Did God give you another name?

[dev553344]

Yes, when I was born " Michael " was the most popular name for newborns and there are thousands if not millions of Michaels born in that year. Yet names typically have meaning. My mom claimed that she named me after the Archangel and the name "Michael" is an exclamatory question of praise meaning "Who is like God!"

Wonderful.

 

[Pearl]

Yes, when I was born " Michael " was the most popular name for newborns and there are thousands if not millions of Michaels born in that year. Yet names typically have meaning. My mom claimed that she named me after the Archangel and the name "Michael" is an exclamatory question of praise meaning "Who is like God!"

Yes and there were lots of Patricias in my year - all called Pat.

 

[lforrest]

I wonder if this is a new identity given to us in heaven, to commemorate our complete separation from the old world and old life? And rather everyone will use that name in heaven, or is it going to stay personal.

It would make sense if the white stone is symbolic of Christ. While some names are written in the dust the redeemed are written on him, even the palms of his hands.

 

[michaelvpardo]

I wonder if this is a new identity given to us in heaven, to commemorate our complete separation from the old world and old life? And rather everyone will use that name in heaven, or is it going to stay personal.

It would make sense if the white stone is symbolic of Christ. While some names are written in the dust the redeemed are written on him, even the palms of his hands.

I'm not convinced that the saints will ever reside in heaven (but I really don't know.)
In the book of Joshua there are examples of stones that were white washed as memorials, but I can't quite make the connection and Jesus also used the term in a derogatory way.

Maybe there's no connection at all, but I probably miss more meaning than I get in any particular reading. If I understood it all, I'd be less likely to open the book and miss out on time with the Lord.

 

[David H.]

I was listening to a cover version of a Bob Dylan song from the soundtrack of his film "masked and anonymous" that was sung by Shirley Caesar and called "Gotta serve somebody ". She added a line to the lyrics "you may call me Molly, but my name is Shirley and since God gave me another name, I know I've been born again."
The idea comes from the book of the Revelation:
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’ Revelation 2:17

Now, I didn't receive any white stone with a name on it when I was born again, but many years later, I believed that the Lord spoke to me and gave me a new name that I'm not supposed to share with anyone. This set me thinking first about the Apostle Paul who had been Saul of Tarsus. Who changed His name?
And then I thought of Peter who had been called Simon. Jewish Tradition even gives Solomon multiple names including Lemuel. I've never really understood the point of a new name unless it represents being a new creation.

I'm just wondering how common this experience is. Did God give you another name?

I'm not asking anyone to share their "new name", I'd just like to know if you've had the experience of receiving a new name. As a Catholic we chose another name for ourselves when confirmed, but I mean did God give you another name? Yes or no will do, but if you have a different understanding of the verse, I'd be interested in hearing it.

Interesting topic Michael,

For me personally my Mom said she was given my name in a dream" (she was a deeply Spiritual Christian). When I Got saved as a child my mom got a hold of a "name meanings" book, she put my names together and they mean "Beloved guardian of the King"... I do not know if there is anything to this, but there has always been an affinity for this in my life.

My Daughter when we were naming her, the same thing happened to me. Turns out her name means "grace it will abound". Out of all of my Kids she is the most Spiritual.

Also, I did not read all the comments here isf someone touched on this or not? In the Old testament, Abram became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah... I Heard someone say the H is indicative of the breath of God the Holy Spirit in them.

 

[michaelvpardo]

Interesting topic Michael,

For me personally my Mom said she was given my name in a dream" (she was a deeply Spiritual Christian). When I Got saved as a child my mom got a hold of a "name meanings" book, she put my names together and they mean "Beloved guardian of the King"... I do not know if there is anything to this, but there has always been an affinity for this in my life.

My Daughter when we were naming her, the same thing happened to me. Turns out her name means "grace it will abound". Out of all of my Kids she is the most Spiritual.

Also, I did not read all the comments here isf someone touched on this or not? In the Old testament, Abram became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah... I Heard someone say the H is indicative of the breath of God the Holy Spirit in them.

I'm unsure of the translations but I was told Abraham means Father of many nations. I might have benefitted from studying the original languages, but when I was young I didn't see any point in studying languages that were no longer spoken.

My mom had dreams of angelic visitation, but she was a poorly educated Catholic from western Pennsylvania, literally a coal miner's daughter, and expressed a longing to see Jesus face to face. Both my parents were romantics and had perspective from "destiny." One of my earliest memories is of them over my bed singing "Que Sera, sera," as a lullaby.

