THE NAME OF THE LORD IN YOUR HOME
Part 5

"Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified forever"

(1 Chronicles 17:23).

PRAISE the name of the Lord

Sometimes we may not feel like praising the Lord. However, God's name is worthy to be praised whether we feel like it or not. His name waits to be praised. Therefore, there are times when we have to confess out loud like the prophet, "I WILL praise you." Isaiah 25:1 says, "I WILL praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." Read also Psalm 54:6.

How frequently should we praise the name of the Lord? The psalmist says, "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised" (Psalm 113:3). And "I will praise thy name forever and ever" (Psalm 44:8 and 145:2). That doesn't give us any loophole, does it?

Who should praise the Lord? Psalm 148:1-13 tells us that all creation praises the name of the Lord. But also "Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven." It's not just the adults who should be exuberant in praising the name of the Lord, but the teens, and children, too. Our whole household should ring with the praises of the Lord. This distinguishes us from a secular household!

Read also 1 Chronicles 29:13; Psalm 48:10; 74:21; 113:1; 135:1; 138:2; 148:1-5 and Joel 2:26.

PRAY in the name of the Lord

This is such a wonderful point. How I love to pray in the name of Jesus. I have no access of my own into the throne room of God. I only stand in His presence because of the name of Jesus and His precious blood. Because of the power of His name I can intercede for our family, the needs of other people, and the nations of the world.

John 14:13-14 says, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." Read also John 16:16 and 16:23-24.

PROCLAIM the name of the Lord

Moses exclaimed in Deuteronomy 32:3, "I will proclaim the name of the Lord."

PREACH in the name of the Lord

It is our privilege and duty to preach the gospel whenever we can to whoever we can. And of course, we don't do it our name, but in the authority of the name of the Lord. Jesus Himself said in Luke 24:27, "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

RECEIVE CHILDREN in the name of the Lord

Do you remember the time when the disciples asked Jesus who would be the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven? Jesus responded by bringing a little child into their midst and said to them, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me" (Matthew 18:1-6). Read also Mark 9:36-37 and Luke 9:48.

Our attitude to embracing children reveals our attitude to Him. We are to receive each new baby as though we were receiving Jesus Himself. We are to receive them in His name.

Our receiving of children should not be the attitude, "Well, I guess we'll survive somehow if God gives us another baby." The Greek word is dechomai and actually means, "to accept a gift deliberately and readily, to welcome, to receive favorably and kindly, to embrace, make one's own, not to reject."

The word dechomai is used 55 times in the New Testament. One of the occasions is about receiving Christ into the heavens after His time on earth (Acts 3:21). We could hardly imagine the joy and fanfare with which He was welcomed back into His heavenly home. This is the same way God wants us to receive children in His name.

REJOICE in the name of the Lord

Psalm 89:16 exhorts us to rejoice in the name of the Lord all the day!

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

"Dear Father, I pray that you will anoint us to be a praising family. Help me to be disciplined to set apart family times each day to praise and honor the name of the Lord TOGETHER. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

The name of the Lord is lifted HIGH in our home.

THE NAME OF THE LORD IN YOUR HOME
Part 4

"His name shall endure forever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun ...
And blessed be his glorious name forever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen."
(Psalm 72:17, 19).

GLORIFY the name of the Lord

Psalm 29:2 exhorts us to "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name." God's name is the greatest name in all the earth. Holy. Awesome. Excellent. Glorious. Although we want to give glory to His name throughout the day, life gets busy, we get taken up with things, and we often forget. That's why, in our home, we love to put aside time to have Family Devotions each morning and evening where we can give glory to the name of the Lord. I feel this is the VERY LEAST amount of time we can give to glorify His name each day.

Malachi 2:2. is a very challenging Scripture. It says that if we do not give glory to the name of the Lord that He will send a curse upon us, and even curse our blessings! We certainly can't take His name for granted, can we? Take time as a family each day to glorify His name. Read also 1 Chronicles 16:10, 29; Psalm 86:9, 12; 96:8;105:3 and 115:1.

HAVE FAITH in the name of the Lord

It is through faith in the name of the Lord that we receive healing. Read Acts 3:16 and 4:10.

