No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. Jeremiah 10:6 (NIV)
The other day I texted a friend who was not feeling well. Using Jehovah Rapha (Healer), one of the names for Jesus/God, I told her I would pray that He would make her well. Unfortunately I typed the name wrong. Usually my iPhone’s automatic spell-checker offers possible correct spellings. But this time, the words No Replacement appeared. So I retyped the name with the correct spelling and completed my message.
Later, I thought about that incident. Throughout the Bible, people consistently misunderstood the names and meaning of the one true God. In fact, they invented titles for their own gods. When God sent His Son to the earth, Jesus spoke of His Father often. Jesus taught that there was unity between His Father’s name and His own, but people misinterpreted that and Jesus’ claims (John 10:25–30).
Jesus spent three of His thirty-three years on earth in focused ministry: teaching, healing, loving, and reflecting the attributes of the God-Name He came to represent. Some followers “got” the truth of Matthew 12:21 (VOICE): “All the world will find its hope in His name.” But others won’t grasp that truth until the day when we see the power of His divinity clearly: “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow . . . every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11 NASB).
In the meantime, we can make His name known everywhere we go. There really is no replacement for the mighty name of Jesus.
Faith Step: How has the name of Jesus impacted your life? Write down the names of three people with whom you could share the power of Jesus’ name.
