This familiar scripture has been shared many times during the Christmas season and it reminds us of the many names and attributes of Jesus. Likewise there are many names for God that describe His attributes. If you are looking for a great personal Bible study theme for 2015, you might consider researching His names.
Names are important. Sometimes they have a special meaning, such as many of those found in the Bible. Sometimes they bring to our mind good and bad memories of people that we have met during our lives. If nothing else, usually they are very important to the person who bears that name.
I must admit that one of my biggest weaknesses in life is remembering names and at times I feel very guilty about this since names are so important to people. As a teacher I struggled to learn the names of my students each time I began a new class. Some years I even took pictures of my students and reviewed them daily in an attempt to memorize their names. This has been tough for me even though I know how important it is. And I am glad that I am now retired, because the very unusual names being given to children today will be nightmares for their teachers tomorrow. And many children will need to live all their lives with strange names that will be continually mispronounced and strange spellings that will seldom be spelled correctly.
Remembering names incorrectly or spelling them incorrectly can be very disappointing to the person with that name. Throughout her life my wife has struggled with the fact that the majority of people, including close friends, continue to spell her name incorrectly as Diane rather than the correct Dianne. They have seen her name so often on greeting cards and in other places, but they still spell it wrong. I think 75% of the Christmas cards that she has received so far this year have the wrong spelling, even though most of them were prepared after having received, opened and read our Christmas letter - with the correct spelling. This is especially true at our church where she is well known as the person who sends birthday cards to most people. We laugh about it now and expect it. But it does continue to amaze us. Unfortunately, her correct spelling just doesn't matter to most other people ... except her.
But fortunately her heavenly Father knows who she is and cares for her. He doesn't make mistakes. And when I think of those spelling her name incorrectly, I often think of a praise chorus that reminds us that He knows our name. And that is important and I am sure our names are spelled correctly in the Lamb's Book of Life.
I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in His hands
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call
I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call
What a joy to realize and experience the truth of this great chorus. If you don't know this chorus, you can listen to it here. HE KNOWS MY NAME
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