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Yes! There Is Good News!

Bill Rollins has been publishing each week a column in the local Elk Horn, Iowa paper for the past several years.
Note the original publication date on each blog post

Yes! There is Good News!             Dec 6, 2019

7/3/2022

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God has a name! Of course, that is quite obvious. But do you know what it is? Perhaps we should take our time in considering our answer, because one of the Ten Commandments deals exclusively with God’s name. Commandment number 3: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.” I suppose many of us would consider that to be the extent of the commandment but there is more; “… for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

If you consider each of the Ten, you will find that this is the only one to which God attaches a warning. So I guess we should take into consideration that God’s name is very important. So what is His name?

Hey! What’s our hurry!! Let’s first muse upon what it means to take something “in vain.” The word “vain” has several nuances of meaning in the Bible; it can mean deceit, malice, falsity or emptiness. And each one of these could be used in conjunction with the Third Commandment. But let us first ask the question, what does it mean to “take” something in vain, especially to take the name of God in a deceitful, false or empty way?

If it is raining out and I “take” my raincoat, what I mean is that I will wear it or put it on. My wife might tell me to “take” an umbrella so as to use it. If I must go to the store I will “take” the car; it is a conveyance that I will use. Have you ever taken the name of God? This goes way beyond just speaking the word for His name. Most times today, when a man and woman get married, the wife “takes” the last name of her husband (this custom is very related to what we are talking about – it is a Biblical consideration for the bride of Christ taking upon herself the name of her husband).

Yes, when we enter into covenant with God and accept the sacrifice of His Son for our sins, we enter into a strong relationship with Jesus. When we do as Peter told the crowd in Acts 2:38, to “repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” we actually take upon us a great responsibility to honor and obey Him. And we take upon us the name of God!!! This is a marriage covenant we enter into and we are betrothed to the one who loves us and died for us.

The actual name of God becomes a delicate subject. In Hebrew His name is made up of just 4 letters. The letters are: “Yod, Hey, Vaw, Hey.” In English we would write “YHVH” and the pronunciation is much debated for there are no vowels. Yehovah or Yahwah are perhaps the more common way of saying this name. We see this name in the book of Exodus when God confronts Moses from the burning bush and gives to him his commission. Moses asks what God’s name is and God answers, “My name is, ‘I AM WHO I AM’” or “I AM THAT I AM”. This name, when brought into English is best translated as “The Eternal One” the one who is self-existent.

As always we run out of space just when it is starting to get good.

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    Author

    Bill Rollins resides in Elk Horn, IA, with his wife, Sally, and has pastored the Church of God of Omaha, NE for more than 35 years.

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  • Home
    • Spring Feast 2022
    • FOT 2018 >
      • Feast Schedule
      • Feast messages
  • Essays
    • Psalms of Ascent >
      • Psalm 120
      • Psalm 121
      • Psalm 122
      • Psalm 123
      • Psalm 124
      • Psalm 125
      • Psalm 126
      • Psalm 127
      • Psalm 128
      • Psalm 129
      • Psalm 130
      • Psalm 131
      • Psalm 132
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      • Psalm 134
      • Psalms of Ascent Chiasm
    • Yes, There Is Good News!
    • Timely Comments - Blog
    • Christian Walk
    • Holy Days >
      • Passover >
        • children's lessons
      • Days of Unleavened Bread >
        • children's lessons
      • Pentecost >
        • children's lessons
      • Trumpets >
        • children's lessons
      • Atonement >
        • children's lessons
      • Feast of Tabernacles >
        • children's lessons
      • Eighth Day >
        • children's lessons
    • Holidays
  • Current Sabbath School
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      • April 2014 - Michael Deering's visit >
        • Photos from Michael
      • May 2014 - Tom Benzen's visit >
        • Gardening photos
      • July 2014 - Apples >
        • More Apple Photos
      • August 2014 - New orphans
      • September 2014 - Education >
        • September photos
      • October 2014 - Cyclone
      • December 2014
    • Hebron - 2015 >
      • January 2015
      • March 2015
      • April 2015 - Passover
      • October 2015 >
        • Ice Cream photos
    • Hebron - 2016 >
      • January 2016 photos
      • Passover 2016 >
        • Passover photos
      • Pentecost photos 2016
      • July 2016 - Evening Prayers
      • Apples - July 2016
      • Aug 2016
    • Hebron Building Project >
      • photos of building project
    • Hebron 2017 >
      • Pentecost 2017 photos
      • July 2017 lunch photos
      • Nursing/regular students
      • Lunchtime - Oct 2017
      • Feast of Tabernacles photos
      • October Thank You
      • Nursing Students
      • December photos
    • Hebron 2018 >
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        • Feast photos
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      • Photos January 2021
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