Monday, January 4, 2016

Name Above All Names--Deliverer

 

artwork by Krista Hamrick
 


Krista Hamrick’s beautiful original art print, Name Above All Names Alphabet, has so inspired me. Each of the 26 individual Names she has identified are so special, as Krista has intricately painted, almost like stained glass windows, each one with its Scripture reference. Krista said, “This is probably the painting that I have most enjoyed researching, designing, redesigning and painting. Beth Willis Miller has expanded upon each name with devotional word studies. By knowing, believing and trusting who God says He is, we can be confident in who He has created us to be.” I so agree with Krista!


My heart has been drawn to do a word study for each of the names included in her art print. Krista and I felt led to publish our... Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ available now on Amazon as a softcover book and as a Kindle book at this link.

Combining the beauty of Krista's artistic excellence with these word study devotionals is perfect for individual quiet reflection or small group Bible studies focusing on the Name Above All Names—Jesus Christ—and His attributes and characteristics.

Review by Michele Morin: “The infinite variety in nature, the curious complexity of human behavior, the synchronicity of multiple systems in our own anatomy — and in the solar system — all point, through general revelation, to the nature of God: multi-faceted, magnificent, and yet mysterious. Special revelation in Scripture picks up where creation leaves off, and Beth Willis Miller has teamed up with artist Krista Hamrick to focus on twenty-six pieces of evidence in Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ. The result is an alphabetical collection that resembles a twenty-six sided gem, each facet reflecting a slightly different hue of the nature of God the Son. From Alpha and Omega to King of Zion, each devotional highlights the Scriptural basis for the name in multiple translations and then provides commentary on the verses. Beth applies the truth and then invites her readers to join her in a prayer that turns the truth into a paean of praise. No mere academic exercise, the point of Name Above All Names Devotional is threefold:



Look up – Meditate on the name and what it reveals about the character of God.

Look in – I am propelled to ask galvanizing questions about my discoveries: “Because God is ___________________, I should therefore _______________.”


Look out – Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.


With full-color art work and space for notes, Name Above All Names Devotional is a treasure for devotional reading, a resource for serious study, and a thoughtful and inspiring gift for loved ones.” (review by Michele Morin)

Listening to the anointed Matt Maher hymn, Deliverer, while studying Colossians 1:13...

NASB: For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

Amplified: [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.


Lightfoot: Yes, by a strong arm he rescued us from the lawless tyranny of darkness, removed us from the land of our bondage, and settled us as free citizens in our new and glorious home, where his Son, the offspring and the representative of his love, is King;

NLT: For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.

Phillips: For we must never forget that he rescued us from the power of darkness, and re-established us in the kingdom of his beloved Son, that is, in the kingdom of light.

Weymouth:  It is God who has delivered us out of the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the Kingdom of His dearly-loved Son,

Wuest:  who delivered us out of the tyrannical rule of the darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we are having our liberation, procured by the payment of ransom.

Young's Literal: who did rescue us out of the authority of the darkness, and did translate us into the reign of the Son of His love,

Delivered is the Greek word, rhuomai which means to draw or snatch to oneself and invariably refers to a snatching from danger, evil or an enemy. This basic idea is that of bringing someone out of severe and acute danger, and so to save, rescue, deliver, preserve. Rhuomai emphasizes greatness of peril from which deliverance is given by a mighty act of power. In the NewTestament rhuomai is always associated with God as the Deliverer and with a person as the object of His deliverance.

Rhuomai  means to rescue, deliver, as when we first became believers and the Lord...delivered (rhuomai) us from the domain of darkness and transferred (removed us from. one place to another, causing a change in someone's official position) us to the kingdom (denoting sovereignty, royal power, dominion) of His beloved Son. Since rhuomai means to draw to oneself, here we see the great picture that God drew us out of Satan’s kingdom to Himself. That event was the new birth. We are not gradually, progressively delivered from Satan’s power. When we placed our faith in Christ, we were instantly delivered.

A great example is wading in a rushing river and suddenly being caught in the current utterly helpless. As you cry out someone hears you and holds out their hand as you go rushing by. As you lie there beside the river, safe in the presence of the one who pulled you out, you still are in the presence of the dangerous rushing current...you can hear it...you can see it...but you've been delivered from danger you are now safe. How foolish to walk right back into that current and let it sweep you away!

Jesus, when asked by his disciples how they should pray, gave as part of his answer that they should ask...”And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver (rhuomai - in the form of a command) us from evil.”

Rhuomai is in the present tense indicating that is our Savior continually delivers us. The  middle voice is reflexive ("He Himself rescues us") and emphasize His personal involvement in the rescue. He initiates and participates in the carrying out of the rescue.

