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Saturday, December 10, 2011

Do we take God's name in vain?

     Many people use the name of God in a careless manner. It is used to express excitement, it is used in anger, it is used in cursing. All of this shows a disregard for God, even contempt. To use the name of the Holy God in a casual way shows that we really do not care about Him at all. This is why He says that He will not hold us guiltless if we use His name in vain.
     I think that the Spirtit of this command is also violated by countless numbers who attend church every week in a casual way. People come and spend much time in small talk before and after the service. Many sing songs of praise and worship without meaning what they sing. Others sing without thinking about the words they sing. Many have their minds somewhere else. Read what D.L.Moody wrote about this -    

 I think it is shocking to use God’s name with so little reverence as is common nowadays, even among professing Christians. We are told that the Jews held it so sacred that the covenant name of God was never mentioned amongst them except once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement, when he went into the holy of holies. What a contrast that is to the familiar use Christians make of it in public and private worship! We are apt to rush into God’s presence, and rush out again, without any real sense of the reverence and awe that is due Him. We forget that we are on holy ground.
Moody, Dwight Lyman (2011-03-24). Weighed and Wanting Addresses on the Ten Commandments (Kindle Locations 365-369). Kindle Edition.

     I think many have lost that sense of reverance and awe, and it shows in how we act when we show up in church. Do we come expecting to meet with God? Do we come into His presence filled with awe? Are our hearts filled with worship and adoration?  Or do we just go through the motions, another sunday in church, sing a few songs, listen to a message, visit with friends, and just go home?
     Let's never forget that God is a Holy God, and we must treat Him as such.

1 comment:

  1. I heard a brother say once, "We use God's name in vain as well when we say things about Him that are not true." Wow. How important it is to watch our lives and doctrine closely (1 Timothy 4:16).

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