name

Paul Harvey told about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, "Now you're not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don't even ask."

She put him up in the cart and he sat in the little child's seat while she wheeled down the aisles.  He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section.  He saw the chocolate chip cookies and he stood up in the seat and said, "Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?"  She said, "I told you not even to ask.  You're not going to get any at all."  So he sat back down.

They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle.  "Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?"  She said, "I told you that you can't have any.  Now sit down and be quiet."

Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane.  The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance.  So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart and shouted in his loudest voice, "In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?"  And everybody round about just laughed.  Some even applauded.  And, according to Paul Harvey, due to the generosity of the other shoppers, the little boy and his mother left with 23 boxes of chocolate chip cookies.

The name of Jesus is powerful indeed!  Many activities in the New Testament were carried out in the name of Jesus with powerful resuts:

     In the name of Jesus, prayers were offered and God heard and answered (John 16:23-24).

     In the name of Jesus, people were baptized and found forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38)

     In the name of Jesus, men were healed of their ailments and demons were cast out (Acts 4:10; 16:18)

Be careful not to make the mistake of thinking there's some kind of magical power in saying the word "Jesus".  To do something "in the name of" someone is to do it by their authority and therein lies the power.  When we do something by the authority of Jesus (or to put it another way, if we do something because Jesus told us to do it), the results will always be powerful.  In fact, EVERYTHING we do and say should be done in the name of Jesus (Col. 3:17).

May our preaching, our teaching, and all that we say and do be done in the name of Jesus for, as Peter said:

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

-alan smith