Do you ever find yourself stuck in the same old place you’ve found yourself a hundred times before? Like the way I find myself standing in line at Starbucks for a four-dollar pumpkin spice latte, when my bank account (and the poor around the world) beg the question – why? I mean we could all tell stories, right? Tell me I’m not the only one.                 Okay, thanks.

Here’s the place where we can all let out a significant sigh of relief. [not one of complacency, just one of relief...knowing there is mercy for our stupidity]

God’s presence illuminates who we truly are. [that's a scary thought...until He illuminates Himself and we come to know Love personified]. He cleanses who we’ve become. [Isaiah six tells a sweet story about this with an alter and coal and an angel, wild stuff]. And he blesses us with a kingdom destiny. [woah]

And it all comes down to our name. [let me explain]

Come with me to the wilderness of Israel, where Jacob (whose name means Deceiver) is trembling as he prepares to encounter his brother Esau (Hairy). {p.s. I’d like to know what these guys’ parents were thinking when they named their boys!}

It was nighttime and Jacob was “…all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket.

Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is dawn.”

But Jacob panted, “I… will… not … let… you… go… unless… you… bless… me.” (panting added)

“What is your name?” the man asked.

He replied, “Jacob.”  (otherwise translated, “Hi, my name is Deceiver.”)

“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and men and have won.”

It’s true. Jacob had struggled with men his entire life – from within the womb with his brother and now with God himself. God reveals who Jacob has become. He has entered the full destiny of his name, Deceiver. And yet God does not leave Jacob to the destiny he has entered. No, he cleanses him, redeems his story.  He gives Jacob a new name, a new kingdom destiny: Israel.  “Deceiver” is now “One Who Contends, Persists, and Perseveres with God”.

Back to the story…

“What is your name?” Jacob asked him. {I love that Jacob enters right into his new name & continues to contend.}

“Why do you ask?” the man replied. {And then God contends back.}

Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel – “face of God” for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”  the sun rose as he left Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

And so we see God encounter Jacob with his presence, and Jacob realizes the fullness of the Deceiver he has become. Yet God doesn’t leave him there. He blesses him with a new name, a new destiny – that of one who persists & contends with God himself.

So, who are you?

What is your name?

Who is it that you have become?

Sometimes who we are becoming is shaped by our own sin, while other times we are shaped by our response to the sin of others done to us. We begin to believe our name is actually: Unwanted. Unseen. Not Enough. Helpless. Voiceless. Damaged. Worthless. Un-important. Powerless.

And then God encounters us. He illuminates who it is that we have become (however dark and shadowed that may be). He cleanses us and, in love, bestows on us a new name, a new destiny, for His kingdom and His honor.

And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it. (Revelation 2.17)

May you and I be blessed to encounter and wrestle with the presence of this wildly redemptive God. May He reveal the truth of who we are and the truth of who we will become in His kingdom. And may we have ears to receive it.

“Whatever you desire, ask in my name and you will have it.” -Jesus [KJV meets KEV-Kjersten's Expressed Version]

Uh, oh. Did I really quote Jesus as using the “d” word? I sure did. You know, it’s quite intriguing to notice the controversial nature of desire in today’s Christian sub-culture.  Some say let the heart go wild, while others camp on the heart’s deceitfulness.  I’m not here to resolve this debate. However, in our attempt to honor God, may we not kill desire nor let it clobber us.

“Rather, may the seeds of desire God plants in our heart become unbridled, infused with His Spirit in such a way that they begin to burn with unquenchable flame.” – Pastor Gary [again, my loose gathering & interpretation]

And now, verb number two: ask.

We all have a plethora of issues around asking for things – perhaps we’ve received angry or annoyed responses at our requests, or maybe it seems like no one listens, or even cares.

Whatever the wound, there’s no qualifier here – we’re still invited to ask.

And so, Christ, would you give us the courage to let you place a burning desire in us? And would you give us the gumption to ask you for it?

That would be great.

Thanks.

When he walked by he saw the blind man.

He saw him. How many others had looked at him, glanced his way, or stared assuming he’d never know? Morning and evening, day after day, they passed him on their way to market or the fields or perhaps the temple. Occasionally they’d toss a pity coin his way.

I wonder what went through his mind when he heard Jesus spit. I wonder if he noticed him kneeling down.

