I felt God's nudge as I was drawn to the third commandment in Exodus 20:7, "Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain". This was a commandment I had struggled with for a long time. Long before I had a relationship with Him. And while this habit has greatly diminished, I am still growing; still a work in progress. From time to time, a casual utterance of His name may still cross my lips. At first I thought that I was being pulled towards this commandment because I still had room to grow. And while this is true, I do, as I began to dig deeper, I realized that the lesson was not admonishment. It was "Reverence". This post is not to talk about why we shouldn't misuse the Lord's name, rather, it is to encourage each of us to use it with reverence and renewed praise. So what is reverence? Reverence is deep respect, it is love beyond doubt, it is honor, and having regard for the revered's feelings and wishes. So what is in a name? In Scripture, a name not only identified a person, but it stood for something. Often that was an attribute. I think it is important to note here, that God chose His name. Whenever a name was given to Him, it was not the people who named Him. It was God And He reveals to us who He is in this way. So to revere His Holy name, to revere the name God, Lord, Jesus, is to revere the characteristics and attributes that make Him who He is. This is where I could spend quite a bit of time but let me say it like this to keep it short and sweet: So who is He? He is the "I am" He is the alpha and omega The bread of life A mighty warrior Prince of Peace Friend The Door Comforter Lamb of God King of Kings Lord of Lords Redeemer The Way The Morning Star Good Shepard Light of the world Servant Horn of Salvation The Word And the Messiah He is Beauty and Blessedness. He is Glory and Holiness and Knowledge. He is Eternity. He is love and peace and perfection. He is wisdom. He is freedom and righteousness and mercy. He is omnipresent. And He is good. His name is a reflection of all that He is. And in His name there is: Life. Hope. Redemption. Truth. Salvation. In His name: We are baptized. Washed clean. Strengthened. Sanctified. Justified. To His name every knee will bow. And in His name we. rise. up. We rise up. And we have eternal life. You see, when we walk into a room and everyone is talking around us and then someone says our name? Our ears perk up. We respond to the sound of our name; we are moved. When I think of this fact, it encourages me and creates in me a desire, in a new and profound way, to want to move the heart of God when His name is on my lips. When I speak His name I want to revere it. For it is mighty. It is beautiful. It is Grace and love unimaginable. Psalm 111:9 "Holy and reverend is His name." Let His name be revered on our lips every day! Lord, great is your name! We praise you and thank you for giving us your name. And sometimes, in our brokenness, the only prayer we can utter is your beautiful name...Jesus. For some of us, Lord, there are things pushed down deep in our hearts, prayers our soul longs to whisper to you. Lord, I pray for those things. I pray that you make those things rise up so that we may lay them at your feet, Jesus. I pray, Lord, for every prayer on every heart that calls out to you. You are a good, good father. May we revere your Holy name! May we not only know there is new life in your name, Jesus, but may we breathe it in. May we live in it! And when your name crosses our lips, may it always glorify you! In Jesus name I pray, Amen! Blessings,
Elizabeth
3 Comments
4/19/2018 09:21:19 am
Great, great post, Elizabeth. We often find it easy to forget the reverence part of God and His name. And it's hard to change old habits of letting the same words slip from our tongues. Love your list of who He is. Thanks for this reminder.
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Lora
4/21/2018 05:07:33 am
This is so beautiful. God hears us when we call his powerful name.
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Meet ElizabethWife. Mother. Writer. Photographer. Child of God. Encouraging others in faith through a lens of grace and seeing beauty in the ashes. All images and content belong to me (Blue Jean Gypsy), unless otherwise noted. You may use an image ONLY if it is linked back to this blog! Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!
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