Review: Daily Reflections on the Names of God

 

Summary

Every name God calls Himself and every name His people called Him holds clues to who He is, how He relates to His children, and the promises He has made - and kept.
 
This daily devotional offers readers a wonderful opportunity to spend time each day getting to know God more intimately. This insightful guide to the names of God provides 366 life-changing, personal devotions for new Christians and longtime believers. As readers explore 122 names and attributes of God, they will discover something special about who God is, who they are, and how they relate to others. Includes a Scripture and name index for easy navigation to favorite verses.


My thoughts

Daily Reflections on the Names of God (Revell) by Ava Pennington is an excellent devotional, one that I am glad to highly recommend. Much has been written about how to know God intimately, but I can't think of a better resource than this devotional which focuses on the nature and ways of God.  Ava is very knowledgeable and has a natural gift at communicating in a style that is easy to understand and thought provoking. This quote from one of the pages nicely summarizes Daily Reflections:  "The world offers a variety of options in which to place our trust. God offers Himself, and He shares His names and attributes so we might know that the One we trust is trustworthy."
 
The devotions are thoughtfully laid out, beginning with specific names of God, then moving to characteristics of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 122 names and attributes are explored over a three-day period. Day one looks "up" to see how and why God describes Himself in a certain way. Day two looks "in" as we examine how that particular name or attribute applies to our lives. Day three looks "out" as we reflect on how that characteristic affects our relationship with others.

I think one of the best ways to give potential readers a feel of this devotional is by sharing some of my favorite quotes:
 
--  "Someday in eternity, we will all stand before Elohim's throne, praising Him for who He is and thanking Him for who we are: redeemed people from every tribe, language, and nation. Until that day, we still have many friends to make."
 
--  "Like Abram, we need to trust God's plans for our lives. . . . For now, we must learn to write our plans in pencil and carry a big eraser."
 
--  "What a comfort to know that our sin does not float in and out of God's memory. Instead, God has made an irrevocable decision to never, ever count our sin against us."
 
--  "God extends His mercy to us although it cost the life of His Son. Extending mercy to others does not cost us nearly as much."
 
--  "The trial has already been held, and although a guilty verdict has been rendered, the One who is our refuge has already paid our death sentence."
 
--  "When God restores us, He does not just make us better. He makes us better than new."
 
--  "Believers in Jesus Christ bear His name. If the world rejects Christ, let it not be because we have failed to live up to that name."
 
--  "God is always with us in the most intimate way possible because He is always in us."
 
 
Daily Reflections on the Names of God would be a great gift for the new believer, hungry to learn more about their Creator and Savior. I also think it would be a wonderful tool for the seeker and doubter alike - for, as Ava writes in the introduction, "The more we learn, the easier it is to trust Him and rely on Him." And finally, this is a devotional that even seasoned believers would gain daily strength and comfort from. Highly recommended!

 

Ava Pennington

Ava is a contributing author to many books, including a number of Chicken Soup and A Cup of Comfort books, and has written for several magazines. This is her first solo project.
 
To learn more, visit Ava's website at avawrites.com.
 
This book was provided by BookFun.org and Revell in exchange for my honest review.