Tag: hope

Calling on The Name of THE LORD – How?

NOT everyone who calls Me “Lord, Lord” will enter God’s Kingdom. The only people who will enter are those who do what God wants (every WORD out of His mouth).

Matthew 7:21 -25

One of the things that has bothered me since 2024 when I became sensitive to it is the prevalent deception roaming around and at large. Lately, I liken it to the thick, gross darkness described in Isaiah 60:2A. The expression of this deception that hits different and bothers me most of all is the one at play and on display in (what is popularly known as or so-called) “the church”, and no – I do NOT mean the true bride and body of Christ.

It is impossible to see the deception and not wonder, say, or question what then is true? Getting to this question, this place, this junction … this fork-in-the-road is inevitable, maybe even necessary, but dangerous. I call it a danger zone because this is where unbelief rears its ugly head and can take hold if care is not taken given to God –Psalm 55:22(NIV),1 Peter 5:7AMPC).

Unbelief is the sin that easily besets us (Hebrew 12:1). Deception is how the enemy (aka the father of lies) attempts to lure us down the path of feel-“good”-BUT-no-good. The enemy’s tactic is not merely to lie to us. It is more so to have the lie be overwhelmingly prevalent and convincing (seemingly close to or looking like the truth) so as to get us to the danger zone/place where we question The Truth (God).

When the enemy exposes the truth reality of a lie or the fact of a matter i.e. the exposure of false men and women of God, he is NOT being truthful (he can’t be). Instead, his intent in doing this is to unleash distrust and unbelief in what the sent ones (apostles) are called to do … preach (Romans 10:13-17). Infinitely more than the shame he wants to inflict on the false (lying, deceptive) prophets, preachers, or teachers, the enemy intends to get believers into the dangerous terrain of distrust/unbelief in the things of God … the terrain of questions like: What if it’s all a lie? What if the lie is true? What is the Truth? How do I know it’s true?

WHAT REALLY IS THE NAME OF THE LORD?

Recently, I came across a YouTube video where a handful+ of people claimed that the names Jesus, Yeshua, Yahweh, Jehovah are either man-made or made-up names with dark (satanic) meaning. Some of the professors of these claims (those professing these claims) had documented evidences. As tempting as it was, I didn’t go looking into them. The reason I didn’t go down that path (or rabbit hole) is the same reason I chose to go to God instead. Intentionally or not, any knowledge transfer by mankind inevitably gets diluted (watered down and/or muddied up) … something gets lost or added in transition and/or translation.

Whatever it is, howbeit well or ill intended, as long as it is passed down from one human to another human (no matter the means i.e. popular opinions, social media, a well-loved and respected preacher and/or close relative, or AI), it will always be a distance from the Truth even if it’s by just an inch. With this realization, and given the rampant deception at play, I couldn’t put it past the desperately wicked heart of mankind and the conniving influence of the enemy over said heart to concoct a lie of this magnitude – a lie about the Name of The LORD. So I went to God, the Source … the One Whose Name it is. He is the ONLY One Who truth-FULLY knows His Name. Moreover, God, MOST HIGH, is the ONLY One Who can never be distanced from the Truth because He Himself (His very self or essence … His fragrance – SOS 1:3, 2 Corinthians 2:14) is the Truth.

I went to God that night and I asked Him to tell me His Name (Aug 6, 2026).

A few days later (Aug 14, 2026), I came across another YouTube video – this time, it was a video of video of a man (perhaps a preacher) describing an experience where he heard a voice (he believed was God) tell him to go start a church. This was not an out-of-the-blue directive; it seemed very much in line with past interactions that he had had with God. The man started to make moves but with every move he made he felt awful. So he asked God why he felt awful doing what He (God) had told him to do. God’s response to him was that He (God) was NOT the one who told him to go start a church. This bothered me a great deal and at a personal level.

