person we should come in contact with
may feel your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus.
Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as you shine;
so to shine as to be a light to others;
the light, Jesus, will be all from you.
None of it will be ours.
It will be you shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise you in the way you love best,
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach you without preaching:
not by words, but by our example,
by the catching force,
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear for you.
Amen.

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Today’s prayer is by Teresa of Avila, (1515-1582), a Spanish Carmelite nun, reformer, theologian and author. This prayer was contained in the book Teresa of Avila: Mystical Writings.

Let nothing disturb you

Let nothing make you afraid.
All things are passing.
God alone never changes.
Patience gains all things.
If you have God you will want for nothing.
God alone suffices.

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Today’s prayer is by John Vianney, Cure of Ars  (1786-1859), who was known for his priestly and pastoral work in the  parish of Ars, France. 

I love you, O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life.

I love you, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving you, than live without loving you.

I love you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally.

… My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath.”

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