Put Almighty God back in America – PAGBA
“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.” -Ex 20:7 (KJV)
Names are extremely important and define who a person is identified by and with. Names mean something and in ancient times described a person and his/hers family genealogy. You are known by your name and by your name others know you. We can absolutely never minimize or marginalize the name of someone else. We should never call real friends always by common [generic] name – such as pal or buddy as this denotes laziness in one’s ability to identify a friend by name. Their name means something it identifies who they are. But now concerning God’s name and how we identify with Him.
We must realize that the name of the Lord, the name of God Almighty is holy and there is no other name like this past, present and future in the universe. We must highly esteem the name of God and always be ready to give an account of our faith (1 Pet 3:15) in the name of the Lord. We must never be flippant concerning using the name of God. Never swear by it or anything else using His name in vain.
In the Scriptures, the name of God in Hebrew is really Yahuah or Yahweh and Lord really Elohim. Jesus’ name is really Yahusha or Yeshua, meaning “salvation”. The Bible has been translated to use God, Lord and Jesus as valid names that represent who He is. I personally like to use His Hebrew names.
But one thing many don’t realize is that Ex 20:7 (above) says we should never use the name of the Lord in vain. Did you know that using God’s name in a casual or idle way is also using His name in vain? It does!
There are many Christians today that seem to refrain from mentioning God’s name in conversation or in witnessing. They casually represent the name above all names (Phil 2:9) in a euphemistic way. (Webster’s Dictionary defines a euphemism as: “the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant”). They use terms like: “cosmic grandfather”, “Joe”, “my buddy”, “big guy in the sky” or “the man upstairs”. These are IMO, generic terms easy to use but show a lack any real zeal or relationship. They seem to refer to the name that is above all names — a name that means power, healing, salvation, strength, might, the name of the Lord, Jesus, or God Almighty — but the person using these euphemisms seem to display their lack of the knowledge of God. It would be like always calling on God or referring Him to as “buddy” which is totally irreverent and way too casual.
God’s Name is Holy! He’s Not Our Buddy!
You see many avoid using the name of God or Lord because maybe they’re trying to be coy or they have a hard time relating their faith by using God’s name to another. This is sad for if we are embarrassed to identify and express the name of God in talking to others about Him then what is the basis of our faith? God wants us to use His name in praying to Him, in worshiping Him, in testifying about Him to others. For if we don’t and use some type of euphemism, then how will the person or persons we are talking to know who we are really talking about?
People marginalize (diminish) or lessen the name of the Lord for fear of offending their audience. Euphemisms for God’s name were created to speak God’s name without giving proper reverence to His position, power and name. To speak about God to another without using His name is a tragic thing and we should never do it. To do it offends God and could show us that maybe we are not as real about believing in Him as we ought to.
Friends, the bottom line is to make sure you always strive to use God’s name in an honorable and reverent way and please, please, please never substitute His name for any other name or phrase that’s supposed to tell the listener who exactly you are referring to.
One day all will bow their knee and confess that …
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” -Phil 2:10-11 (KJV)
This verse defines the sheer importance of the name of Jesus and we should never shrink back or be afraid of using His name in all manner of our witnessing and testifying about Him.
Put Almighty God back in America – PAGBA
-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman
“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” -Heb 5:14 (KJV)
GLORY TO GOD!