Here’s why 👉 howbeit few and far in between, I’ve had agonizing moments of questioning if my experiences of God were truly of God. This line of questioning tends to come up when I go in the direction I experience God lead me and then nothing seemingly happens. I’ve had questions like: what if what I experience God tell/show me is just my desire for God but not God? Could it just be in my head? Or worse, what if it was a lying spirit posing as God? This second YouTube video implied (if not confirmed) the possibility of this worse case scenario – I did not like the reality of this possibility one bit. I made a mental note to go to God about this too … and again (I had prayed to God about this a couple times in the past – I never want to be under the influence of any lying spirit posing as God, I also don’t want to be or live a lie – this won’t be living at all).

Before getting around to praying about it this time around, God responded to my concerns about what both YouTube videos implied – His response was Isaiah 52:6.

Therefore, My people will know My Name and that I AM He is speaking to them … My people will know My Name and what it means … they will know that I AM The One Who speaks. Here I AM.

Isaiah 52:6

In other words, God was/is saying: fear NOT, you will know My Name and what it means. Also, you will know that I AM speaking to you when I do. This gave me great comfort and eased my concerns. What a relief … a real ease!

At a later day, God used a relatable illustration to help me understand a key aspect of calling upon His name – He reminded me of the first born son (AdeLeke) of a first born son (my uncle). I call my uncle Uncle Yomi because his name is AdeYomi. Thanks to Leke, all of my uncle’s kids call him Aito but that’s not his name … OR is it? 🤔💭🤭. My recollection of the story I heard was that when Leke was but a toddler, his dad (my uncle) called him Alekito. Leke probably thought this was the name by which mankind called each other, so in his attempt to call his dad by this name that he could not yet fully pronounce. Somehow, Leke landed on Aito 🙂. Six siblings later, all following suit and till this day, they all call their dad Aito. Whenever Uncle Yomi hears this name that’s certainly not on his birth certificate or on any legal document, he knows that it’s him being called or sought after by his kids. With this illustration, God assured me that He knows He is the One I call out for and to … He assured me that even if my pronunciation is off OR the name out of my mouth when I pray to Him is a wrong name that was unintentionally or ill-intendedly passed down to me, because of the love He continuously pours into my heart by His HolySpirit (Romans 5:5), my spirit-filled heart (Ezekiel 36:26A, 27A, 28B) always calls Him by the very Name He goes by and responds to. It comes across to Him as a sweet-smelling fragrance. Music (a sweet sound) to His ears! 💖

THE WORD OF GOD

… The Title by which He is called is The WORD of God.

Revelation 19:13

God’s Name is a like a fragrant, flowing Oil (SOS 1:3, Zechariah 4:6 AMPC). His Name is Good (Psalm 100:5). His Name is Salvation – Matthew 1:21 (AMP/C). Considering that everything God does is for His Name sake, then according to Ephesians 3:20, it is accurate to say that God’s Name is infinitely more over and above all that we can possibly imagine. His Name is above all other names (Philippians 2:9 … Psalm 138:2). This Name is The Word of God. Assuredly, The Word of God is God’s Name … The Word of God (THE WORD) is God Himself.

… THE WORD is God.

John 1:1

This connection between His Name and His Word can also be seen in Isaiah 52:6 – it’s no happenstance that God talks about His Name and Him speaking (or The One Who speaks) in the same breath (verse). His Name is The WORD or Truth that He speaks … the ever-present Word (Truth) that endures and remains even when all else fades. No matter how many attempts are made to water it down or muddy it up, His Name is eternal … forever … it endures even when all else fails or pass away. God’s Name is His Word – the Truth by which we address Him 💖.

