Holy Is His Name

The First Petition.

Hallowed be Thy name.

What does this mean?--Answer.
God's name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may become holy among us also.
How is this done?--Answer.
When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we as the children of God also lead holy lives in accordance with it. To this end help us, dear Father in heaven. But he that teaches and lives otherwise than God's Word teaches profanes the name of God among us. From this preserve us, Heavenly Father.

http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php

His name is holy. It was so revered by the Israelites that they would not even speak it.

His name is holy and those who worship Him and profess His Holy Name pray and strive to ensure that nothing unholy is done among us that would cheapen and profane His Name.

"Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name."  Psalm 27:12

God's Peace - Pr. J

1 Corinthians 12:1-3 Cursing the Name of Jesus

1 Corinthians 12:1-3 NIV
I am not sure what to make of this. I have heard people say Jesus is my Lord; Jesus is my savior and the very next day they will be taking his name in vain, "cursing up a storm." So how is it that they can be speaking by the Holy Spirit in one instance and definitely not the next? How quickly the tide can change!

We are all sinful human beings. We all are led astray from time to time. May God help us to stay in "His Way" so that we are not led by other spirits; by false idols, to take the name's Lord in vain; to curse the name of Jesus. May God help us to profess and glorify His Holy Name!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Matthew 24 - St. Valentine

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matt 24:9-13 NIV)

Today is St. Valentine's Day. I am not exactly sure how we came to be buying gifts for those whom we love on St. Valentine's Day; after all, according to tradition, February 14th is actually the day we commemorate St. Valentine's martyrdom. He refused to deny Christ and was beheaded for his ardent love of God.

So, maybe, love is the perfect theme for the day. St. Valentine's love for God did not grow cold; not even in the face of death. 

How about ours? Has our love for God grown cold? Do you love Him so much that you cannot wait to hear His Word on Sunday mornings or whenever it is your community gathers together as one body to worship Him? Do you love Him so much that you want others to know about the love of your life? One of my pet peeves for years has been to attend a meeting or dinner with other Christians and the name of Jesus never even comes up. (Really irritating when the group are all ordained!) There is talk about baseball, football, fishing, hunting, the weather, propane prices; there may even be a few very bad jokes; but, no Jesus. How does that relay our love of God; our gratefulness that Jesus loved us so much He was willing to die for us?

When people genuinely love someone it is a natural outflow to talk about the person they love. A loving parent or grandparent talk about their little ones (no matter how old they get) because they love them. They are a central part of their lives. So, it seems to me, if God is our ultimate concern; if we truly love Him; then we will talk about Him. We will share the stories of our love with others.

The stories of St. Valentine tell us of a man who was so willing to confess His love for Jesus, that he was willing to die for the love of His life. He is not alone. There are many in our history. Even today, many are persecuted for daring to profess their love for the God who loves so much that He who was willing to die for them.

Has our love for God grown cold? Do we truly love our neighbors, as God loves us?

Have a blessed St. Valentine's Day.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Ezekiel 3 - Proclaim God's Word With Boldness

"At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself." (Ezekiel 3:16-19 NIV)

Ezekiel goes through some strange stuff in order to proclaim God's word to God people. They are and always have been a pretty hard bunch. They just don't care to listen. But, that does not matter to the LORD. Ezekiel is sent to speak God's word to them. If he does not, he will suffer the consequences just as those who will not listen will suffer. If he does as the LORD commands and they refuse to hear, Ezekiel will be saved, but they will not.

We (all who profess to be followers of Christ) have been made stewards of His Word. We, too, have been called to share the Word of God with others. It is not always easy. People will turn a deaf ear to us. They will even despise us and avoid us. They might even gossip about us; but, in this country (U.S.) they do not put you in prison or kill you for proclaiming the Gospel as they do in some other countries. So what is stopping you from doing what the LORD has called you to do? There is no reason, no excuse, for one who professes Jesus as Christ, to not share this Word of God with the world, that others, too, might be saved.

The early followers of Jesus proclaimed the Good News. There very lives were in danger. But, they did not fear, they proclaimed God's Word, anyway. "For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!" (Acts 28:30-31)

Let us go and do likewise!

God's Peace - Pr. J