HONOR
In his 1943 work The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis writes, “We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” Lewis’ observation more than seventy-five years ago falls far short in assessing the widespread disregard for honor in our day. Honor is no longer merely laughed at today, it is now mocked, ridiculed, and despised. How did we get to this place?
We have to look to the One who established honor and look at ourselves to see if we have set an example by obeying Him.
The Bible gives us the commands of God, Jesus, and His disciples regarding honor. The translated word actually means “high respect, great esteem”. This honor was to be initially applied to our relationship to Father God and was made clear in Exodus 20 with regard to the Ten Commandments which reminded Israelites of all God had done for them and that they should respect Him by having no other gods. He reminded them that He was a jealous god, but shows lovingkindness to those that love Him and keep His commandments. God then set parameters and consequences for disobedience. This was meant to be an example for us of how to maintain order and honor in our lives.
God said to Honor Him and you would be honored (1 Samuel 2:30). God said to honor the Sabbath (Isaiah 58:13) and honor Him with your first fruits (Proverbs 3:9) and said to test Him in this. Test God! Yes, and see if He doesn’t open up the windows of heaven and pour so many blessings that they overflow. And yet, I see pastors afraid to teach on the tithe because they believe the finances of the congregation are limited or they don’t want people to think they are in need of money, or they know people are put off when you talk about tithe. The tithe box is often missing, hidden or unmentioned. THIS IS THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO BE BLESSED!!!!
The issues of dishonor today have to be placed on us that believe. Is there honor first of all in our homes? Honor starts with the husband’s treatment of his wife (1 Peter 3:7) and the resulting respect and honor of the wife to her husband (Ephesians 5:33). Then the children are to be taught how to honor their father and mother. There are seven verses in the Bible commanding this and each is worth reading. (Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16, Matthew 15:4, Matthew 19:19, Mark 7:10, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20) This also is the commandment that carries a promise if obeyed.
Many young people today do not even have fathers much less fathers and mothers who follow God’s plan. How can you honor someone you don’t even know or who left you before you were born? How can children honor parents that are angry, abusive and fight each other? Fathers should not punish children in anger (Colossians 3:20-21) but train them up in the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Our family presents the image to our children of how to honor others.
The Bible says we should honor the elderly (Leviticus 19:32), the widows (1 Timothy 5:3), the elders of the church, especially the pastors and teachers (1 Timothy 5:17), one another (Romans 12:10) and Peter sums it up by saying we should honor all men (1 Peter 2:17).
There are young people in the streets pushing the elderly down stairs and onto the concrete streets, burning and destroying businesses and public facilities, and killing each other. Why? They have no honor for parents, neighbors, authority, nation or themselves. Then they see people from Hollywood, sports, politics, etc. that have no honor for each other. Will Smith hitting Chris Rock in a public function is a perfect example and we are still waiting to see if there are any repercussions to bad behavior.
How can I say that the problem with honor rests on Christians? First of all, Jesus saved us to establish the Kingdom of God. Have we taken that responsibility seriously? Sometimes it seems like people say the words, “I believe” and then feel they have done all they need to do. Do the words, “more than a conqueror” simply mean overcoming your bad habits, insecurities and sin? If you read the whole scripture (Romans 8:36-37), it implies that there is an attack against us, but we can defeat the enemy.
We need to recognize that we have an enemy, Satan, and he has an army of people that are trying to destroy our country, our culture, our society and our family. Our obligation is to stand against those voices that promote confusion, racism, perversion, rebellion and dishonor. We have an obligation to promote kingdom principles…not with hate, not with anger, not with emotional outbursts but with love, truth and honor.
I give credit to Chris Rock for not responding in kind, but with self-control and honor to the Academy who hired him and the audience that watched. We have a greater ROCK! As we stand for truth and Christian principles, it will cost. In this society we are like sheep being led to slaughter, banned, shamed, bullied and perhaps arrested, but we must honor our God by standing for His truth.
We have to look to the One who established honor and look at ourselves to see if we have set an example by obeying Him.
The Bible gives us the commands of God, Jesus, and His disciples regarding honor. The translated word actually means “high respect, great esteem”. This honor was to be initially applied to our relationship to Father God and was made clear in Exodus 20 with regard to the Ten Commandments which reminded Israelites of all God had done for them and that they should respect Him by having no other gods. He reminded them that He was a jealous god, but shows lovingkindness to those that love Him and keep His commandments. God then set parameters and consequences for disobedience. This was meant to be an example for us of how to maintain order and honor in our lives.
