Our Hope: Know His Name

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”  Luke 1:31-33 (NKJV)

We know the names of our parents, our aunts and uncles, grandparents, friends, teachers, pastors.  We know the names of movie stars and rock stars, favorite pets, and places we love to visit.  But the most important name of all names is the name of Our Hope, who is Jesus, the Christ.  His is the name we most certainly must know.

He is known by many names.  And, surprisingly, quite a few of His names are names that also describe other people, such as carpenter and prophet.  He is also called shepherd, bishop and advocate. These names describe everyday people in common occupations.  What about servant, or bridegroom?

Jesus is known by many other names. He is the Messiah, the One who was sent to save the Jewish people, and He is also called Savior, the Redeemer of sins, Saver of souls.  These things are all names that refer to Jesus, but they are so much more–they are Who He is.

The more we come to know Jesus personally and establish a relationship with Him, the more we become familiar with Him and His ways, the closer we draw to Him.  The more we sense His presence in our lives, the more we learn that we can depend on Him for all our needs.  The more time we spend in the Word of God, reading and speaking it, taking it within ourselves so we will always be able to reach out to Scripture right when we need it, the more we will understand how He works in and through us, and how much He loves us.

In many ways this is a mystery, but in other ways it is not.  This is because we are told repeatedly in Scripture how and why we were created, how much we are loved, and that we are all part of God’s perfect plan.  When we call on the name of Jesus, no matter which name we choose, He hears, He listens, He responds.  He is our intercessor with the Father, and He is our defender against the wiles of the enemy, Satan.  This enemy cannot stand in the face of our Lord.  He has neither the power nor the endurance to spar with Him for long.  He will eventually flee.  Jesus commands him to, and he is gone. And we are given freedom from the power of evil, by the name of Jesus.

Jesus–whether we call Him that or the Good Shepherd, the Cornerstone, the Lion of Judah, or the Messiah–is Our Hope.  And because He is Our Hope, He is also our Redeemer, our Prince of Peace, our King of Kings.  There is no one like Him, not one.  He is the only good One.  He is the only perfect One. He brings hope, life, peace to all who know Him.  Know His Name.  No other name commands so much respect.  He is Jesus, He is the Son of God, He is Our Hope.

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Philippians 2:9-11

What names of Jesus hold the most meaning for you?  Please share why!

Blessings!