I have a rather cheeky things I do at times. It's a kind of experiment. In the middle of a group of folks that I know are not really associated with the Lord in any direct way, as they are talking about football scores, politics, golf game,  the kids, etc. I have mentioned the Name of Jesus in a "matter-of-fact" kind of way.

Believe me, it is a conversation stopper. People become very uncomfortable, look at their shoes, check their watch and look at me side-long to see if I was actually serious. When they see that I am not in the least embarrassed, the configuration of the group radically changes and I find that the ones I have been specifically addressing needing to refresh their drink or go back to the buffet table.

It's one thing to use Jesus name in combination with expletives my Grandmother would have called "cuss words" when you hit your thumb with a hammer while trying to drive a nail. That is culturally acceptable. But to talk about Jesus as if He were "real", you know REALLY REAL...well, that turns out to be a "horse of a different color".

There are a number of readily recognized names of religious personages in our world: Buddha, Gandhi, Mohammed, Swami Prabhupada or Lao Tzu. No one ever uses their names in cursing or angry outbursts In fact we have seen murderous riots and senseless violence occur when the name of Mohammed even "appears" to be dishonored. World wide, however, the name of Jesus is reviled, abused, used in vain and ridiculed with impunity.

Have you ever wondered why? Who would inspire such a world-wide phenomena? I can tell you that the fallen Arch-Angel, Lucifer, whom we know as Satan, the Devil and his minions hate Jesus. The are terrified of Him. Jesus' Name, denoting all that He is, has authority and ultimate power over the forces of spiritual darkness. Satan does not want Jesus taken seriously, because when someone does take Jesus Christ seriously, the strategies of the Devil are doomed to being dismantled in that human life.

The "Name of Jesus" is not a magic word nor a "mantra". When I speak "in the Name of Jesus Christ" I am declaring that singular and eternal relationship that I have with the Lord Jesus and am acknowledging His absolute power and authority over all things. Oswald Chambers wrote, "To pray in the Name of Jesus if to be praying in His nature." A true follower of Jesus Christ has been give a new nature, a new heart and a new spirit from God. It is the nature of Jesus, the heart of the Father and the Holy Spirit. A Christian has been given a new heredity, an new spiritual DNA that is working the salvation of God into every fiber of our being. It is because Jesus lives IN YOU that your life can be transformed AND that the life and ministry of Jesus can be manifested through you in His power.

Satan will do all he can to try and befuddle us, to distract us so we seem to forget whose we are, He desperately wants us to forget that we ARE NOW son and daughters of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus and bring the Kingdom of God to those still blinded by the enemy of their souls. (2 Corinthians 4:1-7)(Ephesians 4:17-31)

Our enemy does his dead-level worst to try to convince people to keep Jesus in the same "bag" the keep Santa Claus. If Jesus is seen for who He really is, people are rescued from the addiction of sin, their receive God's forgiveness for all their wrong-doing and the "old nature" that produced that life of "going your own way" is taken off by the Holy Spirit and by the Holy spirit we are clothed in a new nature, given as God's free gift of grace.

Jesus' power and authority are infinite. Satan's power is merely finite...not weak, but finite. The One who has made His home in us is infinitely greater that our spiritual adversary. We do not need to fear. We need to be vigilant, aware and refuse to allow "wooly-thinking" about the life we have been given to live.

There is no other name given by God on this earth by which a person can be saved, rescued, made a new creation EXCEPT the Name of Jesus Christ. There is salvation in NO OTHER! God has made it simple. He  has done the work so we can receive His grace and mercy. It doesn't matter what culture or ethnic group you are from. There is no caste restriction, no ethnic necessity, no educational requirement, no code of ethics to master in order to be made acceptable to God. By His death and resurrection, Jesus has taken away the sin of the whole world. It is only through Him that humanity can be restored to Life in God...which is what God created us to know. That is why Jesus' Name is so dangerous!