When Gaius Octavius became the Roman Emperor, he took the name Augustus Caesar. He also renamed the summer month of Sextillis after himself–August.

Augustus Caesar’s name is mentioned in Luke 2:1 which helps to date the birth of Jesus. Now the son of Mary was called “Jesus” because an angel said that was to be his name. Only Jesus wasn’t exactly his name. The Greek says his name was “Iesu,” but that wouldn’t have really been his name. It must have been the Hebrew “Yeshua,” only when we read that name in the Old Testament, we use Joshua which means Savior. Confused? I don’t blame you.

Names are strange. Parents give a child a name, but often that’s not what the child is called. A family I knew always called their children by their middle names, which caused chaos in school where the teacher insisted on calling them by their legal first name. Then you deal with Bible names and Simon is Peter and Saul is Paul. Who can keep that straight?

Names are important in the Bible. Biblical names are never just labels to identify some one. They always tell you about the character of the person. So his name is Jesus, Savior. What does that mean to you to call him Jesus, Savior?

And there’s another side to this. When you were baptized, you were called by name. You weren’t just some anonymous kid but a specific person with a name. It’s a name known to God. What does it mean to you that God knows your name?

Read Isaiah 43:1 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne