Your Daily Devotional for August 9, 2007

 

August 9,  2007

 

 

Proclaiming His Name

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men."

 

1 Peter 2:12-15

 

 

Jeanette came home from third grade one day all excited. "Daddy, we learned cursing in school today!" "What?!" her dad asked, unable to hide his shock. "Dad," Jeanette replied sweetly, "You know, making those curvy letters."

 

It seems as if anywhere you go in today's world, people are taking the Lord's name in vain and thinking nothing of it. Our society has desensitized us to think cursing is a normal form of communication, but it is not! God desires that we honor His name and keep it holy. God desires that we keep His name holy in two areas of our lives.

 

First, God desires us to keep His name holy through our testimonies. When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we become His children and take on His name—Christians. Acts 11:26 says, "And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." The name Christian means "little Christ." We bear Christ's name!

 

Because we bear His name, we are representatives of Him. How are you representing Christ? Are you honoring and protecting His name in everything you do? Most people know the difference between a Christian and an unbeliever, and they will usually watch the Christian. They will see how we react to the unfair treatment at work, the long grocery line, or the car that cuts us off on the way to work. How we respond to these situations represents who Christ is to them. We must be careful to protect and proclaim His name by having a good testimony.

 

We should also proclaim God's name by our witness of Him. Acts 8:4 says, "Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word." The first-century church went everywhere proclaiming God's name! The people knew they were Christians because of their witnessing.

 

People around us should know we are Christians not only because of our testimonies but also because of our witness. We should be honoring God's name by telling others of His wonderful gift of salvation to them! God desires that we keep His name holy by telling others of Him.

 

The comedian Will Rogers once said, "Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf." Taking God's name in vain has become all too common in our society. But it's not just the person who swears who is hurting God's name, it is also the Christian who has a bad testimony or who is not telling others of Christ!

 

Friend, are you hurting God's name by your testimony? What do others think of Christ because of the way you live? Also, are you faithfully telling others of Him? Take time to meet with God now and ask Him to help you honor His name with your life today.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Psalm 77-78 • Romans 10

 

 

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