His Name(s)

Recently, as I was doing some reading I came across this passage in 1 Chronicles: "Glory in his holy name." It got me to thinking... what does that mean? How do I glory in God's name? What steps must I take to accomplish this? Clearly I was over thinking the issue, but sometimes God makes the day cloudy so when the sun comes back the sky is that much more beautiful. Before I tackled this issue of what constitutes "glorying in his name", I first felt it necessary to examine some of his names and see what they mean. And that is what I would like to share :)

Now, before we go over some of these definitions, I want to make it extremely clear that would should not limit God to the definition of one of his many names. There is a reason that God has many names and it is primarily due to the fact that he is ALL things and therefore must not be placed in a box of literary definition. Here are some of the more common ones:

1. Yahweh - Actually spelled YHWY, it means Jehovah. It is the promised name of God.

2. Jehovah - Lord.

3. Alpha and Omega - The beginning and the End

4. Immanuel - God with Us

5. I AM - God uses this name to demonstrate that He is. He was not created, he was not formed or influenced in any way. He is and he will always be.

6. Hosanna - "Save Now" or "Please Save." It is used to describe Christ as the Messiah.

7. Messiah - The Anointed One.

8. Adonai - This is the Hebrew word for "Lord". One interesting fact about this name is that it is in plural form. Adoni would be singular but it is always found in the Bible as Adonai meaning "My Lords".

As I said before, God references himself in over 300 different ways throughout scripture, but I found it extremely helpful to remind myself of the meanings of just these few here. It assisted me in thinking of God in much bigger context and in a more all-encompassing manner. Hopefully you find it as beneficial as I did.

-Kyle-