Genesis 35:10 - "God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. " So he named him Israel." (NIV)

You would never expect a pimp movie to make you have a deep thought, but...

In the movie Hustle & Flow, there's a scene in a church where a woman is singing a spiritual hymn that I've never heard before. The chorus goes something like:

"I told Jesus it was alright if He changed my name..."

The lady repeats the hook several times, and that made it start to sink in - that's a pretty significant statement! I mean, my name is Ricardo. But what if God comes and says, "Now your name is Thomas..." (as an example) What does that mean to my own self-identity?

Of course, God does this a lot in the Bible. He changed a few of the apostles names. He changed the names of some major players in the Old Testament. And the name change was always spiritually significant.

I even think about modern men who changed their name - El-Haaj changing his name from Malcom X. Kwame Ture changing his name from Stokely Carmichael. Both changes represented a spiritual revolution within those men. But at the same time, they CHOSE their new name.

If God decides to GIVE me a new name that I accept - i dunno, that seems deep. I wonder how the apostles felt initially? "Peter? But my name is Simon. Why I gotta be Peter?..." But he accepted it, and in doing so confirmed God's sovereignty.

I need to get my spirit prepared to accept a new name. Because I think God's got plans so big for me, He's going to need for me to be a "new creature" in order to receive it....