Kigoye Eriya

Jeremiah 32:17-18 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, [and] there is nothing too hard for thee: Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, [is] his name, El Gibbor means Mighty God or Warrior God.  Many scriptures refer to His mighty hand as the display of His tremendous power. In war times, God helped Israelites overcome their enemies and was victorious at all fronts. He is a champion in all storms which may arise.  He was victorious over Pharoah while rescuing the Israelites from Egypt, He fought David's battles, He also sent His Son who overcame the war of sin and death and bring us salvation. Jesus too is also called by this name in the book of Isaiah because of what He accomplished on our behalf in His death, burial and resurrection. Simply put He is mighty to save. In ou...

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me; Qanna means Jealous or zealous. El Qanna means Jealous God.  First mentioned at the giving of the ten commandments where God desired devotion to worship Him alone. Failure to have one divine being to worship leads to spiritual idolatry and spiritual fornication which displease God. Some believers commit adultery even without knowing. There are some rituals which they observe knowingly or unknowingly which show that God is not the only one they worship but even other gods too they pay homage to them.  You have heard those who stop the rain, pour drinks to the ground to honour ancestors, pour blood of animals in a foundation of a new house during construction, twin rituals, umbilical chord rituals for a new child, many funeral rituals during and after bur...

Genesis 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: [Am] I my brother's keeper? Adonai simply means Lord or master. When one is Lord over you, it means they have some kind of authority over you. It's first usage was in Genesis 4 when God spoke to Cain after He had killed his brother Abel. God is Lord over all that He created. Some preachers have coined words in those lines to refer to Jesus by saying that  "if Jesus is not Lord over your life, then He is not Lord at all." He is either Lord or Lord, nothing less and nothing more.  We have many who call themselves or called lords on earth, such as landlords, in school especially primary, we used to refer to our teachers as "master"; you have also heard of kung fu masters if you are a film fan, in courts of law the judge is referred to as "my lord", in former British colonies the mayor of the capital city  is called Lord Mayor, some lower leaders are called L...

Mark 14:36 And He said, "Abba, Father, all things [are] possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You [will.]" Abba is an Aramaic word which means Daddy. The first mention of the word Abba was by Jesus in the garden of Gethsamane when He prayed to God for comfort because he was about to be arrested and crucified.  I love it when my children call me daddy. It signifies the affection and intimate relationship they have between me and them. I may be having various titles I hold in society in varied places I may be involved in but to them they don't address me as such. I am that close person they run to when in fear or in need.  Calling your heavenly Father ABBA or daddy likens us to children and their earthly fathers. You are expressing a deep affection and closeness you have with Him which you cannot get elsewhere.  Our earthly fathers can never be as perfect as our heavenly Father. It also doesn't matter whether you had a bro...

Genesis 21:33 Then [Abraham] planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. El Olam means God is everlasting or Eternal God. This revelation was made by Abraham after planting a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. He called God eternal or everlasting.  Everlasting or eternal simply means never ending. God cannot be given a specific number of years to Him. He is not....years old like human beings. Human time is linear, God's time is not for He is in the past, present and in the future all at once.  How do you feel when you know God is eternal? You will always feel a certain sense of Trust in His unchangeable character. 

Genesis 14:18-22 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, El Elyon means God The Most High. The first mention of this title for God was in Genesis 14 when Abram had rescued his nephew Lot in the battle of the Kings by Melchizedek. He offered tithes to Melchizedek, who was the priest of the most High God. There are many gods in this world and idols that men have put up for themselves but God is the Most High of them all. Men have reached a point of idolising their families, wealth, or great a...

Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. El Shaddai means the Almighty God. Almighty simply means He is all powerful.  This revelation was made in Genesis 17:1 by God Himself to Abram. There's no power above God. He is over all and above all. God displayed His power by miracles He performed in Egypt while rescuing the Israelites from the hands of Pharoah. He is still displaying his power by miracles, signs and wonders. El Shaddai can also mean the all sufficient God derived from a Hebrew word Shad meaning breast or chest. Some refer to Him as the many breasted God. Like a mother's milk which contains all the nutrients to nourish her suckling baby, God is all sufficient in meeting our needs. Kenneth Hagin once preached a message called El Shaddai, the God of more than enough. He is more than enough when it comes to meeting our needs. He will provide exce...

