ODJ: power in His name

February 26, 2016 

READ: Acts 4:1-20 

God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved (v.12).

After dropping my kids off at school, I drove onto a busy road and turned on some Christian music. Worrying my way through a long to-do list, I started to feel overwhelmed. Just then, I saw a sign in the back window of a car that read JESUS. At the same moment, the name Jesus was sung by someone on the radio. Hearing and seeing “Jesus” in the same instant snapped me out of my anxious state as I considered the power and hope found in His name (Matthew 28:20).

Peter and John healed a crippled man by the power of Jesus’ name (Acts 3:6). But when they explained the gospel to the awestruck onlookers, religious officials soon came and arrested them. The next day, the disciples were put on trial and asked, “By what power, or in whose name, have you [healed this man]?” (4:7). Guided by the Holy Spirit, Peter answered, “He was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead” (v.10).

Amazed at the disciples’ boldness, the religious officials demanded that Peter and John never speak or teach in Jesus’ name (v.18). Peter and John refused to obey but were finally released. They met with other believers and prayed: “O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (vv.29-30).

Jesus’ name is powerful—it means Savior. It’s the only “name under heaven by which we must be saved” (v.12). Through faith in His name, we can find help when we’re troubled, sick, oppressed, and harassed. By believing in Him, we “have life by the power of his name” (John 20:31).

—Jennifer Benson Schuldt

365-day-plan: Deuteronomy 34:1-12