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May 9, 2013

BIG or little Name – Live For God’s Fame

If you are famous – great – use your fame for God’s glory. If you are unknown – fine – use your anonymity for God’s glory. Most of us will never have the fan-following of Tim Tebow (Forbes.com survey’s recent designation as the 2013 most influential athlete), but that’s no excuse for failing to honor the Lord with your reputation, your work-ethic, your lifestyle. You can be the difference in someone’s life!

Our contemporary society loves superstar personalities. Media attention swirls around the latest happening in the life of _______(fill-in-blank with latest fad). Much too often, Christian society imitates the world’s fascination with celebrity and fails to appreciate significant faithful service of relatively unknown folks.

The names listed in the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth – Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, Aquila, and Priscilla – don’t easily roll off my tongue. For most folks, I don’t think the five names would be quickly recognized. I have studied God’s Word for over thirty years, but only two of the five stick out in my memory. Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned several times and I recall how they taught Apollos, but the rest? I guess their names would make great answers for a Bible trivia game.

You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion. I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you weren’t here to give me. They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well. The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings. All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with Christian love. Here is my greeting in my own handwriting—Paul. (1 Corinthians 16:15-21 NLT)

Perhaps, you are familiar with all five. If so, I am surprised, because there aren’t a lot of sermons preached about these individuals. However, Paul thought enough of them to include their names in his Spirit-inspired letter. Paul and the Holy Spirit recognized their peculiar importance, instrumental for what God was doing on earth. They were highlighted because of the investment of their lives into the Kingdom of God – unknown by most, yet noticed by heaven.

Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, Aquila, and Priscilla received written applause and documented appreciation, forever recorded in the pages of the New Testament. They served – refreshing Paul, encouraging the saints, advancing God’s purposes. Paul doesn’t detail the service specifics, but acknowledged they served the Lord and served the people around them.

You may never be written up in the newspaper or interviewed on a news program. Your name may never highlight an advertised Gospel crusade. Your name may never head the deacon’s list. You may never receive earthly accolades worthy of the sacrifices you have made for Christ body the church. Nevertheless, God knows your name and notices your efforts.

Give yourself fully to God’s work:

  • “knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose].” (1 Corinthians 15:58b AMP)
  • “God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.” (Hebrews 6:10 NASB)

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You have a vital place in Christ’s church. Every child of God has an assignment, a gift, a mission, an obligation. The work of ministry isn’t relegated to a few paid pastors. Every Christ-follower must contribute to the growth of Christ’s body.

“He [Christ] makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT)

It doesn’t matter if your name is recognizable or not. God knows your name. You matter to God. BIG NAME or little name – make sure you live for God’s fame.

May 8, 2013

God Knows Your Name

The Lord knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what you ate for dinner and why you like eating it. He knows why you are timid in front of your boss. He knows what you thinking during your last disagreement with your spouse. He knows how long it took you to prepare for that recent speech. He knows the tears you cried when your child was sick. He knows everything about you. He even knows your future.

“The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.” (Psalm 33:13 NLT) I’ve heard people joke about how busy God is and think that somehow He is too busy to care about everything going on in the world. Even Christian students joke about it.

David Seamans, author and professor at Asbury Seminary, tells a story about the campus where the seminary shared cafeteria facilities with Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky. On one occasion, students moving through the cafeteria line found near the beginning a large basket of bright red apples. The cafeteria staff had placed a sign above the basket, quite appropriate for a Christian college campus, “Take one only please—God is watching.”
As students made their way through the line selecting meat loaf or taco salad, and peaches or chocolate mousse, they found at the other end a large box of broken cookies which the staff had put out. Attached to the box was a piece of notebook paper containing a note obviously scrawled by a student. It read, “Take as many as you want; God is watching the apples.” (Holman New Testament Commentary: Acts, p. 257)

I laugh at that joke, but the reality is that Heavenly Father never loses His focus. The Lord in His omniscience sees everything you do and knows everything about you. That isn’t meant to scare you. He is more concerned for you than He is for birds – yet, He still cares for birds, too. “What’s the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do.” (Matthew 10:29 MSG)

  • He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head!” (Matthew 10:30 MSG)
  • “He knows about everyone, everywhere. Everything about us is bare and wide open to the all-seeing eyes of our living God; nothing can be hidden from him to whom we must explain all that we have done.” (Hebrews 4:13 LIVING)
  • Job rhetorically asked, “Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take?” (Job 31:4 NLT)

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Amazingly, people matter to God. YOU matter to God.

