A new name?

"Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it." - Revelation 2:17

Dear Friends in Christ -

Names are important. They signify life-giving connection. When parents want to guide or protect their children, they call them by name: "Michael, come here." And if a first call isn't headed, unfurling more of the child's name often proves effective . . . "Michael Frederick Jones, come to me NOW!"

The apostle John tells us that God promises to give three gifts to churches that remain faithful to their first love (Christ) by listening to the Spirit. The three gifts are manna, a white stone, and a new name.

These are no ordinary gifts.* Manna is a gift of nourishment that sustains body and spirit, connects us with our Source, and never spoils or runs out. The white stone is a gift of power for living (a white stone signfies a vote). The new name is the biggest gift of all. A new name signifies that we have so become God's own that he blesses us with a new, even deeper, specific kind of connection with himself. A new name affirms us and moves us even further down the path of transformation.

My friends, in 2011, let us commit again to listening to the Spirit, that we may receive all the blessings God has for us. If God was going to measure us by our fruit and call us by a new name, what would that name be? Joy? Hope? Faithfulness? Kindness? What would we want that name to be?

My friends, in 2011, let us commit again to listening to the Spirit, that we may receive all the blessings God has for us, including food that doesn't run out, power for living, and new name.

Faithfully with you, listening -
Janet+

*Resource: www.revelationcommentary.org