Pop was a WWII vet and had some great stories of divine protection, but he attributed that to a Saint Mary medallion given to him by mom before his service.

My mom confessed that she married my pop because he most resembled a love from her dreams. This was after I told her about a lengthy dream I had when quite young, about being an adult and having a happy relationship. I was divorced after a rocky marriage of over 22 years. So much for dreams.

My folks put a lot of foolish romantic notions in my head and it took years of reading scripture to exorcise them, but I don't regret my mom's advice to trust the Lord or to attempt to keep myself pure. I wasn't very good at either, but all the years spent in scripture seems to have "paid off."

I'm not super thrilled with my "new" name, but I never cared much for my given name either and prefer the new one to the old one. It's more me.

By the way, it's interesting to look at how the names Jacob and Israel are used by the prophets, Ephraim is also interesting as well in its prophetic usage, as are Esau and Edom. There's a lot in simple names.

 

[David H.]

My mom confessed that she married my pop because he most resembled a love from her dreams. This was after I told her about a lengthy dream I had when quite young, about being an adult and having a happy relationship. I was divorced after a rocky marriage of over 22 years. So much for dreams.

My folks put a lot of foolish romantic notions in my head and it took years of reading scripture to exorcise them, but I don't regret my mom's advice to trust the Lord or to attempt to keep myself pure. I wasn't very good at either, but all the years spent in scripture seems to have "paid off."

My Problem with dreams (for me anyway) is that they have a knack for coming true, and that most of them are not very pleasant. Although I was raised a Baptist, I can totally relate to your upbringing, as it sounds biographical of my own life including my mother as well as the rocky marriage Part and divorce. The thing is I was shown that the divorce would happen and how it would happen in a dream, and for the past ten plus years since that dream I was trying to fight against that inevitability to the detriment of my own health and well being.... It is over now, and I feel so relieved and am only now seeing how "abusive" that relationship was.

God bless.

 

[michaelvpardo]

My Problem with dreams (for me anyway) is that they have a knack for coming true, and that most of them are not very pleasant. Although I was raised a Baptist, I can totally relate to your upbringing, as it sounds biographical of my own life including my mother as well as the rocky marriage Part and divorce. The thing is I was shown that the divorce would happen and how it would happen in a dream, and for the past ten plus years since that dream I was trying to fight against that inevitability to the detriment of my own health and well being.... It is over now, and I feel so relieved and am only now seeing how "abusive" that relationship was.

God bless.

I also knew that my former wife and I would be separated in some way, but I didn't know it would be through divorce.

I've always dreamt of things that could happen, but I've found that I could alter my choices and sometimes alter the outcomes of the dreams.

 

[David H.]

I also knew that my former wife and I would be separated in some way, but I didn't know it would be through divorce.

I've always dreamt of things that could happen, but I've found that I could alter my choices and sometimes alter the outcomes of the dreams.

Believe me I sacrificed a lot to alter the outcome of that dream, but alas it was not to be. Now looking back I see how that relationship was holding me back, and how detrimental it was to my wellbeing, and I wish I would have let it end sooner. It is true that a victim of abuse (emotional and psychological) often puts themselves into that situation till they can finally escape. I Kept hoping the LORD would change her heart, but it never happened and she only hardened her heart. I fully admit and know my own faults in the relationship, and many of them changed in me, as God was using that to work in my life but these changes were never enough to satisfy her selfish ambitions/needs.

BTW thanks for openly being able to talk about this, as I am just coming to terms with this, It helps greatly to not hear religious condemnation about divorce as we so often do.... and sorry for derailing your topic to divorce, and dreams.

 

[michaelvpardo]

Believe me I sacrificed a lot to alter the outcome of that dream, but alas it was not to be. Now looking back I see how that relationship was holding me back, and how detrimental it was to my wellbeing, and I wish I would have let it end sooner. It is true that a victim of abuse (emotional and psychological) often puts themselves into that situation till they can finally escape. I Kept hoping the LORD would change her heart, but it never happened and she only hardened her heart. I fully admit and know my own faults in the relationship, and many of them changed in me, as God was using that to work in my life but these changes were never enough to satisfy her selfish ambitions/needs.

BTW thanks for openly being able to talk about this, as I am just coming to terms with this, It helps greatly to not hear religious condemnation about divorce as we so often do.... and sorry for derailing your topic to divorce, and dreams.