God said to Honor Him and you would be honored (1 Samuel 2:30). God said to honor the Sabbath (Isaiah 58:13) and honor Him with your first fruits (Proverbs 3:9) and said to test Him in this. Test God! Yes, and see if He doesn’t open up the windows of heaven and pour so many blessings that they overflow. And yet, I see pastors afraid to teach on the tithe because they believe the finances of the congregation are limited or they don’t want people to think they are in need of money, or they know people are put off when you talk about tithe. The tithe box is often missing, hidden or unmentioned. THIS IS THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO BE BLESSED!!!!
The issues of dishonor today have to be placed on us that believe. Is there honor first of all in our homes? Honor starts with the husband’s treatment of his wife (1 Peter 3:7) and the resulting respect and honor of the wife to her husband (Ephesians 5:33). Then the children are to be taught how to honor their father and mother. There are seven verses in the Bible commanding this and each is worth reading. (Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16, Matthew 15:4, Matthew 19:19, Mark 7:10, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20) This also is the commandment that carries a promise if obeyed.
Many young people today do not even have fathers much less fathers and mothers who follow God’s plan. How can you honor someone you don’t even know or who left you before you were born? How can children honor parents that are angry, abusive and fight each other? Fathers should not punish children in anger (Colossians 3:20-21) but train them up in the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Our family presents the image to our children of how to honor others.
The Bible says we should honor the elderly (Leviticus 19:32), the widows (1 Timothy 5:3), the elders of the church, especially the pastors and teachers (1 Timothy 5:17), one another (Romans 12:10) and Peter sums it up by saying we should honor all men (1 Peter 2:17).
There are young people in the streets pushing the elderly down stairs and onto the concrete streets, burning and destroying businesses and public facilities, and killing each other. Why? They have no honor for parents, neighbors, authority, nation or themselves. Then they see people from Hollywood, sports, politics, etc. that have no honor for each other. Will Smith hitting Chris Rock in a public function is a perfect example and we are still waiting to see if there are any repercussions to bad behavior.
How can I say that the problem with honor rests on Christians? First of all, Jesus saved us to establish the Kingdom of God. Have we taken that responsibility seriously? Sometimes it seems like people say the words, “I believe” and then feel they have done all they need to do. Do the words, “more than a conqueror” simply mean overcoming your bad habits, insecurities and sin? If you read the whole scripture (Romans 8:36-37), it implies that there is an attack against us, but we can defeat the enemy.
We need to recognize that we have an enemy, Satan, and he has an army of people that are trying to destroy our country, our culture, our society and our family. Our obligation is to stand against those voices that promote confusion, racism, perversion, rebellion and dishonor. We have an obligation to promote kingdom principles…not with hate, not with anger, not with emotional outbursts but with love, truth and honor.
I give credit to Chris Rock for not responding in kind, but with self-control and honor to the Academy who hired him and the audience that watched. We have a greater ROCK! As we stand for truth and Christian principles, it will cost. In this society we are like sheep being led to slaughter, banned, shamed, bullied and perhaps arrested, but we must honor our God by standing for His truth.
Visiting the Body of Christ
We have been visiting churches in the area in the hope of networking with fellow Christians as we search to bring unity, and build the Kingdom of God. It is amazing to see the work that these bodies are doing for their communities. We hope to visit your church in the weeks to come!
First Baptist Church of Deer Trail - Pastor Sam Courts Journey Church - Pastor Dusty Morris Calvary Baptist - Pastor Bob McCurley Mountain View Christian - Pastor Donn Headley Strasburg Community Church - Pastor Steve Musser Living Springs Cowboy Church - Pastor Zac Sanger |
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Community Prayer List
Galatians 6:2 encourages fellow believers to "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. As a community, we are bound together with the love of Christ. We exhibit that love through prayer for one another. Someone in our midst may be hurting, believing for a new job, seeking direction from God. When we come together in agreement for each other, we see God begin to work! We want to agree with you. We encourage our readers to let us know what we can all agree on for you. If you have a specific need that you would like us to pray for, let us know. The Word of God compels us to pray for one another in the community where we live. So agree with us as we pray for each other!
Simply fill out the form below and we will post the need here in real time. We will utilize initials for privacy sake.
Simply fill out the form below and we will post the need here in real time. We will utilize initials for privacy sake.
Calling all Prayer Warriors:
-Pray for RG as he continues to heal from his back surgery and rehab.
-Pray for MS as he heals from his accident, as well as for his daughter and her healing.