WHO IS FOR ME? Scriptures, Prayers, and Devotional Thoughts for Christians Growing Up in Their Salvation At the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Philippians 2:10 11 1
Jane L. Fryar WHO IS FOR ME? Scriptures, Prayers, and Devotional Thoughts for Christians Growing Up in Their Salvation God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9 11
The mission of CTA is to glorify God by providing purposeful products that lift up and encourage the body of Christ because we love him. WHO IS FOR ME? Scriptures, Prayers, and Devotional Thoughts for Christians Growing Up in Their Salvation By Jane L. Fryar Copyright 2017 CTA, Inc. 1625 Larkin Williams Rd. Fenton, MO 63026 www.ctainc.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of CTA, Inc. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-943216-33-8 Printed in China Growing Up, Growing Close Hand-me-downs. They re a feature of most children s growing up years. Maybe you remember inheriting your sister s prom dress or your cousin s baseball cleats. At first, they didn t serve you well. The straps fell off your shoulders. Your feet lifted out of the shoes when you tried to charge those ground balls. You needed to grow into the gown. You needed to grow into the cleats. With that in mind, read 1 Peter 2:2, paying particular attention to the last four words: Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation. Once we come to faith in Jesus, we want to grow up in that faith. The Bible encourages us to mature. There s a lot to the gift of salvation God has given us. It s a big gift! It s so big, in fact, that it takes an entire lifetime to grow up into all that God has done for us in Jesus, our Savior. There s always more to explore.
And there are many ways to grow. We hear God s Word as our pastor teaches it on Sunday morning and at other times, too. We read the Bible on our own and pray about what it means. We get together with a friend or with a group of friends to study a specific topic or Bible book and to pray together. This book introduces another way to explore the gift of salvation you have received, another way to grow up into salvation. Each chapter focuses on one of the names of your Savior, Jesus. As you read and think about each of these names, you will come to know him better. You will grow closer to him, because to know him more deeply is to love him more fully. The Holy Spirit will cultivate your growth in grace and in knowledge: Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 After you have explored the six names here, you may want to search out other names, too. The Bible is full of them! Each reveals more facets of God s love his love for you. Each will spark new insights, new growth, new ways to live for the One who died for you. You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21
Before ultrasound technology, expectant parents usually waited to name their baby. After all, would they need a boy s name? Or a girl s? Most parents made two lists, whittled them down to a few favorites, and met their baby before they named the child. Today, roughly half of all parents-to-be opt to know ahead of time if Mom is carrying a boy baby or a girl baby. In many families, the day they find out is the day the pressure starts pressure from well-meaning grandparents, uncles, and cousins to NAME THE BABY! Months before Jesus birth, the angel Gabriel gave Mary s Baby a name: You shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. Luke 1:31 32 Later, appearing in a dream to Joseph, the baby s stepfather, the angel of the Lord repeated the Baby s name and explained it. He will save his people from their sins, the angel said. We know that Mary and Joseph obeyed God in this matter, for the Bible tells us: At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Luke 2:21 Heaven named Mary s Baby. From before his birth, from before the creation of the world, Jesus was chosen, appointed, destined to be our Savior. Jesus was born to die for us. Jesus was born so that, by faith in him, we will live forever. In Albanian, it s Jezusi. In Bosnian, it s Isus. In Turkish, it s Isa. In Zulu, it s ujesu. No matter what language we speak, for Christians, Jesus is the sweetest name of all, because... There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12 The apostle Paul, perhaps, summed it up best when he wrote: Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore 6 7
God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5 11 THE GOOD SHEPHERD TO THINK ABOUT Look back at the summary in Philippians 2:5 11. If all the rest of Scripture were lost and we had only these six verses, what would we know about Jesus, our Savior? What makes these truths so comforting? The Bible gives many names for Jesus. List the ones you hear most often. Why do you suppose Jesus has so many God-given names? Look back at your list. Which name on the list is your favorite? Why? How does the name Jesus describe who he is? What does it say about who Jesus is for you? Why do you think the name Jesus is a favorite of many Christians? My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27 28 8