Day 4 (14 Dec): His Name is Highest
- Rev Foo Yuk Yee (LPPC)
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people
from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
Joseph and Mary were told to name their son Jesus before He was conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit. At our Christmas preteens programmes, my colleagues and I tell the story of Jesus’ birth through various activities. But how do we go beyond His birth?
We focus on Matthew 1:21. The name Jesus means “He saves.” “Save us from what? From our sin.” At this point, often a wide-eyed child would ask, “Sin?” This opens the door to the gospel! We explain sin, how Jesus died on the cross 30 years later (remember Easter?) and rose from the dead three days later never to die again! He’s alive today! We can share the gospel through the Christmas story!
Years ago, at a loss to help my Mom understand that there is a Saviour, I prayed. She was in her late 90s and spoke only Teochew! God provided a ‘strategy.’ Acts 4:12 says, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Only the name of Jesus saves! Whatever I share with Mom, “Yasoh” (Jesus in Teochew) must ring loud and clear. Philippians 2:9-11 affirms that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
So I shared with Mom verses and songs with the name Jesus. God’s Spirit did the work. One morning, wheelchair-bound, she told me, “Last night, I asked Yasoh to help me sleep. I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, it was daylight!” A smile lit up her face. Mom finally placed her trust in Yasoh, was baptised close to Christmas in 2018, before she went Home at 100.
Preteen or nonagenarian, illiterate or scholarly, unwell or healthy, the name of Jesus saves anyone who confesses Him as Lord. This Christmas, will you take hold of opportunities to share with an unbeliever that the name by which Joseph and Mary were to call their son is above every name?
The name of Jesus is Highest!
Sis Yong Soo Li
Living Praise Presbyterian Church