Psalm 8:9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Along with verse one that says the same thing, this frames this Psalm of David that was quoted by Jesus on Palm Sunday. (Matthew 21:16) I am no Hebrew scholar, but I find it very interesting that where the English says “majestic,” the Japanese says “powerful.” That is striking when we consider what was being said about Jesus on Palm Sunday. It is fairly safe to assume that the children then were saying what they had heard the adults saying on the way in to Jerusalem, and Matthew records that as, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9) In other words. Palm Sunday was all about the Name of the Lord, and associating Jesus with it. That Name is indeed powerful, as is the Name of Jesus, as many, many people have discovered. That’s why God included the command not to use His Name lightly, in the famous 10 He gave through Moses. That’s also why the devil tries so hard to get people to dishonor the Name of the Lord, in every culture that is familiar with that Name. It is interesting, and I think significant, that there is no tradition or culture of swearing, cuss words, in Japan. America has gone so far that some people can’t seem to open their mouths without producing a stream of filth. We lose a great deal when we lose sight of the holiness and power of the Name of the Lord. I have Messianic friends who go so far as to write G_d so as to avoid misuse, but I don’t think that is called for (obviously). However, every time we use the Name of the Lord, we need to be aware of what we are saying any time we speak that Name. If we don’t understand and believe, the devil and his minions aren’t going to flee, but if we are operating fully in all that it means that we are given the authority to speak in that Name, then nothing can stand against us.

This is something I am still learning. It doesn’t work like Harry Potter incanting something arcane, but it is much deeper and infinitely more powerful (since Harry Potter is fiction to begin with). I have seen some remarkable things happen in relation to the Name of the Lord, and I have heard of far more. I need to walk more and more closely in step with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25) so that the character of Christ may accurately be displayed through me, and I indeed do what Jesus did, and even more. (John 14:12)

Father, You know how I desire to cast out spirits with a word, setting people free, yet I have seen too little of that. Help me continue to grow so that I will be like Paul rather than like the sons of Sceva. (Acts 19:13-16) May I be an effective carrier of the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that Your will may be done on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!