April 15, 2019
Today’s Promise
God Knows My Name
John 19:4-5
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
Jesus loves you and calls you by name.
Jesus cared about individuals. Although he taught the crowds, He always took the time to speak with individuals. He never waved his hand over the crowd of sick and healed them all at once.
When Jesus came across a corrupt tax collector named Zaccheus, He called him by name and then invited himself to stay at his house. Jesus was more interested in meeting people’s needs than He was in keeping up social norms. No religious leader of His day would have been caught dead in the house of a tax collector. But Jesus was willing to risk His reputation to touch the heart of Zaccheus.
When Jesus saw Zaccheus, He could have condemned him for his corrupt business practices. He could have called him out as a thief. However, Jesus looked past all that to a short little man who had a hurting heart. He called him by name and went to his house.
Now here’s the important point. God knows your name. You are not a nameless number to God. God loves the world, but He loves you just as much. He knows your name and wants a relationship with you. His first words are not of condemnation, but of invitation.
When Jesus called His disciples, He called them by name. When He appeared to Saul (later the Apostle Paul) on the road to Damascus, He called him by name. “Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Today, Jesus is calling you by name to a deeper and closer walk with Him.
Let’s review that promise again,
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house. – Luke 19:4-5.
Confess this with me.
I am important to God.
He knows my name.
God loves me and invites me into an intimate relationship with me.
He calls me by name to follow Him.
In Jesus Name,
Amen