Blog Tour Itinerary – A Long and Winding Road | by Linda Brendle

The blog tour for my upcoming memoir will begin Tuesday, June 17. Like any good tour host, I wanted to provide you with an itinerary. Following is a list of the blogs we will be visiting during the two weeks before and the two weeks after the July 1 release of A Long and Winding Road: A Caregiver’s Tale of Life, Love, and Chaos. Each day, I’ll add a link so you can click over and read either 1) what the blogger thought of the book, 2) a guest post written by me, or 3) interview questions written by the blogger and answered by me. Grab your toothbrush and get ready to roll–the tour leaves in three days!

Strength, Power, and Hope In the Name of the Lord (Sandi Patty Video)

I finished the 2014 A to Z Blog Challenge yesterday–a month-long study of the names of God. I appreciate those of you who followed along and offered encouragement and comments. If you missed any of the posts or would to read some of  them again, click on the tab at the top of the screen. It will take you to a page that features links to all the posts.

The challenge is over, but the names of God go on forever. As Sandi Patty says in this song, there is strength, power, and hope in the name of the Lord.

Blessings,

Linda

A to Z Challenge–The Names of God—Z is for Zidkenu | by Linda Brendle

YHWH–Zidkenu, more commonly written in English as Jehovah Tsidkenu, is a name that means The Lord our Righteousness. Blue Letter Bible says that the actual name occurs only twice in the Old Testament, but the assurance that God is completely and totally righteous permeates the Bible.

⁵ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’      Jeremiah 23:5-6

A to Z Challenge–The Names of God–Y is for YHWH | by Linda Brendle

YHWH or Yahweh is used in the Bible more than any other name for God. It appears 6,519 times in the Old Testament and was first used in Genesis 2:4. It is called God’s personal name, and He first revealed Himself by it in Exodus 3.

These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.      Genesis 2:4

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”      Exodus 3:13-14

A to Z Challenge–The Names of God–X is for Christ | by Linda Brendle

My first memories of seeing Xmas used in place of Christmas are associated with sitting at the kitchen table, signing and addressing Christmas cards while Mom made date nut rolls and fudge. Our cards were chosen, not for the beautiful images or the poignant verses, but for the price. The least expensive cards usually came in an assortment with some religious ones and some secular ones. Some of the latter cards were completely generic, saying “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays,” but some used the short version–“Merry Xmas.” I slipped those cards to the bottom of the pile, hoping I’d run out of names before I had to use them. Like many Christians, I thought the makers of these cards were attempting to “X” Christ out of Christmas.

A to Z Challenge–The Names of God—W is for Word | by Linda Brendle

The Greek word logos is translated in the first verse of the Gospel of John as Word. Later in the chapter, John explains that the Word is Jesus Christ.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.      John 1:1

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.      John 1:14

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.      John 1:17

A to Z Challenge–The Names of God—V is for Vine | by Linda Brendle

Several passages in the Old Testament refer to Israel as the vine of God. Some of these passages tell about how displeased God was with the vine He had planted because Israel had turned from Him and worshipped idols. The psalmist wrote about what happened to Israel when God withdrew His hand of protection, but Isaiah offered hope in his prophecy of a new vine that would appear later.

A to Z Challenge–The Names of God—U is for Undefiled | by Linda Brendle

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;      Hebrews 7:26

This verse describes Christ, not only as the once-for-all perfect sacrifice for sin but also as the high priest who is uniquely qualified to offer His sacrifice to God. Because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He was undefiled by the sin of Adam, and because of His personal holiness during His earthly life, He didn’t have to purify Himself before entering the holy of holies.

A to Z Challenge–The Names of God—T is for True | by Linda Brendle

A Google search for Names of God beginning with “T” produced several pages, but after eliminating those that began with the or thy, most of the remaining names were related in some way to true.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.      1 John 5:20

A to Z Challenge–The Names of God—S is for Jehovah Sabaoth | by Linda Brendle

Jehovah Sabaoth is translated as Lord of Hosts or Lord of Powers. Sabaoth means hosts or armies, and combined with the term for Lord, it signifies His control over all armies, whether spiritual or earthly. This compound name is used almost 300 times in Scripture, most often by Isaiah and Jeremiah. It is first used in the story of a man named Elkinah and his wife Hannah who were making their annual pilgrimage to Shiloh.

Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord.      1 Samuel 1:3