What's in a Name?

Scripture

John 14-16, specifically verses 14:13-14, 15:16, 16:23-24, 16:26

Study

Four times in Jesus’ final discourse recorded in John 14-16 does he tell his disciples that he will give them whatever they ask in his name. (14:13-14, 15:16, 16:23-24, 16:26) There is obviously power in Jesus’ name.

A name is a symbol of power. Upon hearing a name, you immediately associate that person with the name. When you hear “President George W Bush” spoken, you immediately associate a person with the name as well as the power associated with the man even though you’ve never met him.

Praying in Christ’s name automatically associates the same power when we speak his name.

A Matter of Trust

In telling his disciples to use his name in prayer, Jesus is telling them that he trusts them. Consider a joint checking account – it is not a perfect analogy but it works for our purposes. Two names are on the account and both people have access to it. There is a lot of trust placed on the other person that they will handle the account properly. If there wasn’t the trust, the account would never be opened.

When Jesus tells his disciples to pray in his name, he knows that they will not betray the trust that he has placed in them.

What do you think about the trust Jesus has placed in you by telling you to ask anything in his name?

Name and Nature

There is a lot of responsibility that goes along with using someone’s name. It may bring a lot of benefits but we also must be true to the character of the person’s name. Consider Franklin Graham. We know him as Billy Graham’s son. Franklin Graham may do a lot of great things in his life, but he will always be Billy Graham’s son and that will open doors for him that other preachers and evangelists would not see opened. But if Franklin Graham did something that was out of character with the Graham name he would quickly lose the privilege that was carried with that name.

When we use the name of Jesus, we carry a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. We are expected to ask for things that are in Jesus’ nature; things that are selfless and loving. To ask for things that are out of character with the name would be an abuse of the power surrounding that name.

Relationship to the Name

The authority of a name is one of the most important things a person can give to another. When a man and woman get married, the man gives his bride his name. It is because of the trust he has placed in her that his name will not be sullied by something she does. The same goes for children. When a name is given, it is an act of adoption and acceptance into a family. While Joseph was not Jesus’ earthly father, he legally adopted him by naming him. The taking or giving of a name shows a relationship of trust between two people.

Once again, it all comes back to a matter of relationship. If we expect to call on Jesus’ name, we better be in a proper relationship with him. This doesn’t just mean paying lip service. Andrew Murray writes, “God looks not to our lips to see what the name is to us, but to our hearts.” Paul writes in Colossians 3:17, “We will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.” If we are going to pray in Christ’s name, we better make sure our walk reflects the trust that he his placed on us.

Do our lives reflect the trust Christ has placed on us?

Do our prayers reflect this trust as well?

Adapted from With Christ in the School of Prayer
Taken from Spreading Light Ministries.

Loving God with all your heart.

Jesus said to him, “‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
(Matthew 22:37 – 40)

Loving God with your whole heart is the key to everything in life; because your relationship with God affects everything and everyone in your life. It is impossible to love God too much; however it is easy to fall short of loving Him with your whole heart. In a moment of honesty with myself and the Lord I asked “Lord, how can I love you more”?

Instantly the Lord responded “be thankful”. In one moment, with those two words, came several scriptures to my mind and concepts that I had not thought of before. I also understood for the first time that anything, whether past or present, that we are unthankful about is a part of our heart that does not love God. In that same moment I also understood why this is true. Deep down inside our spirit we know that God is in control of the universe. If we have had painful experiences which we are not thankful for then we are unhappy and unthankful to God for them, consciously or unconsciously.

You may not even know that you are blaming God; you may think that you are blaming Satan or you may be blaming other people. However, in reality you are blaming God also because you know that He is in control. God allowed the experience to happen to you. God could have prevented it and you know it. Each painful experience which you are unthankful for is a dark spot in your heart that does not love God. Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)

We are commanded to love God with our whole heart. That is because it is possible to love God with only a part of your heart. Only when you are thankful to God with your whole heart do you really love Him with your whole heart. That means you must be thankful for everything in your life, past and present. Thankfulness is a gauge that measures your heart condition; it reveals anything which is blocking your love for God. Thankfulness to God is an indication of a heart that has right standing before God. Out of a thankful heart flow expressions of love to God, including praise, worship, and obedience. This is a good question to ask your self, “is there anything that I am not thankful to God for”?

See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. (1stThessalonians 5:15 – 19) Being unthankful causes you to quench the Holy Spirit because it is unforgiveness. The word “quench” means to put the fire out. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. When you quench the Spirit you quench love.

