Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 7


MENTION THE NAME

READ: John 14:10
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I am in the father,
and...the father
is in me.
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A church group invited a speaker to address their meeting. "Talk about God," the group leader told him, "but leave out Jesus."

"Why?" the man asked, taken aback.

"Well," the leader explained, "some of our prominent members feel uncomfortable with Jesus. Just use God and we'll be fine.

Accepting such instructions, however, was a problem for the speaker who said later, "Without Jesus, I have no message."

Something similar was asked of followers of Jesus in the days of the early church. Local religious leaders conferred together to warn the disciples not to speak about Jesus (ACTS 4:17). But the disciples knew better. "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard," they said (v.20).

To claim to believe in God and not in His Son Jesus Christ is a contradiction in terms. In John 10:30, Jesus clearly describes the unique relationship between Himself and God: "I and the father are one"__thus establishing His deity. That is why He could say, "You believe in God; believe also in me" (JOHN 14:1). Paul knew that Jesus is the very nature of God and equal with God (PHIL. 26).

We need not shy away from the name of Jesus, for "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (ACTS 4:12).
___Lawrence Darmani

**Jesus, You are God. Thank You for showing Yourself to us in the Bible and
in our lives. You have done so much for us. Help us to share with others
what we know of You and have experienced of You.
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The name of Jesus is at the heart of our faith and our hope.

************************************Today's Bible Reading __ Acts 4:5-20*******************************
5 The next day the rulers the elders and the teachers of
the law met in Jerusalem.... 7 They had Peter and John
brought before them and began to question them: "By
what power or what name did you do this?"

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers
and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account
today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame
and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you
and ll the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the
dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is 'the
stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.'

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."

13 When they saw the courage of peter and John and realized
that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished
and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 So they
ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then
conferred together. 16 "What are we going to do with these
men?" they asked. "Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they
have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to
stop this thing from spreading any further among the people,
we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name."

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not
to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and
John replied, "Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or
to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking
about what we have seen and heard."