12-3-2014

 Good Morning All,

        Matthew 1:21; “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

       As our 2 ½ year old grandson was helping his grandmother decorate for Christmas, he found the Nativity set that we bought for him.  It is a soft cloth one.  He picked up the Christ child from the manger and told his grandma, “I love baby Jeesit.”  "What's in a name? That which we call a rose; By any other name would smell as sweet." This was Juliet’s comment.  So what is in a name?  When the birth of Jesus was announced to Joseph, it was specified that this child would be named Jesus for “he will save his people from their sins.”  His name has meaning.

     Also much more than just meaning; it has power.  It has the power to accomplish the very task.  It is the power by which God has chosen to bring us salvation.  Because of his life, death and resurrection, we have eternal life; we have the comfort and the consolation of God’s Spirit dwelling in us.  We have the knowledge that we are in God’s holy family.  We have the certainty of God’s eternal grace in our life.

    Yet the most wonderful part of this entire process is that God does it all.  Even if we don’t get it all quite right, even if we don’t fully understand how everything works, we have God’s gift of salvation in our heart, in our soul and in our life.  We can think his name is “Jeesit”; we can try to understand why it works and never really understand why God chose to love us enough to save us.  We may never figure out why God chooses to use us to spread his word of grace and truth.  Yet we still possess it.

   So when our life turns upside down and we can’t understand what is happening; we don’t understand the pain or the loss; we seem to spin out of control and life is totally confusing’ we can trust that God will save us.  We only have to cling to his name to the name that saves us; we cling to Jesus.  We cling to Jesus for he is our hope; he is our salvation.  We cling to his promise of hope and redemption.  The pain will subside but God’s love for us will always continue.  His love is poured out upon us as we cling to the most powerful name there is; we cling to the name of Jesus for he saves us from our sins; he redeems us from the pit and lifts us up.

   It is not our wisdom or skill that gives us hope.  It is not our wealth or possessions.  All these are false supports that will fall away and leave us alone.  Yet God will never abandon us; he will always save us from the snares and the attacks of the devil.  He is our salvation and hope; it is by the name of Jesus that we are saved.

Father of grace, you sent your Son to be our Savior.  By his name we are saved.  Keep us safe within your loving arms.  We ask that you especially give your peace to those who are in pain and are struggling with their life at this time.  Give them the courage to withstand the devil’s attacks.  Heal their wounds and give them the certainty of their hope in you.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret