"Lord Have Mercy!"

“Lord, Have Mercy!”

February 25, 2013 at 11:51am

     Do you take the Lord’s name in vain?  Like me, if you are saved, your automatic response is probably “No way!”  One day, after being accused of such a sin, I asked God to tell me what He thought.  I was surprised.  It embarrasses me to have to admit, even to myself, how many times God has to let me know I am breaking the third commandment.

     Unless you are actually talking to God, asking for his help, or talking to him like he’s a friend standing beside you, chances are good you’re using his name in vain, no matter what cliché you use to express surprise, anger, frustration or any number of other things.

          ‘Lord, have mercy!’ and ‘Ooh Lord’ are common phrases used without thinking.  Unless you are truly asking God for mercy, you just used God’s name in vain.      

     ‘Oh my God!’ is so blatant that it does not require explanation.  I usually comment ‘Mine, too’ and hope the offender will get the message.

     Since asking the Holy Ghost to show me when I am cursing, it is surprising how many times I do it, and how often other Christians do.  I have heard it from the pulpit, in homes from people I consider above reproach in other areas, everywhere.   We probably do not even hear the words we are saying.

     Another issuxe is the phrase ‘blessing someone out’, which is just a polite term for ‘cussing someone out’. 

Consider this:  Jeremiah 23:10 ‘…for because of swearing (cursing) the land mourneth;’  It’s bad enough that unsaved people use God’s name in vain, but we as Christians are doubly guilty of cursing God, and of causing our country to fall!   II  Chronicles 7:14 ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
            If you call yourself a Christian (Christ-like), do not blame all of our country’s problems on the unsaved.  We share in the blame, more so because we trample underfoot the name of God and Jesus Christ our Savior, whom we profess to love.                                                                       
    It’s time we, as children of the living God, who paid for our sin of cursing him, pay attention to what we say and confess our sin.
     If you have never realized you are destined for hell, if you have never asked God to forgive your sin of unbelief, now is the time to admit you’re a sinner, condemned to die, and thank God for Jesus, who paid your debt so you could live!  John 3:18 ‘he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’Romans 10:9 ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ There is no magic prayer that will save you.  It must come from the heart.  Talk to God as if he is right there listening to you.  He is, you know.  Then tell someone about it!