The name of Jesus

“Well it seems like a great idea. So many seem to be using the name of Christ to get what they want. There must be some kind of power in that name, whoever he was.” This must have been the thoughts of the seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva. (Acts 19:15-16) Interesting how some who do not even know Christ, think “why not use His name”.

There is no doubt there is power in the name of Christ. Christ instructed us to use his name. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13) He said it again in John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” But in both occasions Jesus was speaking to believers, His followers.

Jesus knew that His followers believed in Him and had some faith. On one occasion two blind men came to Jesus wanting to be healed and what did Jesus ask? He asked “Do you believe…?” When they answered in the affirmative, Jesus healed them. (Matthew 9:27-31) There is also the wonderful case of the woman who had a blood sickness and had seen many doctors without any success. She believed that if she could just touch Jesus’ garment she could be healed. In her weakened state, fighting through a crowd she did exactly that and was healed instantly. Jesus demanded that the woman come forth. She was terrified. Let’s consider why she would be terrified? She knew this Jesus was no ordinary man and feared the power of God, further proof of her faith. Jesus would say of her “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:34)

Faith in God is an important ingredient when expecting a miracle. There are other ingredients no doubt. Another ingredient is, knowing that God has to be willing. Now the Sons of Sceva had erred greatly in not considering at least these two ingredients. They did not have true faith in Christ. They had faith in the name of a person they did not know. They thought the name of Jesus was some kind of mystic power they could use for whatever they wanted and to benefit themselves. They were not believers in Jesus Christ, as lord and messiah.

The result was not pretty. The evil spirit after being told to leave in the name of Christ Said “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” then the demon possessed man attacked the sons of Sceva, tearing their clothes off and wounding them. (Acts 19:15-16)

Until this day there are many who would like to benefit from Christ without ever having truly known Him. For them Christianity is a business or a way of manipulating the masses, politicians who never attend church except when election time is near and then say all the right words. Throughout history men have used Jesus to get what they want, manipulate the masses, get away with horrific actions and seize power. However far from being believers, they are actually enemies of the cross. Until this day their horrific actions make it difficult for many to put their trust in Christ. I am sure they will have their reward in the next life.

As believers God has blessed us with a powerful weapon, the name of Christ. However, we cannot simply say in the name of Christ and it will be done. Jesus must be our Lord and we must understand that the power comes from God and He must be willing. We do not proudly demand what we do not understand, we humbly ask in awe of what we know to be real.

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How fickle is the hearts of men

They entered the town on a mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. With bold authority they announced a Savior has come.  Then Paul performed a great miracle in the name of Christ. They were amazed. They proclaimed one Zeus and the other Hermes. They began to worship them and offer Sacrifices.  This man of God, called Paul fought them, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.”(Acts14:15) They would not listen and continued to worship him.  Then something strange happened. The enemies of the great Apostle Paul, coming from another town arrived and began to speak evil against him. What did they say?  Perhaps it sounded like this “He certainly is no God, he has the devil in him.  He is a blasphemer, whose only mission is to draw us away from our faith!” You must reject this liar. Stone him!”

These same men who sought to worship the Apostle now reached for stones, and if only their aim had not been so good. One stone after another hit the humble man of God, until he could stand no more and down he went and they shouted victory and dragged his beaten body out of town.  His brethren then surrounded him in mourning and despair. But death was not to be this day. For by the hand of mighty God this Apostle did awake. Many more would hear him preach and many more witness miracles by his hands.

This apostle would always know, fickle are the hearts of men who worship you now, and then soon after seek to stone you.  Better to seek the approval of God, who is forever faithful! Years later he would say “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

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It’s about Jesus

We are saved because of Jesus

Regardless of how bad or how good others may think we are, regardless of how hard we try and fail, we are saved because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is a gift we will never be worthy of.

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

We know how we should live because of Jesus

Jesus made it simple for all of us. Every decision we make, every action we take, every word we are about to speak should be with love in our mind, love for God above all things and love for all humanity.

Matthew 22:36-40

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

We have hope and peace because of Jesus

Life is filled with many challenges and painful moments. We confront many concerns and take on many responsibilities and still must contemplate our eternity. However Jesus does not want us to waste our days frustrated, worried, anxious about this life or eternity. He assures us that God will take care of our present needs and has our eternity planned as well; an eternity without tears, suffering, or sickness. Our eternity is with Him.

