All the Glorious Names: A 40-Day Experience with God

By Mary Foxwell Loeks

Grow in your relationship with God as you reflect on His many names while reading and writing your way through this beautiful 40-day devotional.

From Alpha to Omega, El Shaddai to Prince of Peace, the many names of God highlight His attributes. All the Glorious Names is a 40-day devotional experience that explores who God is through the meanings of His names. Each of the daily devotionals in this book includes:

• A unique name of God found in the Bible
• The Scripture passage in which the name of God is found
• Meditations on the meaning and message behind each name
• A closing prayer
• Journaling prompts and lined journaling space

The book also features a listing of every one of the names of God and where they are found in the Bible, allowing you to dive deeper into the Biblical contexts of each. It makes a great gift for a mother, sister, daughter, or wife, and can be used as a group Bible study curriculum for small groups.

All the Glorious Names is an invitation to worship and be full of wonder that God has said “I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1 RSV)    

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Apr 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9780785234838

Mary Foxwell Loeks

Mary Loeks grew up in Japan, the daughter of missionary parents. After graduation from Wheaton College she taught at the elementary and pre-school levels for eleven years. Mary and her husband John live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where for 20 years she served as Minister of Education at Church of the Servant. She has three married children and five grandchildren. Mary has also written Devotions for Young Mothers, Christmas Activity Book, and Object Lessons for Children's Worship.

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© 2007, 2020 by Mary Foxwell Loeks

Derived from material previously published in Names of God: Meditations.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by W Publishing, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.

Journaling prompts written by Ami McConnell.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Copyright 1946, 1952, and 1971, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MLB are from The Modern Language Bible—The New Berkeley Version in Modern English, Revised Version (MLB). © 1945, 1959, 1969 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked TNIV are from the Holy Bible, Today’s New International® Version TNIV®. Copyright 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide. TNIV and Today’s New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society®.

Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Any Internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Thomas Nelson, nor does Thomas Nelson vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

ISBN 978-0-7852-3765-5

Epub Edition January 2020 9780785234838

Printed in India

2021222324REP10987654321

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To John,

who suggested the idea for this book

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Preface

1. Alpha

2. The Door

3. Jesus

4. The God Who Sees Me

5. Lord

6. Servant

7. The Way

8. The Truth

9. The Life

10. Eternal God

11. The Morning Star

12. Rock

13. Holy Spirit

14. Living Water

15. The Gentle Whisper

16. Last Adam

17. Redeemer

18. Merciful God

19. Like an Eagle

20. Author and Editor

21. The Great Shepherd

22. Lamb

23. Immanuel—God with Us

24. Potter

25. Abba, Father

26. Creator

27. Lion of the Tribe of Judah

28. A Consuming Fire

29. Man of Sorrows

30. El Shaddai

31. Advocate

32. Faithful Witness

33. Bridegroom

34. Prince of Peace

35. Living Bread

36. The Word

37. Rose of Sharon

38. Holy, Holy, Holy

39. Friend of Tax Collectors and Sinners

40. Omega

Appendix: Join All the Glorious Names!

Notes

About the Author

PREFACE

Perhaps you received this book as a gift. Each of the names of God is a gift to us, lighting up a facet of who God is, and lighting it up as clearly as when that name was first given us in Scripture. This is a book of invitations to worship. I invite you to think of your written responses as part of that worship. Each meditation is an attempt to attribute worth to our God by naming one of God’s names. They are designed to be used in private worship, but they could also be used by those who wish to lead a group in a brief time of focusing on God, and who God is.

As I have reread the words I typed on my manual typewriter over three decades ago, I have been struck by the fact that, while much in my life and in our world has changed, our God has not changed! I am truly honored by the decision of HarperCollins to republish these meditations.

As I have studied these names, I have been impressed with how many pairs of them stand in stark contrast to each other! God is the Lord and the Servant. God is the Lamb and the Lion and the Lioness. God is the Shepherd and the Lamb. The Alpha and the Omega, the Almighty and the Abba. The minute we have the audacity to think we understand, God brings to mind another name, equally true but which seems to shatter the mold into which we have just tried to cram our very great God. Looking at these contrasting pairs of names is like seeing only the legs of a giant parabola! We know they meet and are one, even if we don’t see quite how.

I pray these meditations will serve as aperitifs to whet your appetite for your own further reflection and study. I invite you to name the names of our God with me, and as you do so, be full of wonder that our great God has said, "I have called you by name, you are mine" (Isaiah 43:1 RSV, emphasis added).

MARY FOXWELL LOEKS

1

ALPHA

Scripture: Genesis 1:1–2; John 1:1–14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1–2)

I am the Alpha  . . . , the First . . . , the Beginning. (Rev. 22:13)

Time had a beginning. Creation had a beginning. We had a beginning. Civilizations have a beginning. Books have a beginning. All of the endeavors we would undertake have their beginning.

But God? God has no beginning. Before any other beginning began, God was. Before Abraham was born, I am! declared Jesus (John 8:58). Why, then, would the eternal God have named himself Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, the beginning? It must have been because God is the great Beginner of all other beginnings! Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3).

Christ, to thee, with God the Father,

And, O Holy Ghost, to thee,

Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving,

And unwearied praises be:

Honor, glory, and dominion,

And eternal victory,

Evermore and evermore.

—AURELIUS CLEMENS PRUDENTIUS