Ch. 514 - What's In a Name?

'Filled with wonder,
awestruck wonder -
at the mention of Your name.
Jesus, Your name is Power
Breath, and Living Water...
such a marvelous mystery.'
[Revelation Song]

I love this song.
Man. Who doesn't?
Anyway.

Whenever I get this song stuck in my head, it usually starts with the verse above.

... That's a really good thing.

I don't believe we realize just how true it is: Jesus' name is Power. Look at everything that's been done in His name.

Prayers have been answered.
The Gospel has been preached.
Demons have been cast out.
People have been healed.
Baptized.
Saved.

The list goes on.... truly.

These things have happened through the power of God.
The only reason our requests are given any consideration is because Christ lives in and through us and is our Mediator to His Father.
When He died for us, He gave up His life. But He continues to live and even reign in us by way of the Holy Spirit, living in our hearts.

2 Corinthians 5:15 says, 'And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.'

We displace our lives when we accept Jesus the Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Thus, "the same power that conquered the grave lives in me."

So what's in a name?
Well.
When it's the name of Jesus we're talking about... everything!

And yet we continue to take this matter lightly. Think about how many times a day you hear someone say, "Jesus!"... "Jesus Christ!"... "Jesus H. Christ!" ... "Goddamn it!" ... etc.
In the supermarket.
On the television.
At work. At school.

Speaking of school... storytime.
A friend here at Central told me that the other day he heard a new student going up the stairs. The new student said, "J.C.! Why do there have to be so many stairs?!" We may assume that by saying "J.C." he thought he was "safely" saying the Lord's name in vain. My friend, whom the new student didn't know had heard him, reproved his peer and I'm glad he did so.

So moving forward: We use the name of the Lord to exclaim over our difficulties or supposed challenges - I consider this absolutely uncalled for, especially when I think about the fact that Jesus went through and overcame the greatest "challenge" known to mankind. Knowing there is such power in His name, who are we to speak without thinking about it? Our God is a God of absolute might. He can do anything. He deserves our utmost respect. We are to love God, yes, but we are also to fear Him. I think many people tend to think that fearing God is something only people of the Old Testament times had to worry about, but it's not true. There are multiple verses in the New Testament that speak of fearing God - and, at least in my opinion, New Testament verses are certainly more easily to relate to and live life by [than Old Testament verses]. So we should take these verses to heart. One example is 1 Peter 2:17, which says 'Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God...'

I simply don't think we should be so comfortable with our Lord God. We can be familiar and intimate with Him, yes... it's just that we forget about His glory too often. We are too comfortable in knowing Him the way we do. I've heard people (usually girls, but a few guys, too) start out prayers with "Hey Dad/dy..." This gets to me more than it probably should. I realize God is our Father and we are His children. And if that's how people connect with Him, then that's great. But we are praying to GOD.
The most high Being.
The Designer of everything known and unknown.
The Creator of life.
The great "I AM."

Don't forget that.


'Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'
[Philippians 2:9-11]