Day 7- The True Vine

                                         Names of Christ-The True Vine

 Imagine walking through a field of pumpkins at harvest time. There are vines everywhere and branches running higgily, piggily around the orange orbs. Where is the branch connected to the roots?  How can you know which pumpkin is still connected to the source?

   "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."

John 15:1-5

We are the branches, Jesus Christ is the True Vine and our Heavenly Father the source. During an average day can we abide in him?  Can we stay fully connected to the branch that has deep roots? Or do we lay exposed like harvest pumpkins on the field having become severed at the stem?  

   "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 

   I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

             

There are twenty-four names of Christ and twenty-four days until Christmas. Check back here to find the contents page of this series.

Day 6- The Bread Of LIfe

Names of Christ- The Bread Of Life

     I make an artisanal bread with four simple ingredients, flour, water, salt and yeast. The 1/4 teaspoon of yeast works in the dough for 18 hours and it is enough to leaven the whole loaf. It lives within the other ingredients and offers life to that which would be inert without it's influence. So is Christ within us. Matt. 13:33

"I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread, which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that O give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

    Christ desires us to be nourished by his word, his blessings, ordinances, such as the sacrament, and by the covenants we make with him such as baptism. They are sustaining and to use vernacular current to our times, his influence is as sustainable now as it was in the wilderness with Moses.

             

                      

There are twenty-four names of Christ and twenty-four days until Christmas. Check back here to find the contents page of this series.

Day 5- The Light Of The World

        Names of Christ- The Light Of The World

At this time of year, when we hang twinkling lights, outside and inside, light is a comfort to us all. Light shows us the way. It makes the mysterious shadows more visible. It warms and cheers. We crave it in the winter and revel in it when summer comes. It is the perfect metaphor for Christ.

" Then spake Jesus again unto them saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

John 8:12

His light is in very man, woman, and child. It is enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, enabling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ.

The Light of Christ fills the "immensity of space" and is the means by which Christ is able to be "in all things, and is through all things, and is round all things."

He has power to give light to the blind, both physically and spiritually. When healing the blind man he announced;

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

John 9:5

I have felt his light. Why, even as I made the decision to write about Him everyday, I felt light in my soul. Right now I am sitting in the dark of my living room with only the light from my laptop. His words are my light. Knowing him better 

brings me joy.

                    

There are twenty-four names of Christ and twenty-four days until Christmas. Check back here to find the contents page of this series.

Day 4- Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King

 Jesus of Nazareth is a title used in the gospels somewhat derisively at first. In Mark 1: a unclean spirit cries from an possessed man. It is interesting that even an unclean spirit had to declare him as holy.

   "Let us alone, what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God."

     Nazareth was not an important town in Jesus' day. To be from this small, unimportant place gives a sense that he did not come to earth to be honored. He was simple and his birth was simple. His earthly parents, though having royal ancestry, were of no importance in Israel.  Nathanael, a friend of disciple Philip remarked, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" 

It was foretold by Isaiah that a great light would be seen by people who walk in darkness in the land of Zebulun. That land of Zebulun in the time when Jesus lived was Nazareth.

" The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah 9:2

In the end, Pilate would write the words "JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS as a title on his cross. It was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin so anyone could read it and understand. Pilate meant to demean him but he answered to this title when in John 18:5 authorities came looking for him.

"Jesus said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he." 

Jesus of Nazareth,

Savior, and King.

Triumphant over death, life thou didst bring.

              

There are twenty-four names of Christ and twenty-four days until Christmas. Check back here to find the contents page of this series.

Day 3- Prince of Peace

   

If he is the prince, who is the king of peace?

Who reigns over him? I believe it it his Father, our Heavenly Father. In the Gospel of John, Jesus defers to his father countless times. He sent him, he prays to him, he is an intercessory between mankind and his Father. His counter part is the Prince of Darkness. (John 14:30) He offers no peace, but only power to influence us towards accepting his darkness. In this season of lights why would we choose darkness over light and peace?

What peace does he offer? 

I believe the greatest peace he offers is that through his atonement we are not lost and separated from his Father. He provides access to his Father through covenant. We can pray to the Father only because we have his son, the Prince of Peace to advocate for us. Does this bring peace of mind? I believe much more than that. It is a promise of peace between our Father in Heaven and his children. We are no longer separated from Him because we have the Prince of Peace to be our buckler. 

Isaiah 54:13

"And all they children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children."

How has he been a prince of peace in your life?