I will give to the people a clear and pure speech from pure lips (the lips of Christ) which reflect their purified hearts … I will give them a language undistorted, unpolluted, Words to address God in worship, that they may all call upon the Name of THE LORD, to serve Him with one unanimous consent and one united shoulder bearing the yoke of THE LORD (Matthew 11:28-30)

Zephaniah 3:9

HOW TO CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD

Definitely not by merely saying the name or word: LORD LORD. Matthew 7:21 in the MSG translation puts it this was: knowing the correct password – saying “Master, Master”, for instance – does not get us anywhere with God. It is more than mere lip service, it is priesthood –1 Peter 2:9– priesthood is a service of gift … the gift of Truth, the gift of Trust in Christ – Philippians 1:29 (ERV), the gift of giving and having hope. Even God hopes for the Hope of HOPE – He expects the Certainty of the UNSEEN (the not-yet-seen, all that He keeps ready for us in Christ Jesus: The Hope of Glory – Colossians 1:27).

We call upon the Name of THE LORD by having HOPE. We have HOPE by actionably believing in the WORD of God – this is how we truly/truthfully call upon the Name of THE LORD, even without saying a word or with wordless sighs.

HOW are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed, in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance? HOW are they to believe in Him (or trust in and rely on Him) of Whom they have never heard? … What is heard comes by the preaching of the Message that comes from the lips of Christ The Messiah Himself (The WORD Himself, He Who was sent by The Father – John 17:8, 16:13)

Romans 10:14-15

Romans 10:13-17draws a truthful parallel between the Name of THE LORD and The Word of God. It tells us that it is impossible to call upon The Name of THE LORD without (receiving) The Word of God – one is the other. It also tells us HOW to call upon The Name of THE LORD: to truly call upon the Name of The LORD is to actionably believe (receive and act on) The Word of God – this involves trusting and relying on Him (His Word, Who He is). Each time this happens, we in effect are calling upon The Name of THE LORD. Each time you actionably recall God’s Word to you (each time you re-member or re-join God’s Word to you), you are taking His Name upon yourself (for your own). His Name is yours to have –Psalm 117:2 (VCE).

THE LORD alone is our radiant Hope and we trust in Him with all our hearts. He is everything we need. What’s more, our hearts brim with joy since we’ve taken for our own His Holy Name (because we trust in His Holy Name … because we depend and rely on Him).

Psalm 33:20-21

Each time we actionably and truthfully recall God’s Word, we have hope – Lamentation 3:21, 24. God wants us to always have hope. Having hope is the means to the end (Romans 5:3-5) and the promised end itself (Jeremiah 29:11).

Along the way, we will be confronted with many lies, many of which will seem like the truth. The resulting distrust is valid BUT do NOT trust the distrust. If/when you get to the fork in the road, lean NOT on your own understanding. Acknowledge God … acknowledge the One above Whom there is none and He will direct your path with His Word (Psalm 119:105) … with His Name –Isaiah 55:12(AMPC)

Jesus said: … IF you believe and rely on Me, you will see the Glory of God (God’s Glory is His Name – Isaiah 42:8).

John 11:40

Believe, keep believing in Who God is and you will see His Glory – His Goodness, His Name. The Psalmist said: “What, what would have become of me had I not believed that I would see THE LORD’s Goodness (Name) in the land of the living! Wait, hope for and expect THE LORD … Yes, wait, hope for and expect THE LORD” –Psalm 27:13-14(AMPC). Have Hope … keep on believing (Mark 5:36B). What a privilege it is to believe in (to truthfully call upon) the Name of THE LORD.

I’ll wrap up with this prayer point (the point to which The WORD leads me) 👇.

May the God of Hope so fill you with His very Own portion of Joy and Peace as you believe (and keep believing Him), so that by the power of His Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with Hope.

Romans 15:13

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Thank You God, MOST HIGH, The One above Whom there is None. Thank You for the blessing of Truth – a gift that ONLY You can give. Thank You for giving us Your HolySpirit Who guides us into all Truth (John 16:13). Sanctify us with Your Truth – Your Word is Truth, Your Name is Truth, so is Your HolySpirit (The Spirit of Truth). Come O Come HolySpirit I pray in the everlasting, age-enduring Name and authority of The Word of God: my Lord. King, Xerxes, and Savior Jesus Christ.

