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.

THE NAME OF THE LORD IN YOUR HOME
Part 1

"His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace"
(Isaiah 9:6).

How much does the name of the Lord feature in your home? Is He the most talked about name? Or are other names more prevalent on the lips of you and your children? Are praises ringing to His name throughout the day? The answers to these questions reveal the true essence of our Christianity. If His name is rarely mentioned, rarely praised, rarely honored, and rarely spoken about we have to wonder if we really belong to His name.

Let's look at the Scriptures to see what our response should be to the name of the Lord. We should...

ANOINT with oil in the name of the Lord

James 5:14-16 says, "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed."

It is natural to want people to pray for us when we are sick, but often we forget that God tells us to ask the elders of the church to anoint us with oil in the name of the Lord. It's good to go about things God's way, isn't it?

EXALT the name of the Lord

David exclaimed in Psalm 34:3, "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." To exalt His name means "to lift up on high" for His name is above every other name in heaven and in earth. Let's do this together as a family each new day.

BELIEVE in the name of the Lord

I am sure that John 1:12 is a Scripture you have memorized. It is an important Scripture for all our children memorize. It says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." It all starts with believing on His name, the only name through which we can receive salvation. Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Another important Scripture for you and your children to memorize. Read also John 2:23; 20:31 and Acts 10:43.

BE BAPTIZED in the name of the Lord

Acts 2:38 says, "And Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Read also Acts 8:;16; 108; 19:5 and 22:16.

BLESS the name of the Lord

Psalm 113:2 says, "Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore." Blessing the Lord should be the habit of our lives. Not only in the good times, but in the hard times, too. Job's example is such a challenge to us, isn't it? When God took away the hedge of protection He had put around Job and allowed Satan to get at him, in one day he lost everything he owned. His oxen, asses, sheep, camels, All his servants. And most heart-wrenching of all--his beloved sons and daughters. Only he and his wife were left!

What did Job do? "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD" (Job 1:20-21).

Psalm 103:1 should be our daily testimony, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Read also Nehemiah 9:5; Psalm 96:2, 100:4, 72:9 and 145:21.

BUILD your home to the name of the Lord

In 2 Chronicles 2:1-4 we read how "Solomon determined to build a house for the name of the Lord . . . Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him."

Solomon had a burning passion to build a house to the name of the Lord. This should also be our burning passion, to build a home that is a dwelling place for God and to the honor of HIs name, as well as for our husband and children. Keep this vision before you as you begin each day. Your life has purpose. You are in a great building program. There is nothing more awesome that you could do than build a home to the name of the Lord. Make everything you do in your home worthy of His glorious name.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:
"Oh God, I acknowledge that your name is above every name. Help me to honor an exalt your name in my home. I want your name to be spoken about more than any other. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:
I am in the greatest building program of all time--building a house to the name of the Lord.

LIFE IS A FIGHT

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,
to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses"
(1 Timothy 6:12).

How we long for everything to be perfect and peaceful in our lives. However, we may as well face it. This is not the picture of life here on this earth. It is a constant fight. It has been this way from the very beginning of time and will continue until the Lord comes. The whole of the Bible is a story of war and peace.

After God blessed Adam and Eve, the first words He spoke into their lives were, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion..." (Genesis 1:28). It is impossible to subdue and take dominion without a fight. It is a fight in the natural and a fight in the spiritual.

Our forefathers (and those who pioneer the land today), had to fight the environment to make it ready to plant. They had to chop down trees, get rid of bramble, weeds, and thorns, and break up the dry arid ground. This is not a piece of cake. It is back-breaking work. They also had to fight against the extreme elements--drought, cold, snow, and winds. And if they didn't keep at it, it would grow all over again and they would have to fight to subdue the land again.

Not only did they have to fight to subdue the land, but they had to be on constant alert for enemies who could plunder their crops and also capture their wives and children. They had to go to war to fight enemies who tried to subdue them.

We still fight for victory. Fathers today must still be on the alert for all enemies that would attack their families. But, where do we as women fit into this picture? We are in the fight, too. Man cannot do it alone. God chose us to be a "helper" to our husband in the great vision to conquer the land in the physical and to subdue the kingdom of darkness in the spiritual (Genesis 2:18). God spoke the same words, "Subdue and take dominion" to the woman as well as the man.

Men go off to war to defeat the enemy. They go with their weapons of war. We also fight the enemy on the home front. As mothers, God has put within us His nurturing anointing. We should exemplify the soft, gentle, sweet, nurturing anointing that personifies motherhood. But, we are also warriors and have to fight.

We see a picture of this in Christ Himself. He was both the Lamb and the Lion. As the Lamb, He submitted Himself to the cruel cross to take our punishment, just as the sheep yields to the shearer and never opens its mouth in protest. But, He is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah to whom one day every knee will bow, the One who will bring all His enemies, and all kings and kingdoms into subjection to His Lordship and reign.

We as mothers must subdue in the natural. We start in the home. We will never be successful in anything else if we can't first manage our home. Dear mother, subdue your laundry. Subdue the dishes. Subdue the clutter that daily accumulates in your home. Don't let it subdue you! You were born to conquer. Yes, the meaning of subdue is "bring into subjection, conquer, keep under."

