Tuesday, November 28, 2017

A New Name

What is your name?
What are you called by those who know you?
What is the name others would be introduced to you by?

Isaiah 62 is an intriguing chapter to me. It's all about names and about God changing the name His people are known by. Isaiah 62:2 says, ". . . you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow." The same chapter ends with words declaring what God's people would now be called:
"They will be called the Holy People,
     the Redeemed of the Lord;
and you will be called Sought After,
     the City no Longer Deserted."

As I read and reflected on this chapter, I was struck by the power of names - the names we believe about ourselves, the names others call us, the names God gives us. What we're called really matters. It can change everything.

The power of names is so evident in our society. People regularly live up to or down to the names they've been called, by themselves or others. People can be completely destroyed by the names they're called,. People can also be lifted up by the names they're called.

We need to pay attention to the names we believe about ourselves. They may be names we gave ourselves or names that others gave us. But, these can become a part of how we live and act and talk, so we have to pay attention.

When we discover names that are destructive to us, names that are not in line with God's names for us, we need to ask for His truth to replace that. We need to take those lies to God so He can speak the truth over us. God wants to give us names that speak to the reason why He has placed us here, that speak to who He see us as. As we allow Him to speak these names over us, they become what we live and that changes everything. That's how powerful names are in our lives.

Revelation 2:17 says:
"I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it."
This is the ending to the letter to the church in Pergamum in the letters to the seven churches that begin Revelation. This church was commended for not falling to the culture around them that was full of evil. But, they still had allowed some false teaching to enter their lives and were being called to turn back to the truth. These words are the encouragement to those who stand firm and are victorious.

Reading these words to the church in Pergamum seems to also speak well to the church today, we need to heed the same call. We're also told that our faithfulness to God will be rewarded. We will have in intimate relationship with God where He teaches us ("gives us some of the hidden manna" Revelation 2:16) and where we receive a new name. A name that speaks to who God created us to be and what He created us to do.

This is the same thing God was promising to Israel in Isaiah 62. When they turned to Him, He would give them a new name that spoke God's truth over them.

What are the names you've been believing about yourself that are lies that you need to allow God to replace with His truth?
What is the name God has given you?

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