11-07-23-ENG.

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. "

1 Corinthians 10:31
IN THE NAME OF

Read It: Colossians 3:17
Most of us end our prayers with these words: "In Jesus' name, amen." You need to understand what God's name means. It is not a magical cal phrase. God's name is special. Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name" (Matthew 6:9). In the Bible, a person's name wasn't just something to distinguish one person from another. A name was a reflection of the person's character. For example, Elohim is the Creator, the God who said, "Let there be," and there was. Yahweh is the covenant-keeping name of God. That's the God who makes a promise and does not back away from it. That's the God you can depend on. One day you might call God El Shaddai the "Lord God Almighty." That's the God who does whatever He wants to do. So when you talk about the name of God, you are talking about more than just a name. You are talking action. You are talking power. You are talking authority. But God only lends His name to those things that are in harmony with His character.

So when Paul tells us to do everything "in the name of the Lord Jesus," he means make sure Jesus okays it. The only way you can know what Jesus will approve of is by having His mind. A lot of people are doing a lot of things they didn't get God's okay to do. Have you got God's approval for what you're doing? Not if you are living in sin, you haven't. If you are greedy, you didn't get the okay to put Jesus' name on that. If you are immoral, you didn't get approval for that from Jesus. If you are unloving to your wife, you didn't get that from Jesus. See, the Bible can tell you to live a new life because there is a new you. When you said yes to Christ, you got a new mind. Now you can say yes to the new and no to the old. You have the ability to do whatever you do in the name of Christ. Think About It If you're using God's name the way He meant it to be used, you're only using it to help you do the things that please Him.