“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32 ESV).
The prophet Joel wrote that “everyone” who calls upon the “name” of the Lord would be saved. His prophecy was first written to the Jewish people and he surely didn’t foresee that this “everyone” would one day include both Jew and Gentile alike.
The apostle Paul quoted Joel to emphasize that this “everyone” made no distinction between race, only between hearts–– that believed (Rom.10:13). Yet, this “everyone” must be one “who calls on the name.”
What is this “name?” The apostle Peter makes it clear in his first sermon preached at Pentecost when he declared, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).
The “name” is “Jesus!”
PRAYER: Father, we call on the name of Your Son, Jesus. For His is the name You have given to us for salvation. And He has told us to ask anything of You in His name, so that we always pray in the name of Jesus. For He has made us right with You. Father, fill us afresh with the Spirit of Christ until His life is fully formed in us. In Jesus’ name, amen.