Do NOT be disMAYed

December 2023 was the first time I really really heard (experienced) God say these words to me. I may have connected with it the way I did because I heard it in the context of my birth month (May) and understood it to mean to NOT be discouraged from being all that I was birthed to be – all that God created me to be. This meaningful understanding reinforced my preference for the month of May 🙂 .

Prior to this experience, May was already my favorite of all the months (for obvious reasons). I always look forward to May – specifically my birthday, which happens to be the day of the month 😊. Slightly more than a decade ago, I started taking my birthday off all else but me to quietly celebrate. While a part of the celebration involved acknowledging God (giving Him thanks and praise), it wasn’t until 2020 that my birthday time-off became more about being still and knowing only God. Since then, I’ve spent my birthday weekend, week, or month exclusively with God. In this regard, this year was no different – I took time away from all else to just be with God Who is always with me. In alignment with what I believe was God’s say-so, I followed my dream to a place called Rehoboth. I didn’t know what to expect other than God (in whatever way, shape, or form He chose to show up). I was all kinds of excited, maybe the most excited I’ve ever been about this time of the year.

The Genesis Week …

It was a joyful Genesis Week … each evening gave way to a fresh, new Morning: an expression of God’s GOOD-ness unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. God did not only show up, He showed off! He made His Presence known in ways that I’m yet to fully process let alone comprehend. It was like finding a Wife (a Good Thing) … the Wife of my youth, of my beginning – my genesis. It was like being on a honeymoon … like Sweet Wine, a perfect mix of bridal joy and the joy of a new husband – dare I say, the JOY of The LORD. It was like when God’s work was beginning … before earth saw its first sunrise – Proverbs 8:22-30 (VOICE). What a Genesis Week it was! I wanted what came next to be an equally joyful Exodus (Deuteronomy 33:18A) … with praise in the air as I set sail with God (Isaiah 42:10 VOICE) and go out to sea – the place appointed for me: Zebulun, the perfect marriage gift 💖.

… two days later …

From what seemed like nowhere, a storm hit! What began as a moment of discontent progressively sky-rocketed into a Tsunami. I was tossed left, right, center … and then knocked down to size (little, small, weak). Excessive eating and entertainment (binge-ing) was way easier than seeing me weak/fail … easier than processing the discontent-now-turned-disappointment-in-myself with God through prayer. Amidst the storm, there were pockets of time when I’d hear Rabbani-Rabboni (the HolySpirit of Yeshua: my Divine LORD and Teacher) remind me of things He has told or taught me:

… Leave your Father’s House: The Exodus.

… Be a Son.

… DoN’T be Ruthless.

… Do NOT draw back your hand.

… Peaks and Valleys.

… Clay, meet Potter.

I read through the above teachings multiple times. In some moments, I’ll be up-lifted. In other moments, I’ll be down-casted. The latter was more prevalent. I was downcast mostly by the reality that I hadn’t learnt what I’ve been taught …

Also, the uplifting moments didn’t last long because I wasn’t sure if, like the binge-ing, I was merely using God’s teachings to excuse my way out of feeling and thinking all that I was feeling and thinking, most of which was about me still failing after all these years of being groomed by the Bridegroom and the Vinedresser (HusbandMan).

That this happened right after such a Genesis Week was discouraging to say the least. WHY am I like grass? Flaky … here (with God) when it’s easy and feels good, but fall short and blown away by the wind when the going with God gets harder?

O you afflicted city,storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in fair colors (in antimony to enhance their brilliance) and lay your foundation with sapphires.