KNOW the name of the Lord

It's one thing know about the name of the Lord, but the greatest thing is to really KNOW the name of the Lord. And yet how little we really know of the power and wonder of His holy name. If we truly know the name of the Lord we will trust Him. We will not doubt Him for we will know His character. We will know without doubt that if He gives another baby to us from His loving hand that He will provide for this baby. Psalm 9:10 reminds us that when we know the name of the Lord, we will trust Him. Read also Psalm 91:14 and Isaiah 52:6.

When Solomon was dedicating the temple he prayed, "Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel" (1 Kings 8:43 and 2 Chronicles 6:33). Solomon wanted everyone in the world to know the name of the Lord. This should be our longing and prayer, too.

LIFT UP YOUR HANDS in the name of the Lord

David exclaims in Psalm 63:4, "Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name." When your heart is overflowing with praise to the Lord, it is hard to keep your hands down, isn't it? It is an automatic response to lift your hands in honor and praise to His name. Let's never be ashamed to lift our hands. Let's do it as a family together each day as we pray and praise the Lord at our family worship times.

LOVE the name of the Lord

We are to not only love the Lord, but love the name of the Lord. A lovely thing to do with your family is to search out the names of the Lord and study them together. It is a great way for your children to come to know the Lord in a deeper way for He reveals Himself through His names. Read Psalm 5:11; 69:36; 119:132 and Isaiah 55:6-7.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

"Dear Father, please help me to get to know your name. Please anoint me to teach my children the character of your name. I know that the more I know your name the more I will be able to trust you. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

We are a trusting in the name of the Lord family.

THE NAME OF THE LORD IN YOUR HOME
Part 2

"Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise"
(Nehemiah 9:5).

BLESS OTHERS in the name of the Lord

As believers who are blessed of the Lord, it is our privilege to not only daily bless the name of the Lord but to bless others in the name of the Lord. In the tabernacle days the priests of the Lord were chosen "To minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 10:8, 21:5 and 1 Chronicles 23:13). We have now been made "priests" and therefore we should see it as a responsibility to bless others in His name.

We will of course always start with our own immediate family. Ask God to give you words of blessings to speak to your husband and to each of your children each day. In our home we love to celebrate the Shabbat meal each Friday evening where my husband takes time to bless me, the children who are with us, and whoever else is at our table. This brings such richness and well-being to the family.

After David brought the ark of God back to Jerusalem he "blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts" and gave to every person and gift of "a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins" (2 Samuel 6:18-19). You can bless someone in the name of the Lord with words, food, or also physical gifts. Always be thinking of ideas of how to bless others.

CALL on the name of the Lord

It is a wonderful thing to pray. But, sometimes we come face to face with problems that are too big for us to handle. The impossible mountain rises before us. The troubles are overwhelming . The Psalmist was in this state when he realized it was not enough to pray; he had to call upon the Lord. Psalm 116:3-4 says, "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul." Two more times in this psalm he calls upon the name of the Lord (verses 13 and 17).

The word "call" is qara and means "to call aloud, to roar, to implore." In times of desperation you may have to find some place where you can get alone to really cry out to the name of the Lord. Yes, CRY OUT LOUD.

Here are some examples of men of God who called upon the name of the Lord;

Abraham called upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8; 13:4 and 21:33).
Isaac called upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 26:25).
Elijah called on the name of the Lord and God answered by fire (1 Kings 18:24-38).
Moses and Aaron called upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 99:6).
David called upon the name of the Lord (1 Chronicles 16:8; Psalm 17:6;
Samuel called upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 99:6).
Jeremiah called upon the name of the Lord (Lamentations 3:55).

Did you know that the early Christians were also known as those who call upon the name of the Lord? Acts 9:14 tells us about Paul who was given authority from the chief priests "to bind all that call on thy name." Acts 9:14 and 21 tell us the believers were persecuted who "called on this name."

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he addressed them as those who "call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord" (1:2). Paul wrote to Timothy encouraging him to "follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). Read also Acts 2:21; 22:16; Romans 10:13.

The people of the world knew they were believers because of their calling upon the name of the Lord. Would our friends and neighbors know this about us? How do they know we are different if we do not call upon the Lord? Jeremiah 10:25 gives us a powerful challenge when it tells us that the families who do not call upon His name may as well be heathen! We read the same message in Isaiah 64:7.

