This Easter consider the power in the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus can make every day resurrection day. Consider how Jesus must have felt when—after 30 years of life, plus a little more than three years of ministry—He found Himself nailed to a criminal’s cross in total humiliation and abandonment. All His selfless work and obedience to God was reduced to nothing more than a gruesome spectacle for people see as He slowly and painfully died. If there were ever a time for a do-over, that was it. Because just when it seemed everything was really taking off, it all came to a sudden and disappointing end.
We all know, now, that Jesus’ death only looked like a hopeless end. Turns out, it was an unexpected beginning! God’s plan all along was—and is—a “fresh and new” start for us all (2 Corinthians 5:17, AMPC). And that new beginning starts the moment we confess Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. But even if we end up needing a fresh start each and every day of our lives until Jesus returns, God’s good with that. In fact, He’s already planned for it!
Every day can be Resurrection Day—a day of walking in the freshness and newness of God’s goodness and grace, living in the fullness of the salvation Jesus offers us. But to do that, you need to learn, grow and become confident in some of the amazing attributes of God’s love for you. Here are three attributes of God that will help you become more and more secure in His undending love for you as your mediate on them.
The Name Above all Names
“The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty.’” –(Exodus 34:6-7) God spoke this name twice. The first time, He was referring to the mercy He shows us even before we sin. God spoke His name a second time, referring to the mercy he shows us after we sin and repent.
As if two times weren’t enough, God proclaimed His Name a third time. This time, however, He used another name, El (Hebrew), meaning All-Powerful One, implying that God’s mercy is greater and far more expansive than we can comprehend. Proclaiming His Name to Moses three times also points to the fact that He is Triune—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Name that Cleanses
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NASB). God excuses (cleanses) us from sin, if we repent. In declaring God’s mercy to Moses, He intended for the people of Israel to take God’s words and literally pray them as a prayer to Him in those times when they needed to invoke His mercy and grace, when they needed assurance of His lovingkindness and forgiveness. In other words, He expected them to pray His words.
And it worked! God forgave them, over and over—proving His great mercy and love. As far as God is concerned, we are “seated” with Him, in Jesus. That means, we are literally in the presence of the ONE who is—The Lord (and Merciful), The Lord (and Merciful), God (and Merciful), Compassionate, Merciful, Slow To Anger, Abundant in Lovingkindness, Abundant in Faithfulness, Preserver of Lovingkindness for Thousands of Generations, Forgiver of Iniquity, Forgiver of Wilful Sin, Forgiver of Error, Cleanser!
The Abundant Name
God forgives careless sin, if we repent. God even forgives sin intended to anger or rebel against Him, if we repent. God forgives intentional sin, if we repent. God remembers—keeps an ongoing account of—the kindness we show others. The WORD tells us in Deuteronomy 7:9 and Psalm 105:8 that Gods faithfulness is abundant; In Psalm 23:6 we can read that His “unfailing love will pursue me all the day of my life.” God’s lovingkindness is abundant.
While Scripture often recounts how God’s anger “burned” against Israel (and even Moses in Exodus 4:14), He gave them a 40-year window of opportunity to cross over into their Promised Land. Today, He gives us an entire lifetime to repent and open our lives to Him. He still waits patiently.
So, the next time you mess up or everything seems to be falling apart—and you need a fresh start—take a good look around and see yourself where God (and Jesus) sees you. See yourself SEATED (comfortable, relaxed, at peace, not about to get up any time soon) in the presence of unfailing love.
Then, remind yourself: Today’s Resurrection Day—and it’s a fresh, new day in Mercy!
