05.05.08

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. - Revelation 2:17.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? - 1 John 5:4-5.

If you were to pick out a new name what would you choose? Steve Kreuscher wants his new name to be “In God We Trust.” I am not sure if he will keep his last name and be “In God We Trust Kreuscher” or if he is abandoning all of his current name. Steve, who is now 57-years-old, is apparently serious about his name change and has filed a petition for the change with the Lake County Court. He says that the new name will symbolize how God has helped him to make it through the tough times in his life. Steve, or should I say “In God We Trust”, works as a school bus driver and is an amateur artist living in a Chicago suburb.

How about you? Have you ever wanted a new name? Maybe you have wanted a new start and wanted to completely reinvent yourself as someone else. Actually you can have that done and you will not even have to go to court. My reinvention as a person began when I was still 19-years-old. I invited Jesus Christ to come into my life asking that He forgive me of my sins and be my Lord and my Savior. At that moment I was not just reinvented, I was born again (John 3:3) and became a “new creation”. In addition, someday I will sit down with my Lord and have a meal of “new manna” and He will give me a “white stone” which will have written upon it my “new name”.

Steve has somewhat of the right idea about changing his name because to have a real change of name, a real change of life you must trust in God. The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, “…that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:12-13).

Have you trusted in Christ Jesus as your personal Savior? If not why not do so right now? The benefits of trusting in Him are eternally out of this world - you will be “born again” becoming a “new creation” and will be given a “new name”. And, it is all free because Jesus has already paid the price. The apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”