That's okay. I'm here to fellowship with others in the word, not to be dragged into a lot of carnal arguments, but the latter seems inevitable. I attended my first worship service since I was divorced last Sunday, and the divorce was just before the pandemic in 2019. The pandemic threw me as I moved out to Pennsylvania at the same time the outbreak was being reported in Wuhan. Everything here closed for a while, and I'll admit that I wasn't looking forward to being judged over my divorce either.
I did enjoy the service though. The congregants and pastor were friendly, the congregation is small and with room for growth. And there's opportunity for ministry if I'm up to the labor.

 

[David H.]

That's okay. I'm here to fellowship with others in the word, not to be dragged into a lot of carnal arguments, but the latter seems inevitable. I attended my first worship service since I was divorced last Sunday, and the divorce was just before the pandemic in 2019. The pandemic threw me as I moved out to Pennsylvania at the same time the outbreak was being reported in Wuhan. Everything here closed for a while, and I'll admit that I wasn't looking forward to being judged over my divorce either.
I did enjoy the service though. The congregants and pastor were friendly, the congregation is small and with room for growth. And there's opportunity for ministry if I'm up to the labor.

My divorce was just finalized in February. so I am still adjusting. I was hospitalized and nearly kicked the bucket last summer, the day after i get out of the Hospital she tells me she is divorcing me and hands me the papers. (Although i knew for years that is where we were heading) If it wasn't for the Grace of God and the Joy of the LORD that was extended to me I do not think I would have made it through last year. God sent his angels to comfort me and things fell into place according to his plan, and now i hope and pray my "Job" moment is replaced with His blessings from above, Even now I am seeing miraculous blessings from Him that I can only glorify him for, for I literally have little to no strength of my own accord left. Baby steps for me for now, one day if not in this life, in heaven giant leaps for His glory.

 

[michaelvpardo]

My divorce was just finalized in February. so I am still adjusting. I was hospitalized and nearly kicked the bucket last summer, the day after i get out of the Hospital she tells me she is divorcing me and hands me the papers. (Although i knew for years that is where we were heading) If it wasn't for the Grace of God and the Joy of the LORD that was extended to me I do not think I would have made it through last year. God sent his angels to comfort me and things fell into place according to his plan, and now i hope and pray my "Job" moment is replaced with His blessings from above, Even now I am seeing miraculous blessings from Him that I can only glorify him for, for I literally have little to no strength of my own accord left. Baby steps for me for now, one day if not in this life, in heaven giant leaps for His glory.

Love rejected is awful. When one is torn in two it's painful and covers our garments with violence. I pray that the Lord preserves you from bitterness. I was angry with my former wife for at least a year, but found compassion for her when God removed the object of her affection from her home with his financial assistance. She believes the Lord and suffers His discipline. The Lord worked mightily to restore me with blessings and I'm confident that He will do this for you as well. Amen.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

 

[David H.]

Love rejected is awful. When one is torn in two it's painful and covers our garments with violence. I pray that the Lord preserves you from bitterness. I was angry with my former wife for at least a year, but found compassion for her when God removed the object of her affection from her home with his financial assistance. She believes the Lord and suffers His discipline. The Lord worked mightily to restore me with blessings and I'm confident that He will do this for you as well. Amen.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

I think I am over the bitterness and anger towards her, although sometimes it still comes to the forefront of my thoughts. I am more ready to move on with my life than anything else. I still love her, and i would not have suffered the things i did had i not loved her, but she did not see my despair as love for her....

Yes, His grace is sufficient for me and and in my weakness is His strength is being made perfect in me.... it is funny how we do not see this sometimes until the SHTF (pardon the vulgar acronym). He loves a Broken and contrite heart.

 

[michaelvpardo]

I think I am over the bitterness and anger towards her, although sometimes it still comes to the forefront of my thoughts. I am more ready to move on with my life than anything else. I still love her, and i would not have suffered the things i did had i not loved her, but she did not see my despair as love for her....

Yes, His grace is sufficient for me and and in my weakness is His strength is being made perfect in me.... it is funny how we do not see this sometimes until the SHTF (pardon the vulgar acronym). He loves a Broken and contrite heart.

Amen, brother.

 

[L.A.M.B.]

Rev.2:17
Clearly states TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES.
This means we either have to be ready,standing fast to the whole truth at his second coming, or have been passed unto death before.

Then not only do we receive a new name,but clean robes,golden crowns and BECOME partakers with Christ!

 

[michaelvpardo]

Rev.2:17
Clearly states TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES.
This means we either have to be ready,standing fast to the whole truth at his second coming, or have been passed unto death before.

Then not only do we receive a new name,but clean robes,golden crowns and BECOME partakers with Christ!

See ya when you get there.

 

[quietthinker]

Did God give you another name?
hmmm, Stirem Along?