{"id":3058,"date":"2014-11-05T18:56:11","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T01:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/?p=3058"},"modified":"2016-02-23T01:53:16","modified_gmt":"2016-02-23T08:53:16","slug":"drawing-a-blank-when-it-comes-to-gods-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/drawing-a-blank-when-it-comes-to-gods-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Drawing a blank when it comes to God’s name"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hello-my-name-is\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Exchanging names is the starting point of any meaningful relationship.<\/p>\n

Like a company trademark, one\u2019s personal name carries the goodwill and reputation vested in it over the course of a lifetime. When we hear or read a person\u2019s name, we immediately consult countless thousands of information files tucked away in the recesses of our brain. This phenomenon happens subconsciously, almost instantaneously. Upon locating a match, the metaphoric file opens, revealing all we know about that person.<\/p>\n

If you are like me, it seems our retrieval capabilities slow down the older we get. We don\u2019t recall names quite so fast as we once did. But those names with whom we have the most experience and first-hand knowledge, those belonging to our loved ones and closest friends, are usually the last names to fade from conscious memory.<\/p>\n

Sometimes when a name is mentioned, our minds come up empty. This happens when we have no background knowledge or history with which to associate a name. We essentially draw a blank.<\/p>\n

Sadly, more and more people in our western society draw blanks when it comes to God\u2019s name. Worse still is when people have warped ideas associated with God.<\/p>\n

Given that ignorance and confusion about God are fast becoming the norm, we are wise not to assume too much when we refer to God<\/em> in a conversation with someone. The writer of one of the biblical Psalms makes an astute observation in this regard when he writes,<\/p>\n

\n
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.\u201d Psalm 9:10 NIV<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Apart from knowing who God is\u2014his identity, and what he has done\u2014his history, is it reasonable to expect someone to trust God? Are we, as Christ\u2019s ambassadors, expecting people to trust a stranger?<\/p>\n

As I write, a neighbour of mine is slowly coming to know who God is and what he is like, as a result of time we are spending together. Would you pray for Phil* that the name God<\/em> will become increasingly meaningful and that he and his family will come to trust him?<\/p>\n

GoodSeed offers a book written for this very purpose. By This Name<\/a> carefully front-loads the reader\u2019s understanding with God\u2019s identity and his history as revealed in the Bible. It makes few assumptions. It lets the message speak for itself without arm-twisting. Told as a story, it features 1570 Bible verses woven throughout the narrative.<\/p>\n

Just giving a book such as this to a friend or family member may well be their starting point for a meaningful relationship with God\u2014the Creator God of the Bible.<\/p>\n

The next time God\u2019s name comes up in conversation, stop and consider whether your friend or family member understands who God is and what he is like. Be careful not to assume too much. And remember, the starting point of a relationship with God is the same as it is with any meaningful relationship\u2014people first need to know his name.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(*Name changed as per GoodSeed policy.)<\/p>\n

Photo credit: \u201cHello, my name is anonymous<\/a>\u201d by\u00a0Quinn Dombrowski\u00a0<\/a>is licensed under CC BY 2.0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exchanging names is the starting point of any meaningful relationship. Like a company trademark, one\u2019s personal name carries the goodwill and reputation vested in it over the course of a lifetime. When we hear or read a person\u2019s name, we immediately consult countless thousands of information files tucked away in the recesses of our brain. … Continue reading “Drawing a blank when it comes to God’s name”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-by-this-name"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3058"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4757,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058\/revisions\/4757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}