"21 Not everyone saying to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of My Father in the heavens. 22 Many will say to Me in that the day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare unto them, ‘I never knew you; depart you from Me, those working lawlessness.’" (Matthew 7:21-23, BLB)
Jesus is THE Name that for many represent Hope and Peace, as was declared; "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:14, KJV) Yet, we live in unsettling times. We're finally allowed to go back to church after a second lock down. Many churches haven't even reopened yet. Thankfully, I did find one, and what a blessing to be there. Still, how petty does this seem compared to those who are literally dying for their faith? The truth is, we all have our own hardships and we all handle them differently, because we are unique. This is not a flaw, but by God's brilliant design.
These hardships are eating away at us in different ways, too. Some of the strongest, most beautiful people of faith that I know seem to be full of nothing but despair. They don't seem to realize that their despair is contagious, infectious, and speaks against the power of God.
Nobody wants to be in despair. Nobody wants to admit their despair. It's not a pretty topic. But we need to be aware of it and we need to stop spreading it. If we need help, there's no shame. The Bible speaks consistently about loving one another and helping each other. If we know someone who needs help, let's try to be available for them. If we or they need clinical help, it may need to be brought to our/their attention. Perhaps some of us simply need a reminder - "What a Powerful Name it is, the Name of Jesus". What a Beautiful Name was presented in abbreviated form today at Church and it was the words, "What a Powerful Name it is" that struck me most. Jesus is so powerful that even His Name is full of power! He created the universe, which He rules. In Isaiah 45, we read,
11This is what the LORD says—the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.
13 I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people— without seeking a reward! I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!” (NLT)
and that was before Jesus was revealed to us! In Revelation 1, we read,
"4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail b on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (ESV)
In Revelation 20, it says, 4 "Then[g] I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge.[h] I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These[i] had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They[j] came to life[k] and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.)[l] This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part[m] in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them,[n] but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years."... "11 Then[ac] I saw a large[ad] white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven[ae] fled[af] from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then[ag] books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life.[ah] So[ai] the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.[aj] 13 The[ak] sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death[al] and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. 14 Then[am] Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 If[an] anyone’s name[ao] was not found written in the book of life, that person[ap] was thrown into the lake of fire." (NET)
Jesus has power over life and death! He has power over the entire universe! He has power over our families, our churches, our nations, our weather, and more! Yesterday, while looking at information about governments, I looked up dictators, trying to find a list of the most oppressive leaders of all time. Dictators are leaders who think that they are all-powerful. They are the kind of leaders who will kill you, torture you, or imprison you for now following their ideals. Jesus has power over them. People are calling our leaders, "dictators" and worse! We must remember that Jesus has power over them! And yet, He allows things to happen - for reasons that we don't always understand. Some things have been terribly tragic. Some things are beyond our comprehension as to why God would allow such things. But one day, it will all be revealed. What also will be revealed is how we lived through trying times. Today's sermon at church was wonderfully perfect, "Joy in Adversity" by Pastor Steve Faulkner. You might notice the amazing Crutchfields singing that abbreviated version of "What a Beautiful Name It Is", at the beginning.
What is truly amazing is that Jesus is all-powerful, has power over life and death, and the universe, and yet, unlike the dictators, He does not demand that we bow to Him. He gives us the choice. He does not give us perfect lives, free of calamity or pain. What He does promise us is that He is willing to save us from Spiritual death, if we want Him to, and that He will never leave us nor forsake us while we're figuring out what that means.
As I was writing this, I allowed YouTube to continue playing suggested songs based on my most recent search, which was for the song, "What A Beautiful Name It Is". One song that came along, I had to stop it, so that I can share it here; Jesus, Messiah. What a blessing. May you be blessed by my scribblings. :) I truly do appreciate the encouragement. :) One more song, while I'm finishing up, Who You Say I Am. One more thing about dictators is that they are driven by wealth or power. Jesus lives to share His wealth and as for power, He left us with this, "Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12, NASB)