God says in everything give thanks for this is His will for you in Christ Jesus. Right now you may be saying I can’t be thankful for the terrible tragedy or wrong that happened to me. You may even be in a current situation that is very painful. But your choice in every situation is to either be angry with God or thankful. Maybe you think that you love God but you also admit that you are angry at people who have hurt you. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1stJohn 4:20) If you will decide to be thankful to God for the situation, recognizing that it is God’s will for you, then the hate and anger will be replaced by love, even for the people who have hurt you. Love always brings revelation, allowing you to see things and people in God’s light.

Why has God allowed you to experience painful situations? It is for your good, He wants you to be an overcomer. The Lord is teaching you to trust Him and love Him in every situation with all your heart so that you will be more than a conqueror through Him. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) If you are having a difficult time being thankful for a situation and you are thinking I do not see any way that good can come out of this it may be that you are preventing the good from being revealed.

Remember that the promise in Romans 8:28 is conditional, for those who love God. If there is a part of your heart that is unthankful and therefore does not love God you may be preventing the Lord from being able to make the situation “work together for good”. When you become thankful then that part of your heart loves God and the Lord can now make the tragedy into a testimony. As long as you hold on to the pain, being unthankful, it can not work out for good because you do not love God with that part of your heart.

You will not see the good until you become thankful. You must trust Him and say Lord I thank you for this situation because I know that you allowed it for my good, according to your word. When you become thankful you will experience the love, peace, and joy of God’s presence. That is because we enter into God’s presence through thanksgiving. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (Psalms 100:4-5)

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalms 139:23–24) The Hebrew word for wicked, in this passage, means idol and it also means pain and sorrow. Any situation that has caused great pain and sorrow can become an idol in your heart if you choose to be unthankful for it. Until a person can trust God enough to become thankful for those situations they are in bondage to them and they do not love God with that part of their heart. Sometimes tragic events become such an important part of a person’s life that it becomes a part of their identity such is the case with victim mentality. This happens when a person sees themselves as just a victim instead of being an overcomer. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1stCorinthians 15:57).

Unthankfulness is not the cause of a heart problem rather it is a symptom of a root problem. A root problem may be unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, jealousy and any other spiritual condition that opens a door for Satan and closes a door to God. The root problem will need to be put to death first before a person can become thankful. If a root problem has become a part of your life you will need to go through a “dieing to yourself process”. Recognize that you are not a victim and that everything that happens to you is a part of your life to help make you into the person God wants you to be.

The law of sowing and reaping tells us that what cost the most receives the greatest reward. When you decide to be thankful to God for a very difficult situation in your life you will be taking a big step in denying yourself; because you will be giving up what has become a big part of your life. You will be sacrificing your pride and humbling yourself before God. This allows God’s grace to flow into you and cover the whole painful situation. It will be a big step in your spiritual growth in the Lord, causing you to love Him and trust Him more.

You may not be thankful for something that you did which caused suffering for you or others. However, you can be thankful for the lessons you learned. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:10) You can also be thankful to the Lord for the way He is going to work it out for good. Often we do not see the good that God has planned. However, every time we go through a suffering situation with a thankful heart we grow in our love and faith in God.

We must realize that when we go through difficult situations it is not because God does not love us, but rather because He does love us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35 – 39)

In the passage above the word “conquerors” is the same root word used for “overcomer” in Jesus’ messages to the churches in the book of Revelation, chapters 2 & 3. We overcome by the blood Jesus shed for us, the word of our testimony, and by loving God more than our own life. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death; (Revelation 12:11). When you become thankful for your suffering it is turned into a testimony. It is also a way of denying yourself and giving up your life for Jesus. It proves that you love Him more than your own life. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24 – 25) This is why, “For His sake we are killed all day long”.

Job was a wealthy blessed man but in one day he lost all he owned and all ten of his children were killed. This was Job’s reaction. Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. (Job 1:20 - 22)

Then it got even worse for Job. God allowed him to go through a very difficult time of physical pain and suffering. After it was all over Job said, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. (Job 42:5) When you decide to be thankful to God, even for the suffering, then the love in your heart for God will increase and so will your revelation of knowing Him. Afterward God blessed Job with more than He had before.

Paul and Silas were beaten by a large mob of people and then whipped with many stripes. Afterward they were thrown into prison and the jailer put them in stocks. They were in terrible conditions, suffering from their painful wounds, and their hands and feet were locked in a very uncomfortable position. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. (Acts 16:25 – 26)

That night the jailer and his family were saved. The next morning Paul and Silas were let go. When you thank and praise God in your suffering your love for God allows Him to make the situation work together for good, for you and for other people also.

