SCRIPTURE:
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11, NIV)

Observations:
I asked myself how does vs. 9 start out and the significance of that?
Verse 9 starts out with 'therefore', reminding me of verses 5-8 referring to the attitude of Christ and what Jesus did on the cross. I studied those verses in the previous devotional times I had: A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E and C.R.O.S.S. The significance is in the cause-effect relationships I saw.

I asked myself, what cause-effect relationship do we see in this passage?
Because of the attitude of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished on the cross:
1. God exalted Him to the highest place.
2. God gave him the name that is above every name.

This is exciting to know because even though Jesus died on the cross for humanity, He did not remain dead but became alive again and is exalted to the highest place and has a name that is above every name.

I asked myself what words or phrases do I see repeated?
God, Jesus, and Name

I asked myself, what is the significance of Jesus' Name according to v. 9-11?
It is a name that is above every name and at the name of Jesus, four things would happen:
1. At the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven.
2. At the name of Jesus every knee should bow on earth.
3. At the name of Jesus every knee should bow under the earth.
4. At the name of Jesus every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

INTERPRETATIONS:
I asked myself what does the Name of Jesus do to people?
The name of Jesus makes people so happy or makes them uncomfortable! If they are a follower of Jesus Christ, His Name has joy attached to it and the promise of answers to come in a believers life. For the Lord has promised if we ask anything using His Name, it shall be done by His Father in Heaven'. If they are not believers then sometimes the Name of Jesus evokes escapism because an individual does not want to deal with the sin in their life and do not want to surrender their lives to Christ. Either way, the Name of Jesus evokes a strong response!

I asked myself what does it mean for Jesus' Name to be above every Name?
His Name is above every Name as even evidenced by our Gregorian calendar too where believers or non-believers use A.D. or B.C. with dates to report on historical events! A.D. stands for Anno Domini or Year of the Lord! B.C. stands for Before Christ! There is no Name under Heaven whereby we must be saved except the Name of Jesus. This means no other name whether it is Krishna, Buddha, Allah, etc will match the Name of Jesus.

I asked myself, what does it mean, 'At the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven?'
What came to my mind are all the angels, heavenly creatures, and saints of the Lord residing there with the Lord. They will continuously bow to the name of Jesus.

I asked myself, what does it mean ‘At the name of Jesus every knee should bow on earth’?
What came to my mind is every human that resides on earth that day will bow to the name of Jesus.

I asked myself,  what does it mean, 'At the name of Jesus every knee should bow under the earth’?
What came to my mind is every demon and all those in hell will one day bow to the name of Jesus whether they like it or not!

I asked myself, what does it mean, 'At the name of Jesus every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father?'
All tribes and nations will one day confess Jesus Christ to be the Lord of all to the glory of God, the Father. Being Lord of all means acknowledging Christ's supremacy over everything everywhere! It will happen one day!

IMPLICATIONS:
I saw important implications for my own life. I saw the power of a Name especially the Name of Jesus. I need to bow down to Jesus and acknowledge His Supremacy over my life by confessing Jesus to be Lord of my life, for He is Lord! Bowing down to someone takes an act of surrender and Jesus deserves my surrender for all He has done for me. It is wonderful to know that one day all will bow down to Jesus and confess Jesus is Lord. Since it is going to happen one day, why wait until that day to acknowledge Christ's Supremacy. 

HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME TESTIMONY REGARDING N.A.M.E:
In November 2007, my name was chosen by the majority readers of the Pitt News to be the biggest celebrity on campus. When I received the award by the Pitt News, I was really touched that so many students and non-students thought about me. I was asked, 'So, what now that you are seen as a celebrity?'. My response in excitement was, 'I need to use this fame to tell others about the Name of Jesus'. That same year, I also received a plaque recognizing my contributions to the Fraternity and Sorority Greek Life community during a scholarship dinner. I was touched once again by the award given by Lauren, Whitney, and Brian. The accolades kept coming! Two facebook groups called, 'Ramesh is my Hero' by PGSIS Class of 2007 and 'Are You Reddy for Ramesh' by the freshman class of 2011 were started to honor me and my name as Will, Dan, and Steve started it.

 I wanted to use all those opportunities to reach as many students with the Gospel of Jesus Christ for there is power in the Name of Jesus. With the Lord's help, I was able to reach a lot with the love of Christ.

But my campus celebrity status is nil compared to the awesome Name of Jesus. I cannot save anyone no matter how famous readers of the Pitt News and other make me to be. My name can be corrupted by my own actions and can even be defiled or become infamous because I am a sinner. That has also happened last year during the presidential elections because of my actions. Eventually, even the 'Ramesh is my Hero' site disappeared because I was not a hero anymore to many of them who had seen me as their hero for months until the election campaign because I did not keep my distaste for Obama and his policies a secret, especially his stance on abortion, gay marriage, stem-cell research, ties to anti-Semite groups, etc. Many of them liked Obama and his policies. I still am against those policies and his actions but could have done it in a more tactful way as Liz, Richard, Pastor Hugo, Pastor Ed, Steve, and Luke, etc reminded me.

I share that with you because there have been actions that I have done that have marred my name which I am not proud of.  It did hurt when that group was removed because it made me see that I disappointed people. My name will disappoint a lot  because I am nothing but a sinful human being only saved because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But, I am so excited that the Name of Jesus will not disappoint me or you ever. Jesus is Lord and there is power in the Name of Jesus! I have given my allegiance to the Name of Jesus and pray that I pledge my allegiance to the Lamb of God everyday over every other name. After all that He has done for me especially on the cross, He is worthy of my praise and allegiance. Even if we do not give Him our allegiance now, we will give it to Him one day because the Word of God that does not lie reminds us of that.

