Break Every Chain

At our retreat we took our first hour there as time with the Lord. It was a time to quiet our hearts, come before him with our ministry thus far, and ask him to show up in leading us the rest of the semester. I'm never sure how he will show up in those times, but he always does in some way. This time he spoke to me through song. My handy dandy i-Pod shuffle (Thanks Mom!) was playing and Will Reagan's song Break Every Chain came on. The lyrics are as follows:

There is power in the name of Jesus

There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus

To break every chain
To break every chain
To break every chain

All sufficient sacrifice
So freely given
Such a price bought
Our redemption
Heaven’s gates swing wide

As I sat there praying through stuff the lyrics started resonating in my heart. God showed me how little I was believing these words. There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain.

Here in Japan there are a lot of chains holding people in spiritual bondage. It breaks my heart and that's a very big reason why I'm back. The sad thing is I have something in the gospel that can free them from their bondage, but I'm terrified to share it because of my fear of man. Listening to the song I realized how little faith I have in the power of Jesus' name. I care more about how people view me than sharing Jesus with them.

There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain. The words rang in my head over and over again as I hashed things out with God. I repented of my fear, cowardice, and lack of faith in his sovereignty and omnipotence. And I trusted him to use me as a proclaimer of Christ's name to the Japanese students I am meeting.

I do believe there is real, life-transforming power in Jesus' name. I want to be more faithful in proclaiming his name to those around me. The power isn't in me and how I present the gospel, it's in the fact that Jesus died on the cross in our places and rose again from the dead. That kind of love is truly powerful.

Truth of the day for us all- There is power in the name of Jesus. I challenge you as God challenged me to live in that power.