As a helper to our husband, we subdue and take dominion in prayer. Prayer is your greatest weapon to conquer the powers of darkness that subtly creep into your marriage and your home. It's not a onetime prayer. We must constantly pray as we fight to take dominion.

A Personal Fight

It is a personal fight to live in victory. We have a war going on in our own hearts. We have a fleshly nature that wants to give in to our selfish desires. But, if we are born again, we also have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us who is totally opposed to the flesh. Both are antagonistic to one another. The question is, to whom will we yield?

Galatians 5:16-17 NET says, "But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other." Isn't it wonderful that we have the power of the Holy Spirit residing within us to help us combat the desires of the flesh? We could never do it on our own, but we have no excuse when we have the Holy Spirit within us.

A Family Fight

It is a fight for our family. Satan hates strong godly marriages and a tightly knit families who are trained in the ways of God. He does everything in his power to disrupt and destroy the family. He has already successfully deceived many believers to have small families and thus limit the godly seed in the earth, who are his greatest threat. But, as husband and wife we will stand against him with our weapons of prayer and holding up the banner of righteousness.

A National Fight

It's also a fight for the nation! Christians are ridiculed for speaking against what God says is an abomination. We are encroached with more and more sin and darkness each day. However, the darker it gets, the more we must fight, not against people, but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:10-12).

Nehemiah's exhortation as they built up the gates and wall of Jerusalem is as needful today, "Don't be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and FIGHT for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!" (Nehemiah 4:14).

Love from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

"Great God and Father, I know that while I am in this world I am in a fight, a fight against the flesh, and a fight against all evil. Help me to "fight the good fight of faith" and not give up until the end. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am fighting the good fight of faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.

ARE YOUR SHOULDERS STRONG?

To work hard you need good strong shoulders. I remember when I broke my shoulder and how it incapacitated me. It is a number of years since this happened and I still don't have my full capacity back.

We often hear, or say the saying, "Put your shoulder to the wheel." It comes from the image of an old-fashioned farm wagon or cart that is stuck in the mud. The way to get it moving is to put your shoulder up against it and push and shove hard. It means to put your best effort into a task until it is completed, to work persistently and wholeheartedly. In other words, "Get stuck in!"

We want our children to grow up with this kind of work ethic, don't we? However, they will only learn it as they see us with this attitude. They learn from our example more than what we say.

The shoulders are also used to carry burdens and weights. When the children of Israel left Egypt, they carried their kneading troughs on their shoulders (Exodus 12:34). When it was time for the Israelites to move on in their wilderness journeys, the Kohathites were in charge of carrying all the furnishings in the tabernacle on their shoulders (Numbers 4:15 and 7:9). However, it was the Levites who were commanded to carry the ark of God upon their shoulders (1 Chronicles 15:15 and 2 Chronicles 35:3). What a privilege to carry the presence of God.

Do you remember when David decided to bring up the ark of God to Jerusalem? With great excitement they carried the ark on a new cart. But, it ended in catastrophe! The ark began to shake and Uzzah put forth his hand to steady it, but God immediately smote him. David was filled with fear. What had he done wrong? He feared to bring the ark any further and left it at the home of Obed-edom (2 Samuel 6:1-11).

However, after David became aware of the blessing of God upon Obed-edom's house, he desired again to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. This time he sought to find the correct way to carry the ark--upon the shoulders of the priests. David said in 1 Chronicles 15:2, "None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him forever." He then told the Levites, "Sanctify yourselves ... that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it. For because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order" (1 Chronicles 15:12-14).This time, instead of fear and sadness, they brought home the ark of God with GREAT JOY--shouting, singing, dancing, and many musical instruments.

The Bible talks about carrying children on our shoulders (Isaiah 49:22). Have you found that you have become stronger as you mother? Your strengthen your shoulders as you carry your children around. Your arms are strengthened too. Proverbs 31:17 testifies that the mother in her home "strengthens her arms." She does this with housework, digging and planting her garden, but most of all through carrying her babies and little ones.

Another way we carry our children on our shoulders is in prayer. When God designed the High Priest's garments, He told them to take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Israel. They had to engrave six names on one stone and six on the other and then fasten the stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod. Exodus 28:12 NLT says, "Aaron will carry these names on his shoulders as a constant reminder whenever he goes before the Lord."

As we have noted, the shoulders speak of bearing a burden. It is the responsibility of each of us parents to take the burden of our children upon us as we go to the Lord in prayer. We take their names upon us, lifting up each one individually in the presence of the Lord. You will find the best time for you to do this each day. My husband and I like to bring the individual names of all our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to the Lord in prayer before we get up to start the day.

May God strengthen you as you bear your children upon your shoulders in the place of prayer.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you that no matter how bleak things may look in the world, I do not need to worry for the government of the world is upon your shoulders. You alone can bear it and will perform all things according to your will. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am daily strengthening my prayer shoulders for the sake of my children.