DOES IT MATTER WHAT WE CALL GOD?
THE NAME OF GOD DO WE NEED TO GET IT RIGHT?
by – Mary A. LaClair
Let the name of God not be profaned or adulterated as salt which loses it flavor by mixing with other things.
http://www.charismanews.com/us/58128-presbyterian-church-usa-caught-praying-to-allah
Leaders in the PCUSA church had better get it right and stop setting a bad example.
Is the world supposed to influence the church; or is the church supposed to influence the world? I think PCUSA and similar churches can see another mass exodus comparable to the mass exit over same sex marriages in these same old mainline churches.
Local pastors under leadership of churches of this kind, if they don’t want to scatter and lose their flock, should seriously consider going independent. Better to please God rather than man. 
Over the years people have told me they think as long as their intent is to talk to the Creator, that God honors their intent and it doesn’t matter what we call Him.
As long as the image is right in their own minds, “What does it matter?”, they ask.
How would you react if you were the one being addressed? Would you care, indeed would you even answer, if you were called by someone else’s name? You would, in effect, not even listen because it would not get your attention.
Yet, in spite of this, some people think it is merely their own personal belief that counts.
Thus, they are actually putting more faith in their own thoughts…. than they are putting faith in God’s thoughts. And this is being done in some churches! Well, God understands, they may continue… trying to get God to think the way they think instead of the other way around. Wait, isn’t that manipulating God…?
Apparently the PCUSA does not know who their God is. But we should know.
FROM: Gen 1:3-26
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light
And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.”
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.”
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation:
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures,
And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,
“GOD SAID” EQUALS WORD OF GOD — WORD OF GOD EQUALS CREATION
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. NIV
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. NIV
“GOD SAID” EQUALS WORD OF GOD — THE WORD OF GOD, THE WORD MADE FLESH JESUS, EQUALS THE CREATOR
Deut 4:24 “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. “NKJV
When God speaks to the churches, here is something He saya:
Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” NIV
How does salt loose its flavor? Salt can lose its flavor if it is mixed with other impurities; if it dissolves and re-crystalizes with other elements; if one’s own taste buds are not working; and, if taste buds are in need of healing. In other words, it loses its flavor by adding things to it; mixing it with other things; watering it down; adulterating it with other things.
Some churches are committing spiritual adultery by trying to mix two opposing religions together. They each think they will convince the other. But who knows who will convince whom. And what does God say about salt which loses it flavor? Note well, it is the churches which He compares to salt losing its saltiness.
Sounds like dire consequences. We should consider what God cares about how He is addressed. It is possible to be sincere yet be mistaken and God does not take that lightly. We should know Him, not pretend we know Him.
Here is a quote from Rev. Billy Graham:
“As a matter of fact, God takes His name very seriously, and the Ten Commandments include the command that we must not take the name of the Lord in vain. We are to use the names God has given for Himself, and we are to recognize that God takes His name seriously because He desires to be rightly known by His human creatures. We cannot truly know Him if we do not even know His name.”
Perhaps we should see what else God tells us in Scripture about how He feels about how He is addressed.
A computer search was done in the NIV for “my Name” (case sensitive) and it resulted in the following list:
Ex 23:21; 2 Sam 7:13; 1 Kings 5:5; 1 Kings 8:16; 1 Kings 8:18; 1 Kings 8:19; 1 Kings 9:3; 1 Kings 9:7; 1 Kings 11:36; 2 Kings 21:4; 2 Kings 21:7; 2 Kings 23:27; 1 Chron 22:8; 1 Chron 22:10; 1 Chron 28:3; 2 Chron 6:5; 2 Chron 6:6; 2 Chron 6:8; 2 Chron 6:9; 2 Chron 7:16; 2 Chron 7:20; 2 Chron 33:7; Neh 1:9; Jer 7:10; Jer 7:11; Jer 7:12;Jer 7 :14; Jer 7:30; Jer 25:29; Jer 32:34; Jer 34:15; (printed out below in end notes)
In these Scriptures God talks about how He feels about His Name. Some of these are quite interesting, some revelatory, and some even surprising, to say the least.
To save you the time and effort of looking up each of these Scriptures, end notes below are a sample of how He reveals what His Name means to Him; and the benefits we may receive by honoring Him by His correct Name….the Name He prefers and the Name and titles which will get His attention.
Additionally, there are some very beautiful sites on the names of God in the links below.
Names, plural? Well if you are a Mom or a Dad, you have several names to which you reply: Honey (hopefully), Dad, Grampa, Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, but if you call out Grandma and expect to get Dad’s attention…. you get the idea, some names are titles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R-larVvuTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmenSliTvJU
Deut 6:13-15 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. NKJV
Heb 1:1-3 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. NIV
The universe made through the Son. The SON is the Creator. The Son is Jesus — NOT Allah. Refer back to John 1:1
Heb 1:8 But about the Son he says,”Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,” NIV
Here the Son is called GOD Allah has no Son. Allah is not God.
Isa 40:28
The everlasting God, the Lord ,
The Creator of the ends of the earth, NKJV
Here we see that The Lord is God the Creator –
Rom 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. NIV
Jesus Christ is Lord – He is the Creator NOT Allah
Ex 20:5“…you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,…” NKJV
“…In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths…” Prov 3:5-6 – acknowledge allah? How foolish! Allah is NOT the God of the Bible, he is the god of the Koran.
Let the name of God not be profaned or adulterated as salt which loses it flavor by mixing with other things.
Again, Local pastors under leadership of churches of this kind, if they don’t want to scatter and lose their flock, should seriously consider going independent. Better to please God rather than man.
On the other hand, the outgrowth of evangelical churches taking their places is encouraging.
Selah…
-end-
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The Proverbs 1:20 Column 