NAMES!

“He (Jesus) is far above all rulers, authorities, powers, lords, and all other names that can be named, not only in this present world but also in the world to come.”   

                                                                              Ephesians 1:21 God’s Word ©  

This scripture along with its sister verses in Philippians 2:9-11 are the key verses that Piper and I followed for direction back as the initial results of her brain scans began to come in when we were originally out here in Oklahoma back in 2009.  The doctors were a little confused as the results of her tests seemed to say one thing while her physical and mental condition said something else.  The eight-page report from her interactive hours spent with the Neuropsychologist declared that she should be home under 24-hour care but yet she was still functioning independently, doing everything she normally did except for driving.

So, with much prayer and discussion we agreed that the Lord was instructing us to return home to California in order to reconnect with our network of family and friends as well as the connections we had developed over the years.  It seemed to be the logical way to regroup and find out what was really going on with her.  Piper and I both had the clear indication that He wanted us to find the “name” of what was assailing her thinking abilities and then command it to “bow” its knee before the name of Jesus. (Philippians 2:10-11)

As I sat on the balcony earlier this morning with a hot cup of java in one hand and my favorite God’s Word © translation Bible in the other, reading from the Ephesian prayers at the end of chapters one and three, I suddenly had some retrospective thoughts on the validity of our actions back then.  Like a light bulb going on in a darkened room, I realized that we not only had the one name of Alzheimer’s trying to take precedence over our situation, but other names that were adamantly being suggested to us from people who tried their best to influence our circumstances.

Names like fear, deception, doubt and unbelief did their best to take a stronghold in our decision-making processes.  These along with many more negative names were regularly placed before us.  But as I’ve stated before… they came too little, too late for us!  Our minds were made up way before we ever drove out of the Sooner State on the way back home to the Golden State!

We had already resolved to put Alzheimer’s and any other name under the name that “is far above all rulers, authorities, powers, lords, and all other names that can be named.” (Ephesians 1:21)  Some of those names may have surprised us along the way, but we never allowed the surprises to move us away from the solid foundation we knew we had in the name of Jesus.

I would imagine that all of you have had many different “names” try to influence both the good and the bad times in your lives.  But where you place those names will make all the difference in the outcomes of the events that tend to shape your very existence.  Do you place them on a pedestal in the center of your daily life where you have to look at them on a regular basis, or do you quickly place them under the much more powerful and productive name of Jesus where they quickly lose their influence and relevance?

Have you ever really considered all the various names that you entertain in your day to day activities?  Sometimes we react to certain names without even considering what we’re doing.  Often, we are just conditioned by the things that we read, watch on TV or hear on the news in our response to the different names that we hear.  Maybe it is time to reconsider where we place the names that we hear each day?  Maybe it is time to place them where they belong… under the all-powerful name of Jesus!

Just saying… Think about it!

Have a great mid-week, and as you do, decide to say with me that… “I am expecting to place every name I hear under the mighty name of Jesus!”