Rhuomai is in the aorist tense (past completed act) and the middle voice which conveys the great truth that God initiated the "rescue operation" and participated in the carrying out of the operation!  One could paraphrase this verse as "God Himself rescued us" or the Amplified Version's "[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself.” This deliverance points to the moment of salvation for every believer—He "rescued" us from sin and death when He died in our place, and that "credit" was placed on our account the moment we first believed this Good News. The truth to depraved men and women is that we did not (and could not) rescue ourselves from the jaws of eternal destruction. God did only what He could do…truly all is grace.

Wing-walker Lee Oman slipped from his perch underneath a Waco biplane and dangled from a safety line 1500 feet over the Hillsboro, Oregon, airport during an air show. At first, everyone in the crowd of 40,000 thought the fall was part of Oman’s daring midair act. But after the plane had circled the airport for 20 minutes, it was obvious something had gone wrong. Oman had fallen and didn’t have the strength to pull himself back up. When they saw what was happening, several men jumped into a pickup truck and sped onto the runway. The pilot of the biplane saw the truck and realized what the would-be rescuers had in mind. He gently lowered his dangling human cargo over the vehicle until Oman was within reach. While one man grabbed Oman and pulled him into the truck bed, another cut the wing-walker’s nylon safety harness. Oman was free of the plane’s deadly grasp.

Captain Scott O’Grady knows better than most what rescue means. In June 1995 his plane was shot down over Bosnia. The Air Force pilot survived on insects, plants, and rain water and was only able to use his radio transmitter late at night. On the sixth night of his ordeal, his faint radio signal was picked up by another U.S. pilot. A daring rescue mission eventually brought the helpless pilot to safety. As amazing as this rescue was, every believer has experienced one even more miraculous.

We humans just naturally tend to be self-absorbed, so it is easy to get things all turned around and think that the Christian life is all about me—all about my disciplines and my effort, all about my problems and what I can do to solve them. But this scripture is one that pulls us back to the center, back to the truth: it’s all about what God has done--Christ's finished work on the cross--our Deliverer!

 
Heavenly Father, my Deliverer, I don’t know what is going to happen in the next twenty-four hours, but I know that You will give me the strength I need to handle it and to deal with whatever challenges I may face. I bless You, Lord! Give me Your peace as I look to You for everything I need. I rejoice in my relationship with You, Father—all because of what Jesus Christ has done for me. Having an intimate relationship with Jesus, the friend of sinners, allows me to have an eternal perspective about everything else that happens to me today. I praise You for the joy such a friendship brings.In Jesus’ mighty Name Above All Names—Deliverer we pray, amen.

No prayer is too hard for him to answer, no need too great for him to supply, no passion too strong for him to subdue; no temptation too powerful for him to deliver from, no misery too deep for him to relieve. Arthur Pink (1889–1952)

Look Up—meditate on Colossians 1:13

Look In
—as you meditate on Colossians 1:13 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.

Look Out—as you meditate on
Colossians 1:13 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.

Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ

Weekly LinkUps…

40 comments:

  1. Powerful word, powerful meaning, power in the Lord. As He draws us away from satan and closer to Him, we are blessed. Our Deliverer, our Rhuomai.
    Thank you, Beth.
    Caring through Christ, ~ linda

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    1. Linda, thank you so much...I so enjoy your writing...you always point me to Christ...truly He is our only hope! Many blessings to you ❤️

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  2. This is a wonderful series Beth...I may not comment on each one but know I am reading, learning, praying along with you and loving the teacher in you.
    xx

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    1. Thank you so much Mary...it is a blessing to know that you follow my posts...many blessings to you ❤️

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  3. Wonderful post, Beth! Thank you so much for sharing such and incredibly powerful word! Happy New Year and GOD bless you, beautiful friend! :-)

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement! Many New Years blessings to you also ❤️

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  4. That picture speaks a thousand words: delivered through the cross. The Scripture speaks truth to our hearts! No self-salvation will stand in the wake of resurrection life!

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    1. Thank you so much, Michele. Your kind words always encourage my heart...many blessings to you ❤️

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  5. A wonderful & encouraging post, Beth. This was so powerful> "Rhuomai is in the aorist tense (past completed act) and the middle voice which conveys the great truth that God initiated the "rescue operation" and participated in the carrying out of the operation!" I am so very grateful He initiated & carried out my rescue. Blessings to you!

