And now, Lord . . . grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:29-31 God's power is available to you. The Book of Acts is a blueprint of what the church is called to be. It's important to avoid the hollow shell of tradition that ignores the power of the Word of God. We can whip up cool stuff without God, but I want my actions to have eternal value—for God to be central in all of it. Sincere, real-deal believers who rely on Jesus will push back darkness and make a meaningful difference in the world.

One of the most powerful tools we've been given is the name of Jesus. It's the name above every name "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2:9-10). There is resounding power in the name of Jesus. It's above the name of cancer, above the name of heart blockage, and above the name of depression. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Mark 16:17-18 As Christians, we've been given the authority to use the name of Jesus. "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). Prayers get answered in the name of Jesus! Demons flee in the name of Jesus! People get saved in the name of Jesus! God has called and equipped you to change the world. Fight through depression and numbness because there is someone on the other side of it who needs you to have your head up and your eyes on Jesus. As you stay plugged in, God will use you to do things beyond anything you ever imagined.

Grateful for Jesus,
Pastor Jeff



© 2008 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.