I am (finally) posting!  For those of you who thought the blog was dying….hopefully it’s not.  I have a few ideas for future posts.  We’ll see when I get around to them.  🙂 
 
I know that this post could get me in trouble with a lot of people.  There are many different standards, ideas and thoughts surrounding this issue.  It’s a very, very serious issue and, I believe, ought to be dealt with. 
 
Over the past few months, I have heard some….very grievous things.  And these grievous things have come out of the mouths of Christians.  People who have claimed the name of Christ as their Savior.  It is very troubling for me to write about, but as I said, this is a very serious issue. 
 
I have heard Christians take the precious name of our Lord in vain.
 
Christians.  Christians have been throwing His sweet name around as if it was just a word.  It’s a very common thing to hear a non-Christian blurt out, “Oh, – – -.”  But…a Christian?
 
A while back I blogged about praising God.  Do we, as Christians, not realize what our God is like?  Friends, He is the One who purchased us.  He redeemed us.  He clothed us in righteousness when we had absolutely nothing to offer.  He sustains us each day.  Each time we take in a breath, it is Him choosing to give us this second to live.  It is He Who surrounds us with protection every time we get in our cars.  It is He Who speaks to us in a still, small voice.  He is always present.  He is astoundingly faithful and merciful.
 
This is the God that people scorn by using His name flippantly.  It grieves me to hear a person who has been bought and washed by His blood mock His name in such a manner.
 
In addition to the blatant misuse of His name, there are many other kinds of more subtle ways in which people (yes, even Christians!) use His name in vain.
 
How many people know the meaning of the word “gosh”?  According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, it’s “[a euphemism for God] – used as a mild oath”.  And it’s not just the old dictionaries that say this.  Check out Merriam Webster online.  It says the same thing.
 
“Gee”?  Webster says “[euphemism for Jesus] – used as an introductory expletive or to express surprise or enthusiasm”  Again, new dictionaries do not discredit this as the original meaning of the word.
 
 
These are words that ought not to be in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ.  His name should be valued as most holy and precious.
-Bonnie