The Name of Jesus!

Last night I had a dream where I listened to a friend preach about the weakness of the church and his conclusion was that the reason the church is weak is that it does not continue to lift up the name of Jesus. It was an interesting dream to say the least. Then this morning I was reading through the first letter of John and came across these two verses - 1 John 5:11-12 NIV: "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. [12] Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."

I definitely am seeing a theme this morning, that salvation, eternal life and life in abundance come through relationship with Jesus. There are so many things we can focus on in our Christian walk, but the core of all thought, all focus must remain Jesus. It is easy to get distracted, to become fixated on one particular topic, or theme, but we must always return to Jesus. He is our life! Our focus should be less on the topics of the day and more on relationship with Jesus. We need to say His name, hear His name, and glorify His name. He is the source of all good things, the very Word of God made flesh for our salvation.

Being a Christian is so much more than being a good person, it is being in relationship with Jesus. We must come to know Him so that we can represent Him to the world. We must come to understand Him so that we can follow Him. We must learn to hear Him so that we can be directed in our steps. We must come to love Him for it is in that place that we recognize that He loves us even more.

The Gospel (Good News) really is quite simple - it is Jesus! Here are some lyrics to a great Chris Tomlin Song:

"The Name Of Jesus"

The name of Jesus is a refuge
A shelter from the storm,
a help to those who call

The name of Jesus is a fortress
A saving place to run,
a hope unshakeable

When we fall You are the Savior,
when we call You are the answer
There is power in Your name,
there is power in Your name

In the name of Jesus
There is life and healing
Chains are broken in Your name
Every knee will bow down and our hearts will cry out
Songs of freedom in Your name, oh, in Your name

Bring salvation,
bring Your Kingdom
Let all that You have made
bring glory to Your name

When we fall you are the Savior,
when we call You are the answer
There is power in Your name,
there is power in Your name