Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 5:41, “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name.”
Are you a “dinner” person or a “supper” person? And if you’re a dinner person, then are you a dinner as supper person, or a dinner as lunch person? Nowadays, dinner and supper are essentially interchangeable as the name for the evening meal. But it hasn’t always been so. There was a time when dinner was the main meal (dinner basically means the main meal), and it was served in the middle of the day, especially in regions where agriculture was king, and farmers needed a large meal to carry them through the bulk of their remaining work til sundown. But as times changed, and the primary family meal began to be shared in the evening, that meal adopted the name of dinner, and lunch, which has in its meaning a reference to midday, became the standard moniker for the noontime meal. Supper, which generally meant a light meal in the evening, most often a soup of some sorts, still refers to the last meal of the day. But now one also would expect a supper to consist of a spread worthy of the chief meal of the day. Restaurants have reflected this practice for eons, for we know the dinner menu is full of grander offerings than the lunch menu, and has the prices to prove it. You would have to search far and wide to find a restaurant offering a supper menu.
As meanings change, they have an effect on the words they belong to. That word may no longer make sense in settings where it once stood proudly. That might be said for the name of Jesus. There were once halls of importance that invoked His Name as a regular point of reference. And now, that same Name is a punchline for an age of simpletons and naiveté. Still, you have heard stories of someone being attacked, and when they cried out the name of Jesus, their attacker stopped and retreated. Also, you have witnessed a good deed being discussed, but when the reason for the charity or assistance was ascribed to Jesus, some have recoiled and rolled their eyes. For sure, the name of Jesus still gets a reaction, regardless of the heart condition of the audience. Let that be the motivation to invoke it, rather than the cause to hold it in. His Name is still able to save.
As we seek Him today, call on the name of Jesus as your companion, your provider, and your first love.
Have a beautiful Wednesday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
