Monday, June 19, 2017

What's in a name?

“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬. http://bible.com/116/1pe.1.13.

What do you do to prepare your mind for action? The obvious answer is studying the word of God, prayer, and worship. Yes, these disciplines are so valuable in keeping our minds focused on the mission assigned by our Lord. There are other things we need to do to prepare our minds for action. In my daily devoitional today from "Insight for Living",  Chuck Swindol, talks about remembering people's names. I was convicted. I need to put effort in to remembering the names of people I meet.

There is nothing more valuable in building a relationship than to call someone by name. I have been approached by former students in Walmart and I have learned to avoid calling them by name. I just can't remember them. I am always impressed when people come up to me and remember me by name. I have to put more effort into that. I blame it on lack of memory, but it is probably more about effort. It's about focusing on the people you interact with. It is about caring to put them at the center of the conversation and avoiding distraction. It's about getting to know someone beyond pleasantries and connecting with them and the lives they lead.

I am glad God knows me by name. He knows everything about me. Even if I reject him and forget to call on him for years, he never forgets who I am. I praise him for his love!

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