Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Give me an N

In my Bible Alphabet Blog Series N stands for Name.

To be more precisely, it stands for the Name above all names. Obviously, I am not talking about the name we give to a new born child, or our first, last, middle or baptismal name. This is about the Name that God gave his Son ... Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2: 9).

What is so special about that Name? What is the power in that Name? ... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10) Such a picture is hard to imagine perhaps, but one day everyone will recognize that He is the highest God, the Prince of Peace, and all wars will be finished.

Jesus is the only name that can bring salvation (peace) to humanity. Not a president, not a political leader, not a leader in the UN, but only He can do this:  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4 : 12).

All power of heaven and earth is in that one Name. The power to heal, the power to witness, the power to save and to forgive. It is therefore no surprise that for more than two thousand years it has been prohibited in many nations to mention the Name, to talk about that Name or to pray in that Name. In Acts 4: 17-18 it is written as follows: But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

By prohibiting people to use the Name or to believe in that Name, the opposite will happen of course! Worldwide, there are millions and millions of believers in every possible nation under the sun, and more are added each day. A hundred million of them are being persecuted, tortured and slain for their faith in that Name. Despite the persecution they know that His name offers life!

John's Gospel ends with these words: Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

6 comments:

  1. Thank you, Marja, for this inspiring message. We in the USA face some serious issues of upheaval and unrest but we are praying for God to intervene in each of these issues.

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    1. Amen Cecelia, he will hear the prayers of His people!

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  2. I remember the Gospel group, The Couriers, singing about the name of Jesus. One line said, "He is more than just a curse word, more than an I don't care word. He's the precious Son of God." Good post, Marja.

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    1. I don't know that song Susan, but it sounds great. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Thank you, thank you for this timely reminder! Needed a perspective shift today. :) Blessings to you, dear friend!

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    1. A perspective shift... yeah, we all need one from time to time!

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