7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him."
8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, "It is truth."
God is known by so many names: He is Elohim, our Creator. He is Jehovah-Jireh, our provider and Jehovah-Rophe, our healer. He is Jehovah-Nissi, our Banner, reminding us that He watches over us. And, He is Jehovah-Shalom, our peace. His names have meaning - and His names for us have meaning, too. He has called us children of God, new creatures in Christ Jesus. He has declared us righteous and holy, and empowers us to live in that manner. What God declares, we can embrace personally for us.
God has called us by name, and He has described us as His children. Names are important and can remind us of our identity in Christ. There's an example of a name-changing experience in Isaiah 62:
1 For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God.
4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married.
Just an odd story for your Friday from Buncombe County, North Carolina, home to a lake that is simply called Beaver Lake. According to WYFF4.com, a 67-year-old woman named Betsy Bent was paddleboarding on the lake when she encountered - imagine this - a beaver!! Someone had pointed this story out to me in the local newspaper, as well as the alliteration present within it.
And, it certainly is odd - Warden Billy Jenkins said that the animal knocked Betsy off the board and bit Betsy on the legs and hands. She said that once the animal latched on to her leg, it would not let go. A fisherman came to Ms. Bent's aid, but it attacked again. She needed stitches and rabies shots. It was likely that the animal did have rabies and was out in the daytime because of illness.
Bent said that she thinks it was just a bizarre incident and she plans to go paddleboarding again.
I agree - it is a weird incident, with plenty of alliteration to get your attention. You could write a story called, "Boarding Betsy Bent and the Bizarre Buncombe County Beaver Bash." Not so funny for Betsy, though, but she's not going to let a pesky beaver keep her off the lake.
Could there be anything spiritual you could gain out of this story? Well, perhaps. There was a name attached to the lake. And, the name carried a meaning. Not that a lot of beavers came out in the daytime on Beaver Lake, necessarily, but there was that possibility, I suppose.
A name can telegraph an action, or a possibility. God changed the name of a man named Abram to Abraham, designating that he would be the father of many nations. Jesus referred to Simon as Peter, designating him as a "rock." So, names are important to God. He has endued the name of Jesus with mighty power and His name is above all names. When you speak the name of Jesus, that should be more than just a passing reference - we can speak it with reverence and awe. Jesus instructed us to pray in His name, and by so doing, we can connect to the resources of heaven.
In this age of political correctness, we have redefined names and concepts from the Scriptures. What the Bible calls sin, human beings can refer to as "lifestyle choices." Our sinfulness becomes a malady that people seek to cure, rather than a sin from which we need to be delivered. The depravity of human nature and the truth of our own departure from God's truth becomes deviation that we can blame our environment for, or our parents, or any number of causes - incorrectly. And, we can be challenged to recognize Satan, the enemy of our souls, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, who is named in the Scriptures and identified by his characteristics.
Was there a beaver in Beaver Lake? Just ask Betsy Bent. Are there names in the Scripture that give us insight into who God is and how He operates? Absolutely - and embracing those concepts can help us to be effective in living according to His ways. We can learn more about God by thinking about His names.
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God has called us by name, and He has described us as His children. Names are important and can remind us of our identity in Christ. There's an example of a name-changing experience in Isaiah 62:
1 For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God.
4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married.
Just an odd story for your Friday from Buncombe County, North Carolina, home to a lake that is simply called Beaver Lake. According to WYFF4.com, a 67-year-old woman named Betsy Bent was paddleboarding on the lake when she encountered - imagine this - a beaver!! Someone had pointed this story out to me in the local newspaper, as well as the alliteration present within it.
And, it certainly is odd - Warden Billy Jenkins said that the animal knocked Betsy off the board and bit Betsy on the legs and hands. She said that once the animal latched on to her leg, it would not let go. A fisherman came to Ms. Bent's aid, but it attacked again. She needed stitches and rabies shots. It was likely that the animal did have rabies and was out in the daytime because of illness.
Bent said that she thinks it was just a bizarre incident and she plans to go paddleboarding again.
I agree - it is a weird incident, with plenty of alliteration to get your attention. You could write a story called, "Boarding Betsy Bent and the Bizarre Buncombe County Beaver Bash." Not so funny for Betsy, though, but she's not going to let a pesky beaver keep her off the lake.
Could there be anything spiritual you could gain out of this story? Well, perhaps. There was a name attached to the lake. And, the name carried a meaning. Not that a lot of beavers came out in the daytime on Beaver Lake, necessarily, but there was that possibility, I suppose.
A name can telegraph an action, or a possibility. God changed the name of a man named Abram to Abraham, designating that he would be the father of many nations. Jesus referred to Simon as Peter, designating him as a "rock." So, names are important to God. He has endued the name of Jesus with mighty power and His name is above all names. When you speak the name of Jesus, that should be more than just a passing reference - we can speak it with reverence and awe. Jesus instructed us to pray in His name, and by so doing, we can connect to the resources of heaven.
In this age of political correctness, we have redefined names and concepts from the Scriptures. What the Bible calls sin, human beings can refer to as "lifestyle choices." Our sinfulness becomes a malady that people seek to cure, rather than a sin from which we need to be delivered. The depravity of human nature and the truth of our own departure from God's truth becomes deviation that we can blame our environment for, or our parents, or any number of causes - incorrectly. And, we can be challenged to recognize Satan, the enemy of our souls, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, who is named in the Scriptures and identified by his characteristics.
Was there a beaver in Beaver Lake? Just ask Betsy Bent. Are there names in the Scripture that give us insight into who God is and how He operates? Absolutely - and embracing those concepts can help us to be effective in living according to His ways. We can learn more about God by thinking about His names.
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