What's in a name?

On Mother's Day and again on Thanksgiving Sunday our church devotes an entire service to the dedication of our children. The pastor always spends time reflecting on each child's name and then prays for the child along the lines of the meaning of his or her name. I thought it would be interesting to see what our grandchildren's names mean, to find scripture that reflects that name, and to offer a prayer for each of them in the new year, incorporating their names. So here is what I found, and our prayer for them...

Luke Richard: Bearer of light; strong ruler.

Acts 13:47 – I have made you a light…that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.
Revelation 21:23, 24 – The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

Our prayer for Luke is that he will bear the light of Christ to others and that he will bring his riches in this life to lay at the feet of Christ, using them for His glory.

Leah Katherine: Meadow, stream, pure one

Isaiah 44:3-5a – For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. One will say, 'I belong to the LORD.'

Philippians 2:15 - So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

Our prayer for Leah is that she will bring a refreshing spirit to those who know her and that her purity will shine as a testimony of her faith in God to those around her.

Carmella Rose: garden; orchard; vineyard; a fragrant flower

Isaiah 35:1- 2; 9b,10 – The desert and parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus (rose), it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Our prayer for Carmella is that she will be a person to whom others will turn for joy and in whom others will see the glory of the Lord. Being in her presence will bring gladness, joy and the knowledge of Christ to others.


Daniel Holliday: God is my judge; holy day

Psalm 50: 1, 4-6 - The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. He summons the heavens above and the earth that he may judge his people: “Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice. “ And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge.

Isaiah 58:13 – If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath day a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord.

Our prayer for Daniel is that he will make a covenant with God through Christ’s sacrifice and that he will honor God’s holiness by not going his own way and not doing as he pleases or speaking idle words, but will find his joy in the Lord and be judged worthy.