Be Careful
Ex.20:7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”
The third way that we misuse the Name of God is through hypocritical claims. A lot of church people are hypocritical. There are paedophile priests that say, “God bless you” on Sunday, then they abuse young boys on Monday – it is so hypocritical!
Regard Him
Ex.20:7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”
How you use someone’s name largely is an indication of what the person is to you. You and I must be watchful because the enemy consistently tries to make God’s people commonize His Name.
Above All
Luke 11:2 (VOICE) “Here’s how to pray: Father [in heaven], may Your name be revered. May Your kingdom come. [May Your will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.]
Today’s devotion will take a slightly different pattern. Today, like Jesus, we will begin and end with prayer. So, say out loud to God: “Father, here I am before You Lord.
Accept & Adore
Ex.20:5 “You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods… 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me …” [with emphasis]
The truth is that attempting to shape a person to suit your fantasy can be very offensive. Attempting to reshape God to suit your fantasy is offensive to Him. Read the rest of this entry
Loves Sake
Ex.20:5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods…” [with emphasis]
If you do not understand the Ten Commandments, you will think it is just a tyrannical statement. But the reality is that it is the greatest love letter of all time. Read the rest of this entry
Sweet Perfume
Ex.20:4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” [with emphasis]
Idolatry suggests that God can be at man’s disposal. Worship on the other hand is putting myself at God’s disposal. The worship state of mind is I am here to worship You! Why have you come into God’s Presence today? I am not saying it is wrong to show up in God’s Presence with a prayer list or a need you want God to meet. But is worship of the Living God on the top of your list in His Presence? If it is not, then you need to repent of idolatry. I pray that your worship state of mind will be renewed today and it will be “I want to worship God – my service is to worship God.” Worship is not a waste of time. Read the rest of this entry
Heart Check
Ps.100:3 “Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. 4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.”
Augustine of Hippo says, “Idolatry is worshiping what should be used or using what should be worshipped.” Attempting to use The One to be worshipped is the second dimension of idolatry. It is natural for us human beings to want to leverage on the influence in our networks to get ahead, get out of trouble, or to get an advantage. For instance, you are bidding for a contract in an organization where the CEO was your childhood friend. What a lot of people will do is place a call to the CEO and leverage on that relationship. We tend to leverage on the influence of powerful people Read the rest of this entry
Created Things
Prov.6:6 “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! 7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, 8 they labour hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.”
Just as today’s Scripture reference suggests, we must take a lesson from the created things. For instance, eagles ruffle their nests and push their eaglets out of the nest – fly or fall! Read the rest of this entry
God’s Heritage
Ps.127:3 “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. 4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. 5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them…”
God has blessed us with families but our families become idols when we forget what they are for. Your family is a representation of God’s Kingdom on earth where righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit is saturated. Read the rest of this entry
Worship vs. Idolatry
Ex.20:4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…”
Augustine of Hippo defines idolatry as, “…worshiping what should be used or using what should be worshipped” God says we must not commit idolatry. Read the rest of this entry
