What's In A Name?

"What's in a name?  That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet?" - Shakespeare

If we believe this much quoted line by Shakespeare, names are really not important.  So is a name really important?  Well, it is to me!

My name is Susan.  Not Suzie, Suzie Q, or Sue.  If you call me a nickname, I will correct you once and then I will pretend not to hear you.  Think that's a bit harsh?  No more harsh than when a child tells you,"Someone called me out of my name!"

We are all particular about what we are called.  If there were no names, then we would not know who wants us.  And most people still think it is rude for someone to scream, "Hey, you!"

Now I think we have established names are important in a worldly sense, let's see what God thinks.  II Chronicles 7: 13-15, "If I [God] shut up heaven so no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, If My people who are called by MY NAME , shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.  Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place." (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine)
God takes His name pretty seriously. So seriously that the only way to improve things is for the people who are called by His name can effectively change the world we now live in.

So which name is He talking about?  Even though most of us would answer that question, "Well, 'God'of course!", we are not aware that the entity we call "God" has many names and each name reveals a different aspect of His character.

So I am going to once a week (starting next week) talk a little about some of the names of God.  This is by no means an academic or complete study.  It will be more of a devotional study of each name and its application to our lives. 

My favorite professors always told us that when you don't feel the presence of God, you hold on to what you know of God as revealed in Scripture.  This in one way you and I can come to know better the One who sacrificed His only Son because He loves you so much.

The rest of the week I will write about what I have always written about, where and when I see God in my everyday life.  So let's pack our bags and get ready to travel to places where we have never been before or to revisit a place that has become dear to our heart.