Daniel 1:7 " To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego".
Earlier this year, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported that "stolen identity" is America's fastest growing crime. Great measures are being implemented in identity theft protection, fraud alert, and identity victim assistance. 25 years ago we never even heard of "fraud alert"! Still don't know what it is? It's a message that notifies potential credit grantors to verify your identification before extending credit in your name.
In Daniel 1:7 the Babylonians thought they had discovered a powerful weapon against God's people. The plan…to simply change their name, and thereby change their identity! Notice, all of the Hebrew names in Daniel 1:7 ended in "ial" or "iel", or the name of Jehovah. Even the Babylonians knew these names were a undeniable declaration of God's covenant with His people.
The same thing is still happening today. One of the biggest keys to your victory is to not let anything or anyone try and "steal" your true identity in Christ. To name you Loser, Failure, Weak, Old, or Stupid. Don't let anyone deceive you into thinking that you are unrighteous because of your bad choices, when Jesus has made you righteous. Don't let anyone call you a sinner saved by grace, when Jesus became sin for you and redeemed you from the curse of sin. You've been given and new name and a new nature.
Jesus is the name above all names. If you find your identity in anything other than who you are in Christ and what His Word says about you, all I can is FRAUD ALERT! Verify your identification in Christ before you take another step! The Word is your identity theft protection. And one more thing, when you know who you are in Christ, you certainly won't need identity victim assistance.
