Tag: #whatsinaname

What’s In A Name, Part 2

What are names, really? A word, or words, to try to identify ourselves or others. One dictionary defines ‘name’ –

noun
a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to: “my name is Bond, James Bond.”

Names can be descriptive, and a name can be a noun or a verb. We all carry many names. Some we are born into, some that others call us, and those we use to identify ourselves. What names have you given yourself?

I have been given names, some good, some ugly, and some just mean: daughter, sister, mother, wife; aunt, niece, cousin, friend; coworker, boss; victim, survivor. I have been called cheater, liar, adulterer, thief; bitch, pretender; ugly, stupid, no good, back stabbed and deceiver. I have been some, and probably all, of those at some point in my life. These are my favorite names for myself: Forgiven, Blessed, Daughter of The Most High God, Follower of The Christ, Transformed, and Redeemed.

There are many names in the Bible. Adam = Man. Jacob means Heel grabber and Deceiver, and God changed his name to Israel, which means ‘God fights’, because he wrestled with the LORD. These are just two examples of names, but here are the most beautiful names I know:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” – Matthew 1:23 NLT

The name JESUS means ‘The LORD Saves’ (Matthew 1:21 NLT). He was – and is – called ‘Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1:32 NLT), ‘Savior’, ‘Messiah’, ‘Lord’ (Luke 2:11 NLT). He is called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6b NLT)

Jesus is the ‘LORD of Heaven’s Armies’. He is the Lamb of God, He is the Word of God, and He is KING of all kings and LORD of all lords (The Revelations of John). “And He [Jesus] also said, “It is finished! I Am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To ALL who are thirsty I will give freely from the Springs of the Water of LIFE.” (Revelation 21:6 NLT)

What are your names? I pray that your names include these names: Forgiven, Blessed, Child of The Most High God, Follower of The Christ, Transformed, and Redeemed!

Thanks go to John Lawton, my fabulous Edmond friend, for the cross.

What’s In A Name?

What name do you have? Daughter, son, sister, brother; Mother, Father, aunt, uncle; spouse, friend, enemy, boss, employee… there are many names to choose from, and many – most – of us have multiple names. There’s the name we were born with, and for some, there is the name, or names, we changed to later. I am a daughter and a sister; aunt, friend, partner. I have been a wife and a mother (although I think that any woman who has carried a child, even for a few days, is always thereafter a mother); I have been homeless; I have been an employee; and I have been a business owner and partner.

I have been a thorn in the side to many people, sometimes with deliberation and sometimes inadvertently. I am one of “THOSE” people.

Some of the names we carry will always stick with us. I will always be my parent’s daughter, and I will always be a sister. Being an employee, or even a friend, can change. We can lose the name of wife or husband through death or divorce. We can be disinherited by our earthly My favorite name is one that will never – got that, NEVER – change. I am a child of God, daughter of the Most High LORD. Despite the bad choices I made throughout my life, I made some good ones. The best was when I accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ. At that moment, I became the daughter of The King, and that will never change. Even though I turned my back on my earthly family, and my heavenly Father, I remained a daughter. God did not let go of me, ever. In the depths of my misery, deep in my heart I knew my Savior was there. The darkest nights, the deepest black you can imagine, there was a tiny flicker of hope that came through the darkness. No matter had hard the enemy tried to extinguish it, no matter how suffocating, that tiny flicker remained. It was difficult to see, but I knew it was there. Somewhere.

In recovery, we say you have to be sick and tired of being sick and tired before you will make a change. I like the way Billy Graham says it, too:

“In God’s economy, you must go down into the valley of grief before you can scale the heights of spiritual glory. You must become tired and weary of living alone before you seek and find the fellowship of Christ. You must come to the end of “self” before you can begin to live. The happiest day of my life was when I realized that my own ability, my own goodness, and my own morality were insufficient in the sight of God. I am not exaggerating when I say that my mourning was turned to joy, and my sighing into singing. Happy are they that mourn for the inadequacy of self, for they shall be comforted with the sufficiency of God. Lord Jesus, I know that apart from You I can do nothing of lasting value. Help me to come to the end of self and allow You to control the reins of my life.”

Psalms 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

All we have to do is ask… Jesus said: “ANYONE who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His Heart.’” John 7:38

Are YOU sick and tired of your situation? There is only ONE answer, and ONE Healer. His Name is JESUS. Choose the Name above all names. Become a daughter or son of God. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light, and it is only Him Who can dispel that darkness. I pray we’ll see you in the Light!