The baby has arrived! Now it is time to give Him a Name. In this day of ultrasounds, parents often know the gender of the baby before he or she arrives. Part of the fun of those days of anticipation is choosing a name for the baby. Parents and extended families may suggest family names, favorite names or names that give a message.
Why even have a name? Names identify us. Names help assign our place in memory. And names are very important to God. One of God’s first creative assignments for Adam was to allow him to name the creatures of the earth. God Himself named each individual star. And God named you!
You might have thought that your name was chosen by accident, but God says in Isaiah 43:1, “I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name! You are mine!” In Biblical times, names often correlated to a person’s mission on earth. When a person chose to line up with God’s Mission for them, God sometimes changed their name to indicate a new direction. Example: Saul the persecutor became Paul the evangelist.
God even gave Himself a Name. When Moses asked Him to further identify Himself, God gave His Name as “I AM.” In so doing, God gave us Powerful Entry into the world of miracles. When we use His Name and complete the sentence with statements that are true about God, they become true for us. Example: I AM faithful. I AM true. I AM merciful.
God was very specific about the Name Jesus was to be given. The angel told Joseph to name the baby Jesus “because He will save His People from their sins.” God was making Jesus’ Mission clear from the beginning. He also had another name … Immanuel … which means “God with us.” God was also making it very clear Who Jesus was.
There is POWER in the Name of Jesus. The Bible tells us at the Name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. The Name of Jesus was breathed into the air by God … and Jesus became the Word of God humans heard in their earth language. The Name of Jesus was never intended to be a curse word. It was intended to link us in the purest way possible to the Lord of the Universe!
When you don’t know what to say … when you think there is no time for long prayers … when you want to be close to God … say His Name. I AM so glad You are with Me. I AM so glad You came to save me. Jesus … Jesus … Jesus … Name above all Names!
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM!”
This is what you are to say to the Israelites:
I AM has sent me to you.”
Exodus 3:14
“You are to give Him the Name Jesus,
because He will save His People from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,
and they will call Him Immanuel,
which means, ‘God with us’!”
Matthew 1:21
Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the Name that is above every name,
that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER!
Philippians 2:9-11