Right now ask the Lord how you can experience more love for Him. Ask Him to reveal anything in your life that you are not thankful for, anything that is blocking your hearts’ flow of Love to Him.

… Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18b – 20)

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
(1stThessalonians 5:18)

Taken from Seek God Ministries. All rights reserved to them.

Bible Study: NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM OF THE GREAT IMAGE

Read all of Daniel 2 to understand the context of the following verses: Daniel 2:31-45 KJV (31) Thou, O King, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. (32) This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass. (33) His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. (34) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. (35) Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. (36) This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. (37) Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of Heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power and strength and glory. (38) And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. (39) And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. (40) And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron the breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. (41) And where thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. (42) And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. (43) And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. (44) And in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (45) Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 2: Explanation of Daniel’s Interpretation
A. Head of Gold (Daniel 2:38)
1. Represents the Babylonian Empire which ruled from around 606 to 561 BC
2. The Babylonian Empire was wealthy and powerful.
3. The city of Babylon was very extravagant. Babylon was
celebrated as the most splendid city in the world.
B. Chest and Arms of Silver (Daniel 2:39)
1. Represents the Media/Persian Empire
which ruled from around 538 BC.
2. This empire would be inferior to the
Babylonian Empire, as silver is inferior
to gold.
3. This empire was also rich, but did not
have the great wealth or imperialistic
power of the Babylonian empire.

HEAD OF GOLD

CHEST &
ARMS OF
SILVER
C. Waist of Brass (Daniel 2:39)
1. Represents the kingdom of Grecia or
Greece
2. Ruled from about 330 BC
3. This kingdom conquered nearly the
then known world.
D. Legs of Iron (Daniel 2:40)
1. Represents the Roman Empire
which ruled from around 27 BC.
2. This empire would be strong as iron
and would eventually have the

whole world under its control.
3. Iron was the hardest known metal
at that time, able to break other
metals to pieces. This is also how
the Romans established their
empire; they ruled with an iron
hand and used ruthless means to
gain their power.
4. The Roman Empire separated into
two empires, Eastern & Western,
represented by the two legs.
94
WAIST
OF BRASS
LEGS OF IRON
STONE CUT
FROM THE
MOUNTAIN
WITHOUT
HANDS
FEET & TOES
OF IRON AND
MIRY CLAY

PART 2: Explanation of Daniel’s Interpretation
E. Feet & Toes of Iron & Potter’s Clay
(Daniel 2:41-43)
STONE CUT FROM
1. Represents the revived Roman
THE MOUNTAIN
Empire. (or European Union). The
WITHOUT HANDS
iron represents the Roman aspect.
2. The revived Roman Empire, or
European Union as it is now called,
began in 1993, although it has been
in the process of being established
since WWII. Eventually it will
become global.
FEET & TOES
3. This eventual global empire will be
OF IRON AND
strong as iron, but partly broken
MIRY CLAY
or brittle as miry clay. Many of the
nations will be very wealthy and
many will be very poor (as they are now).
4. This empire will begin as a unified body of many
nations and peoples (Daniel 2:43).
5. The empire will begin as a congregation of united
nations, but will not remain united, as iron does
not mix with clay. Some of the nations will be loyal and
some will be disloyal and rebel.
6. These feet (the Eastern and Western Hemispheres) will turn into ten regions with
ten kings (represented by the ten toes), ruled by the antichrist in the “spirit” of
world unity and as a desperate attempt to “save” the world from collapse.
Again, strong but weak and rich but poor. Unified but greatly divided.
These ten regions combine and work together to give power to the world
government, just like toes give balance and strength to the rest of the body.
7. The feet represent the end of this age with toes being the final aspect of change
in the world government. Then the image will be struck on the feet and come
to an end, being overcome and destroyed by the Stone.

