"God of... Heaven"

    The second most used term referring to God is found 17 times in the Old Testament and only twice in the New. It’s probably the first fact we learn about God in childhood: “God lives up in heaven;” we sang songs about being careful with what we do and say because “the Father up above is looking down in love,” and that simple fact is as complicated as this term for God gets.

God (Strong’s #H430) – elohim – means divine being

heaven (Strong’s #H8064, Hebrew/O.T.) – shamayin – means the abode of God

  (Strong’s #G3772, Greek/N.T.) – ouranos – means the highest heaven, the dwelling place of God

    You may be thinking, ‘I already knew all this, what more is there to say on the subject?’ Well, I have found through my own personal studies that anytime a term/phrase is mentioned more than once in the Bible each usage is enveloped in a little bit more information so that when we look at each one we learn a bit more and end up with a rather complete picture when we are done!

Side study: Try this for yourself in studying, for example, the phrase “the fear of the LORD” (throughout the Bible) or in studying the passages that mention Joseph of Arimathea (in the New Testament gospels).

    What can we learn from the 18 references to the “God of heaven” in the Bible? Here’s what I have summarized:

We should…

          …seek Him (Daniel 2:17-18, also consider Acts 17:26-27)

…pray to Him (Ezra 6:10, Nehemiah 1:4-5; 2:4, Daniel 2:17-18, also consider 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

…obey His commands (Ezra 1:2, 7:23, also consider 1 John 2:3-6)

…offer sacrifices to Him (Ezra 6:9-10, also consider Romans 12:1-2)

…trust Him (Nehemiah 2:20, Daniel 2:44, also consider Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

…give Him the glory and praise Him (Nehemiah 1:5, Daniel 2:37, Revelation 11:13, also consider Psalm 103:1-5)

…thank Him and bless Him (Psalm 136:26, Daniel 2:17-23, also consider 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Ephesians 1:3)

…confess our faith in Him (Jonah 1:9, also consider Matthew 10:32)

…do good for those who fear Him (Ezra 7:21, also consider Galatians 6:9-10)

…not be like those who blaspheme Him because of their pains and troubles and refuse to repent of their evil deeds (Revelation 16:11, also consider what we should do: trust in His help Psalm 34, be faithful to Him, Romans 12:12, and repent of our wrongdoings, 1 John 1:9, 2 Peter 3:9)

 

    From its first mention in Genesis 24:6 to its last in the book of Revelation, our study of the “God of heaven” is a good reminder to us that He is not simply ‘a being up in the sky’ – He is the very God of heaven! The One to whom we can run to at any time (Hebrews 4:16) and who we can always count on! Let’s follow the Bible examples we have taken note of in this study and seek the God of heaven, pray to Him, obey Him, offer ourselves to Him in daily service, trust Him, praise and magnify Him, give Him all the glory with hearts full of thankfulness for all He has done for us! Let us confess our faith in Him, in word and conduct, be a benefit to those who fear Him, seek His solace when we are suffering, and His forgiveness when we sin!    

You can do it! So can I!!   

Learning Gratitude: Words That Describe God

    Have you ever been at a loss for words? Desperately willing your mind to access the file that contains all the best descriptive words in your vocabulary?

    Being left speechless can happen when we are overwhelmed with what we are seeing and/or feeling and I think it goes without saying that the world will be at a complete loss for words when Jesus comes again and we come into God's presence - that will be overwhelmingly overwhelming - but until then we should teach ourselves how to speak to Him, to thank Him, and praise Him.

 

Think on this list of words that describe God:

Alive, Active, Amazing, Almighty, Abundant, Astounding, Absolute, Attentive, Authentic, Awesome, Astonishing, All-Powerful, Able, Alert, Beautiful, Best, Beneficial, Benevolent, Brilliant, Creator, Caring, Compassionate, Comforting, Considerate, Divine, Dignified, Distinguished, Excellent, Everlasting, Extraordinary, Excelling, Essential, Father, Forgiving, Fulfilling, Faultless, Faithful, Forbearing, Flawless, Good, Glorified, Glorious, Generous, Gracious, Genuine, God Most High, God of all comfort, God of peace, Holy, Helpful, Honourable, Incorruptible, Infallible, Important, Impressive, Just, Kind, King, Knowing, Love, Loving, Living, Loyal, Light, Mighty, Master, Mender, Matchless, Merciful, Needed, Noble, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Perfect, Protector, Powerful, Provider, Pure, Proven, Praiseworthy, Righteous, Restorer, Reliable, Real, Remarkable, Revered, Ruling, Ruler, Splendid, Superb, Sacred, Sincere, Shelter, Sheltering, Strong, Superior, Supreme, Sympathetic, Shield, Teacher, Trustworthy, Truthful, True, Upright, Unfailing, Understanding, Unequaled, Victorious, Vigilant, Vindicator, Wholesome, Watchful, Wise, Wonderful, Zealous   

 

"Oh Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise." (Psalm 51:15, ESV)

 

    Go over the list one more time, slowly. Can you use some of these words to express your gratitude to God for what He has done and continues to do in your life?

 

    While these words can help us to declare God's greatness, the most important thing in what you say to God in praise and thanksgiving is that it is sincere and heartfelt. Use words that you understand and simply allow your heart to speak its fullness to our Almighty God!

 

    Magnify God in your heart and mind as you say thank you to Him!

 

You can do it! So can I!!