For HIS Name’s Sake

“He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power known.” Psalm 106:8

Have you ever wondered why God saved you? The obvious answer is because He loves you. From the song some of us learned growing up - “Jesus loves me, this I know…” - to the most well-known verse in the Bible - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) - we have reminders and evidence that God saved us because of His great love for us. But if we stop there, I wonder if we’re in danger of having an egocentric view of our salvation? He also saved us for His name’s sake and to make His mighty power known. Our salvation is proof of His supreme authority! The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work to radically transform and revive dead hearts (think of the Apostle Paul from the New Testament and think of your own conversion!). Jesus, who took upon Himself the sin of all mankind for all eternity defeated both sin and death and covered you with His blood when you asked Him to be Lord and Savior of your life. God’s wrath toward us is now satisfied because of that blood. And now, as children of God we are light in this dark world, displaying His majesty and power and love and authority. What a privilege! We are image bearers of the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are His ambassadors to this world.

So my question to you today is, how is God using the testimony of your salvation (Webster’s Dictionary defines testimony as “a public profession of a religious experience”) for His name’s sake and to make His mighty power known to those around you?

Talk About Big!

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear.” Isaiah 59:1

God is more powerful that our circumstances, than anything that threatens to overwhelm us. There is no pit too deep, no emotion too commanding, no enemy too powerful, and no problem too large that God cannot reach down and save us from. So, what situation, question, emotion, problem, or enemy is threatening to overwhelm you right now? Do you believe that God’s hand can truly save you from that? What promise from God’s Word can you claim to underscore the peace and reassurance that truth should bring?

Also, from this verse we see that there is no silent cry of our heart that goes unheard by His ear. We never have to worry about God being too busy for us or fear that because we may not feel as spiritually “important” as the next guy that our prayers are not equally as important to our Father. What prayers do you feel like God has not heard, either because you haven’t seen them answered or because you do not feel His nearness? Are you willing to trust right now that He has heard and is working on your behalf (even this very second) to accomplish His best plan for your life?