Isaiah 61-63
*Click here to read this passage:
“And you will be given a new name by
God’s own mouth. The Lord will
hold you in His hand for all to see – a splendid crown in the hand of God. Never again will you be called the
“Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” and “The Bride of
God,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride.” (62:2-4 NLT)
I love this passage about God giving
Israel a new name. I was reminded
today of how often God did this in the Bible for individuals as well. He gave new names with meanings of His
purpose for people. For example He
changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means, “Father of a great multitude.” He changed Jacob to Israel, “God may
prevail.” Jesus gave Simon the
name Peter, which means “a rock” because He said Peter would be the rock on which
He would build His church. Saul
became Paul, which means “humble” because he went from being a leader who
convicted many to a leader who served many spreading the name, love, and truth
of Jesus.
The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians
5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!”
I think sometimes people view themselves
as being too sinful to come to Jesus, like He could never forgive them, but
that is far from the truth. The
other day my 6-year-old son had woken up with a bad attitude and had been
making some bad choices and being hateful to me, but then started feeling
guilty about it. He said, “I know
what you’re thinking. You’re
thinking I’m the worst boy ever.”
Oh son, not even close to what I’m thinking! Yes, I’m disappointed in your actions and hope you will choose
better next time, but I’m thinking I love this boy more than anything.
We might think that God can’t forgive us
or looks at us like we are the worst ever, but He looks at us like He loves us
more than anything. “The Lord
delights in you.” He takes away
our sins and makes us new. He
gives us a new name with new meaning and new purpose in life!
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