…more than what we need; to be shared with others.

Matthew 14:5 loaves and 2 fish for 5000 men + women & children –> 12 baskets leftover

Matthew 15:7 loaves and a few small fish for 4000 men + women & children –> 7 baskets leftover

John 2 – The Wedding at Cana – 6 stone water jars which each held about 20-30 gallons, filled to the brim –> the best wine. Was that wine just for the bride & groom and their family. Did it not also provide for the guests? Was the miracle just for the family to save face? Just for an individual or a family? Did not everyone there benefit from the miracle, receive from the miracle? The Bible does not specifically say, but do you suppose there was wine leftover? Perhaps for the new bride & groom starting their new life?

Matthew 13:8, 23 “other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” 

The fruit of the Word in our life is meant to be a blessing to others.

Deuteronomy 14:28-29 “at the end of three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it within your towns. And the Levite because he has no portion or inheritance with you, AND the sojourner, AND the fatherless, AND the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.” (emphasis my own.)

Leviticus 19:9-10 “when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner. I am the LORD your God.” (Ruth’s story)

God designed it in the law that we always consider the less fortunate and plan to share what we have.

Ephesians 3:20 “now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

God is an extravagant God. All He does is in abundance. Just look at creation!

I am who I am because the I AM tells me who I am.

Do you know names mean something to God? We may choose our children’s name simply based on the sound of the name and how much we like it. We might name a child based on a family name. Some chose their child’s name based on the meaning, but that seems to not be the norm any longer.

In biblical names, we can see right from the beginning that names mean something. For example, God named Adam because he was taken/made from the earth. Adam means man and of the earth. God named him exactly according to who/what he was. We see Adam do the same thing with Eve. At first, he called her woman, because she had been taken/made from the man. At the end of chapter 3 in Genesis, we see where Adam began to call her life-giver (Eve) instead of just ‘from man’. There are so many other stories of the importance of names throughout scripture, from Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, etc.

Perhaps the most important one in scripture is the name Jesus. In the Hebrew, Jesus literally means Jehovah has become my salvation. There are numerous New Testament scriptures that point to the importance, the authority, the power of Jesus’ name.

Matthew 1:21; Mark 6:14; Mark 9:39; John 10:25; John 20:31; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:6, 16; (the whole book of Acts); I Corinthians 1; Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 2:10; Colossians 3:17; I John 3:23; and so many more.

However, today’s lesson is not about Jesus’ name. That is a lengthy study in and of itself. Today, I want to remind everyone that your name means something to God. I would strongly encourage you to look up your name and ask the Lord how that applies to His Kingdom.

I had the great honor to be in a baby dedication service where the pastor does a bit of research of the child’s name before service. He finds the meaning of the name, then prays about the meaning, the child, and the Kingdom. He then asks the Lord to give him a prayer/prophecy to pray over the child during the baby dedication service. This is powerful! I have since reminded myself of each of my child’s name, studied a bit of scripture, prayed and ask the Lord to give me a prophetic prayer to pray over them. This is powerful!

I would strongly encourage you to look into your name meaning, take some time to pray, read the Book, ask and meditate upon what the Lord gives you. If you have children, I would also recommend doing this for them. Also, just as God changed names throughout history, perhaps you’re wanting an identity change as well. Ask the Lord about that. Perhaps you don’t need to legally change your name, but inquire of the Lord what name He calls you; how He sees you; what your identity is in His Kingdom.

Names mean something to God. Your name means something to God.

“But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  Isaiah 43:1

“Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.”  III John 1:15

“The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”  John 10:3

“She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.” Esther 2:14

“For you have found favor in my sight and I know you by name.” Exodus 33:17

Genesis 11:4 “Let us make a name for ourselves.”

Genesis 12:2 “I will bless you and make your name great.” ~ God

Exodus 33:17 God to Moses “I know you by name.”

Isaiah 40:26 “calling them all by name”

Philippians 2:9 “given him a name which is above every name”

I am who I am because the I AM tells me who I am!