As I type this conclusion, I’ve got a worship album cranked up with Tommy Walker’s “He Knows My Name”. Several people have recorded it and the message will encourage you. Look for the song online and purchase it for yourself. The lyrics are:

I have a Maker; He formed my heart.
Before even time began, My life was in His hand.

I have a Father; He calls me His own.
He’ll never leave me, No matter where I go.

He knows my name

He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call; He hears me when I call. [He Knows My Name by Tommy Walker © 1996 Doulos Publishing (Admin. by Maranatha! Music)]

Why not call out to God now? He knows you. He knows your name. He would love to talk to you – right now!

May 6, 2013

Time for a New Name?

Hopefully, your name gives you a positive sense of personal identity. But, do you remember the names you were called when you in elementary school or college? Would you rather not mention some of them?

Names are significant because names so often alter the way in which you see yourself, and sometimes, how world sees you as well.

During a 2008 Valley Fellowship mission short-term trip, BIG SMILES ensued as these Gift Bags (with gifts inside!) were put into the hands of the orphans at Casa Angelina in Guatemala. Each child really noticed their own name. I think the personalized bag with a personalized gift increased each child’s sense of value.

A new name may be just the ticket to increase something’s value. Years ago, fisherman renamed a deep-sea fish in order to create a market for it. The fish didn’t change, just the name did. Apparently, “Orange Roughy” sells a whole lot better than “Slimehead”.

Maybe that’s why government contractors might want label a pencil as a “portable, hand-held communications inscriber”.

In Scripture, the choice of a new name was always significant. New names signaled something. Often, the new name became a tipping point, a crucial moment that changes everything in a person’s life.

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The new name might ease assimilation into a new culture and new society. Foreign names were occasionally adopted by loyal Hebrews. Hadassah is much better known by her Persian name “Esther”. When Jesus walked through Israel, many Jews had adopted Greek and/or Aramaic names.

The new name might transition loyalty from one to another. Babylon gave new names to the Judean exiles. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar hoped to ease assimilation into the new society, but more like an attempt to turn them from their loyalty to Yahweh. The chief official Ashpenaz integrated the names of pagan deities into the new news for Daniel and his three friends. Their Hebrew names all contained references to the one true God. Daniel’s new name “Belteshazzar” contained “Bel” (Babylonian deity also called Marduk). Hananiah’s new name “Shadrach” connected to the moon god Aku. Mishael’s “Meshach” meant “who is what Aku is?” and Azariah’s “Abednego” referenced the second greatest Babylonian god Nabu. Much to Nebuchadnezzar’s chagrin, those four young men refused to dishonor their loyalties to the God of Israel.

The new name might express a new status. With his promotion to prime minister of Egypt, Joseph was given a new name by Pharaoh (Genesis 41:45). Upon her return Moab, the sour widow Naomi ( meaning “Pleasant”) wanted her friends in Bethlehem to call her “Mara” which means “Bitter” (Ruth 1:20).

The new name might also denote a new relationship with God. “Jacob”, the heel-grabbing deceiver, receives the name “Israel”. The hot-headed “Simon” is prophetically proclaimed the rock-solid “Peter”.

Is it time for new name in your life? Don’t accept any name that is less than God estimate of your value. Don’t let the label someone put on you limit what God wants to do in you and through you. What God thinks of you is far more important than any other person’s opinion. In school, you had to put up with people calling you names, but to hear the name God calls you requires you listen. Are you investing time – reading His Word and listening to His voice?

May 5, 2013

New Name – New Status – New Future

Twenty-seven years ago (this weekend!), Patti and I stepped into Goldbro department store on Airport Road in Huntsville, Alabama to look at the rings in the jewelry section. Somehow, my mom had managed to tag along and walked behind us as we stepped into the jewelry section.

We stopped at the very first case and Patti pointed to a ring under the glass. She glanced at me and said, “That’s the one I want.”

“Are you sure? We just starting shopping? Don’t you want to look around some more?” I questioned.

“Okay, but that is the one I want.” I gulped as the lady behind the counter placed it on Patti’s finger. “Yes,” Patti said staring at the ring, “I like this one.”

Mom suddenly interjected herself into the discussion, “Well, Greg, are you going to buy it?” Mom knew my bank account. She knew that I had saved money to purchase a guitar.

“MOM!” I glared back. Patti tried to rescue the moment and asked if I needed a second to think about it. I nodded and I held her hand as we took a few steps into the BABY section.

A moment later, we stepped back to jewelry department. And, May 5, 1986, Patti first sported her engagement ring.