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    1. Joanne, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your heart...I so agree with you, truly, all is grace! Many blessings to you, too ❤️

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  6. So beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Barbie, thank you so much! I so appreciate your kind words...many blessings to you ❤️

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  7. What a powerful picture for the word "deliverer"! This is a powerful word study and word picture! Thanks so much!

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    1. Thank you, Pam...I so appreciate you stopping by with such encouraging comments. Many blessings to you ❤️

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  8. This post is unlike any I've ever come across before; it drew me in and encouraged me to reflect on my God as deliverer in so many amazing ways! Thank-you for sharing your gift to inspire us to reflect on His word. I'm visiting from the Grace & Truth link-up for the first time and I'm glad I did!

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    1. Wendy, thank you so much for your affirming comments, they really touch my heart! You might be interested to know that Krista Hamrick, the illustrator, and I have just finished putting this series into a Name Above All Names Devotional. It will be available on Amazon soon. Many blessings to you ❤️

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  9. This is so powerful. Monday mornings bring a whole list of to-dos, and it can be very overwhelming. But God has delivered us from fear and anxiety, no matter how much we have to do. Praise God! Thank you!

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    1. Lynne, thank you for stopping by! I so agree with you...He is our Deliverer...many blessings to you!

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  10. He is everything we need and is above everything and everyone else. What an awesome God we have.

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    1. Amen, Lux! I so agree with you. Thank you for stopping by. Many blessings to you!

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  11. Beautiful and powerful! Love the illustrations of what it means to be delivered - and to think about how God does so much more for us.

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    1. Thank you so much, Kathryn! I so appreciate you taking time to leave such an encouraging comment. Many blessings to you!

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  12. Thanks for sharing, neighbor! I love all the different Bible translation. How blessed we are that He really is our deliver. Blessings upon blessings!

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    1. Mari-Anna, thank you so much for stopping by! I so agree with you about how blessed we are by our Deliverer. Many blessings to you!

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  13. Wow! This is great! I really appreciate the first part of the Greek for Delivered that you gave: "draw or snatch to oneself..." I just put my hand on my heart and thought of my loving Savior, Father God, and Holy Spirit. Whew! TO ONESELF - God delivers us to Himself. He has been impressing on me more lately that He does want us, He loves us immensely. The more one thinks about that, the more amazing it becomes. What you have shared here is indeed powerful. Thank you so much. May God continue to bless you richly!

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    1. Cindy, your words warmed my heart...I put my hand on my heart and felt that close "hug" of our Savior, too! You might be interested to know that Krista Hamrick, the illustrator, and I felt led to publish these devotionals as "Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ," with her illustrations and my devotionals, available now on Amazon as a softcover book and as a Kindle book at this link...
      http://ow.ly/YG10C
      Many blessings to you!

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  14. Beth, I love the stories about Lee Oman and Scott O'Grady. They really illustrate deliverance and rescue. :) I will be sharing these with my kiddos! Stopping by from 3Word Wednesday.

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    1. Thank you Britta! I agree with you about the power of a story to help nail down a powerful Truth. Love that you're sharing them with your kiddos! Many blessings to you!

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  15. I love this series. You have really put a lot into this. Thank you. Also loving the artist. I was not familiar with her. Great stuff!

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    1. Mary, thank you so much for following this series. I am so excited to share with you that Krista Hamrick, the artist, and I have just published our Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ with her illustrations and my devotionals, available now on Amazon as a softcover book and as a Kindle book at this link...
      http://ow.ly/YG10C

      Many blessings to you!

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  16. Oh, the value of being rescued and delivered. Such bold actions. I'm grateful God does that for us, over and over. Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday, Beth!

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    1. Amen, Kristin! I so agree with you...I remember the song, "Were It Not For Grace..." So grateful for His deliverance and grace. Many blessings to you!

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  17. Dearest Beth, what a wonderful and powerful message! We are indeed delivered by the Great Deliverer...what a joy and what an incredible gift!

    Thank you for sharing this lovely post with Roses of Inspiration. Hugs and blessings to you!

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    1. Stephanie, thank you so much for stopping by! I love your Roses of Inspiration, so beautiful and encouraging. Many blessings to you!

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  18. Thank you for sharing with Pin Worthy Wednesday

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    1. I appreciate you stopping by, Amber! Many blessings to you!

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  19. Deliverer is one of my favorite names of the Lord. I'm thankful He is always there to deliver me from life's messes. Thank you Beth, for sharing with Thankful Thursdays.

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    1. Amen, I so agree with you. Thank you so much for stopping by, Lori. Many blessings to you!

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  20. I am so thankful that He is my Deliverer! Thank you for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com this week.
    Tina

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    1. Tina, amen! Thanks so much for your comment...many blessings to you!

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