Daily Hope May 20, 2011

Today’s readings are:

• 2 Samuel 15-16
• Hebrews 12
• Proverbs 20
• Psalms 75-76

A name in today’s society doesn’t mean much more than to identify you from another person. Sadly, to many today the names of God do very little other than identify Him as the supreme being.

The real purpose of God’s names are to tell you something about him and his character. They tell us something about His ways, and what He means to each of us.

As it tells us in an article on the Names of God found on bible.org:

“But in Scripture, the names of God are like miniature portraits and promises.

In Scripture, a person’s name identified them and stood for something specific. This is especially true of God.

Naming carried special significance. It was a sign of authority and power. This is evident in the fact that God revealed His names to His people rather than allowing them to choose their names for Him. This is also seen in the fact that God often changed the names of His people: Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel.”

Sometimes in scripture just the words “the name” are used.

• Abraham called on the name of the Lord. (Gen. 12:8, 13:4)
• The Lord proclaimed His own name before Moses. (Ex. 33.19)
• Israel was warned against profaning the name of the Lord. (Lev. 13:21)
• The name of the Lord was not to be taken in vain. (Ex. 20:7)
• The priests of Israel were to minister in the name of the Lord. (Deut. 18:15)
• The name of God is called “wonderful” in Judges 13:18
• To call on the name of the Lord was to worship Him as God. (Gen. 21:33)
• Salvation is through His name. (John 1:12)
• Believers are to gather in His name. (Matt. 18:20)
• Prayer is to be made in His name. (John 14:13-14)
• It is at the name of Jesus that every knee will one day bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11)

So it is obvious, scripturally, that “the name” has much more meaning than identification.

So today, I would like to encourage you to take some time looking over these scriptures and meditating on them. Begin to get a much more personal revelation of what “the name” means in your life and let the Holy Spirit begin to teach you the power in the name.

Also begin to meditate on what names mean to God as words that are spoken. There is life and death in the tongue as we looked at yesterday! 🙂

As we continue our study in the coming days, we will begin to look at specific names given to us in scripture and see what they tell us about the character and persons of God.

Be Blessed!

-Kath