1 Samuel 1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. Jehovah Sabaoth means the LORD of hosts. This was revealed by Hannah as she was praying to the LORD for a child.  Hosts refer to either an army, angels or stars in the Bible. God is LORD over all those. Armies in this world symbolise the strength of a nation and protection. All the three references for host show greatness and might. Armies are believed to be the strongest and most powerful institution of any state. If there are forces within the army more mightier than the army, then people can nolonger rely on the army for its weak. Angels are also powerful beings and very gigantic. This is well illustrated in the book of Revelation. Stars too are very great in ...

Ezekiel 48:35  It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The  Lord  is there. Jehovah Shammah means the LORD is there. It was a revelation that Ezekiel received about the city from heaven that John also saw in the book of Revelation 21.  Sometimes we get caught up in the today and now, and we don't pause to ponder on the future that we have with God in the new heavens and the new earth. Life is not all about what we experience in the five senses. There is more. Sometimes circumstances of life cloud our imagination, we tend to focus on the current, immediate, the urgent but we need to slow down sometimes and ponder on the glories of heaven.  What a day that will be when we shall be with our king, God and the bishop of our souls whom we shall see face to face. If you are enjoying Him now when you cannot see Him, how much more then when we shall see Him, we cannot wait. This brings encouragement to us to hold on...

Genesis 16:13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? El Roi means the God who sees. This revelation of God’s name was revealed by Hagar who got an encounter with God at a well as she was running away from her mistress Sarai. The angel who met her prophesied about the son she shall bear and how great he will be. From then on she acknowledged that surely God is seeing her or rather sees her. This encourages us to believe in the God who is aware of our current situation. He sees our every step. Nothing catches Him by surprise. He is not like the gods of wood, stone, trees or idols of men that cannot even feel after the troubles we are facing. Our God sees us. When you understand that God sees you not only in the trying times you face, but also in the good times, you settle a certain way. You look at people nowadays struggling to be seen of men especially the great of this world yet they can...

Psalms 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want. Jehovah Rohi or Jehovah Raah means the LORD is my shepherd. David popularised this name in psalm 23. The Lord Jesus too calls Himself the good shepherd. Believers are called sheep in the Bible by no accident. Sheep are very dependant upon the shepherd for provision, care, direction and protection. Without a shepherd, they cannot do much on their own. Sheep are also obedient to their shepherd and have a unique ability to different their Shepherds voice among the many.   God wants to be everything to us but we limit Him because we want to be "independent, self made, self taught, self sustaining, self esteemed etc," yet when we submit to His guidance, He will lead us well.  Child of God accept to be lead by the good shepherd.  Further scriptures   John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Exodus 15:26 and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I [am] the LORD who heals you." Jehovah Rapha means the LORD our Healer. This revelation of God's name first appeared in Exodus 15:26 where the LORD instructed Moses to cast a tree in the waters of Marah which were bitter and they turned sweet for the children of Israel to drink.  God used a physical object as a point of contact but the healing came from Him. This is where some Christians lose it, they think that using medicine is against their faith yet God is not against medicine. It is the same God who created herbs from which the medicines are got in the beginning. So God is for healing and not against it. Putting faith in the medicine in and of itself makes it and idol before your eyes for it eliminates trust in God. Fai...

Leviticus 20:7-8 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you.  Jehovah M'kaddesh means the LORD who sanctifies us.  To be sanctified is to be made Holy or set apart. Holy or sanctified, or set apart, means one is uncommon, special, unique, and different from others. Throughout the Bible, there are various ways God sanctified His people. For instance, in the Old Testament, God called Abraham to separate Himself from idol and sun worship unto Himself. God covenanted with the Jews, and the covenant involved giving several commandments that set them apart from other nations. The keeping of the Sabbath, for example, was not common in that day, but God instituted it through the law. In the New Testament, we see that God sanctifies us by faith in Jesus and the truth of His Word.   Although God calls us to sanctify ourselves, it is God who ultimately sanctifi...

Jeremiah 23:5-6  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Tsidkenu means righteousness. Jehovah Tsidkenu thus means the LORD our Righteousness.  Jeremiah 23 is usually used to admonish pastors in their shepherdorial work, but to take it in context, it is a messianic chapter where Jeremiah was prophesying a day when men would no longer judge themselves righteous because of what they have done or not done, but because Christ has been made their righteousness.  Somehow, people think those who preach the grace of God and the righteousness of God are only basing their teachings on the New Testament, yet these truths were also prophesied, implied or foreshadowed in the O...

Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: Nissi means my banner or standard. Jehovah Nissi thus means the Lord my or our banner. This was a revelation that Moses got after defeating the Amalekites at Rephidim. After the victory, he pronounced that "The LORD is my banner." Whenever armies would march towards battle, they would raise a banner at the front. This banner or a flag would identify them uniquely from the enemy and show where they truly belonged. A flag of one country cannot be the same as the flag of any other. No army can have two flags at the same time to avoid confusion among the troops. This teaches us that when the battle is raging, one should never be neutral; they will be misunderstood or thought of as an accomplice. You should have a side and demonstrate it by siding with the banner where your army assembles. The disciples knew about this when they saw one cast out devils in the name of Jesus, yet he was not walking amongs...

Judges 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Shalom means peace. Jehovah Shalom means the Lord is peace.  It was Gideon who first acknowledged that He is peace at a time when Israel was at war with the Midianites. Given that He was very afraid of leading them in the war, this was a very comforting revelation He got about God that empowered him to carry on that task. When the disciples called upon the Lord Jesus when they were afraid of drowning on board a ship being hit by waves, He spoke against the storm by saying, "peace be still." And the storm ceased immediately. The Prince of peace spoke peace into being. Now that you are saved, God's peace is yours by faith. You can declare it in all your troublesome situations. May you also be assured of the peace of God in all troubles that surround you, may you take comfort in Him daily, even when the waves are raging, His presence...

Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. Jireh means God will see to it or will provide. Abraham when asked by Isaac what was to be offered as a sacrifice as they were journeying to mount Moriah, Abraham answered and said the Lord will provide. And indeed He provided a lamb as a sacrifice. After seeing the lamb, as he was about to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham named the place Jehovah Jireh.    The non God believing nations then would offer sacrifice of their sons to their gods. God because He cares for people He created redeemed people by the sacrifice of animals instead of people. This shows God's care and faithfulness in providing for His people. Whenever I am tempted to doubt this truth, I always recount a story in the autobiography of Oral Roberts. When they were still young in the care of their mother and their father who were very poor, one night they were about to go hungry. ...

Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. God first called Himself as I AM to Moses from which the name Yahweh or Jehovah was derived by scholars. Yahweh too was derived from a Hebrew four letter word YHWH or YHVH. Yahweh unlike other names like EL, Elohim, Almighty etc which are kind of title like, this is a personal name of God. For example the president of any nation has a personal name. The title president is not their personal name but you can refer to them as such anyway.  Yahweh, a personal name of God means that God is self existent, eternal and creator. He was never created. He is not dependent on anything to exist. But all things depend on Him to exist.  Why is it important to know about a God who is self existent? It helps those who believe in Him to have a firm reliance on Him. If I am reliant on God, I can depend on Him fully for He can never be corrupted by anythi...

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. EL simply means God. The Word Elohim is derived from the word EL. Elohim is the plural name of God whose root word EL signifying power and strength. It is the name that was used in Genesis 1:1 which showed that all creation came from God as the source. God is the reason for the creation. He is apart from what He created. Some have come up with all kinds of theories to downplay God's role in creation but the truth is God is the creator of all we see and do not see. If we do not put God in His place, all other things will fall out of place. God is the foundation of everything and that qualifies Him to be worshipped. We accord all our worship to Him alone because He truly deserves it for He is the source of everything.  Child of God, recognise God as creator and put Him in His rightful place. Everything else will fall in its right place. 

Psalms 9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. God has many names and all of them carry unique meanings and reveal a facet of His character and personality.  In the Bible, many people's names had meanings. Adam for example means red earth because he was created from the ground. Eve means mother of all living, Jacob means cheat, Peter means little rock, David means beloved etc. This also should tell you something about your own name. What does your name mean, under what circumstances were it given to you? Whenever you are called so, it reinforces what that name stands for. Whenever I get to know a name of someone, my relationship with such a one is much better than if I didn't. It is further strengthened when I know what their name means. Names are the foundation of closeness in relationships. Likewise, our relationship with God is greatly enhanced and becomes much closer once we know His names and wha...