word became flesh – Song Dive

The next entry for my Blog is What a Beautiful Name, which was written by Ben Fielding & Brooke Ligertwood. The song was initially released in 2017. A link to Hillsong performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

What a Beautiful Name

You were the Word at the beginning
One with God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ

What a beautiful Name it is
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a beautiful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

You didn’t want heaven without us
So Jesus You brought heaven down
My sin was great Your love was greater
What could separate us now

What a wonderful Name it is
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a wonderful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

Death could not hold You
The veil tore before You
You silence the boast of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring
The praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again
You have no rival
You have no equal
Now and forever God You reign
Yours is the kingdom
Yours is the glory
Yours is the Name above all names

What a powerful Name it is
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a powerful Name it is
Nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

What do you think of when you hear the name Jesus? What makes this name special and why would anyone say it is a beautiful name, isn’t it just another name? When many people think about beautiful, their thought process focuses on the outward appearance; whereas true beauty is much much more than physical appearance. A person can be beautiful because they are loving, caring, compassionate, sacrificial, and put others before themselves. Thinking of these attributes, which type of person would you rather have around you? Now let’s think about what comes to your mind when you think of Jesus. Of course, we can start with the attributes listed in Isaiah 9:6, “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”, but this is just the beginning when we start applying attributes to the name of Jesus. The names in Isaiah illustrate the power of God, his compassionate nature, his love as a father, and someone who only wants peace among his children. Take a moment to think of other names or attributes that come mind when you hear the name of Jesus.

We often think of God being around forever and Jesus starting his life on earth, but we are told in John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Basically, these verses tell us that Jesus was a part of God and with God since the beginning. God loved us enough to let Jesus become flesh so he can walk among us and let us see the true glory of God and who he really is.

He had created us in his image and then gave us a perfect and sinless place to live, and he was there to meet our every need. In spite of having all we needed, we wanted more and gave into the temptations put forward by Satan. Even though his creation had sinned and even though he was probably disappointed, he didn’t want us to spend eternity away from him. Sin had separated us from him since heaven is a place of perfection and with no sin, we would no longer have an eternal home to look forward to. To keep all of us from spending eternity in hell, God sent Jesus to die for all of our sins. Once we accept him as our personal savior, all of our sins are forgiven and we are now able to spend eternity in heaven with the father, since we are now perfect and sinless in his eyes. God hated our sin, but he loved us enough to sacrifice his only son. It had to be a difficult time for God and Jesus since God had to turn his back on Jesus for that brief time on the cross when Jesus took on all of our sins forever. He had to do this because God is perfection and Jesus had just taken on all sin and this caused this temporary break with his own father. We know there is a place in the heavenly kingdom for us because Jesus said in John 14, prior to his crucifixion and resulting resurrection, that he was going to prepare our eternal homes for us in heaven with the father. Christ knew what was ahead, but he still loved us enough to go through the agony of the cross; he couldn’t just turn his back on us since we had no other way to get to heaven.

As Jesus arose from the dead, the people who knew him were completely overwhelmed since I am sure that not all of them were convinced he would be coming back as he said. It wasn’t a matter of not trusting in Jesus, it was the fact that if he had died; who could bring him back to life since they thought he alone had the power to resurrect people from the dead. Jesus conquered the grave and proved that not even death can overcome the power of God. For the Christian, death is just the transition from our temporary home to our eternal home. As Christ rose from the dead, I am sure the angels were rejoicing and that heaven was really rocking; and the devil just tucked his tail realizing he had been defeated once again by the incredible power of the father. There is no one who can rival the power of Jesus and no one else who deserves our praise and glory.

Yes indeed, Jesus is a beautiful, powerful, and wonderful name.

Click to Hear Hillsong Sing What a Beautiful Name

The next entry for my Blog is Glorious Day by Casting Crowns and first released in 2011. The original lyrics were written in 1910 by John Wilbur Chapman and the song was titled One Day and the initial verse melody was created by Michael Bleecker and updated by Mark Hall. A link to Casting Crowns performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Glorious Day

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

Chorus

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

Chorus

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One bringing
My Savior Jesus is mine

Chorus

The song starts out with heaven rejoicing and singing the praises of Jesus. I can’t even begin to fathom what that sounds like, but can just imagine everyone’s heart bursting with joy. Up until the coming of Christ, the angels were the only ones who could see the deep dark atmosphere of sin that covered the earth, God’s creation. I am sure the angels were sad every time they looked upon this world and saw how Satan was destroying God’s perfect creation. A light began shining through this darkness, it was the birth of Jesus, God’s only son. Not only was the birth of Jesus a miracle, but being born of a virgin was another miracle. I guess that in reality, neither of these events was necessarily a miracle since God is able to do all things. We may call it a miracle, but God calls it love. God had been teaching his people through strong examples, leaders, and prophets since the time he created us; but he decided we needed a perfect example of the life we should we live as his children. What better way to do this than to send his perfect son to bring us not only his love, but to take away the darkness of sin through his love and promise of eternity. The word of God was brought to life in Jesus

The chorus puts into simple words what Jesus did for all who are willing to accept him. He lived and walked among us and showed us how much the father loved us. He died to save us from a life of hopelessness and to give us eternal life. He was buried after his death on the cross and took all of our past, current, and future sins away forever. He rose from the dead and showed us his power over the grave and that he could not be conquered by death. By rising from the dead, he showed us that he has the power to return again and he promised us he would return to take everyone to their eternal home. Yes, what a glorious day it was and will be again.

The supporters of sin, the haters of Christ, decided the way to take care of God’s example was to make him an example of their own. What better way than to have Jesus suffer the same death as so many of the other criminals; let him die on the cross with others who have committed crimes. After his beatings and humiliation, they took him to Golgotha, to die on the cross. Golgotha is on a main thoroughfare leading into Jerusalem, so everyone who entered the city through the Damascus gate would be able to see Jesus and the criminals hanging on the cross. These displays of torture and punishment helped the Romans rule through fear as people witnessed the penalty of breaking the law. Jesus had been laughed at, he had been beaten, he had been rejected, and he had been mocked; but with his dying breath he honored his commitment to die for us. As the hands that wielded the power of God were nailed to the cross and the life of Jesus faded away, our sins went with him. Every moment of his life led up to this one event, which brought us eternal life. All we have to do is accept him as our Lord and savior. Little did the Romans know that their actions were all a part of God’s glorious plan.

On the third day of being in the tomb; the world discovered that neither the cross, nor death, nor a tomb could destroy God’s son. The great stone had been rolled away from the tomb and Christ proved that he would indeed rise from the dead, just as he said. We find his promise in Matthew 20:17-19, “Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” He walked this earth again after his death and the people in the city saw him as did his followers. They could see him, touch him, and hear him speak. These same people also got to see him ascend into heaven as he returned to the father’s side; Satan had no power over the son of God.

The good news is that Jesus told us he will return and there will be a trumpet announcing his coming. We find this promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
The whole world will know of the return of Jesus as the skies light up with his glory. He will come to take us home to the place he has prepared for us, just as he promised in John 14:1-3. What a wonderful day that will be, as we join the family of God in our eternal home.

Click Here to Hear Casting Crowns Perform Glorious Day