The Power of God’s Name
Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday I heard a former Director of the CIA speak about the search for the Masterminds of Terrorist Attacks. He received a standing ovation for his half hour talk. One of the many points he made was the importance of names…of those sought after as well as honoring the names of those who have fallen in the course of duty in understand the context of the puzzle picture. As I contemplate our search for God this morning I consider the context in my life of Great “I Am”… the covenantal name of God…the name so sacred that it was only uttered by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. But I also consider how the name Jesus is used in a similar way to the name of God in Old Testament. Here I reach the revelation that we all need the comfort of a personal Savior who knows each of our Names and engages us in a purposeful relationship using the character and The Power of God’s Name.
Scripture: O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Psalm 8:1 (NRSV)
19And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord”;* and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
Exodus 33:19 (NRSV)
20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’
Matthew 18:20 (NRSV)
7Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. 15God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
1 John 4:7-16 (NRSV)
Message: The great purpose of man, especially the believer in Christ, is to glorify God. Essential to our ability to glorify God is the knowledge of God and knowing Him personally in view of that knowledge of love. In other words, giving glory to God is tied in with the knowledge of God…our revelation of God… and knowing God personally as we response to God. The many names in Scripture constitute a revelation of God’s character, His works, and His relationship to us. The names are based on His character and love and are meant to engage us. The names which God choses for Himself and which are ascribed to Him in the Word of God are revelations that help us to know and relate to God. Names in Biblical times were very important and we should appreciate that importance even today for they revealed much. As we read through Scripture we can see the importance of names. That Isaac was named for laughter and Ishmael for an ass is interesting. The list goes on and on. Sometimes God changes a person’s name for a purpose. Notice that God’s Names represent His attributes, His nature, and so too our names can reflect who we are or may become. Indeed God has many Names and each reveals Him in a different way. Consider the Character of God in the Names: Majestic Master, Teacher God, Owner and Provider, Transcendent Savior, The One Lord, The God of Israel, King, Father, Shepherd, The God Who Sees, Our Means of Righteousness, Our Sanctifier, Commander, Our Means of Victory and Peace, The Everlasting God, The Most High God, The Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer, and The Strong One. They each help to engage us in relationship for a purpose with something greater than our selves…greater even than the Central Intelligence Agency.
Pray that we discover the love of God in the seven “I Am Statements” of Jesus. Pray we experience God as our Bread, our Light, our Gate, our Good Shepherd, Our Resurrection and Life, our Way, Truth and Life, and our True Vine.
Pray we embrace the love of God and the character of God in a relationship of purpose. Pray our sins are silenced. Pray
that God’s majesty and love be a comfort and strength to us. Pray we realize that our hands are gifts from God to be used for His purpose. Pray we realize that God thinks we are worth having a name that glorifies God. Pray that we have the name of Christ in us. Pray we put together the puzzle of a God who will be what He will be, know our place in the picture.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 