What's In a Name?

What’s in a name?

There is not a lot of information about my Warren family ancestors. While I was searching recently I discovered that my grandfather and his father in law both had the same first and middle names. Benjamin Franklin Warren married Benjamin Franklin Reagor’s daughter. As I looked around on that genealogy site I noticed there were multiple Benjamin Franklins as well as George Washingtons. It appears that many people liked using the names of founding fathers for their children.  Those names seemed to carry much clout. One of my hubby’s childhood buddies is G. W. and you guessed it – he’s named after our first president.

There are countless books and websites on the meanings of names. There is even a website on the etymology and history of first names. Names mean a lot to us and family names are carried down throughout the history of families. My own son’s middle name is Warren. Since I was the last Warren in my family line, I wanted that name to be carried on beyond me. When we got married, I took on Danny’s family name. I’ve been a Beene for nearly 40 years. I cannot imagine now being anything but a Beene. It’s part of my nature and identity to be in the Beene family. After all these years I would not go back to being a Warren. I am a Beene.

Just as we can do a genealogy study on family names, we can also do a study on the name of Jesus. We can look into the perfect law of liberty and see everything we need to know about the Savior of the World.  We can find out His background, His nature, His identity. We also can see what clout His name carries for us who believe. If all our needs are met in Him and the Word tells us they are, then we need to know everything we can about our Savior.

Have you been struggling with your identity? Do you know, are you intimately acquainted with the One Who gave you new birth? Do  you understand that you have a new name in glory and that you are no ordinary person, but rather you are a child, a joint heir, with the King of the Universe? You may have been struggling with your past, your sorrows, your troubles or the future of your world, but when you look into the Name of the Lord, you will find that everything you need for life and godliness is found there. Your true identity is found in Him. While another may have written you off, cursed your name, driven you away, God has pronounced you His child, His heir, His recipient of great riches and honor and more.

Oh beloved, run to God’s genealogy book, the Word of God and learn all about the Lord! Find all the mercy for your past, all the power for your present and all the promise for your future! God says to you this morning that you belong to Him. He has given you His name so that whenever you need to call upon His name you will be safe, you will find power and you will be able to stand. His name is your safety, His name is your strength, His name is your focus and as you focus more and more on Him and less and less on your circumstances, pain or problems – you will find that you are more than a conqueror, you are always victorious and you will be full of His joy, His peace and His nature.

Your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given you His name to call upon because He loves you and He’s for you and that’s more than wonderful, more than enough and more riches than you can ever contain!

I Corinthians 16:11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.

Psalm 20:7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

Colossians 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Isaiah 50:10 Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

Full Protection Comes With Knowing God

Yesterday morning I had a friend request. I didn’t know the fellow but the name sounded familiar. I was on my phone so I just accepted his request.  Within moments I got a private message thanking me for friending him. I replied with a “God bless you”.  Within a few moments I had another private message, asking me to email him so we could get to know one another better.

Immediately I felt a chill.  I looked on his profile and found that he was friends with all women. He was friends with no one I knew. We had no mutual interests. I quickly unfriended him and blocked him from seeing me. I knew protection was needed, not just for me but for my friends, who he might try to friend as well.

A crisis was averted. And I can rest again. The only problem is this type of scenario will come again. Unfriendly people with hidden motives will try to friend us. They may appear to be great friends, with mutual interests, but given time their true heart and motives will surface. 

We must always be willing to friend everyone, for everyone needs the Lord. But not everyone is looking for Him. The Word tells us that satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Not only that, but he’s referred to as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  There’s no way to look at the word devour without realizing just what that means: overwhelm, demolish, dispose of. It’s a no win situation if we don’t know the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and we aren’t acquainted with what God’s Word says. We have to have our credentials secure – we must know who our God is, who we are in Christ and who our true enemy is in order to quickly respond to attacks wherever they come from.

Oh beloved,   there is One who will watch over you wherever you go. There is One who knows your needs and answers each call before your voice rings out. There is One who is your protector, your deliverer and your strong tower. No foe can defeat Him, no enemy can wound Him, no pretender can deceive Him. Even if you’ve let yourself get into a situation full of mistakes and harm, our God will come in and deliver you! Call on Him this morning and let Him stand between you and the enemies of your soul. He is the Great I AM and He is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we ever ask or think. He loves you and because of His great love, He will watch over you all your life.

I Samuel 2:9 He will protect His faithful ones,  but the wicked will disappear in darkness.  No one will succeed by strength alone.

Psalm 10:16-18 The Lord is king forever and ever!  The godless nations will vanish from the land. Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.  Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.  You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.

Psalm 91:14-15 Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.  He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

To Know God is to Love Him!

I was born in the bobbie socks era. My brother was 13 years old and I had many cousins who were teenagers. Because I followed them around every chance I got, I listened to their music. One song that keeps coming to mind this morning is “To Know Him is to Love Him” which was the number one hit single in 1958.

Such a soothing song and I can still see the girls with poodle skirts or rolled up jeans swaying to the lilt of the tune. It’s always good to reminisce about how special love is, especially young love. And to know that the object of our affection is so perfect and so worthy of our love makes those old songs even more meaningful.

Did you know that to know the Lord is to love Him? If you spend a lot of time with Him and you read about Him in the Word, you will find it so true. Every single attribute He has is founded in His love. Every single thought He has about us is pure love.  Every plan He has for our loves is planned with perfect love.

Unlike human love, which can wax and wane depending on the feelings of the one who loves or the recipient of that love, God’s love is independent of our worthiness, perfections or abilities. We may be an awesome person, but that’s not why God loves us.  We may have lots of problems, but not one of them causes God to denounce His love for us.

Oh beloved, run to the shelter of His loving arms this morning and read of His unending devotion!  He speaks to you and calls you out of your own darkness into His own Light, so that you don’t just survive, but you will flourish under His guardian care. He says to you this morning, I know you completely and I love you eternally. Before the foundation of the world, before there was a sky or a planet or a star in orbit, I loved you. I have a perfect plan for your life. Won’t you get to know Me better by spending more time with Me? I AM perfect love, I AM your perfect Savior, I AM the way, the truth and the life. By letting Me love you, you will find complete trust and adoration. Together we will conquer your fears, overcome your sins, go beyond your feelings and live in eternity forever. 

God loves you without any conditions and He’s for you through it all, and that’s all you will ever really need. 

Jeremiah 31:3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself.

1 Thessalonians 1:4 We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be His own people.

Jude 1:1 …I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 119:64 O Lord, Your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me Your decrees.

Psalm 9:10 Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for You.