The Greatest Star of All Time

(I think it's important to face and embrace what's going on in the world around us.  To be aware so we can let our hearts break with what breaks His and move us to passion and prayerful action.  My last post was fairly dark, however, and while this and more---Kenyan malls, church bombing in Pakistan, etc---are in my prayers and on my heart, I decided to post again more quickly than I usually do about something positive!)

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I heard a phrase recently that still rings like bells in my head.  I won't say who said it but when she reads this she'll know!  A silver head bowed in group prayer around a table.  I thought how her words were more formal than mine, but how they flowed off of a tongue that faithfully prays and were all the more heart-felt for their formality.  They radiated the deep, caring, uncompromising faith that this woman lives by.  Since she already had my undivided attention, her closing caught my ears:

"For Jesus' sake.  Amen."

Not the, "In Jesus' name,"  so often used.  For His 'sake'........

You see, while I don't really use "In Jesus' name" in my private prayers, I have for most of my life in public.  It's what you do, right?  Just rolls off the tongue based on:

 "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."  (John 14:13-14)

It's Ok to say, but I've been pondering the subtle differences.  

At least to me "In Jesus' name" implies that we are asking God to answer our requests since Jesus is our High Priest, our Mediator.  It's a declaration to the Enemy as well that we are with God 'in' (through) Jesus and so have the right to ask.  These are OK but sometimes, however, there might be just a bit of trying to remind God of this so He will honor our prayers.  Or trying to put a subtle stamp of approval on our prayers in the spiritual realm by invoking His name.

"For Jesus' sake" sounded so sweet to my ears, not just because of the voice that said it and the humility with which it was said, but because it not only reminds all concerned of His sacrifice for us and therefore our position in Him, but implies action in response.  A reminder to do all that we do both now and always 'For Jesus' sake."

Recently I knew that I needed to pray but found myself distracted.  I kept trying to pull my mind back to the task at hand.  Then I found myself wondering, once again, why time with Him is sometimes such a task.  There are lots of reasons, not the least of them being our own human frailty and the desire of the Enemy to try to keep us doing anything but that.  But I started to think about WHO I was trying to spend time with.

I had just read an article about someone famous.  How fans wait for hours and even days for a chance to come close to their idol, their hero, this superstar.  What a warped view we have on the world! Worshipping the creature rather than the Creator.

What does that say about Who we think God is?  Oh my.

The biggest superstar of all time is reaching out to us.  He's calling to us and offering us the Greatest Romance---a relationship with Him.  He's literally the hero that saved the day by saving us.  The most valiant knight ever.

Romance has infatuated mankind since the start.  Yet, the biggest symbol of true love, excitement, valor, chivalry, and sacrifice waits patiently for us to notice His eye seeking ours through the crowd.

He wants to make us HIS.

Gari Meacham says, "I don't want to be a committed Christian; I want to be a desperate Christian."  How well said.

Desperate for Him.

For Jesus' sake.

"His love endures forever." (Ps. 136:1)