Who’s the Big Deal!

Scripture:  Matthew 28:18-20 - And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Philippians 2:10-11 -  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I can remember as a child being confronted by my friends with questions about God.  In my circle, I was singled out because I was the one who was seen walking to and from church with my family most Sundays.  They had an expectation of me, I soon realized.  They had questions and they understood that I was regularly exposed to vital pieces of information about God.  As a young child, of course, I wanted to be liked; I felt pressured; therefore, I pretended to know the answers.  Basically, my answer was Jesus.  That was the name and the subject of most of the sermons and Sunday School lessons I heard.  I learned Jesus loves the world, and He died for us; He shed His blood on the cross to take away our sins.  I understood that Jesus was the focus; He was the big deal!!  I am grateful that I grew up knowing there was something special about Jesus even before coming to a saving knowledge of His redemptive work.  Andre’ Crouch’s song entitled, “Jesus is the Answer” begins  with a crowd cheering and resounding the Name of “Jesus!”  Andre’ responds to the crowd’s cheers with his convicting and capturing testimony of all Christ is:  There’s power in the Name of Jesus, healing in the Name of Jesus, salvation in the Name of Jesus; Demons tremble at the sound of that Name; My Sweet Rose of Sharon; my lily of the Valley.  I would add: He’s our Strong tower and we can run to Him; The Strength of our life; The King of Kings; The Lord of Lords; He is our Savior, Redeemer, Judge, and our soon Coming King!  In His arms and Word, we find safety!  Recalling Jesus’ attributes and the ways He conveys His love can become a routine…JESUS!!

Lord, we thank You for such a great cloud of witnesses including those named in scripture, as well as, loved ones who are already with You; we thank you for fellowship with the Saints today.  We can choose to remind one another of who You are despite what we may see going on around us.  Lord, help us to keep You, Your Word and Your Name priority in our days, hours, minutes, seconds.  We have come to learn of Your Faithfulness in the dimmest of times; and for that we say Thank You.  We know who our lover, keeper, redeemer, Savior is; and His name is JESUS!!  In Your Name we pray…Amen.

(by Lisa Williams)