Come Up Here And See

One night in my weekly Ladies Connect Group called “The Hiding Place” one of the ladies brought up the sermon from the day before on Identity and the meaning of your name. She spoke about how that encouraged her and shared what the meaning of her name was.

One of the other ladies asked another “What is the meaning of your name?” This wonderful, dramatic, humorous friend knew the meaning of her first name but not the middle name. She disliked her middle name her entire life. One of the other ladies looked up the meaning of her middle name “Mina” which she had regarded with a strong distaste.

The spiritual name for her middle name, Mina:

• strength, beauty, individuality, and growth, they would pursue their passions, develop their unique talents, and contribute positively to the world. (Let’s Learn Slang- site)

She is one of my best friends who I have known for almost three decades and this description was her. It was as though you were looking at the artist’s painting. Each paint stroke described her to a deeper level, and you were seeing every layer, it was even shocking for the rest of us to hear how this so beautifully described her. When she heard this description, she sat up straighter, taller in the chair.  A couple of us said to her, you have gotten taller, and the wild thing is that she hated that name but never took the time to investigate the meaning.

I shared the meaning of my name “Lisa”:

• Regardless of the language, Lisa’s meaning is spiritual; the name means “oath from God,” “devoted to God,” or “my God is bountiful.” The Hebrew meaning is derived from the name Elisheba, which also references the lily flower. (She Knows-Site)

Another lady who has known me for almost three decades declared, “That is you”!

Merriam-Webster describes Oath, Devoted, Bountiful as:

• Oath – a solemn attestation of the truth of one’s words or the sincerity of one’s intentions. specifically: one accompanied by calling upon a deity as a witness.
• Devoted – very loving or loyal.
• Bountiful – liberal or generous in bestowing gifts or favour.

When I was meditating later about the meaning of my name, the Holy Spirit said to me, Lisa, this is why the sin of a lie irritates you and upsets you more than other sins. He continued to reveal to me that if I was the one that lied, or I have been lied to, it grieves my heart so much. If I have been lied to, I almost want to cut off ties with that person. Thankfully the Lord is more merciful to me when I say that I am sorry and ask for forgiveness.

As I continued to think about this and pray the Holy Spirit also revealed to me that older family members have complained because they already know how strongly I will stand that a lie is a lie, one cannot break an oath, that right is right, wrong is wrong and that will irritate them. The Holy Spirit was saying to me, “Lisa, every time someone says your name, Lisa, the truth of the meaning of Oath, not lying, telling the truth has become stronger in you, Lisa, you have heard that name proclaimed over you for 60 years, therefore when they say Lisa they are saying “Tell the truth, you are under an Oath”. The eyes to my heart and understanding of the power of your words hit me hard and how important it is to what we say.

• Ephesians 4:29 NASB Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

The other two meanings of Devotion to God and God are bountiful are right on.

I am devoted to God and want to become more devoted each day.  

• Psalm 27: 4 NKJV One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.

God is bountiful, He is my provider, Jehovah Jireh and He has never let me down.

• Romans 6: 23 AMPC For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord.

This revelation of my name reinforced what we call people very important. We should never degrade someone by calling them an ungodly name.

I want to encourage you that if only painful, degrading, demeaning names were spoken to you which left you feeling unloved or unwanted God can redeem you. The book of 1 Chronicles lists family lineages. In the family lineage of Judah, the Lord stops us with this short, amazing encouragement story about a man named Jabez. His mother named him Pain. Just imagine hearing that all your life.  Jabez heard this every time someone called his name, but he decided to ask the God of Israel for a blessing with faith and God granted him what he requested. We can ask God to redeem us.

• 1 Chronicles 4: 9-10 NKJV Now Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” ¹⁰ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Jesus has so many titles which act more like verbs of what He does such as Lamb of God, Lion of Judah, Prince of Peace, Redeemer, Son of Man, King of Kings, King of Jews, Bread of Life, Emmanuel, Alpha and Omega, Chief Cornerstone, The Living Stone, The First and the Last, Son of God, Bridegroom, Good Shepherd, Great High Priest, Messiah and the list goes on. However, when it comes to the precious name of Jesus, we must remember one of the amazing verses about His name:

• Philippians 2: 10-11 KJV That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; ¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

What an amazing verse that one day we will behold. Every person, male or female, deceased or alive, every believer, atheist, agnostic, president, doctor, nurse, mom, dad, every minister no matter the religion, every terrorist, every missionary, every child, every government leader no matter of what they did, all will bow their knee and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Not only that but the scripture says all things will bow, therefore cancer, all sickness, all addictions, every storm, whatever you or I can call a thing will bow to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a glorious day that will be.

I continually pray for salvation, that people would come to their senses, turn from their wicked ways, and run to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask forgiveness and bow their knees and their hearts to Him now and declare today that He is Lord and accept His loving-kindness now.

Holy Spirit, I pray that people would receive healing from You if they have been called a demeaning name. Lord, I trust that You will aid them in forgiving others who have belittled them. I also ask we would speak to our family, children, and friends with respect in Jesus’ name, amen.