Lasting Names in Return for Right Decisions

[S] Exodus 1:15,17,20,21 --
 ¹⁵Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;

 ¹⁷But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.


 ²⁰So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.
 ²¹Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.


[O] God must have allowed the names of these two midwives to be recorded here in Exodus because of their fear and trust in God over the Egyptian authorities who was set to kill lives.  Thye stood up for the godly values of saving lives even at the risk of losing their own lives.  They were wise enough to explain the situation so they won't be in trouble with the authorities either.  However, we can also see that our own "wisdom" has limitations which eventually led to the Pharaoh murdering more lives anyways.  Getting back to the main point, in verses 20 and 21, God showed favor to these midwives and that's the point that grabbed me from this passage.  Many times, we are up against tough situations where I really need to distinguish between what's comfortable vs. what's right (which is usually risky under the circumstances).  God is watching to see what path I would choose and if I select "His ways," then He will honor that and show His favor in my life.  The probability of choosing His ways increases as I spend each morning asking God to "speak" through my own devotions so I may know His heart.

[A] This may seem redundant and old, but be consistent with my morning devotions by getting up earlier to allow time for that quiet time before the heat of the day rises.

[P] Dear God, thank You for honoring my own meager obedience given some challenging situation I'm put under.  I know You don't need my "right" decisions because You are the God of the universe and yet You care enough when I do make those decisions to reflect Your glory.  May my heart be tuned with Yours more and more, each day.  Mold me, Lord.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Sake of My Name

[S] Ezekiel 20:9,22 --
 ⁹"But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
 ²²"But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

[O] In these two verses what caught my eyes was "for the sake of My name".  God's name must be honored as mentioned in the Ten Commandments and He is very serious about that.  Even in Exodus 20:7 God says, "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain."  So I began to ask myself what's so big deal about the name but then I answered it myself quickly because the name carries the whole character of that person.  It is truly the identification of that person.  So names should not be taken lightly or to belittle about.  So based on this teaching my children about not using God's name in vain is brought to a new level of seriousness because it may just be the choice of words to them now but having that training now will help them to think about their choices in life down the road to ask the question of is my choice highlighting the name of God to others or is it disgracing instead.

[A] Ask the question of: Is my choice in life for the sake of God's name?

[P] Your name O God is what I want to lift up through my life.  Please grant me the un-ending desire to do this for the rest of my life. May others see Your name being echoed through my life and not of my own name.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.