Hey guys, it’s Stephen… Yeah I know, it’s been a while!! I hope you’ve all been well.
Here at New Nation Destiny Centre church, we have some great revelatory truths and some equally challenging ones; but truths all the same. One Sunday, our Pastor, Apostle Michael DaCosta, spoke to us about the woman with the alabaster box (Luke 7:36-50), and although I’ve heard this story taught and preached hundreds of times, it was the way that our pastor pointed out something I hadn’t considered.
It wasn’t the obvious details that everyone knows about the story; you know, the example Jesus gave to Simon (the Pharisee), the anointing of Jesus’ feet, the woman being forgiven. No, it was the fact that what Simon was THINKING about that was wrong with this whole situation; verse 39 (KJV) says, “he spake within himself”, meaning he didn’t verbally say anything audible for anyone to hear. And yet, here comes Jesus and ANSWERS Simon’s thoughts! Wow!!
Put yourself in Simon’s shoes for a minute… What on Earth did he think Jesus wanted to say to him? Certainly not the very thing he was thinking about the woman who was a sinner!! But Jesus heard exactly what he was thinking and it needed to be addressed. This brings me to the title of this blog, “He Knows My Name”.
Now, I think I remember saying in a previous blog that God is omniscient, the all-knowing God! So, He doesn’t just know my name, He knows EVERYTHING about me, you and everyone else! So even when we choose not to talk to God, please know that He already knows all that we go through. I know… I hear you asking, “Stephen, if He already knows everything I’m going to say then why do I need to communicate with God?” That’s easy; God wants a relationship with us. He gave us free-will to do as we desire within the remit of His ultimate will for us. But He wants us to open up to Him willingly, to talk to Him like we would our friends and family. Not for His benefit, but ours! God is GOD!! There is nothing that we could ever give Him that He; in His infinite wisdom, power and authority, could gain from.
Hearing this word made me very uneasy at first, but I soon realised how important it is for me to keep a clear channel of communication with the Father. Having to hear, “Stephen, I have something to say to you…” has its pros and cons. It means that God is still speaking to me regardless but it also means that my thoughts can be heard as loud as thunder in a church hall. My thoughts have to be of a nature that is Christ-like, and not carnal. My thoughts; if misdirected, can turn into negative actions and manifest into undesirable behaviours. It’s only by His grace that we keep grounded but we cannot continue to operate from grace. Grace is the fail-safe, the “press button in case of emergency”, the back up plan, if you will. And with God, His grace is always there by the truckload. But in order to be who He called us to be, we have to walk in the same power and authority that Christ exuded every day.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying this isn’t a hard lifestyle to keep up. Trust me, let me be the first to say I struggle a lot with speaking to God and having positive thoughts. With all of the curveballs that life throws at me, I often drop the bat, run and hide in the bleachers. But sometimes, not swinging is not the same as giving up; for some of us, it might mean that we need to take a time out to re-strategise, change the size of the bat or choose a more comfortable stance. And in our Christian walk, we need to do just that; change things up a bit: adjust our prayer life, tweak how we study God’s word or spend more time with our brothers and sisters in the faith. The more open we can be about our current state, the easier it is to begin the transformation process. And guess what? The best part is that God never changes; He will still be the God who knows your name, knows your past, present and future, knows when you cry, and knows when you need Him the most.
Truth be told, we won’t always get it right. But we should endeavour to try. That’s all the Father would have us do. And I hope that with the sincerity of our hearts, we give Him all we have. Peace be upon us all and the love of Christ to all who read this.
BY STEPHEN MCCORMACK