DOD 13

Wed July 5^th

Warm up:

Look up these three passages:

·        Revelation 3:8-13

·        Isaiah 62:1-3

·        Revelation 2:16-17

A new Name:

Did you ever have a nickname?  Something that only the people who were close to you called you?  What can you remember about that? About that time? About those people?

Did you ever have a name for yourself?  Maybe even still?  What has your life told you about yourself?  Fill in the blank… “I am a___________”.

We have talked about truth, God’s truth.  You’ve heard if you’ve been around a couple weeks or more, that you are loved by God, that he thinks of you as a son, that by the work of Christ He has adopted you into His Family.  Have you accepted? Have you heard the confirmation that you are a son of God? 

Take intentional time today to listen in prayer to your Father.  Don’t presume you know the answer, just ask the question “what is my Name?”  This may take some time, in fact it may take more than one day.  It took me about a week the first time I heard, “you are my beloved son, a redeemed saint”.  Let the question linger between you and God for a bit and see what comes from it.

But wait, there’s more:

Perhaps you’ve done this already.  Maybe you’ve heard this from Him.  Could it be that there is more for you?  Remember, the wine always gets better.  So, ask again.  Ask for more.  The name He has for you, the one written on the white stone, it is your heart name. only you and He know it.  It is significant, that He knows it better than we do.  I think that when we get the stone placed in our hand it will ring with the power of truth over our eternal lives.  But in our broken world we have forgotten our own names.  We NEED Him to remind us.  “warrior” “champion” “my joy” “son of delight/laughter” these are all possibilities and more.  This is not the type of prayer where we ask “please give me a name” or even “Do you have a name for me?”  but rather, pray from a place of intimacy “what name do you have for me?”  Can you see the difference?  And sometimes we have to wait.  It took a couple of years to get “more” of my name.  Let it be a standing question.  Rather than asking for what you want or need on a daily basis, try starting with “who am I’ “who do you say that I am?”.  ( hey that sounds familiar, isn’t that what Jesus asked his disciples 😉 )  try exchanging names with God and see what you learn…about Him and about you.  Let God replace the old names that you or the world have given you.

Let me add one more thing.  This can be REALLY personal.  You may not want to share on GroupMe.  If you want to Great.  Or if you want to share how it went without sharing the details great as well.  But please share with at least one other person.  It will build faith for you and them.  Find someone you trust. 

I love you guys.  We are in this together.  We can be overwhelmed by our world and sin and stress, or, we can be overwhelmed by His goodness.  Now go get it!