What's in a Nickname?

Pastor Julio is preaching a series called "Transformed Identities," which highlights characters in the Bible whose names were changed.  There are the obvious ones we all know like Abram/Abraham and Saul/Paul.  However, not only are there more than I realized, but the reasons for the name change vary and the person doing the name changing might be God, someone else and maybe even the person himself/herself.  I would have completely missed the following trivia question:  

What was Joshua's original name and who changed it?

Answer:  Hosea and Moses.

Last Sunday, Pastor Julio's sermon talked about "nicknames," which are usually loosely based on a person's temperament, character or personality.  A nickname may be an exaggeration, it may be unfair, it may be humorous, but somewhere in the midst of all of that, there is probably a morsel of truth.  Jesus gave Zebedee's sons, James and John, the nickname--Sons of Thunder.  I don't think I'd ever thought about the significance of the name, but Pastor Julio's explanation made it clear the nickname was less than flattering.  In fact, these "hotheaded" brothers needed to change in their identity.    

 Jesus wants us to make a comprehensive change in our identity.  

The sermon caused me to ask the question: What nickname would Jesus give me?

Would it be "wicked and slothful servant" or "good and faithful servant"?
Would it be "one who walks by sight" or "one who walks by faith"? 
Would it be "hearer of the word" or "doer of the word"?
Would it be "proud" or "humble"?
Would it be "lukewarm" or "zealous"?
Would it be "ashamed of the gospel" or "a worker approved by God"?
Would it be "lover of self" or "loves like Jesus"?
Would it be "looks just like her Father?

I found myself asking God's forgiveness because my temperament, character and personality often reveal my sinful nature and cause me to fall short of the new name he wants to give me.  Only by appropriating his grace can I be faithful.

Click HERE to listen to my favorite song on this subject . . . . let God transform your identify so that you can hear him say he is satisfied with you.