14th December: Names are important because names reveal identity. At the first Advent the main characters in the Bible stories were encouraged in their identity, empowering them to live up to their names. It’s the same today. God wants us to be secure in who we are, so we can serve his transformative purposes in the world.
Discipleship Blog 
My dear mother, who is with the Lord now, gave me the name of Jude. It caused a few problems for me in my early years. I had some fights when I was called ‘Judy’ by some of my less well-meaning peers. I also was aware that in the Catholic tradition, Jude was the patron saint of hopeless cases. So, I entertained thoughts that I was a hopeless case and my mother deep down wanted a girl. (only kidding) Then my life changed in 1964. At the self-conscious age of 14, the Beatles brought out their song. ‘Hey Jude’. I felt lifted, not hopeless, and my mother was really a pretty cool dude after all. Now, in my more mature years, I regard a name in a fuller sense; it’s the person behind the name as well. The Lord is ‘I AM WHO I AM’, Exodus 3:14, our Lord, the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. When I go to the crib I bow down to worship our Almighty, All Powerful, All knowing, wonderful God who created me in love, and in His omnipotence loves each of us at the same time so intimately that it is as though we were the only one in His focus.