Did he jump when Jesus laid mud on his face?

Maybe Jesus wasn’t the first to spit at his feet. It was sin that brought this on, right? Perhaps Blessed are you Lord God, King of the Universe, that I am not like this blind man, had become a frequent utterance of the religious passerby.

But today was different.

The man who had never seen

encountered the One Who Sees.

…

He was anointed.

Sent.

He washed.

And he received His sight.

…

He {the one blind his entire life} received his sight.

He received {he wasn’t even asking for it} his sight.

He received his sight {aaaa-mazing!}.

…

Day after day, year after year he had received pity, shame, and judgement attached to the coins dropped in his hand.

Today he received his sight. And it came at a price. His parents denied him, and the religious leaders kicked him out.

But, Jesus found him again.

And ironically, this day saw the blind one see, while the seeing lost the sight they never had to begin with.

And eternity

will never be the same.

It was then that the unexpected came. After Bishop Kolini had finished, I stood back. There were so many wanting to meet him. But Ken saw us and motioned for us forward. I was hopefully apprehensive.

Before I could squeak out anything but “hi”, I was wrapped in a giant, teddy bear hug from the right as I awkwardly attempted to shake his hand with my left. I knew I was welcome in his presence. He liked having me there.

Let’s go back a few minutes, to the last of Bishop’s sharing… In anticipation of the possibility of meeting the bishop I had wracked my brain for a question to ask. I wanted to have an actual conversation, not just exchange greetings. If I were honest, I’d say Father must have dropped the question into my mind. He knew exactly what was about to take place.

“You said that at one point you had been asking God ten questions. I wouldn’t presume to ask you what those questions were, but I would like to know:

What questions would you,

as our Bishop,

like us to be asking God?”

That was my question. Pretty good, huh? I thought so. But he didn’t actually answer it (and you won’t hear me complaining!).

Bishop took my hands in his and looked genuinely into my eyes as he spoke.

Words of life, words of hope, words of vision from Father into the depths of me.

…

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord…And he touched my mouth…And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ ”
…

It was a chronicle of the season I’ve been walking in for months (and evidently will continue to walk in the days to come). It was a glimpse at the horizon of my destiny. Amidst the grieving of this season of life, God Almighty has opened my eyes to see Him. He is cleansing and releasing the voice He placed in me. And He will send me with a story to tell.

I like my name. I like hearing my name (usually). And I like that my name has a silent “j”.  More than that,

I want to become my name.

[anointed follower of Yeshua-Jesus, a joy]

I don’t want to be a fake-faced happy Christian.

I don’t want to pretend or do what makes you like me.

I want to well up with authentic joy.

I want to cry and know (really know) it will be okay.

I want to laugh…more.

I want to hear (not just listen).

I want to emanate hope.

I want to perceive circumstances with eyes that see beyond circumstance.

I want to sing when it hurts.

I want to stand when I’d rather vanish.

I want to be who Father made me to be. For His kingdom. Part of His unfolding story of redemption.

…

“But now, this is what the Lord says– he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43)

Last week when this Text was read at church, I about started dancing (okay, maybe not…but you know the feeling). It says Father created Jacob & He formed Israel…can you see it??? Ahhhhh!!! Such beauty!

In the ancient Near East, names carried one’s destiny. Names brimmed with meaning and hope – like Samson (Son of Light) & Delilah (Darkness).  All of life was built around becoming your name.

Then there’s Jacob…”layer of snares”.  How depressing, huh?!…except that He was formed by Father, who redeems. He calls us by name, and He gives new names. He shifts our destiny; He reclaims our “then” and creates a new “now”. He opens wide the gate to who we are becoming.

In His Story, “Layer of Snares” doesn’t remain a cheater, he becomes “One Who Wrestles with God”.

Deceiver engages with God and is never the same. Now he limps, but he loves God enough to fight Him; to wrestle with the mystery of Three-In-One. To ask and ask and not let go until he gets a response.

And in this unexpected turn of events the people of God are birthed. Israel, Father’s chosen, receives her name. She enters The Story, and eternity will never be the same.

The Lord is one who creates and forms.

He redeems.

He calls us by name.

And He says, “You are mine.”

May we take Him at His word, and may eternity never be the same.