How felicitous it is that the secular holiday New Year\u2019s Day is also the day of the church year dedicated to the Name of Jesus!\u00a0 Beginning the year in the name of Jesus is quite appropriate.<\/p>\n
On the seventh day after His birth (hence, seven days after Christmas), the baby Jesus was circumcised\u2013entering into the covenant of God\u2019s people, an action parallel in the church to infant baptism\u2013whereupon He was officially given His name.<\/p>\n
The angel was very specific when he told Mary what that name must be (Luke 1:31), and he told Joseph why:\u00a0 \u201cYou shall call his name Jesus,\u00a0for he will save his people from their sins\u201d (Matthew 1:21).<\/p>\n
The name \u201cJesus\u201d means \u201cGod saves.\u201d\u00a0 His very name is a confession of His deity and what He has accomplished for us.<\/p>\n
\n
This was pointed out to me by Rev. Dr. Lucas V. Woodford, now district President of the Minnesota South district, who was an associate pastor at First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, when we were members there.\u00a0 He preached about the Name of Jesus in a New Year\u2019s service that I have always remembered.<\/p>\n
He then went through the different references in the church and in the Scriptures to the things that we are to do \u201cin Jesus\u2019s name,\u201d giving the translation \u201cGod saves.\u201d<\/p>\n
We pray in Jesus\u2019s name.\u00a0 That is, we pray in the name \u201cGod saves.\u201d\u00a0 That God has saved us through Jesus affects how we can approach God in prayer.<\/p>\n
We are absolved of our sins \u201cin Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d\u00a0 That is, we are forgiven because \u201cGod saves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor where two or three are gathered in\u00a0my\u00a0name [God saves], there am I among them\u201d (Matthew 18:20).\u00a0 That \u201cGod saves\u201d means that He is present with us.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the\u00a0name\u00a0of\u00a0Jesus\u00a0[God saves] every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth\u201d (Philippians 2:10).\u00a0 That \u201cGod saves\u201d means that everyone should honor Him!\u00a0 (What a mystery that so many people hate the God who wants to save them!)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the\u00a0name of\u00a0the Lord\u00a0Jesus [God saves], giving thanks to God the Father through him\u201d (Colossians 3:17).\u00a0 We can do everything<\/em> in light of \u201cGod saves,\u201d and that \u201cGod saves\u201d can fill us with gratitude.<\/p>\nThere is a New Year\u2019s resolution for you!\u00a0 \u00a0Not a burdensome law that you can never fulfill, but a reflection of the Gospel promise that you can bring to mind all through the year when you need it:\u00a0 \u201cDo everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 That is, do everything in the conviction that God has saved you!<\/p>\n
Illustration:\u00a0 The IHS monogram [The Greek letters for \u201cJESus\u201d] by AnonMoos (changes by Rabanus Flavus \u2013 File:JHS-IHS-Monogram-Name-Jesus.svg, CC0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=69649452<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How felicitous it is that the secular holiday New Year\u2019s Day is also the day of the church year dedicated to the Name of Jesus!\u00a0 Beginning the year in the name of Jesus is quite appropriate. On the seventh day after His birth (hence, seven days after Christmas), the baby Jesus was circumcised\u2013entering into the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":38839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,21,25],"tags":[501,7891,1571],"class_list":["post-38830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christ","category-holidays","category-language","tag-circumcision-and-name-of-jesus","tag-name-of-jesus","tag-new-years-day"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n