Back to the Basics

Luke 10:42 (NLT)
There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

A well-known minister of the gospel asked the group he was addressing the following rhetorical question: What is the one thing that all championship teams have in common? After giving them a moment to think, he answered this question.  All championship teams have “mastered the basics.” Not one championship team can get to the top of their game if they forget what they learned early on in their training.  In a sense, that is what Jesus was telling Martha in the above scripture. Stay focused on the basics.

As believers, we need to be reminded from time to time that what Jesus told Martha applies to our lives as well as we grow in our knowledge of the Word.  The basics are where we got our start; they are the foundation upon which everything else is built. Our progress in our walk with the Lord will ultimately be slowed if we forget the basics. Let’s look at three “basics” that will always strengthen us when we focus on them – the Name, the Blood, and the Word.

The Excellency of the NAME:
Philippians 2: 9-10 (NASB95) says it all…
⁹ For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, …
This is a well-known and often-quoted scripture. But, do we have a revelation of its expansiveness? The name of Jesus is the most powerful name in all the universe and beyond. It is the name that strikes terror into every demonic creature and deposits the peace which passes all understanding into the heart of every believer.

The Power of the BLOOD:
Ephesians 2:12-13:
“…that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
The power of the BLOOD takes us from no hope to all hope – regardless of the circumstances we face.

The Authority of the WORD:
Psalm 119:89 (NASB 1995)
Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.  Or as the Passion Translation says, “Standing firm in the heaven and fastened to eternity is the Word of God.” The Word provides us as believers the stability to remain unchanged even when everything around us seems to be spinning out of control.

The NAME, the BLOOD, and the WORD will always be the foundation of our faith as we mature in the things of God. They are gifts from a loving Father given to the Church corporately, and to believers individually, to use in this earth – to subdue the forces of this fallen world and to bring about the abundant life Jesus died to give us. It doesn’t get much more basic than that!

9/21