Daily Devotional
How to Take God’s Name in Victory
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Exodus 20:7
May 4, 2023
Ponder This
Sometimes we’re such hypocrites. We sing, “My Jesus, I love Thee. I know Thou art mine. For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.”[1] Do you sing that and still keep sin in your heart? We sing, “Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.”[2] And yet we hold onto our possessions with all of our might. We sing, “Faith of our fathers, holy faith, we will be true to Thee till death,”[3] and think nothing of skipping church if a good excuse comes up. We sing, “All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give.”[4] If you don’t mean that, you are taking the name of God in vain. You can do it with profanity. You can do it by frivolity. You can do it through hypocrisy.
But in the negative, there is a positive. When we learn to take His name in victory, we’ll certainly be afraid to take His name in vanity. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” That’s taking His name in victory.
- When have you used God’s name in vain?
- What is something you could do to take the name of God in victory?
[1] “Jesus, I Love Thee” by William R. Featherston
[2] “Take My Life, and Let It Be” by Frances R. Havergal
[3] “Faith of Our Fathers” by Frederick William Faber
[4] “I Surrender All” by Judson W. Van De Venter
Practice This
Write down a list of things you do in a day, then consider what it would look like to do those things in the powerful name of Jesus.
FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
