| “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” |
| —Acts 4:12 |
In almost every profession there is a name that stands out from all the other names associated with that profession. Whenever that name is mentioned, people take notice.
For example, in the world of fire protection and fire suppression, the name of Lloyd Layman stands out in the annals of modern fire protection history as a ground-breaking researcher. Layman performed tests at the U. S. Coast Guard’s wartime firefighting school at Fort McHenry near Baltimore, Maryland, and later worked with the U. S. Navy and other organizations at a testing facility near San Francisco, California.
These tests conducted by Lloyd Layman proved what scientists had long conjectured: that by producing water droplets of the smallest possible size, thus exposing more surface area to the heat from a fire, a significantly lesser quantity of water could provide more rapid cooling and extinguish a fire with very little residual water damage. Layman’s work revolutionized the fire service and fire protection industry. Modern firefighting fog nozzles and the modern style of automatic sprinkler head grew out of the research that Lloyd Layman conducted. His name has become synonymous with significant advances in fire protection worldwide.
What’s your field of endeavor? Whose name stands out in your field?
If you are involved in radio broadcasting, the name of the late Steve Church of Cleveland, Ohio, stands out as one who, with collaborative research, has produced some of the most far reaching advances in the digitalization of modern radio broadcasting. Along with his business partner and fellow inventor, Frank Foti—who revolutionized digital audio processing—Steve Church formed the company that has become The Telos Alliance, a company that continues to provide radio and television stations with a long list of absolutely superb products that greatly enhance the listenability of broadcast sound.
Every endeavor worthwhile on this earth has some name associated with it that marks that endeavor with special notice. So it is with the Christian faith. But, unlike other endeavors, the name of great power and might of Christianity is the name of the Son of God Himself, the precious name of Jesus. In speaking to a crowd, the Apostle Peter declared the following, as recorded in Acts 4:8-12:
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
No other name has this life-transforming power. No other name creates such love, and also such hatred. Other religions despise the name of Jesus, especially when that name is declared to be the name of the Son of God. And, even more so, the name of Jesus is despised when people consider His own words from John 14:6:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
As we begin this day, let’s remember that the strength and power of our faith rests squarely and securely on the name that is above every name: the wonderful name of Jesus.
Based on a blog originally posted on Monday, July 3, 2017
