2018 March 14

2018 March 14 Wednesday in Liberty Hill Texas

32°? Yep it dipped down to freezing for a half minute overnight. It was a cloudless, windless night so all the daytime heat drifted off into space.

I got a photo of the sun peeking through the juniper shrubs.
Grandies* was a little light today only ten of the two dozen members were there. Thank God they weren’t all out sick, though we had one that was being released from the hospital today. It is spring break so some are with family and others we busy with other things.

Although we were invited to go out to lunch with a few people, we chose to come home and have a baked potato with yummy toppings.

By one o’clock it was a beautiful sunny 62° so we had the door standing open. It may have reached sixty five before we left for supper at Dahlia’s with some of the choir.

When we came out from choir slightly after seven, the sky was impressive. However by the time we got home, it was marvelous.

MUSINGS

WHAT IS IN A NAME?

Daniel 1:1-7
“In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and attacked it. The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah and some utensils from God’s temple over to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar took the utensils to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put them in the temple treasury. The king told Ashpenaz, the chief-of-staff, to bring some of the Israelites, the royal family, and the nobility. They were to be young men who were healthy, good-looking, knowledgeable in all subjects, well-informed, intelligent, and able to serve in the king’s palace. They were to be taught the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king arranged for them to get a daily allowance of the king’s rich food and wine. They were to be trained for three years. After that, they were to serve the king. Among these young men were some Judeans: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief-of-staff gave them Babylonian names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar. To Hananiah he gave the name Shadrach. To Mishael he gave the name Meshach. And to Azariah he gave the name Abednego.”

My name is Thomas which is the Greek form of the Aramaic name תָּאוֹמָא (Ta’oma’) which means “twin”.

Once in a job interview I was asked, “Do you prefer Thomas, Tom, or Tommy?” I replied that no one, still alive, calls me Tommy.” To which they responded, “Oh, I’ll just call you mister Williams then,” I replied, “I didn’t say that I’d killed them.”

Shakespeare wrote, “What is in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would still smell as sweet.” Which would indicate that the name is of no importance. That it is the nature of the person (or thing) that matters. There is some truth to that. And yet I read in Proverbs 22:1
“A good name is more desirable than great wealth. Respect is better than silver or gold.”

In the Daniel scripture passage the king gave these Hebrew youth new names. You need to understand the meaning of the names to see why this was important.

Daniel = God is my Judge
Hananiah = God is Gracious
Mishael = who is like God
Azariah = God helps
Nebuchadnezzar changed their names to take away their allegiance from the God of Israel and give allegiance to the Babylonian gods as follows:
Daniel to Belshazzar meaning “Bel protect the King” (same name as Nebuchadnezzar’s Son or Grandson) and Bel was a Babylonian god
Hananiah to Shadaku meaning “command of Aku” a Babylonian god
Mishael to Meshaku the Babylonian moon god Aku
Azariah to Abednebo the Babylonian god of wisdom Nebo
As Daniel and his friends were very dedicated to the God of Israel, it is common sense they would not accept these names. Daniel changed the names slightly and just enough to take away the allegiance to the Babylonian gods as follows:
Daniel to Belshazzar to Belteshazzar (it is said that adding the TE may mean “Bel NOT to protect the King” changing the meaning altogether)
Hananiah to Shadaku to Shadrach
Mishael to Meshaku to Meshach
Azariah to Abednebo to Abednego

(For more see https://www.quora.com/Why-was-Daniel-given-the-name-Belteshazzar)

What does your name mean? Does it fit you? What would you name yourself?

I wonder what new name God will give me.

Revelation of John 2:17
Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give each person a white stone with a new name written on it, a name that is known only to the person who receives it.

• *Grandies welcomes those 50+ every week with friendship, games and a ministry to connect to others. As a special part of their ministry, Grandies sign and send greeting cards with inspirational messages to those serving in the military, the sick or homebound and church members celebrating happy milestones like birthdays and graduation. Since this ministry started, more than 3,300 cards have been sent!

• In the summer, Grandies also work to make available snack packs through Operation Liberty Hill for children who may not otherwise have enough food without school in session. Additionally, they provide meals at Vacation Bible School and host bake sales twice a year to raise funds for their important works.