What's In A Name?

It never ceases to amaze me that when the Holy Spirit is trying to teach you something new the Lord keeps putting it in your face til you get it.
I for one am glad He does cause I tend to be a bit slow.
I was reading the book of Nehemiah and when I got to chapter 7 there was a long list of names. I started reading the list and my mind would go from a name to, I wonder if I have any emails than back to a name to, I wonder if any ones on face book.
I decided since I could not stay focused on the names I would just skip the rest of the chapter and move onto something more interesting.
A few days later I had to drive somewhere that was going to take a while so I looked through my CD's so I could listen to something in the car.
I found a CD of the Bible I forgot I had. I got it at a flea market years before and never listened to it. I didn't have my glasses on so I didn't know if it was Old or New Testament but it didn't matter, it couldn't hurt to hear whatever book it was.
Guess what? I pop in the CD and it starts right at Nehemiah 7! Right where I left off, the list of names.
I just started laughing because you and I know there is no such thing as coincidence.
I asked the Lord “why do you want me to listen to the names? What's in a name?”
This is what the Holy Spirit showed me, again we had to start off slow.
He said you recently went to your son and grandson's graduation and when you got there you were given a program. What was the first thing you did?
I did what everyone does I looked for my son and grandson's name.
I did the same thing at Anthony and Amanda's graduation from high school and college.
I made sure their names were there then proudly showed them to whoever was sitting next to me.
Seeing their name was the only reason I took the program.
I remember when Anthony was going to Full Sail and his class made a movie that Anthony directed and Nathanael got to play a part in. When it played at a small theater I took a picture of the marquee and at the end of the movie starred at the screen to see my boy's names on the credits. Even though they went by really quick I knew they were there.
You do the same thing right?
When you go to the movies you may not watch the credits but let's say someone you knew was in the movie Avatar would you wait to see his or her name?
Would you not tell everyone you knew they were in the movie? Of course you would. We get a sense of pride and ownership when someone we care about is recognized.
This was the thought process the Holy Spirit was showing me.
Now as I have told you before I am not a Bible scholar so what I share with you next is the Gena version of the book of Nehemiah. This is not a history lesson in any way. With that said.....
Nehemiah was a cup bearer and an influential man to King Artaxerxes. He heard the walls of Jerusalem had not been rebuilt and he wants to return there to make that happen. The King gives Nehemiah permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.
When we get to chapter 7 the wall has been rebuilt. The city was large and spacious but there weren't many people living in it.
Verse 5 Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it:
Then you get the whole list of names and number of people that I skipped over.
What I skipped over was a very important list. The list of people whose names were written down were the Isrealites who had the right to settle in these rebuilt towns. They were from the original tribes proved by the genealogy records.
If you or I were there and we wanted our rightful place in the city finding our name would be pretty important right?
So now I got the first point but then the Holy Spirit taught me something even more amazing, I love when He does that.
He reminded me there's another list, what the Bible calls the Lambs book of life. On this list is all the names of God's children who will be allowed in His city otherwise known as Heaven.
Here's where I need you to stretch your thinking....
I was always taught your name had to be written onto the list to get into Heaven.
How that happens is to repent, which Webster defines as: to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; regret or be conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, etc.
After you repent you ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life and your name gets written in the Lambs book of life.
Are you with me so far?
Well like I said when the Lord is trying to teach you something He will put people, CD's or whatever He wants in your path to show you a truth.
Next lesson. I went to dinner at a friend's house and we ended up talking about this very scripture. Arthur, a real scholar of the Bible, showed me that I was just regurgitating what I had been taught but not what the Bible actually says.
Stay with me....
I was taught your name was added when in fact the Bible says everyone is already on the list because we all belong to God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20a Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price;
There is NOTHING you can do to get on the list however, where our part comes in is we have to decide to stay there.
I'm going to stop there because Arthur (the one who showed me this) also showed me that I didn't have the correct definition of repent.
When I do something wrong I go all the way :)
Repent in the Greek is metanoeō - meaning to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider.
Now if I repent, change my thinking, I accept that I am no longer my own. I was purchased by Jesus when He died on the cross and was raised to life.
OK so now I understand I am not my own I belong to Jesus but I decide not to have relationship with Him. I don't want Him to be Lord of my life because I don't believe this message then my name gets taken off the list. My decision.
Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh,the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
You can only blot out something that's already written down.
Arthur reminded me what the Holy Spirit has been telling me for a while.
You have to read the scriptures for yourself so the Holy Spirit can reveal things He wants you to understand.
The genealogy records will show you belong to Christ so you have the right to keep your name on the list in the Lambs Book of Life.
You have first right of refusal to the Kingdom of God!
Now what's so important about a name? Everything!
I have decided to keep my name on the list and I pray you will too.


This jewel does not give justice to Arthur's teaching. I would strongly suggest you go to www.kingdomlifeministry.com/ to obtain the original message. Arthur is a Spirit filled believer that God uses in an amazing way.