Our daughter\u2019s name is Sherisa but we always called her Sheri.\u00a0 As she approached the teen years she decided she would rather be called Sherisa.\u00a0 It was difficult because all her friends and family knew her as Sheri.\u00a0 Then we moved from Washington to Michigan.\u00a0 No one knew her there so she decided this would be the perfect time to make the change.\u00a0 We family members wanted to be supportive so we set up a system of putting a quarter in a jar each time we called her Sheri.\u00a0 Sherisa got to keep the money.\u00a0 This system worked beautifully.\u00a0 In no time at all everyone was calling her Sherisa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0The leap from Sheri to Sherisa is nothing compared to some name changes.\u00a0 Years before fame and fortune, the famous country music duo Wynonna and Naomi Judd were originally Christina and Diana.\u00a0 When they wanted to make a fresh start Diana changed her name to Naomi after her favorite Bible character and thirteen year old Christina decided to change her name to Wynonna after a city mentioned in a song she liked called Route 66.<\/em>\u00a0 And did you know Doris Day was really Doris Van Kappelhoff, John Wayne was Marion Morrison, Kirk Douglas was Issur Danielovitch, Roy Rogers was Leonard Slye, and Michael Landon was Eugene Orowitz?\u00a0 The list could go on and on<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0God was not beyond changing a few names in the Bible, usually to remind people of the new identity they had in him.\u00a0 Or perhaps to let them know He had something special in mind for them and that He would fulfill what he promised.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0For example Abram means \u201chigh father,\u201d but God changed it to Abraham meaning \u201cfather of multitudes.\u201d (Genesis 17:5)\u00a0 Sarai means \u201cmy princess,\u201d but God changed it to Sarah meaning \u201cmother of nations.\u201d (Genesis 17:15)\u00a0 Jacob means \u201cholder of the heel\u201d or \u201csupplanter,\u201d but God changed it to Israel which means \u201chaving power with God.\u201d\u00a0 (Genesis 32:28)\u00a0 Simon means \u201cGod has heard,\u201d but God also called him Peter meaning \u201crock\u201d indicating he was helping to lay the foundation for the church. (Matthew 16:18, John 1:42)\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Another famous name change was when Saul became Paul.\u00a0 (Acts 13:9)\u00a0 We have no reason given but we do know Paul means \u201clittle or small.\u201d\u00a0 Saul was a haughty, proud man, but after his transformation he was a humble servant of God.\u00a0 (Philippians 3:7-11)\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Name changes can have a profound effect on people.\u00a0 I recently heard an NPR interview with Father Gregory Boyle <\/a>founder of Homeboy Industries and author of Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion<\/em>, a compilation of parables resulting from his twenty years of working in the LA barrio with gang members.\u00a0 He said that when kids get inducted into a gang the first thing done is to give them new names such as Scrappy, Speedy, Sniper, Cricket and Bugsy.\u00a0 Gangs know this new name gives them a sense of belonging.\u00a0\u00a0 These names become their new identities and they write them on walls to acknowledge their existence \u2013 sort of making their mark on the world.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Today when we encounter Christ we change our names as well.\u00a0 We call ourselves Christians. \u00a0Our personal encounter with Christ is just as significant as when God changed the names of those in the Bible.\u00a0 We put off our old identity and take on a new one in Christ.\u00a0 We are not the same person. (2 Corinthians 5:17) \u00a0We belong to Christ.<\/p>\n \u00a0Becoming a Christian doesn\u2019t mean others need to put a quarter in a jar when they forget and call us by our old name like our family did with Sherisa.\u00a0 The beauty is that people will automatically get to know our new name.\u00a0 Metaphorically we write it everywhere by the way we live our lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our daughter\u2019s name is Sherisa but we always called her Sheri.\u00a0 As she approached the teen years she decided she would rather be called Sherisa.\u00a0 It was difficult because all her friends and family knew her as Sheri.\u00a0 Then we … Continue reading