What is in a Name?

Proverbs 30:4......4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His Son's name,
If you know?  NKJV

Exodus 3:13-15...13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" 

14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 

15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.  NIV

What is in a name? One of the hardest and greatest times of our lives is naming a newborn child! It is filled with an almost anxious thought that one is taking a test to get the name just right! It was that way for us to name our daughter. We worked hard on coming up with just the right name. Her middle name was a cinch to get, but the first took some time. But when my husband spoke it out, we knew we had the name she would carry through life. They did not do the tests back then like they do today for finding out the health and sex of a child. Yet, I knew it was a girl. I planned her room and the things to have for her to wear! Every detail had to be just right for the homecoming of our first child.

In Exodus 3:15 it states that God said " Say to the Israelites.........'the LORD, THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS---THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB---HAS SENT ME TO YOU.............'this is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.' 

In the Bible we can find names of importance to those precious parents who named their children.

For Abraham and Sarah, his name was Isaac whose name meant "laughter". (Genesis 21:6)

When we think of Moses, his name meant the one "drawn out" of the water. (Exodus 2:10)

Matthew 1:21-25............21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." 24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. NKJV

A Son born of a virgin and "they will call His name Immanuel", "God is with us."

It was a moment in time for us that God came and joined Himself with us through His Son Jesus.
 In the scripture passage below we find the lineage from David all the way to Jesus. We find by going back into the Old Testament to study, we can find the things for which some had a reputation, a name that carried names like adultery, lust, murder, prostitute, etc.  Yet in all this, God used those who would become the lineage to bring forth the Consolation!

Matthew1:1-17.....1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: 2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. NKJV

Yes, in the names like David, his son Solomon is listed for whom Bathssheba gave birth, for she had been the wife of Uriah. Then there was Tamar, a redeeming quality of a woman. Absolutely not! She is mentioned only twice in Genesis 38 and Matthew 1. Tamar was the extreme example of sexual immorality. Rahab was mentioned. She too had the name of prostitute tacked onto the "need to know" list. She told a lie to help God's people who came to spy out some land! And of course we have Ruth, who was the product of incest.

Some outcasts made this list of the" need to know"! For when Jesus came, He came for the world and not just a few men and women.  It was peace on earth toward men......that Jesus came!

In the New testament, we are shown the close relationship between names and their meaning. One such scripture is found in Acts 4:12, " For there is no other name under heaven by which we much be saved." 

It is in power that this proceeds from grace by God, not by blood of goats or sheep .....but..........by the One Holy Lamb of God that man can be saved.

In Philippians 2:9, scripture states, "God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name. By inheritance, Jesus obtained a more excellent name than the angels in Hebrews 1:4...... 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. NKJV

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:19, that we as Christians, are those who name the name of the Lord and depart from their iniquity.

2 Timothy 2:18-19............. 19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."NKJV

If you have had a job outside the home, you know there is always those who desire to add their name with those who are in "what is considered a high position" in that company! They will jockey their way through to try to have the same favor. I have seen it and know you probably have too! It is not only in the work place but can be in the church as well! Oh yes it can be done in church as well. Any place there is the opportunity for some to sit in the seat of the honored. But what are we attaching our name to that could turn out to be a problem and not a help to us?

When I was growing up and our family had moved to another area down south, I encountered a lot of that  ...." so you are one  of the..... name of family here?"

" Well, yes, I am one of the   name of family here!" would be my reply.

But I knew they meant those who specifically had this business in this country town we had just moved to at the time. Yes, they were all my family, like aunts and uncles and many cousins. And I love them, everyone the same today! But my father had  had his own business , too, and it certainly was different from the rest of the family business and yet,so many thought we were all the "happy family of .......name of family here."! When there is already something established like a business, even being a son, the middle one, can wreck havoc on family unity. My father wanted to do other things, like raise horses and race them!

After a couple of years of the "family thing" and all the jockeying to hold their positions...........many things changed and somehow we seemed separated from rest of the family, those with the very same name!  But in remembering this small mist moment of time I recall a scripture found in............Mark 3:31-35..................31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." 33 But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother." NKJV

This word guides us to be respectful of and governed by Jesus and...........not by any other person who might be named. It is important for us to honor those who have a fear of the Lord. For when we place honor on Him, we can see Him do great things. When we are in fellowship with the KING and His kindred, we maintain that place that is guarded by His word and His way of doing things!

I would rather have my name attached with "Emmanuel", " God with us"..........for He came from heaven to walk with man and bring an opportunity for us to have a fellowship with the Father and the Son...............Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?

Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His Son's name,
If you know?

For when we have our name added to His Name, then we experience the wind that is gathered in His fists, and we see the One who actually bound the waters in a garment.
When we Know His Name and place it first in our lives, there is no devil in hell that can keep us from going the distance in the things of God!

John 3:13-21............. 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." NKJV

What is in a Name? There is power and love in His name! He is truth, and life and resurrection.

Clearly when we attach our name to His and come to profess and confess the Word of truth, our deeds are clearly seen and they are done in God! We hold the promises, and see them manifest before our eyes. We can see our prayers make a difference in those who are of the"family of God"!

If I am found in Christ Jesus and am a part of His family, how am I treating those Jesus says should be our brothers and sisters according to Mark 3:31-35?

Father, thank You for grace. In seeing the genealogy so plainly displayed for us to read and remember, it is You who could use a sinner. The best part of this Lord is that we all are in Your family and look forward to eternity with You. In Jesus' name, help us to not skip over the "begats' in the Bible. They remind us of the importance of each person. I pray too that we would be men and women who would always operate in truth, for a lie will always be found out! Thank You today for Your love and acceptance, we readily receive Your grace to move forward in Your plan that includes the entire world. We pray for ourselves and others who may not have the same culture, the same color of skin or even the same language, but have the same God of glory. You are the Great "I am" in our midst. It is by Your great love that the Son of Your love came for us. By the grace of God and in light of His great mercy towards us...........help us to pray for those who have sinned against us and we are ever ready to forgive any trespass against us. Amen!

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