In your case, however, this probably involved your forehead drooping and gradually coming to rest against your desk http://pamelaannschoolofdance.com/aid-6190 tadalafil cialis from india as your teacher droned on and on from the front of the classroom about the importance of doing well on your SAT. tadalafil buy cheap There are several online service provide that sell generic ED drugs at reasonable prices. The opposite causes problems too – muscles that are too hot, wear tight underwear, go biking, get cialis generic australia in a sauna-anything that might increase the temperature around his testicles. However, this is not at canada levitra all true in the first place. When a woman marries in the United States, she commonly takes a new name, the name of her husband. Thus, Patti Edmonds became Patti Simon – to my great delight! Patti’s new name was symbolic of her new status (married to me!) and her new future with me.

Within my Logos study software is a collection of the newspapers from the American Civil War, the tumultuous times of 1860 to 1865. (www.logos.com, If you purchase, please let them know I referred you.) An article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (August, 1861) suggested a new name for an inauspicious purpose:

ALEXANDER the Great hearing that there was a man of the same name with himself in his army, and that he was a notorious coward, sent for him, and said unto him, ‘”fight better, or change your name.”’
Ought not old SCOTT to profit by this example? He lost the battle of Manassas. He confesses himself to be a great coward. Why, then, should he cling to ‘”Winfield,”’ a name indicative of victory? Why does he not write ‘”Losefield“’ as descriptive of his present status?

In Shakespeare’s play, Juliet suggests Romeo throw away his name, after all, “What’s in a name?” What is called a rose still has its smell even if given another name, yet Romeo and Juliet suffer the tragedy instigated by connection to their surnames. A person may be greater than the meaning of their name, but the name remains significant.

Ultimately, real freedom – no matter what label has bound you – comes only from real relationship with the Lord. The Lord spoke through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah that the promised salvation would come with a “new name”. “The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a new name by the Lord’s own mouth.” (Isaiah 62:2 NLT)

“The proclamation of a new name for Zion indicates the new condition and character that God’s salvation will provide for her.” (John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66, NICOT, p. 579)

Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” [Hebrew “Azubah”] or “The Desolate Land.” [Hebrew “Shemamah”] Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” [Hebrew “Hephzibah” which means “my delight is in her”] and “The Bride of God,” [Hebrew “Beulah” which means “married”] for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride. (Isaiah 62:4 NLT)

The new name speaks of new promise, new power, new potential, new prospective as a result of relationship with the Lord. Salvation releases new hope, new status, new future for every Christ-follower. I am not saying that we should all change our names like my wife did when she married me. But, I do think we should live up to our status as the Bride of Christ and to lives that honor His Name.

What about you? Are you ready to invest your “guitar” money, your life’s blood for the sake of God’s kingdom? Well, are you going to buy it?

May 4, 2013

Names have power

Patti and I spent quite a while discussing what we should name our children. Just after Patti got pregnant with our first daughter, my dad suggested I let Patti pick the name. “It will be a lot easier,” he said. But, I wasn’t quick to surrender my opinion in the matter. We talked and read namebooks and talked some more. That was before the proliferation of the internet, so we didn’t google names!

We finally decided to name our firstborn after Patti’s sister, but then we argued a bit as to the exact spelling of the name. I campaigned for the letter “z” to set her apart from her aunt. Ultimately, we resolved that Patti would choose the spelling of the name of our first child, and I would . . . agree to the decision. Rosalyn was given the name “Rosalyn”, but I chuckled when our daughter decided to go by the nickname “Rozy”. Yes, God always gives me much better than I deserve.

A name is much more than just a handy label for getting someone’s attention.

Parents living in Biblical days often gave a name to a child to make an announcement about that child or to communicate something through that child. A famous example of this is clear naming of Jesus which means “Savior” (Matthew 1:21). “There is a sense of the significance of the proper name. The name denotes the person, establishes its identity, and is a part of it. It can often be said: ‘As a man is named, so is he.’” (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, p. 254)

The Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible summarizes six common motivations for Biblical names (p. 1522-1523):
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  1. To record some aspect of a person’s birth. Jacob (“heel grabber”, “deceiver”) connives for Esau’s (“red”) blessing.
  2. To express parental reactions to the birth. Isaac (“laughter”) recalls the laughter of Abraham and Sarah.
  3. To secure the solidarity of the family. As is common today, a child is named after a parent, an uncle, or a relative.
  4. To reveal the nature of the person, his function, or some other significant thing about him. “Nabal” is a “fool” (1 Samuel 25:25).
  5. To communicate God’s message. Isaiah named his son “Shear-jashub” to warn that only “a remnant shall return” after God’s coming judgment.
  6.  To establish religious affiliation. All the names in the Bible with the endings -iah or -el (e.g., Jeremiah, Nathanael) are in fact statements with “the Lord” (-iah) or God (-iel) as subject.

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