Following the Call
Kingdom Devotion
God’s Name
Pages 193-198
TOGETHER read the devotional and the scripture.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Leviticus 22:31-32 (NIV) “Keep my commands and follow them. I am the LORD. Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who made you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”
Romans 2:17-24 (NIV) Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
James 3:9-12 (NIV) With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your devotional notes and pray.
In your opinion, what is the opposite of hallowing or sanctifying God’s name?
In what ways is God’s name misused today?
In the Bible, there is power in the “name.” What does this mean for us today?
EXTRA READING:
“How much more important it is to refrain from evil speech, remembering what such sins bring down on us in consequence. In fact so important is it to cultivate silence. After all, it is written in scripture that one who never stops talking cannot avoid falling into sin. Another text in the same book reminds us that the tongue holds the key to death and life.”
- Benedict of Nursia (480 - 547)