What's in a Name? by Paula Roach

Forgive me for being a little off subject today and for some rambling but I needed this one today and am being reminded of just how big God is and how powerful His name is...

What's in a Name

I remember a show we used to watch in my eighth grade language arts class called "What's in a Name?" Each episode featured a different name and the meanings. One day while watching the show, the featured name was none other than my own. "Paula means little." Wow! They could not have been more accurate. After all, I was small for my age. The funny thing is, though the reality of my size had never been a secret, in classic junior high fashion, the teasing began seconds after the show ended and suddenly, that is what I was known for.

Before that day, many may have known my name, but they did not know me. They may have learned the meaning of my name that day, but they did not know my personality. I may have been little, but those who knew me personally knew there was much more to Paula than that one word description.

Shy. Reliable. Silly. Compassionate... These are just a few other words to describe "Little" Paula for those who took the time to get to know me. :)

Some of those same students from my junior high Language Arts class were also in my high school classes. We knew eachother for years but the extent of our relationship was reduced to that story we heard about one another in the locker room or the Language Arts class or from some casual encounters we had throughout the years.

Sometime the same thing happens in our relationship with the Lord. We know Him for years but the depth of that relationship is often reduced to past experiences with Him. I personally go through seasons when I either pursue Him casually, or frankly not at all. Instead, I settle for what He is known for. I settle for what I have already experienced.

In Phil 3 Paul tells us that He made it his determined purpose to know Christ and become more like Him. This determination is coming from a man who had a pretty amazing and life changing encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. Yet, he was not satisfied with that. He knew there was still so much more to know about Jesus. He did not settle for what he already had.

He wanted to know Jesus beyond just what people said about Him. He wanted to know Jesus beyond what he had already experienced. The amplified version says "to become more progressively and intimately acquainted with Him."  He wanted to find out everything about Jesus, to find out what's in His name.

The more we pursue Jesus this way we find that there is much more in His name than we could imagine.

In His name is healing.
In His name is hope.
In His name is Life.
In His name is Power... just to name a few!

I personally need all of these things in my life right now!

But there is more.

                 Do you need a friend? "He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother" Proverbs 18:24

Do you need a healer, either physically, mentally or emotionally? "He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3 "By His wounds we are healed." Is 53:5

Do you need comfort? "I, even I, am He who comforts you. Isaiah 51:12

Do you need a father? "By which we call Him Abba, Father" Romans 8:15

Provision? "God is my helper. The Lord is the provider of my life." Psalm 54:4

Strength? "The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runs into it and is safe." Proverbs 18:10

Companionship? Deuteronomy 31:6 tells us to be strong and of good courage because He will never leave us or forsake us.

Jesus is all these things and more! But don't take my Word for it. Take His. Get in the Word. Seek Him on your own! You won't be disappointed. In fact, like Paul, the more you get to know Him, the more you will want to know Him! As we face our day, we do not face it alone. As we fight our personal battles, we do not fight alone. As we rejoice, we do not rejoice alone. We will never be without the perfect companion for the specific need we face. 

I am ready to move on from this season of casual pursuit to one of determined purpose!

I have provided a link to an oldy but a goody. The song, He Is by Aaron Geoffry. I encourage you to click on this link. As you listen, take a moment to imagine that battle you face and a growing army surrounding you, fighting for you. With each mention of who He Is, imagine that person of Jesus joining the army in front of you. Behind you. Each side of you.

Or perhaps there is no battle right now except the determined purpose to get to know Him more. What part of His character have you not yet discovered? Call upon His name and let Him meet you there.
http://youtu.be/Yf7X3DvjHWo

Don't let the weekend slip by without taking some time out to get to KNOW HIM better!

One more verse today, just because I love it:)

"Some trust in wagons and some in horses. But we will trust in the NAME of the Lord, our God. " Psalm 20:7