Praying the Names of God - April 19
From Praying the Names of Jesus Week Eighteen, Day Five
The Name
Just as Yahweh is God's personal name revealed in the Old Testament, Jesus is the personal name of the One we call Redeemer, Lord, and Christ. His name is intimately linked to the God of the Hebrew Scriptures because it means "Yahweh is salvation." Indeed, Jesus is Yahweh come to earth. If you have ever pictured God as a distant, wrathful Being, you will have to reconsider that portrait in light of Jesus Christ, who is God bending toward us, God becoming one of us, God reaching out in mercy, God humbling himself, God nailed to a cross, God rising up from the grave to show us the way home. Jesus, name above all names, beautiful Savior, glorious Lord!
Key Scripture
Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:20-21
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Friday
Promises Associated with His Name
The hurricane that devastated New Orleans in the fall of 2005 left us with images we will never forget. Day after day, we saw people perched on rooftops, desperately waiting for someone to rescue them. Many of them must have wondered if their world was about to end. Everywhere they looked — death, destruction, danger. The scenes were pitiful, heartrending, frightening.
This is a powerful picture of what life would be like were it not for Jesus, who is himself the greatest of all the promises in the Bible. Even his name is a promise — Yahweh is salvation. He is rescue, help, deliverance. Remember this in your times of trial. Call on his name. Trust in his name. Live in his name. Let the name "Jesus" be the first prayer you pray in the morning and the last prayer you say at night. Jesus, the only name in which there is salvation.
Promises in Scripture
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:38-39
Jesus did many other miraculous 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 Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31
Continued Prayer and Praise
Believe in the power of Jesus' name. (Matthew 12:15-21; John 3:16; Acts 3:1-10; 4:1-12; Romans 5:9-11)
Rejoice when you are found worthy to suffer for the sake of the name. (Acts 5:40-42; 21:10-14)
Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Colossians 3:15-17)
Trust in Jesus for salvation. (Titus 3:3-8)
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Meet your spiritual ancestors as they really were: Less Than Perfect: Broken Men and Women of the Bible and What We Can Learn from Them.