Isaiah 54:11 (AMPC)

It didn’t matter how far tossed or blown-away I was, God was with me. Like a Help-Meet, His Word came to meet me … even at my lowest, and regardless of the fact that I was too fearful, weary, and weak to hold tight to Him. I wanted to … He was all I had going for me, the only One rooting for me, the only One in my corner (even I wasn’t in my corner) … YET I struggled to keep up (stay uplifted). With all the up, down, and downer … I couldn’t let myself be encouraged because it (the encouragement) seemed like a temporary band-aid or an interim work-around back to square one. I had been round this mountain too many times … from desire and excitement to distress … I was exhausted. Enabled by Grace, I’d go to God … sometimes, I’d just sit there with Him in silence. Other times, when words don’t fail me, I’d ask God for Help … for Mercy … for God to do for me what I was failing to do 👉 weather the storm with Him like Jesus did in Matthew 4:1-11 and at Gethsemane, by choosing God over and over and over again especially when it’s hard to do so.

… Today

My first waking thought was a reminder of a promise …

… as described in Hebrews 6:17, in His desire to show more convincingly the unchanging character of His purpose (Glorification by Mercy: Salvation), God guaranteed His promise to me with an oath – His Word:Psalm 34:19.

“BUT Beulah you will not be without Me“, these are the words I experienced God say to me earlier in the year (Jan 26). It was in response to me dreading what has now happened these past few weeks … me NOT wanting to see me fall short or fail when temptations come (Matthew 18:7). Recognizing that I was the weak-link in Our relationship … the weak spot of the City/House that He has made me to be for Him, I did NOT want to see how incapable and unwilling I can be WHEN push comes to shove, when the rubber meets the road, when “stuff gets real” … WHEN the storms of Life hit as they have this past few weeks.

In reading my notes from Jan 26, not only did I experience God teaching, I also experienced a spark that ignited me to be as God presents His PRESENCE to me. TODAY, as I hear God’s Voice (Hebrews 3:7-8), I don’t stand aloof from the Living God – Hebrews 3:12 (AMPC). Instead, I go with the flow of the HolySpirit by sharing (saying out loud) what God has come to teach… that I may hear it again, and maybe someone else in a similar boat might hear it too – Hebrews 3:13 (AMPC).

I AM The LORD your God, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar … I can make the oceans roil with storm and roll with great waves … I teach you how to talk, word by word, and I personally watch over you …

Isaiah 51:15 (AMP, VCE) 16(MSG)

(1)The LORD Who gives you the bread of adversity and water of affliction (Isaiah 30:20A)is also The LORD Who delivers you from them all(Psalm 34:19). He is your Teacher – the very same One Who won’t hide Himself from you (Isaiah 30:20B), the One your eyes must constantly behold as He guides you (Isaiah 30:21) by instructing and teaching you along the best pathway for your life with His watchful eye upon you (Psalm 32:8). Indeed, He is the LIFE of (A) The Bread of Life (John 6:35), (B) the Rivers of Living Water (John 7:38), and (C) the Tree of Life in the Garden of Delight (Eden).

Are we to receive only good at the Hand of God and not also adversity, trouble, or evil (hardship)?

Job 2:10B (CJB, AMPC, NKJV, NIV, KJV)

In the same way that the Tree of Life and the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil Hardship are good, so too is what comes from The LORD, your God, Who is GOOD. Eat that which He gives you even when it is hard to swallow … it is good.

(2)Do NOT be disMAYed– do NOT be contrary to the good soil that God created you to be. In the same manner that the good soil clings to a sown seed, take firm hold of God’s instruction … His teaching: Wisdom, the Wife (Good Thing) that you have found in God. Do NOT let Her go (Proverbs 4:13). Do NOT let go (Proverbs 3:3).

Do NOT be disMAYed … Do NOT be discouraged …Do NOT be defeated. Defeat results in letting go, and is what the enemy wants in order

(A) to get you to let go of God’s Hand (Isaiah 41:10,13) so that you do not take root and as such not be the evidence of what God sows … the evidence of Jezreel (Hosea 2:21-22), OR

(B) to get you to not see God’s Hand (1 Kings 18:41-46) so that you’re not encouraged to run and get to Jezreel – the place of your appointment.