CONFESS the name of the Lord

AT the dedication of the temple, Solomon prayed, "When thy people Israel . . . have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house; then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel" (1 Kings 8:33-35). We must confess the name of the Lord in order for Him to hear us. We must confess the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:8-9). We must confess the name of the Lord so that Christ will confess us before His Father in Heaven (32-33).

DO EVERYTHING in the name of the Lord

Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." Make this a memory verse in your family. Encourage everyone in your family to make this their goal for every day, to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Whatever comes out of our mouth should honor the name of the Lord. Whatever action we do should honor the name of the Lord Jesus. No task is too demeaning when you do it in the name of the Lord. Washing dishes, doing laundry, scrubbing floors and tending to your children become sacred tasks when you do them in the name of the Lord. What an exciting way to live.

PRAYER:

Father God, please help me to be always blessing others in your name. Help me to realize that everything I do in your name becomes a sacred task, no matter how small or insignificant. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I'm tired of always stooping to moan,
Instead I'm blessing everyone in my home!

Blessings from Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

FURTHER SCRIPTURES TO READ ABOUT CALLING ON THE LORD:
Judges 6:6; 1 Chronicles 5:18-20; Psalm 105:1; 80:18; 145:18; Isaiah 12:4; Joel 2:32; Zephaniah 3:9 and Zechariah 13:9.

THE NAME OF THE LORD IN YOUR HOME
Part 3

"For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people"
(1 Samuel 12:22).

DESIRE the name of the Lord

Isaiah 26:7 says, "Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee." Is the desire of our hearts to His name? What about everyone in our family?

FACE THE ENEMY in the name of the Lord

We constantly face onslaughts from the enemy of our souls. We continually face battles. How, therefore can we face them? In the name of the Lord. There is no greater answer.

When David, a young teenager, faced the great giant Goliath who was fully clothed with strong protective armor, he faced him in the name of the Lord of Hosts. Read his powerful confession in 1 Samuel 17:45-47, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will strike you and take your head from you . . . that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."

The Psalmist confidently confesses three times in Psalm 118:10-12 that he will destroy his enemies in the name of the Lord, "All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them. They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them."

Psalm 44:5 says, "Though thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us."

You have no power in your own strength, but you too, can face your enemy in the powerful name of the Lord of Hosts. Read also Mark 16:17 and Luke 10:12).

FEAR the name of the Lord

Isaiah 59:19 says, "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun."

We dare not take the name of the Lord lightly for His name is the most holy name in all the earth. Guard how the name of the Lord is spoken in your home. Do not allow your children to get away with speaking the name of the Lord irreverently. God Himself will not allow this. Part of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:7 says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." And don't forget to read this powerful story in Leviticus 24:10-16.

God judges seriously a son or daughter who makes light of their father and mother (Proverbs 20:20 and 30:17). What about God Himself? Read also Leviticus 19:12 and Deuteronomy 5:11.

GATHER together in the name of the Lord

Don't you love the promise of Jesus in Matthew 18:20? He says, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." This means that when you gather your family around your table in the name of the Lord, He is with you. When you gather your family to pray and have devotions together that He comes right into your midst. Isn't that wonderful? You certainly won't want to miss gathering together when you know that He is waiting to be with you, will you?

GIVE A CUP OF WATER in the name of the Lord

Mark 9:41 says, "For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." This is speaking of more than a cup of water. It means that anything you do for one of His saints, even the lowliest saint, is noticed by your Heavenly Father. But, remember to do them in the name of the Lord.

GIVE THANKS to the name of the Lord

Why does God save us from the heathen and make us His saints? Psalm 106:47 tells us, "Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise." We have been saved to give thanks to His name.

How often do you give thanks? When everything is going well? When you feel happy? Ephesians 5: 20 encourages us, "Giving thanks ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." This doesn't give us one tiny excuse, does it? In everything! And for all things! Do you think you could start making this a habit in your life? And let's encourage everyone in the home to make it their habit, too. What an exciting home to live in. Can you imagine the atmosphere when every person is thanking the Lord in every situation and at all times?

Read also 1 Chronicles 16:35; 41; Psalm 105:1; 122:4; 140:13 and Hebrews 13:15.

Blessings from NANCY CAMPBELL
www.oboverubies.org

PRAYER:

"Holy God, whose name is Holy, please help me to sanctify your great name in my home. Help me to teach my children the awe and wonder of your name. Help us to always be thanking you for everything. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am facing all challenges and temptations of the enemy in the name of the Lord of hosts.