September 19, 2025 Morning Devotional
Morning Devotion: Read Exodus - The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
The word vain means empty or without value, in this sense it means to disregard and belittle God by using His name wrongfully which is a very, very vain thing to do.
“The Lord will not hold him guiltless” means you are guilty in the eyes of God if you ever have taken God’s name in vain. That means you can never hope that your good will outweigh your bad. That one act means you can never hope to be guilt free at the great white throne judgment. That means no act of religion can nullify that act of taking God’s name in vain. You are guilty.
If you have ever used the phrase “Oh my…” or the acronyms of that, or used the word “damn” in conjunction with God’s name, you are guilty you are the one damned.
2 Thessalonians 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
If you have ever used the name of Jesus Christ flippantly or in a curse, you are guilty. God said He holds you guilty.
Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
My friend, what you speak, reveals your what is truly in your heart. When you curse the Lord God and Jesus Christ, it means your heart is guilty.
God is holy and righteous and will be glorified forever and forever. Never, never take the Lord’s name in vain, never.
If God said He will hold you guilty then, you are guilty; the only way to escape God’s judgment must be from God to whom you have offended. Only God can remove your guilt.
If you offend someone or hurt someone or belittled someone, the only way you can be right with that person is to seek their personal forgiveness. If you go to him or her seeking forgiveness, they alone can forgive you; what a blessing. If you go to them showing them how good you are and how great you are and how many good things you do, without asking forgiveness, you still remain repugnant because no amount of good will remove what you did to them. Only seeking their personal forgiveness will change things and restore you to a good relationship. That takes humility on your part realizing your own sinful condition.
That is how it is with God. Only God can forgive what you did to Him when you took His name in vain. Don’t go to Him with your religious piety and good works, because you will still be guilty. The only way you can be free from this guilt is to seek God’s forgiveness. That takes humility on your part realizing your own sinful condition.
Daniel 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
Jesus, being God manifest in the flesh, is the only one who forgives your sin.
Speaking about Jesus, the bible says: Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
If you have ever taken the Lord’s name in vain, you are guilty. Only Jesus can forgive that sin and save your soul. There is no other way.
If you are saved, born-again, praise God, your sins are forgiven and you are guilt free before God.
The choice is still yours,
Pastor Cook
