Thursday Reading: Exodus 20:7
Key Verse: Exodus 20:7
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Devotion:
How many times have you really thought long and deep about the third commandment? Not the way that we would normally talk about it by saying that we should not swear using His name but a lot deeper than that. We may be doing the right things and saying the right thing by stopping others from doing exactly that, and by not going there ourselves… But are we actually taking His name in vain?
God’s name stands above all else. God is our Creator. He is God of heaven and earth, of everything and everywhere and always. That means that He is God when we stand up in front of others and tell them that He is God. He is still God when we sit down later and read our bibles. He is still God when we go out and have fun with friends. He is still God when we are tempted to do something we should not. He is still God when we do! Is that not akin to taking His name in vain? If we uphold it while others are watching but not when we are alone with Him, are we not as guilty as the people who do it openly?
I am certainly not someone who gets it right all the time. I still do do things wrong. But as long as I am willing to acknowledge that God is always with me, that fact alone is going to make me remember that He does not like sin in any form, be it the tiniest “white lie” to anything at the other end of the spectrum. God is Holy. We need to remember that if we want to have Him in our lives.
How can I do that? Well, we all have to start somewhere. Let us take that first step forward together because there is no better way of walking with God than to be with someone who also wants to walk a closer walk with God. And the time? That time is right now because for as long as we try to put things off we are just saying “no” once again in front of our Awesome and Loving and Eternal God.
Points to Ponder:
Do you watch your language?
Do you watch your walk with God?