I am Roeben Shalom.
I
take this opportunity to thank one and all who compliment regarding my last
name of Shalom. Until I was in my mid-forties, I was in a
turmoil between two "serious" defects of my character: pride and
anger. The Greek word for pride is "Aladzonios". My last name up to that point of my life was Stephen, which in
the Greek language is "Stefanos" which means Crown. Mine was a crown
of pride, and the almighty Father had to destroy that aspect of my flawed
character. (Isaiah 28:1-3).
My struggle with anger had to do with the way my father had
treated my mother throughout our life. So, through much prayer, the
eternal Father instructed me to begin a fast. After 21 days of fasting, I
thought the fast should end, but the eternal Father knew better. He
instructed me to continue the fast, that, in fact, I was only halfway
through. Upon hearing this, I nearly fainted. He wanted me to fast
for 40 days, permitting me to only eat watermelon as I was working outdoors as
a stonemason in the hot Texas sun. I built fireplaces and waterfalls, etc.
After the 40 days were ended, He told me the strife, the anger
and the pride have also come to an end, and I would no longer wear the crown of Stephanos, but from that time forward I would have peace in my soul. My
name would no longer be Stephen but would now become Shalom peace.
I had my last name legally changed to Shalom over thirty years
ago. Not that a mere changing of one’s name can produce a better
character of course (only Yahshua can do that), but names do carry weight.