He has tempered me in my relationships to others, especially my family. He has provided a golden thread for me to wind around my heart to keep me from despair. Despair lives on the edges of my mind and just casting my mind upon Him eases that wild nothingness and provides a foothold for me to continue my climb upward. This has been true especially during breast cancer treatment. I have felt him whisper peace at every turn.

            

There are twenty-four names of Christ and twenty-four days until Christmas. Check back here to find the contents page of this series.

Day 2- The Lamb Of God

I crave feeling the innocence of  The Lamb of God. The clarity and purity of His being draw me to Him.   

   I am not innocent. I live with the knowledge of betraying myself and others. It may not be betrayal of country or spouse but I am not without sin. 

  The scriptures use animals as symbols. Oxen, sheep, lambs, and goats are mostly positive symbols and were considered clean according to the Law of Moses. The characteristics of these animals give us information. When John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God, what was he telling me about Jesus?

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

 John 1:29

   Lambs connote innocence, meekness, purity, patience, humility. They also suggest rebirth, sacrifice, and obedience. With this title we have much information of Jesus. John indicates that Jesus was God's lamb. This pure, white, lamb which had no blemish was reserved for sacrifice. It was God's gift to us to reconcile us to him. He was vital to the Plan of Redemption. If I were living in Old Testament times I would be carefully watching for the birth of such a lamb in my flock. He would have great value and seeing his perfectness I would be able to bring him to a sacrificial service. There I would witness his slaughter and know that his death brought restitution for my own sins and for the sins of my community. My Heavenly Father wants me to understand the feelings he has for his Son. In living the Law of Moses I would be acting his part and experiencing what it would be like to offer my best, innocent, beautiful lamb as a sacrifice. 

   We no longer offer sacrifice. The Lamb of God was the final sacrifice. All things in the Law of Moses pointed to Him. John the Baptist pointed to him and claimed that he, himself was just a voice crying in the wilderness, announcing the coming of the true Lamb of God.

             

      

There are 24 names of Christ that I would like to come to understand better. For 24 days I will explore one of his names everyday. Click hereto refer back to days past.

December 1- The Redeemer

"Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver?"

Isaiah 50:2

How do I wrap my head around the word redeemer? If Jesus Christ purchased me with his blood, how do I relate to that? How does that make Him feel about me? I remember giving birth to my fourth child. It was a very long delivery. I labored and labored to bring him life. After, I held that sweet baby boy in my arms and every muscle in my body quivered with exhaustion. I was connected in every way to this child. Does He feel that way about me after having wrought the work of redemption for me?

"No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child. When Isaiah, speaking messianic ally, wanted to convey Jehovah's love, he invoked the image of a mother's devotion. "Can a woman forget her sucking child?" he asks. How absurd, he implies, though not as absurd as thinking Christ will ever forget us."

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

How much do I need this redemption? Do I cry out for it? Do I pray for his redeeming power in my life. The words to the song below seem much more intense than my feelings. I have cried and prayed with intensity but not with this much intention. I am humbled by my Savior's mission to redeem. 

         Oh Divine Redeemer 

Ah, turn me not away, receive me though unworthy.

Ah, turn me not away, receive me though unworthy.

Hear Thou my cry, hear Thou my cry,

Behold, Lord, my distress!

Answer me from Thy throne,

Haste Thee, Lord, to mine aid!

Thy pity show in my deep anguish, Thy pity show in my deep anguish.

Let not the sword of vengeance smite me,

Though righteous Thine anger, O Lord!

Shield me in danger, O regard me!

On Thee, Lord, alone will I call!

O divine Redeemer, O divine Redeemer!

I pray thee grant me pardon, And remember not

Remember not my sins!

Forgive me!

O divine Redeemer! I pray Thee, grant me pardon

And remember not, remember not, O Lord, my sins!

Night gathers round my soul

Fearful, I cry to Thee,

Come to mine aid, O Lord!

Haste Thee, Lord, haste to help me!

Hear my cry, hear my cry

Save me, Lord in Thy mercy;

Hear my cry, hear my cry!

Come and save me, O Lord!

O divine Redeemer! O divine Redeemer!

I pray Thee, grant me pardon, and remember not

Remember not, O Lord, my sins!

Save in the day of retribution

From death shield Thou me, O my God!

O divine Redeemer, have mercy!

Help me Savior! 

            

  There are twenty-four names of Christ and twenty-four days until Christmas. Check back here to find the contents page of this series.