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For a nation and culture that can sometimes be very anti-Christian, America somehow seems to proclaim a lot of “Jesus’”! How many times a day do you hear a co-worker, friend, maybe even spouse or family member use His name as just an expression or worse as a swear word.
“..the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those 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 2:10-11.
Most recently, Natalie Grant wrote an amazing song called “Your great name” in which she explains the mighty power of the name of Jesus: “the enemy, he has to leave, at the sound of Your great name”.
“Jesus”, immediately love, gratitude, mercy, grace, reverence, awe, among many other wonderful emotions should come to mind as well as great power and hope. His name is precious because of who He was and is and always will be. He is God, our savior who at the whisper of His name will rescue you and bring you peace. I challenge You next time you feel lonely, sad, afraid, scared, just whisper His name and embrace the peace that follows. The power of His name is real because He is real and He loves you very much.
The reflection on his great name came about due to my most recent run on my favorite wooded trail. It was a beyond beautiful day and I just kept going down the trail worshiping Him with my new live Jeremy Camp cd blasting in my headphones. I looked up at one of the signs on the trail and right on the post someone had written in permanent marker, “Jesus”. It made me smile and I kept going. Sure enough, the next sign and the following sign, and even the one after that, the same thing, “Jesus”. I laughed thinking, “well, I’m sure God doesn’t exactly agree with defacing public property but I’m sure He will overlook it when He sees all the smiles it brings to those along the trail”. I began to think about who had written it, and came up with my own deductions as to exactly who the artist was. I figured it was a child maybe teenager with a newfound fire for Christ. Someone bursting at the seams with a love for Jesus that she just couldn’t hold back from praising Him publicly. Ya know how when we were kids, people would carve their names and their loved ones name on the bark of a tree trunk. I feel like this is exactly what this child did: she loves Him so much that she wants the whole word to know who He is. So why not display Him in one of the most public and peaceful places imaginable.
I pray that God every day gives us that exact desire to make His name known to the world. I pray that we may be bursting with joy and love for Jesus that we wish to shout out loud about His goodness. I pray that we may worship Him and allow the Holy Spirit into our hearts to work through our lives in order to write in permanent marker the name of Jesus on the hearts of those surrounding us. How great would that be if just like the posts, one after another, we could gather believers for the glory of God with Jesus’ name firmly etched on their hearts.