December 25, 2016 (Proverbs 18:10)

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Prov 18: 10). Indeed, there is but One name that is a strong tower to which the righteous are able to run and be safe. It is One celebrated worldwide during this season of the year, namely the name of Jesus.  For “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Satan, the great deceiver, has been successful in convincing untold billions over the centuries that other names exist which offer genuine peace and safety. Yet increasingly the scourge of political correctness, commonly known as PC, is bringing persecution upon those who boldly speak about the exclusive nature of the gospel to the effect that no hope exists apart from salvation which comes only through Jesus the Christ or Anointed One. He is the same LORD who, in His preincarnate state, gave the commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai as guidelines for men to live in love and charity toward one another. And in the so-called Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). we find the gospel of the kingdom explained which Jesus preached from the very onset of ministry. May that be our focus when we share the gospel, not some idea of cheap grace like saying a sinner’s prayer with a guarantee of then someday being an inheritor of heaven. Instead, let us be mindful that without holiness, no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). The LORD is a strong tower when we are “in Him” and His words are “abiding in us.” This means we are living in obedience to the will our Father in heaven as Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:21 is the condition for inheriting the kingdom of heaven.