Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please go to this video link to hear the Christian singer Carmen, leading a live worship service and singing the poignant and powerful song, His Name is Wonderful , … reminding us that only in the Name of Jesus can we worship as Savior and LORD.
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Highlight Passage – NKJV: John 1: 42 [NKJV] …
42 Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: John, Chapter 1, Verses 35-42 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passage #1: Matthew 16: 17-18 [NKJV] …
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. …”
Reference Passage #2: Philippians 1: 6 [NKJV] …
6 … being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; …
Reference Passage #3: Luke 4: 16-22 [NKJV] … Go to this link …
My Journal for Today: What’s in a name, anyway? … Good question; and having been given the name “William” at birth, studying the origin of my name, especially after I became a Christian, has always been a fascination for me.
My name, “William,” is of Germanic origin, with the name being “Wilhelm.” And at the heart of the name, is the translated meaning, “helmeted warrior.” Now, for sure, my parents, who gave me that name, had no idea that one day I’d be converted from a warrior against Christianity to an ordained Minister of the Gospel, who would become the founder of “Battle Plan Ministry,” which is a ministry on the front-lines of spiritual warfare, helping Christian men walk free from the self-induced imprisonment of habitual sexual sin [you can see more of this ministry at this link].
So these days, I can see that I follow in the warrior footsteps of other “Williams” in history, like William the Conqueror, the 11th Century Norman, from France, who became ruler in England. And there was William of Orange, the Dutch warrior who established the reign of the “House of Orange” in the Netherlands in the 16th Century. But my favorite warrior “William” was William Wallace, whom we know these days from the movie about his life 13th Century Scotland, where he fought against England, the oppressor of the Scots in those days. All of these “Williams” were helmeted warriors who lived up to the name “William.”
And here I am, having been given the name “William” at birth, who has become a leader in the warfare against Satan and the world, who’ve established a strong beachhead of hypersexuality, warring against the minds of mankind, especial MAN-kind, trying to enslave us in the prisons of p0rnography, prostitution, and pandering in sexual enterprise. And I recognize that God gave me the name, “William,” and has led me into the battle against the entrenchment of hypersexuality which Satan has established in the world.
Well, if you go to today’s Our Daily Bread for this date, at this link, you’ll see that Jesus gave His new disciple, Simon, son of Jonah, a new name to reflect who the Apostle would become one day; and that was “Cephas” or “Peter,” the rock of a leader in the early church. But from the time that Jesus renamed Peter, we know that this man, who was discipled by Jesus, was anything but “a rock,” wavering and wandering in his faith, even to the point of denying Jesus just before our Lord went to the cross.
But ultimately, what Jesus knew and gave Peter in a name became who this great early leader of the Church was, just as his Christ-given name … “the rock.” … referred. So, what kind of a name is God giving you as you become in the person God’s Spirit is renaming you. All I know is, now, I’m trying to live up to the name God has given me, “William,” a warrior, going to battle daily to free the prisoners of sexual sin; and show them the way to freedom. That was Jesus’ mission [see Luke 4: 16-22 linked above]; and it is mission of this “William” today.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, I wear Your helmet of salvation into battle today, as Your “William, a conqueror;” … and I do so wearing Your armor, carrying Your sword, and doing battle in Your Name. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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