He knows that being discouraged leads to being defeated, which then leads to being disappointed (not at your place of appointment), and ultimately being disMAYed (contrary to who God created, birthed, called, and appointed you to be i.e fruitfully good) …do NOT be disappointed(lost) in yourself.

(3)Yes, you are the weak link … a weakling,suffer it to be so for now because it is the fitting way for both you and the HolySpirit to fulfill the righteousness of God, together (SOS 2:15 TPT) … as one(2 Corinthians 12:9)– His Strength (Love for God) is made perfect (fulfilled, complete) and shows itself most effective in your weakness. Let it be so for nowby trusting in the Wisdom of God’s choice (His choice of finding a Wife in you). Permit it to be so for nowby resting on the promise of God’s election of you(Ephesians 1:4). An election made in spite of the intel He had on you even before the foundation of the world, when the Lamb was slain … an election made in spite of you and all because of Him.The promise of God’s election of you is MERCY… the promise of His election of you is that He will do it for you.

(4) Yes, you’re like grass. God is NOT unaware of this(Isaiah 40:7)YET He saysbe like little children– they are reliably (always relying on and) in need of their guardian i.e. their parent, teacher, neighbor, or custodian … they don’t hesitate to speak, say something, or even cry out loud when they need help … they always need help. As such, they are always with (in the presence of) their guardian.

In saying be like little children, God is saying be reliably in need of God: your Heavenly Father, your Teacher, your Neighbor (Proverbs 27:10) – the Friend Who is closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24B) … even the brother who was born for adversity or times of trouble (Proverbs 17:17B).

In saying be like little children, God is sayingalways need God… be trusting of Him and His care … be lowly – humble yourself (1 Peter 5:6-7) … cry out loud – God will be gracious to you at the sound of your cry (Isaiah 30:19) … be loving (giving of God), even to yourself … be forgiving, even to yourself …cleave to God(Matthew 18:6A) … be present (or represented) before Him, in His PRESENCE (His Name), looking up on His Face (Matthew 18:10B) and seeking His Strength always. In other words,be with Godas He is with you: ALWAYS … and all the way.

Seek The LORD and His Strength … seek His Face
… seek to be in His PRESENCE continually.

1 Chronicles 16:11

(5) The HolySpirit’s loyalty and devotion to God (The Father) is your only Hope (certainty) of Salvation.

This HOPE is NOT a disappointing fantasybecause we can now experience the endless Love of God cascading into our hearts through the HolySpirit Who lives in us.

Romans 5:5 (TPT)

The Strength of the HolySpirit’s Love for God (The Father) is your blessed assurance of Salvation … your saving Grace … your only certainty (Hope) of Salvation in every moment. Always acknowledge Him (in all your ways) …do NOT look around you in terror and be disMAYed– Isaiah 41:10 (AMPC). Instead, seek God continually and your eyes will behold your Teacher … cling to Him as He leads you to your place of appointment in the Kingdom of God. It is The Father’s good pleasure to give you His Kingdom – you belong there. (Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16). He destined, devised, and decreed it before the ages to bring (lift) you into His Glory (1 Corinthians 2:7). As such,this Exodus will happen… NOT by your own might, power, understanding, or desire for God, BUT (and only) by His Merciful Spirit. Seek Him continually … His Strength (Grace, Love for God) is sufficient.

… I will keep My good promise to you, causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you – thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you an expected end. Call to Me(persistently, like little children)… Come and pray to Me(persistently, like little children)… I will be found by you. I will make sure you won’t be disappointed … I will release you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have driven you. I will bring you back to the place from which I caused you to be carried captive,you can count on it, says The LORD.

Jeremiah 29:10B-14 (AMPC, MSG)

… great will be the Day of Jezreel!💜