The Name

Jeremiah 17:9-10

We have all heard the phrase "follow your heart". Well, that's a terrible idea. You cannot trust your heart, your heart will only lead you to ruin. This is why the fruits of the spirit include patients and self control (Galatians 5:22-23), because the works of the flesh, or heart, are deceitful and desperately wicked (Galatians 5:19-21).

As followers of Christ, we represent His Name. His Holy Name. The Name that the world profanes and uses as a curse word instead of saying it with reverence. The Name above all names, the Name above which there are none (Genesis 22:9-18; Hebrews 6:13). We cannot do justice to His Name on our own, because of the sin nature we inherited from the fall. So God Most High, in His mercy and for His Name's sake, did it for us (Ezekiel 36:16-27).

It is not only for the Gospel that we are careful with His Name, it is for the church (Galatians 5:24-26).

I get tired of hearing believers referring to God as if He were their buddy or calling Him "the big guy" or an assortment of other disrespectful terms (Galatians 6:7). He is deserving of all honor and reverence. He is the Lion of Judah, the Mighty God, the only one in the universe worthy to be worshipped.

So, when your heart is telling you one thing with your emotions, look to His word, and remember His Name, and tell your sinful, wicked, deceitful heart to take a hike.

God is AWESOME!