I’ve been thinking about the power of a name lately. When we name something, we have authority over it. When something names us, they have authority over us, and they define us. So if we’re accepting a name that the devil has named us, it will destroy us. But if we accept a name that God has given us, it produces life!
Many of us come from rough backgrounds, where maybe we were named some ugly things, or labeled by conditions – physical or mental – that can pin us down. Well, do you accept that name? Or what name does God say over you?
I was in Ephesians last night, and God brought me to chapter 3, beginning with verse 14:
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man … that you may be filled with the fullness of God.
God, Himself, has named us! And He has named us that our inner man – our mind, our heart, our soul – would be strengthened!
What does He name us? Well, if I begin at the beginning of Ephesians I find that He names us holy, without blame, and in His love (v.4). He names us adopted and accepted (v. 5, 6). He names us His workmanship (v.10). And in verse 8 it says:
For by grace you have been saved – for by grace you have been healed, for by grace you have been transformed, for by grace you have been set free! – through faith, and not of yourself, it is a free gift of God!
God is healing and transforming mindsets, beliefs we may have held. He’s declaring LIGHT in our dark places! Will you set yourself in agreement with Him? Will you name yourself a new name, and receive the name God has given you?! Don’t be defined by the things of your past, or the conditions of your past. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Come into agreement with His new name for you!
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If you know the Lord, what are some names that have limited you? And what are new names that you can declare over your life to replace them? Speak these names over yourself!
And if you don’t know the Lord, the Bible says that if we believe in our heart that Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins, and confess that with our mouths, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). If you believe that, thank Him for laying His life down for you and ask Him to take your sins. Tell Him you want a new life in Him, and He will give it to you! Amen!