There is no point for me to have waited to give my allegiance to Christ thinking 'I can do that later on' because the 'later on' is not always guaranteed. I am so glad Jesus chose me to be His very own and revealed His Name to me justifying me by His grace and sanctifying me.

I do not know when my life will be taken from this earth. Sometimes it happens in a split second! None of us know when our life will be taken! It could happen before we can even make a decision for Christ. So now is the time of Salvation instead of waiting for some future time.

If we die now and do not know Christ, the Bible says that Heaven is not an option anymore. Jesus died here on earth shedding His precious cleansing blood and came back to life to give us Eternal Life when we turn to Him. If we could attain this Eternal Life without accepting Christ then what was the purpose of Christ coming to earth as God-incarnate.

Jesus came to earth to give you and me the gift of grace to accept now. We should come to Him because of who He is. He is the One that loves us so much that He went through an agonizing death for you and me and came back to life to free us so we will not be stuck in Hell with Satan. But, we have to accept the free gift of grace. It is not something you are I can earn! Yesterday's devotional goes into detail about what Jesus Christ did for your sake. It is called 'Why make a C.R.O.S.S. transaction in life?' which can be found on the right side bar. Everything I have written, you can test it with Scripture for the Scriptures do not lie!

I ask you now dear friends, how do you handle the name in life?
Dear friends, there is power in the Name of Jesus. It is not just a name but has so much power more than we can imagine. At the Name of Jesus one day, every knee will bow and tongue will confess that He is Lord. It is not just at the Name but in the Name of Jesus, we have the victory and Satan will have to flee. In the Name of Jesus, we can pray and be answered by our Father in Heaven.

Isn’t that awesome friend?
I don’t know about you but it is so awesome to know that we can know Jesus more and more through His Word. His Word gives us all the ways we can get to know Him more and more.

Sadly, there are those who degrade the Name even now including it in curses and taking His Name in vain. There is power in the Name of Jesus and they do not even understand that because there is no one to tell them or reach out to them. At other times, some are so stubborn that they just don’t listen. But eventually, every one will bow and confess because Jesus is Lord!

May we honor the Name of Jesus starting right now and may His Name remind us of all that Jesus has done for us and will do for us! May we give our lives to Him continuously and allow Him to be in control.

Friend, do you call on the Name of Jesus in life ?
Friend, no matter where you have been or what you have done, you can call on the Name of Jesus. Yes, you can! There is power and healing in the Name of Jesus. He will come and rescue you. I don’t know what you are going through right now but the Lord does and He wants to intervene. Many times when the Lord intervenes, we may not see the results according to our liking, but He sees the BIG PICTURE for you. Oh yes, He does! I know He does!

You can come as you are and lead others to Christ as you let them know that as they seek the Lord with their heart, Jesus will do the rest. Yes, He wiil! He who began His good work in you will finish it to completion. That is so exciting to know for me and you! Yes, it is!

No matter what you are faced with in academia, relationships, careers, etc know that the Name of Jesus has power this very hour for He will be your strong tower and you have no need to cower! Amen!

"Now Acknowledge Messiah Everyday!" (N.A.M.E)/”How do you handle the Name in life?”

PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you for your awesome attitude and what you did at the cross! I want to imitate your attitude and need your help. Jesus because of what you have done for us, you have been exalted to the highest place and at your Name every kneee will bow down and confess you as Lord to the glory of the Father. Lord, I do not want to wait until that day before I give my allegiance to you. I want to give it to you now and surrender my life to you. You are worthy of my praise always no matter what happens to me. Please hold me in your arms and never let me runaway. I long to know you more and more! Thank you for the power of your Name. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins and coming back to life to save me. Oh Lord, those in hell will also bow down to you but they cannot escape hell. I pray Oh Lord that you will use us to reach our loved ones so they do not have to spend eternity in Hell. I pray you will use us to reach the lost. Help us Oh Lord for the glory and honor of your Name. And Lord, you know where we are in our life. Forgive us when we have not surrendered our own lives to you and help us please. We ask you to come into our heart and make our heart your home. Live in us Jesus and we will live for you and serve you as you become the Author of our Life. I thank you Jesus for everything. And Lord, I pray for the one who does not know you and spends time cursing you and taking your name in vain. Forgive them Oh Lord and bring them to you. Thank you Jesus! Hallelujah, I praise you for the answer. I praise you and thank you for hearing us and answering us! In Your Name I Pray Jesus for everything! Amen!

May you experience the POWER OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION this day, and give Him the LOCKED areas of your life too so you can experience His PEACE as you become an ACTOR in the film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR, JESUS CHRIST who comes to give JOY and PEACE.

You don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and give you peace to LIVE out your actions.

How do you look at GODISNOWHERE?

One of my pastors, Pastor Hugo SHARED this example one Sunday at the RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:

If you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no peace.

But  as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.

Yes, friend God is aLIVE and wants to bring a transformation in your life through the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and LIVE with us.

Yes, friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE & LIVING GRACE.

When we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive us and RESTORE us to Him and we will find peace in Him.

^"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NIV)

^"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)

Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.

"For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

Come to Jesus as you are and pray this prayer to accept Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior. He will transform your life around! Praise the Lord! You don't have to have all the answers! You can come as you are!