PART 2: Explanation of Daniel’s Interpretation
F. Kingdom of God (Daniel 2:44-45)
1. God’s Kingdom will be established during the time of the toes. When you see the world
divide into ten regions, you will know that God’s Kingdom is very near. We know this
because the Stone (Jesus) strikes the image on the feet. Striking the feet of any image brings
about the collapse of the entire structure.
2. “During the time of these kings” (Daniel 2:44) refers to the kings and nations in verse 43,
who are united, yet do not “cleave” to one another.
3. God’s Kingdom shall be an everlasting Kingdom (Daniel 2:44).
4. God will appoint His own King over the world to rule His everlasting Kingdom. This King
will not be from the earth or mankind (Daniel 2:44).
5. God’s Kingdom is stronger than all other kingdoms (Daniel 2:44). It will destroy, or put an
end to, all kingdoms present and those that have went before once and for all (Daniel 2:35).
They shall never rise again (Daniel 2:35 & Daniel 2:44).
STONE CUT FROM THE
G. The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain Without
MOUNTAIN WITHOUT HANDS
Hands (Daniel 2:45)
1. The Stone is Jesus, and refers to His Second
Coming.
2. The Mountain in verse 45 refers to God,
because Jesus is sent from God, and is of
God... The same as God.
3. As a stone who would be hewn from a
mountain, so Jesus is of God, with the
same attributes and power.
4. The last Kingdom is not set up by human
means or “hands” - it comes from Heaven.

5. This everlasting Kingdom from God will
completely destroy all kingdoms that went
before (Daniel 2:45). They will be destroyed
quickly and all at the same time (Daniel 2:35).
6. These destroyed kingdoms will be forgotten and there will be no evidence that they ever
existed (Daniel 2:35). As “chaff” blown away by the wind, so will be these destroyed
kingdoms.
All must be wiped away in preparation for God’s Kingdom on earth. Jesus is the one who
will accomplish all these things, and He Himself will become the Kingdom that fills the
entire world...the Mountain (Daniel 2:35).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 3: SUMMARY
Nebuchadnezzar did not have this dream for any reason regarding himself, other than to show him
who the One True God is. Rather, God gave this dream to Nebuchadnezzar to bring Daniel to a
place of honor for God’s own purpose; and more importantly, He gave this dream as a timeline for
all future generations, so we would know the kingdoms that will come and go before the return of
the True King, Jesus. This dream also tells us in which kingdom or time period to look for Christ’s
Second Coming.
We know that Daniel 2:44-45 refers to Christ’s Second Coming, because during His First Coming
He came as the Lamb, in peace, not overthrowing or destroying any kingdom, but only to conquer
sin through His death and resurrection.
When Jesus returns at His Second Coming, He comes as the King of kings and Lord of lords,
to conquer the whole world and to destroy all that leads us into sin, establishing His Kingdom,
which will stand forever and ever.

Taken from trumpetcallofgodonline

Forbidden Practices in the world today.

Practices forbidden by God and now carried in the world as normal. Why are these Practices forbidden? Because they take the place of God who is suppose to be out guide. It seems as the world is coming to an end satan it trying his best to bring the world into his Old world order, which was destroyed at the cross.



1). THAT MAKETH HIS SON OR HIS DAUGHTER TO PASS THROUGH THE FIRE - human sacrifice, or in modern terms, an abortion. (Lev. 18:21, 2 Kings 16:3, 17:17, 21:6, 23:10. 2 Chron. 33:6, Jer. 32:35). No one is ever to kill another human being. A baby not born yet is just as alive as you and me because God also created and formed this life.



2). DIVINATION - the practice or art of discovering hidden knowledge and foretelling future events by occult supernatural means. Fortune-teller or psychic. (2 Kings 17:17, Jer. 27:8-9, Acts 16:16-24). Never go to a psychic or fortune-teller for any reason. God is the creator of the universe and He alone only knows your future.

Beware of: pychics, fortune tellers, Ouiji board, crystal ball, tarot cards, tea leaf reading, etc.

3). OBSERVER OF TIMES - same as astrology or stargazing. It is another form of divination. It is a person who looks to the stars for guidance. (Isa. 47:12-15, Jer. 10:2, Dan.1:20, 5:7,11,15). We should beware of horoscopes or anything that takes the place of God's direction. God is our guidance, not His creation. Horoscopes may appear to be harmless, but they become addictive. Reading horoscopes are another form of accepting and honouring occult practices that God has clearly condemned. They are written by people who believe in astrology and are disobeying God.

4). ENCHANTER - A magician; or sorcerer. One who casts spells; or bewitches. (2 Kings 17:17, Jer. 27:9). Avoid anything that has to do with magic. Remember, it doesn't matter if it appears good, magic is something God hates.

Beware of: yoga, meditation, mantras, hypnotism, subliminal tapes, New Age Medicine; etc.

If you would like to know more about these satanic practices that satan has fooled the world into accepting. click learn more.

Remember: Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11). If we do not know what these things are or that they exist this will give Satan a chance to take advantage of us because we did not know that we should have avoided them.

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The Mark of the beast- warning to unbelievers

This warning is aimed at the unbeliever and the luke-warm Christian to get ready and seek Jesus because soon we will be forced to take the mark.