Daily Lectionary:Isaiah 62:1-12; Luke 2:1-20

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the saints of God!  We have just been given the name of Jesus as He was circumcised eight days after His birth and now we again hear about the name of God’s people and that His name will be upon them.  His name will be their name.  In the history of God’s people, names are very important.  We have names of individuals, names of families, names of tribes and names of nations.  In all the names that are given, the only name of the Lord God is the one that will bring salvation.  When the people of God have His name on them His blessings accompany that name.  

The people of God didn’t always want His name upon them.  They liked the names of the other gods around them.  The names that would appear on the statues and monoliths of the pagan nations.  The names of the false gods were appealing to the people as those names were associated with the desires of the flesh.  The names of the other gods had earthly freedoms connected to them and with those freedoms came earthly wealth and power.

The world around us wants to give us other names.  The world wants us to indulge in the philosophies derived from sin and Satan.  The world wants to draw us away from the name given to us in Baptism and immerse us in the names of deceit, selfishness, self-centeredness, greed, and all the vices of the world.  In our Baptism, the name of Jesus is placed upon us.  We are baptized into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The waters of baptism are poured over us as the name of the one true God is spoken marking us in His name.  All the benefits and blessings of His name are given to us free of charge.  The name of God the Father is upon us, the name of Jesus the Son of God is upon us, the name of God the Holy Spirit is upon us.  In our Baptism we stand firm in the name of God and hold fast to His blessings and promises. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.