When Jesus's name is brought up especially in a school or public place you can see the unspoken thoughts of many people. "We don't talk about Jesus here.", "Lets not be controversial!", and "This isn't a church." If you were to bring up God the reaction would not be quite so alarming. People tend to be okay talking about God, but please not Jesus!
Only as a profanity is the name of Jesus accepted into normal mainstream society. Nobody seems to give it a second glance.
. 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
-Philipians 2:9-11
As we can see in the above verse Jesus's name is powerful! But, why is it that even Christians, who claim to know Jesus personally, and to have been changed by His never ending love and grace shy away from mentioning His name?
When I think of the way Jesus has changed my life and heart and the way he has also touched my family and friends I am amazed. I am absolutely in awe of how much his love for us is. He is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Beginning and the End. My Abba father. Even after all that for me at times it is difficult to talk about him.
Why is it hard for us to be verbal and vocal about Jesus and our relationship to Him? It really doesn't make sense when you think about it, does it?
One of the reasons is because the enemy Satan doesn't want us to because he knows that the second people begin to receive Jesus he is defeated! Jesus is the way the truth and the life and the only way to get to God the Father.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
-Acts 4:12
and when that happens people will find the peace love and joy of God. All of those thing are starkly different from the enemy's plan to kill steal and destroy.
Also he tries his hardest to make us crazy outsiders. Why is it that the that we can be loony about sports or television shows or movie stars without anyone thinking twice, but as soon as we build our lives and our conversations around Jesus, we are tagged as a crazy religious weirdo. Nobody want to be unaccepted or thought of as strange so we strive to conform which is not what the bible says to do.
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
-Romans 12:1,2
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ
-Colossians 2:8
Basicaly the Bible calls us to be separate! Not to be crazy or weird but, we are to be different. By the word of our testimony the Satan is defeated! Jesus saved us!
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
-Revalation 12:11
So lets do it! Lets be vocal lets make a scene if thats what it takes to speak the name of Jesus! Instead of Justin Bieber, your dog, what you had for lunch, or whether your Team Edward or Team Jacob talk about Jesus!
My prayer today is that we would all speak up about Jesus and how he changed us and how he can change others in a non offensive and understandable way.
