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Picture of the slogan: Jesus Power,
in gold, black and red.
Back in the 1960's there seemed to
be a new cultural or protest movement started every week.
Those were the years when blacks and other minorities struggled
more openly for civil rights, when the drug culture spread into
every town, high school and college, it seemed, and when
America's youth seemed to take a vacation from the more
responsible and disciplined practices and ideas of previous
generations. The so-called war in Viet Nam exploded during
that time. We had hippies, war protestors, college-inspired
young communists, and then, suddenly, the Jesus movement.
Protesting and rioting broke out in
many places, as people expressed their unhappiness with some of
the problems and policies plaguing the nation. Posters and
home-made signs shouted "Black Power!" Hippies, many of
whom were experimenting with all sorts of drugs and other
concoctions, sometimes made their own signs that read, "Flower
Power." Their argument was to "make love not war" and to
share flowers and other naturally positive beautiful things.
Many of the hippies and others deep into the drug culture were
studying Eastern religions, philosophies and meditation
techniques. All this experimentation and searching
naturally led some to take another, more serious look at Jesus
Himself, and His teachings.
Any honest examination of Jesus
Christ will lead many to a genuine faith in God. Millions
of young people in America began to follow Jesus — from among
the hippies, the war protestors, the black power protestors, and
from kids still taking a more traditional path. And then
the explosion continued, spreading out and into the churches,
and among adults of all ages.
In the Jesus movement, old slogans
of protest, resistance or rebellion were replaced new ones that
expressed faith in God and in Jesus Christ. It was in this
time and this atmosphere that the term Jesus Power
first emerged, as I remember it. I suppose one could even
argue that I was one of the many young people touched by this
new movement to follow Jesus, although I didn't see it as such
at the time. I came to know the Lord Jesus in the year
1970, after the Jesus movement had already made its way across
much of America.
Jesus power is much more than a
slogan, however. It is a way of life for the genuine
believer. The Apostle Paul sums it up in his letter to the
Galatians, when he says, "I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
(Galatians 2:20)
Two other Bible statements, again
made by Paul in the New testament, go even further: "For
it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his
good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)
and, "I know both how to be abased,
and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am
instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and
to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:12,13)
You will gain much by studying these
and similar passages in the Scriptures on your own. But
the essential idea in all these comments is that we do not live
out our own lives, by our own strength alone, by sheer
determination and/or will power. Christ Himself lives in
us, to make us able to do whatever we need to do, in all kinds
of circumstances. Jesus power.
The disciples of Jesus were
witnesses to His acts of power many times. They were
sometimes frightened by what He could do, as when He commanded
the wind waves of the sea to be still, and calmed the storm (see
the story of the event in Mark 4:37-41). They also saw
Jesus raise dead people back to life, and they watched as He
healed all kinds of diseases and afflictions, sent demons
packing, and restored ruined bodies and crippled limbs.
Jesus power.
The power of Jesus Christ is the
undiluted power of God. That power is governed by God's
love and compassion for struggling humanity. Jesus power
comes to the rescue of lives gone wrong. Jesus power makes
people alive again, gives children laughter, gives moms and dads
a solid, valid reason for new hope, and gives old grandmas and
grandpas assurance of a better life in a place where no one ever
suffers or dies again. Jesus power vanquished the curse of
sin, destroyed the grip of death and silences the devil's
accusations forever. Jesus power makes the sinner clean,
makes the pathway bright, and makes eternity a welcoming
invitation. Jesus power.
The above graphic may be used by Christian believers in various kinds of
personal witness, for church programs, and other Christian
activities. There is no charge for this use, so long as
the copyright/credit info is included with the image or a link
back to this site is provided.
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