In Acts 3 Peter made it clear six ways from Sunday that the lame man was healed in Jesus’ name. No surprise, then, that the name of Jesus dominates the book of Acts, not to mention the rest of the New Testament. That is why in the name of Jesus we preach and pray and baptize, we serve and suffer, we ask God to do miracles, and so much more!
I’ve staked my life and my eternal life on His name, so I am all about Jesus and His name. And I never want to take anything away from His name.
But lately I have heard people using Jesus’ name in a way that gives me pause. Sometimes it seems people are more enamored with the word Jesus than the person Jesus. It’s like when they say Jesus they’re speaking a magic word that has power, rather than appealing to the Lord Himself who has that power. People who are in a difficult situation might say the word Jesus over and over, as if by saying that name the situation will be resolved.
If someone says, “I want to speak Jesus over you,” it might mean they are calling out to the Lord Jesus on your behalf. I welcome that. But it might mean they have a mistaken notion that power can be accessed by speaking aloud the sound of the letters of His name.
The power attributed to the name of Jesus originates in the Person of Jesus. Any power that we access in Jesus’ name comes from true faith in who Jesus is and what He does for sinners and His followers.
When my kids were young they would occasionally get themselves in a pickle and need my help. Perhaps one of them was trying to move a bookcase, and all of a sudden it’s about to tip over and cause damage or hurt someone. So what if my kid began pronouncing “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy” over the situation to right the leaning bookcase, but didn’t actually call out to me for help? We’d need to have a talk, wouldn’t we?
Blessings, friend, in Jesus’ name.