Loving God of mercy and peace, pour out a special blessing upon the need present in the life of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
From Genesis 17: 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, "I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! 2 I'll make a covenant between us and I'll give you a huge family." 3 Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face. 4 "This is my covenant with you: You'll be the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that 'I'm making you the father of many nations.' 6 I'll make you a father of fathers - I'll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. 7 I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. 15 God continued speaking to Abraham, "And Sarai your wife: Don't call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. 16 I'll bless her - yes! I'll give you a son by her! Oh, how I'll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her." (The Message)
"Live life to the hilt," God told a 99-year old man. And by the way, God continued, "I'm going to make this official with a covenant between us." And God further surprised the old man, "And I'll give you a huge family." This to a man whose prayers for a child had gone unanswered for all of his adult life. AND, God wasn't through yet, "Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that 'I'm making you the father of many nations.' " Yes, God said, "You'll be a father of fathers."
Most of us didn't choose our names. Our names are usually given to us by our mothers or fathers. The name has a specialness in the heart of the parents and as we grew up we either liked or disliked our name. But what name has God given you? Abram's faithfulness and obedience, two great names in and of themselves, led to his name change. And God also changed Sarai to Sarah, some believe it's basically the same name but that perhaps the second name made it more a global name than a regional one. What's your God-given name? Believer? Worker? Troublemaker? Disobedient? Doubter? Remember Simon Peter, he was re-named because Jesus knew him to be a "rock" for God. You may be thinking God hasn't spoken to me and changed my name. What I am saying is that if you're a believer in God and doing what God expects you have a name in the way you are living or sadly, not living your faith. You could even recognize the new meaning behind your given name as you want it to relate to your faithfulness to God.
God is not finished with you, and stands ready to work with you in that which is still ahead for you. What name will be given to you?
PRAYER: Loving God, as I seek to do Your will, I and the person praying this prayer seek to be obedient and faithful. May my life reflect that which You are doing through me for the good of Your people; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
