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Monday August 29, 2016

 

My birth name is Robert Cruz Jr.; however, unless someone is reading my name from a list, nobody calls me by this name. My mom calls me son, my dad calls me BJ, my wife calls me honey, my children call me dad, most of my closest friends call me Juju, and others Bobby. The majority of the people I interact with however call me Pastor.

 

What do people call you?

In the Old Testament, names were not assigned merely to label people or to distinguish them from one another. In the Old Testament, a person’s name was equivalent to the person himself. A name spoke to the person’s character, purpose, reputation, authority, will, and ownership. Having said this, can you imagine what it must have felt like for Rahab? At some point in Rahab’s life, she went from being called Rahab to Rahab the prostitute.

 

Hebrews 11:31 NT

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

 

What do you call yourself?

The name your parent’s gave you is one thing, what people call you another, and then there is the name you have given to yourself. There are times when I am laying in my bed, in the silence of the night, when I tend to call myself by a different name than the one’s I typically go by or that others call me. At times I call myself incompetent, inconstant, and unworthy.

 

What does God call you?

In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 2, God says that to those who overcome, He himself will give them a new name. Rahab the prostitute chose to place her faith in God’s name instead of her name. God in turn rescued her from the destruction that came upon the city of Jericho and He gave her a new name. Rahab would no longer go by the name Rahab the prostitute. Instead, she is called the great, great, great grandmother of Jesus Christ the Son of God. When Rahab left Jericho, she married a Hebrew man called Salmon and the rest is history. Matthew refers to Rahab by listing her in the direct lineage of Jesus. Rahab’s faith caused her to be victorious and earned her a new name. Salmon called her wife, Booz called her mom, to Jesus she was great grandmother, and God calls her daughter.

 

What does God call us?

If you place your faith in God, He will call you redeemed, friend, son, daughter, bride, and holy to name a few.