A Multi-Faceted Gem
A Devotional
© 2001 Steve Lattier and Men's Help Ministries

I love thinking about how inconceivable God is. The mystery of who and how He is, never ceases to amaze me! Think about shapes for a minute. Did you know that the smallest number of sides that an object that you can hold, can have is four? It is called a tetrahedron, simply put it is a three dimensional triangle. Our God is made up of three parts and is no less real! What does a three sided, three dimensional object look like? That is part of the wonder and mystery of God. He exists in a manner that we are not capable of grasping with our minds! The bible is very clear that we will never, no matter how smart we think we are, understand the way He operates. (Isaiah 55:8,9) Maybe we can catch a glimpse of who He is and most importantly His heart! Many preachers have taught that our children's image of God is based off of how we portray Him. Metaphorically speaking, do you know who He really is, what He looks like and what He does? How else can we show people God, without learning all about Him first? God is the great “I Am.” Taking that literally for a second it speaks that no matter what your question about God the answer is “He is.” Literally all things to all people. Or as my pastor likes to say He is “what you need when you need Him” Wow! I struggle daily, just being a husband and a father. I have many other things that I do, but if I am not so good at the first two that I don't have to work on them, the rest aren't worth mentioning. In contrast God is successful at every aspect of being God, “all things to all people!” I am not here to remind us of our shortfalls but to paint a picture of just how much more our God is! God has been given many names by different people in the bible. Many times when a person had a God authored experience they erected a monument or named a place after what God did for them.


The Word:
Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi:

Jehovah-nissi, God is my banner! Moses named the place that because God has said that He would go to war with the Israelites! God will go to war with you too if you will fight the wars that He asks you to. In a military formation the banner gets carried at the front. It serves as a motivator and a rally point. Who doesn't need the God of the universe to rally around when the fighting gets thick?

The Word:
Judges 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites."

Picture Gideon, a frail timid man who has just had his country invaded and on the verge of being overrun. He gets a visitation by a angel and has been told that he will deliver his country form the invading army. He watched while fire burst forth from stone to consume the sacrifice he prepared. This man was visibly shaken at this point, he was afraid! The angel spoke to him and said Peace! It didn't just calm Gideon down but he was so overcome with Peace that he named that alter after his miracle!

The Word:
Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

God is my provider. Abraham has just been on a real test. It is interesting because his faith in God was unmoved from the very beginning. God provided him a substitute sacrifice in lieu of Isaac. We want things from God all the time. Money, jobs, spouses, houses you name it. We must keep in mind that God's provision is for just what we need, blessings are a whole different subject.

The Word:
Ezekiel 48:35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

Jehovah-shammah. That is the name we know Him by. That passage is where God has finished telling His prophet how the city of Jerusalem is supposed to look. It is more than a little comforting to know that when we build Him a place (in our lives) He will be there! That is really an awesome concept. The God of the universe taking the time to be there with us, no matter where “there” is!

The Word:
Exodus 15:26 He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."

Jehovah-rappa, my God who heals me! I don't know about you, but I am always in need of a healer. Sometimes it is physical but more often than not, I am in need of a healing in my spirit. Even more than that a healing in my attitudes is what I pray for. We frail humans will never get to a point where we do not need healing. Even when it is not a disease, we often are wounded from other well meaning Christians and need to be repaired!

The Word:
Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.

Jehovah-tsidkenu. What is your righteousness? Israel was waiting on a Messiah, we are waiting for him to come again! We are not now nor will we ever be righteous of our own doing. It is through the sacrifice on the cross and the grace of God that we can have some of His righteousness! (Isaiah 64:6)

The Word:
Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

I love that word picture, Jehovah-rohi. A shepherd. I don't have the space to list all of the attributes of a shepherd but here are a few. A shepherd guides, he disciplines, he leads to water, to food, he guards, he looks over his sheep in the day and sleeps near them at night. He does everything they cannot do themselves!

The Word:
Exodus 31:13 "Say to the Israelites, `You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.* { FN * Or who sanctifies you; or who sets you apart as holy}

Jehovah-mekaddishkem, the Lord our Sanctifier! Once again it is not about who we are or what we can do! It's all about God and what changes He makes in our lives! Without Him we can't cut it, with Him He raises us closer to Him! God wants to make us holy, to sanctify us. The more personal holiness we learn from God then the less we are apt to sin!

The Word:
1 Samuel 1:3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.

Jehovah-sabboath, the Lord of hosts, the Lord almighty! What can I say He is the Lord of all! Everything you have is under His rule. He owns it all. He is the supreme ruler, the ultimate commander, the sole conquering general! He is more than worth traveling to worship!

The Word:
Psalms 95:6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

The Lord our maker, Jehovah-hoseenu. With a word creation began, with His breath our life began! Some one once calculated the odds of evolution being true. I don't have the actual numbers but the odds are mathematically the same for evolution being true as it would be for a tornado to rip through a junk yard an build a fully functional Boeing 747! God is so much more and you can see His hand all over creation!

God truly is all things to all people. No matter where you are He has a way to minister to you! Have you ever looked at a good quality diamond? Have you ever noticed how that no matter how you turn it in the light it keeps sparkling with different colors? God is much like that He has a sparkle just for you at whatever moment you are in at the time. He truly is a multi-faceted gem. The most beautiful thing though, is that we can know Him, not just look at Him and see His wonder. It is a joy to know that He has made Himself so much to us, so accessible to us, so there for us. He has done all the work, all we must do is come to Him in our need. Do you admire His sparkle or do you let Him be everything to you?

Pray with me: Father I am humbled by what I learned today. I know I am not good or worthy in my humanity, but because you love me I am living in your grace. Teach me more about you Lord. I know that your heart is reaching out to me in every possible way, fulfilling every need I have. Father show me how to reach out to others. I have seen many different sides of you, help me to pass that along to the people who look to me, to see you! I ask this in Jesus name. Amen!


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