New Identity Day

Once again, this is a new holiday for me, and I like the implication.  A new identity.  What does that entail?  Not only in biblical times, but also up through till the previous hundred years, names had meaning and were often familial names.  My first name is Phillip, and it means lover of horses.  Elliott is a Greek name, and my surname is German.  A little research on my part reveals the etymology of both.  Often someone who had a bad reputation or criminal history would change his or her name to elude detection.  With today's fingerprinting and computer technology that is harder to get away with, but that was the norm till recent times.  In seeing today's holiday, what really came to mind was the giving of a new name, a new identity by God Himself, particularly Jacob.  After wrestling all night with the Angel of the Lord, God gave Jacob the new name of Israel, for he was to become a patriarch of that great nation.  More importantly, Jacob was never to walk the same again, both physically and spiritually.  Becoming born-again through a relationship with the Lord Jesus, I am now a new creation with a brand new identity.  Of course the affects of sin and this wicked world still linger, but I can now overcome those through the victory of my Lord and Savior.  The newness of life won't manifest itself automatically, but the Holy Spirit aids and guides me to obedience, the essential ingredient for a relationship with God.  So do you desire a new identity and a freshness in life?  It can only be found in God.  Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.  Revelation 2:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away.  Behold, the new has come!  II Corinthians 5:17

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