Bella Vista Church of Christ
LIFELINES
May 8, 2002 Randall Caselman
Holding God's Name Hallowed
The disciples of Christ came asking,
"teach us to pray." We all know the prayer. The first petition in the Lord's Prayer is Hallowed be Thy Name. Jesus is saying, the first thing to pray for is that The Father be regarded as Holy, Holy, Holy. Yahweh. I am who I am. God. Jehovah. LORD. Creator. Sovereign. Deity. What do you suppose would happen if we held the name of God
Hallowed?
Hallowed In Our Country.
The United States is becoming anti-Christian. The America that was once concerned with religion and Christian faith is fading into selfish humanism. There are social, political and theological forces at work in our country that few if any of us can begin to understand.
We have all been touched by it. For instance, if YOU were asked to re-write the Constitution of the United States, what ten laws would you select to be the basis of all others? Would you begin with the demand that the Name of God be respected? Him first. No substitutes. His Name not be verbally violated. His day be celebrated. Would not coveting be in our top ten? We must admit that we have conformed to worldly thinking. We must return God to His rightful place in our nation and in her laws.
Hallowed In Our Churches.
If the church does not hold God's Name Hallowed, who will? Who will indeed? God works through His people. The Church must be distinctively different from the world or it is not the Church. Have we forgotten our basic Greek? Ekklesia is "called out" --- "called out for a specific purpose." Peter said, a peculiar people showing forth the promises of God. (1 Peter 2.9) There is no other organization on earth commissioned to hold His Name Hallowed. We do it by being faithful to The Book. His Will, His Word must be held as the highest authority, and never replaced with human reasoning, tradition or experience.
Hallowed In Self.
Existentialism holds that there is no authority higher than self and our own personal preferences. Humanism teaches that truth is personal and relative. There is my truth and your truth, but no absolute truth. Our churches will not change, our country cannot change until we return God to His rightful place in our personal lives.
During the time of the Judges, the nation of Israel was in disarray; they lost their political confederacy and were generally in a state of spiritual bankruptcy. This was Israel's Dark Ages, brought on by existentialism and selfishness. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21.25)
The bottom line is this: We must place the preferences of God before our own. He must be returned to His rightful place in our personal ethics, in our marriages, our homes, at work, in our entertainment choices. Awe, respect, reverence for God is personal. Faith is personal. Salvation is personal. Sometimes I see brethren become overly concerned with the actions of others. They get upset at family, elders, fellow Christians, working companions; when the focus first, foremost, and forever should be on self. We have little or no control over others, only self. So, the question is... Is God hallowed in MY life?
I call you to pray daily that God's Name be regarded as Holy in our nation, our churches and in self. Fall on our knees and petition;
Hallowed be Thy Name.
RANDALL CASELMAN
