What's in a Name?

Back in the day when school kids solved their problems off the school grounds with their fists, a little girl named Blossom Honey lived. She was a tomboy who grew up in a rough and tumble family so thought nothing of taking anyone, boy or girl who made fun of her name to task with her tiny but mighty little fists. She also did not wear the right clothes, her daddy cut her hair, and she certainly did not come from a family of community status. The opposite was her reality. With the added handle of Blossom Honey when common names like Kathy, Heather, Mary were the norm and what society expected, this little girl got into her fair share of trouble.

Has your name ever been mispronounced, misspelled, or smeared? How about the object of ridicule or jokes? How did that make you feel?

I quite like my name now, and as an author the different name of Blossom is really quite awesome. However, I'm rarely introduced to anyone who doesn't ask if Blossom is my real name, or ask if my parent were hippies and I was a flower child?

I share this why? Because my name, and your name, matter. A name is important. And whose name is to be the most revered? Our LORD Yahweh of course. I am grieved how often His name is used in vain in anger or as careless slang and I'm sure you are too, but, this is not what I'm referring to, there is more to learn about this amazing name.

Last month I wrote about praying the name Yahweh. I want to give you a short history lesson on how the word Jehovah came to replace YHWH—Yahweh and why going forward I will choose to use the more accurate name of Yahweh when in prayer rather than Jehovah.

A German translator incorrectly took the Hebrew vowels for Adonai (Lord) (in German (JHVH) inserted them into Yahweh and resulted in the name YaHoVah, or more commonly said Jehovah. This mistake can easily be verified by the fact the letter "J" was added to the English language about 500 years ago and the name Yahweh given to Moses more than three thousand years ago.

Most scholars today believe the correct name is Yahweh, pronounced "yah-WEH." Going forward, rather than referring for example to Jehovah Shalom, I will use Yahweh Shalom.

Why is this important you may ask?

• We pray using His Name
• He longs to hear our voice whisper his name Yahweh. (Not that He doesn't respond to a soft heart no matter how we call, or what title we use.)
• As we grow in the Lord, we have the opportunity to deepen our relationship with knowledge and love. We are His beloved. This is our way to enrich our love language toward God.

Let's listen to another song using the name Yahweh and bask in His wonderful presence. Phil Wickham has written a beautiful song of praise called "At Your Name (Yahweh, Yahweh). Enjoy.

And let's practise using Yahweh in our prayer life this week.

Exodus 3:15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD (Yahweh), the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation."