DEC 6

Colossians 3:17
Memorise 1 Corinthians 10:31
“…do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). Having given various rules for holy living, rather than to give a long list of rules for every possible decision, Paul gave a simple golden rule. This golden rule covers all aspects of our lives, whether it is in our studies, our relationships, our jobs, our recreation, etc. It covers everything that we do in life, the places we go, the things we do, the words we say, and even the thoughts that we have. The rule is to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. This means, first and foremost, to glorify Him in whatsoever we do, similar to the injunction in 1 Corinthians 10:31. It also means to do everything in His authority and His power (Philippians 2:10, Matthew 18:20), rather than in our own name or through our own wisdom. It also means that in everything we do, we are representing Christ, and bearing the title of Christian, and thus we must be always doing what Christ wants us to do as a testimony to the world (2 Timothy 2:19). When we end our prayers by invoking the name of Jesus, we are humbling ourselves in acknowledgment that the Lord Jesus alone is our Mediator; we cannot approach God directly except through Jesus Christ. We are also reminding ourselves to pray only for what the Lord Jesus wants to give us, for prayers in the will of God will certainly be answered. Finally, it also means to be thankful to God through Christ Jesus in everything that we do (Romans 1:8), for it is only by His grace that we can do anything at all.

I can imagine some of you thinking, do I even have to choose what food to order from the hawker centre in the name of the Lord Jesus? Remember the injunction in 1 Corinthians 10:31 covers food and drink, so the answer is yes. Since we are representing Christ, we should not be eating blood. We should not be harming our body by over-indulgence in certain foods we crave. We should give thanks to God for the food, acknowledging all blessings ultimately come from God and we give Him the glory. Even if the food tastes ordinary, we should be grateful for the food He has provided for us and not complain, for if we cannot even accept bad tasting food, how can we endure greater trials for His Name’s sake? While we need not spend so much time in making such decisions, our willingness to commit even such decisions to the glory of God reveals how much we care about the glory of God in our lives.

Thought: How much of your life are you prepared to do in the name of Jesus?
Prayer: May I understand fully what it means to do all in the name of Jesus.