John 14:1-3

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Matthew 6:25-33

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

We have a mission because of Jesus

Jesus wants us to be concerned for the lost. He wants us to show our love for all around us, caring for their spiritual, emotional and physical needs.

Matthew 28:19-20

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 25:34-40

34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father,inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

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Who made hell?

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 2 Peter 2:4

Who created Hell? God did of course. God created all things. It says so in John 1:1-3. Why would a loving God create hell?

God placed every star in the heavens, planted every flower and good fruit, filled the earth with animals and gave it all away as a gift to Adam and Eve. What an incredible gift. He not only created the entire world for mankind, he specifically created a paradise called the Garden of Eden. The most beautiful, wondrous place man has ever seen, other than heaven. It was paradise. Then why was there a need for hell.

Lucifer is the key character here. He was the Angel of Light and a minister of music. A great and powerful angel, he was able to lead a rebellion against God. He and one third of the Angels were defeated and condemned. (Isaiah 14:11-16, Revelation 12:1-4) Now they roam the earth free to tempt torture and deceive humanity. However John in the book of revelation explains that after Jesus returns to establish his Kingdom forever, the devil and his angels will be condemned to the lake of fire for all eternity. (Revelation 20:10).

This terrible place we call hell has many names and descriptions. It is dark, filled with fire, and designed to torment for all eternity. It is described as the lake of fire, hades, gloomy darkness, eternal punishment , fiery furnace , eternal destruction , place of torment , eternal fire , unquenchable fire ,utter darkness ,a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, the second death, and the abyss.

Unfortunately some of mankind will be there. It will hold all sinners. Revelation 21:8 also says “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Actually this pretty much includes us all, because we are all sinners. (Romans 3:23) There appears to be a problem. We don’t want to go to hell. The good news is we don’t have to.

The price of sin is death. God explained this to Adam and Eve. (Genesis 2:17) The Israelites where directed for many centuries to perform animal sacrifices to pay for their sins. But the ultimate price of the sin of all humanity past present and future would take a very special sacrifice. This would be The Messiah, the Christ, Jesus, God made flesh would have to die on the cross to pay the price. What we must do now is repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our lord and Savior.

Praise God our true destiny, determined by God from the foundation of the world, has always been to be with Him for all eternity. It has always been God’s plan to walk and live with us. He invites us all to accept His sacrifice, let us not reject such a precious gift.

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The finest work of art is you!

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:14

How many of us enjoy a visit to an Art museum? It is filled with treasures, wonderful creations, to tickle the imagination, move the heart and inspire the weakest among us. We analyze, judge and discuss for hours and only hope for more creations at each corner as we walk through its halls. But the beauty of this world cannot be contained in an art museum. It only begins there. In truth there is art all around us. We see it in the city landscape, finely kept gardens, modern parks, buildings, bridges and countless other structures. Now for my taste there is beauty that is greater than all of these. I would happily choose the view of gentle waves crashing along the shore, or the endless array of colors scattered across a forest in the fall. I would stand in amazement before the greatest Mountains and I am easily humbled below the heavenly stars. For the greatest artist of all is God Himself.

What is His greatest work? Not the oceans, the moon or the sun. We are his greatest work! The complexity of man is beyond our imagination, some scientist estimate that a cell’s DNA contains about 4,000 books of 500 pages each of information. Consider how much data is actually stored within each cell and each human being. Consider the uniqueness of each person in appearance, in spirit and especially in imagination. We truly are a wonderful creation.

We should find joy and comfort in knowing that we are God’s greatest work. We are truly a treasure for our creator. He does not look away from us. He watches over us and hears our prayers. He works in our lives for our good and has our eternal future planned. He has no intention of being separated from us.

Paul wrote: 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) Jesus himself said “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

How much value does our creator place in us. He paid for us with the blood of His son Jesus Christ. Therefore our value is priceless and cannot be measured. Any thought or word that would demean our value and worth is simply a lie. Do not be fooled, we are the greatest work from the greatest artist and our value cannot be measured!