This is part 2 of 13 Inspirational Thoughts for 2013:
Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
and the sum labeled “chosen of God,”
They’d be numbers still, not names;
salvation comes by personal selection.
God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name.
Arithmetic is not his focus.
(Romans 9:27 MSG)
_______
When I was growing up my mother had a plaque hanging at the landing of our stairs:
I have called you by name
you are Mine.
(Isaiah 43:1b)
(Romans 9:27 MSG)
_______
When I was growing up my mother had a plaque hanging at the landing of our stairs:
I have called you by name
you are Mine.
(Isaiah 43:1b)
I would stop and look at that plaque almost every time I went down the stairs. The verse called to me, it awakened me, it made me stop and ponder - and it still does.
What does it mean to be called by God? What does it mean to belong to Him? I don't think I'll ever grasp the depth of it all but what I see now is that this truth - He has called me by name, I belong to Him -has been an underlying rhythm in my life.
I love the personal imagery that this verse captures. We know the promise to Abraham of the blessing being as numerous as the grains of sand and the stars in the sky and yet this Scripture from Romans, shows us that the quantity did not diminish the value.
Psalm 147:4
He counts the stars.
He calls them all by name.
Remember the one sheep and heaven rejoicing over the one? That is how God feels about His children - His child - you. As I said in part 1, the Lord has been reorienting my perspective to seeing the value of one; no longer putting mission and drive over love and people.
When I was a teacher, I used the Isaiah 43:1 verse as my October bulletin board and took each individual student's name, looked up their meaning and wrote it down on a pumpkin, because I knew how foundational Isaiah 43:1b had been in my own life. Now, in one of my areas of ministry, they do the same thing - take each individuals name and show what it means. This act has been profound for me as I minister to these individuals. When I am cranky, mad, frustrated, ready to throw in the towel I'm quickly reminded that it is He who has called them. He knows their name, He knows what He is up to in their lives, He knows the freedom that He has in store for them. Looking at it that way, shifts my perspective from seeing with "my physical eyes" to seeing with my "spiritual eyes."
Names are significant throughout the Bible and we find out that at the end of this age they will remain significant:
Your name is one avenue our personal God uses to relate and connect with you.
Application:
Below is a Scribd document you can use to insert your name and its meaning. You have to go directly to Scribd, and download it as a Docx file in order for you to personalize it.
I would also encourage you to use this if there is someone in your life that is driving you crazy. Stop and take the time to look up the meaning of their name. Place it before you in a place of prayer. Being reminded of how God feels about somebody - as an individual - and what He is doing in their lives helps you to stay focused.
Revelation 2:17
I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it,
known only to him who receives it.
Your name is one avenue our personal God uses to relate and connect with you.
Application:
Below is a Scribd document you can use to insert your name and its meaning. You have to go directly to Scribd, and download it as a Docx file in order for you to personalize it.
I would also encourage you to use this if there is someone in your life that is driving you crazy. Stop and take the time to look up the meaning of their name. Place it before you in a place of prayer. Being reminded of how God feels about somebody - as an individual - and what He is doing in their lives helps you to stay focused.
Your name by Jaime Farkas (Click this link for document)
In Christ,
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