Actions Speak Louder Than Words

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord, your God..." Exodus 20:7

Written across our minds and seared into the hearts of Christian children are the Ten Commandments.... As a child, I remember all too well the consequences of stating anything that remotely sounded close to speaking a profanity involving our Lord's name. Let's just say Dawn dish detergent does not wet my palate.

It is easy to recognize when one is taking the Lord's name in vain... We all know the words that have been stricken from our vocabularies. I however, am of the belief that we as Christians frequently take His name in vain without saying a word.

Ezekiel 36:20-23 (NKJV)
When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes."

Not by speaking, but by their actions, the Israelites profaned the name of the Most High God.

Daily we take the name if our Savior in vain. We take His name in vain when we alter the Word to cover our sins; when we use His namesake to further our selfish desires; when we show up for church for every Sunday and fail to be His Word throughout the week; when we let our anger overtake us and fail to be the example of love to the nations (and well, burn Korans). . .

God my prayer today is that, as Your child, I bear Your name well. Help me to love and devote my days to lifting Your name higher. Teach me Your purpose in lieu of my plans..... Help me to not take Your Name in vain.

Shine On

It just leaves me in awe at how the smallest ray of light can pierce through the darkest room.

I love my home. It was built in the 60's and it sits on a hill overlooking the Edgewood Historic District in my city. Huge oak and pine trees surround it and I feel so cozy here. The only drawback is, with all the trees, there is simply not a lot of natural lighting. Not a problem, unless you have to get up in the middle of the night for a glass of water and your dogs have left their toys laying in the middle of the floor.

Since my surgery, I have to be very careful not to fall. So the before mentioned can be a bit of a problem. Recently, my dad replaced a burned out bulb in a tiny light above my kitchen sink. Before I go to bed at night, I always turn this light on; because, no matter how tiny this light is, it seems to cut through the darkness and shine through my entire home... 1577 square feet of home.

This past month has been pretty dark for me. Major surgery, damaged nerves (that I am told may never heal), talks of foreclosure from my bank, pain that seems to never end, and no chance of returning to work any time soon. Did I mention it can get pretty lonely when you live alone and can't drive or leave your home for more than about 4 hours at a time....Even if I could drive, I cannot walk for any long distances or sit/ride for periods of time greater than about 20 minutes. But when I open my eyes, I see flickers of light all around me.

Jesus said in John 8:12 "... "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

But Jesus no longer has a body of flesh... No, we are called to be the body of Christ... and this past month, I have seen His heart shining bright. His light shines in my mother who basically moved in to take care of me; my father, who has been making small repairs to my home and car and checking on me daily; my friends in their visits/cards/flowers and a number of other things that they have done to let me know I am in their thoughts.... a man from my church who has maintained the upkeep on my yard; the youth of my church who haven't stopped praying for me.... a dear friend from church who used the only free time she had that week to come and clean my home...my best friend Jess who makes me laugh till I cry... everyday for the last 5 weeks I have not failed to be blessed by the heart of Christ; too many things to list. With all of this light surrounding me, I can't see the darkness.

God, I thank you that I am not walking in the dark. Thank you God that no matter how dark the day, when I open my eyes I see your light shining. Thank you for giving me the Light of Life.

I am back :)

Just wanted to thank you all for your prayers! I have had surgery and am in recovery.... I have so much to write about now; and, well.... lots of time on my hands since I am not yet able to leave my house without assistance. So, happy reading everyone!