For His Name’s Sake

August 28

(Psalm 106:1-18 NIV) “Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. {2} Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise? {3} Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. {4} Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them, {5} that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise. {6} We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. {7} When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. {8} Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known. {9} He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert. {10} He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. {11} The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. {12} Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. {13} But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. {14} In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. {15} So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them. {16} In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord. {17} The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it buried the company of Abiram. {18} Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.”

(Titus 3:3-7 NIV) “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. {4} But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, {5} he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, {6} whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, {7} so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Every human is called to glorify the name of the Lord. That’s because the Lord deserves glory. If we decided to produce a list of God’s great attributes, our word processors would wear out before we were finished. No one can fully declare His praise. We have spent too much time as rebellious sinners. We spend more time thinking of ourselves than we do considering the miraculous goodness of God. We forget what He has done for us. We take His kindness and His blessing for granted. We sing His praise on Sunday, but quickly forget His counsel. We are controlled by cravings rather than Christ. We are consumed with self rather than with the Son. Eventually we will get burned. This world will swallow us up. But God saves us -- not because of our actions, but in spite of them. He saves us for His glory, not ours. He saves us for His name’s sake, not ours. Glorify His name today! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day