Day 6, Friday (March 15) - Living into His Name

Posted on: March 15, 2019
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

COME, LONG EXPECTED JESUS!

The Sunrise
Day 6 Friday

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EXPLORE THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

For us there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things and through whom we exist (1 Corinthians 8: 6).

ISAIAH 60: 1-3

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the LORD will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen upon you.

And nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising.

MALACHI 4: 2

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

LUKE 1: 76-79

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

CONSIDER

Sunrise brings hope. As Psalm 30: 5 so famously says, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” The days of Jesus among us were like a sunrise. What greater day does his dawn promise in these passages?

Where in this weary world do you particularly long for light to shine in the darkness?

What is it like when the reality of Jesus dawns on us?

For which people in the dark do you most ardently pray?

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PRAY THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Begin with the Jesus Prayer. Pray it reflectively several times, for yourself or on behalf of another.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Then pray the day’s prayer slowly and repeatedly for at least a minute (that’s about seven times). Allow the prayer to take you into the meaning of the day’s facet of Jesus’ name. Pray it for yourself and/or on behalf of another. Take your time and trust this process!

Lord Jesus Christ, radiant light of the Father’s love, dawn in my heart,

and shine through every word and deed this day.

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LIVE INTO THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

He has granted to us his precious and very great promises,
so that through them you might become partakers of his divine
nature . . . For this very reason, supplement your faith with
virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness,
brotherly affection and love (2 Peter 1: 4-7).

MATTHEW 2: 1-2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

CONSIDER

What three things did the wise men do when they saw the star of the king?

How do they provide a pattern for our conversations and life in Christ today?

Close by praying this name of Jesus, first through the more literal translation of this O Antiphon,

O Morning Star, splendor of light eternal

And sun of righteousness;

Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness

And the shadow of death.

And then, by singing this verse of “O Come, O Come, Immanuel,”

O come, thou Dayspring from on high,

And cheer us by thy drawing nigh;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,