Tag Archives: honoring God

September 26, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Honoring God’s Presence

I take a spiritual growth assessment a couple of times a year to get a snapshot of where I am. It helps me to visualize the different aspects of my disciplines, see where I’m gaining ground and where I’m losing ground. I’ve noticed when certain disciplines, like listening in my prayer time, are low, there are fewer experiences with God. There’s a direct correlation between my listening to His voice and experiencing His power and presence in my life. If I want more of it, I have to make time to listen instead of just talking through that time to Him about my needs. Listening is a great way to honor God’s presence.

In 1 Samuel 3, Eli was the High Priest of Israel. He was their spiritual leader, but the first verse says, “Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon” (NLT). The reason why the messages and visions were rare is because Eli had quit honoring God’s presence. He no longer slept in the tabernacle tending to the candlestick, he allowed his sons to steal God’s offerings and turned a blind eye to their promiscuity. God had enough of it and spoke to Samuel a prophetic message of how He was going to remove Eli and his sons from their positions.

In Matthew 13:57-58 it says, “Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.’ And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.” Our belief and honor have a lot to do with how much we experience the power of God in our life. If it’s been a while since you’ve heard God’s voice or experienced Him in a real way, take a close examination of your life. Are you honoring Him in all aspects of your life? Have you been relaxed on your spiritual disciplines? When we honor God, He shows up in our life in real ways.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

Honoring Everyone

The word “honor” in the Bible means respect, but also something more. It means to give weight to something or someone. We each have people in our lives whose advice carries more weight than others. That’s an example of how honor is used in Scriptures. When we honor our parents or God, we give them the kind of weight in our lives. The thing is that the Bible doesn’t just tell us to honor them only. There are lots of areas where we are to honor others. I heard someone once say, “When you show me respect (honor), I’ll show you respect (honor).” That is an unbiblical statement. We start with honoring people because we honor God who put His fingerprint on them and made them in His image.

Here are some Bible verses on honor.

1. Show respect for old people and honor them. Reverently obey me; I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:32 (GNT)

2. Show respect for all men [treat them honorably]. Love the brotherhood (the Christian fraternity of which Christ is the Head). Reverence God. Honor the emperor.

1 Peter 2:17 (AMP)

3. Render to all men their dues. [Pay] taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.

Romans 13:7 (AMP)

4. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Romans 12:10 (NLT)

5. And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 (MSG)

Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash

Honor God

Have you every known someone who threw their weight around to get something done? The word for honor in the Bible has the same connotation. When it tells us to honor the Lord, it’s telling us to give Him significant influence in our lives. His Word and will should carry weight with us. Also, almost every time the Bible tells us to honor God or someone, it has a promise attached to it. When we properly honor Him, we will receive the blessings He has in store for us. When we let Him have His rightful place in our life, things fall into place. It’s always good to examine your life to make sure you are truly and properly honoring God by giving Him full authority in your life.

Here are some Bible verses on honoring God.

1. Honor the Lord with your wealth And with the first fruits of all your crops (income); Then your barns will be abundantly filled And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Proverbs 3:9-10 AMP

2. He who offers a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way rightly [who follows the way that I show him], I shall show the salvation of God.

Psalms 50:23 AMP

3. He supplies the needs of those who honor him; he hears their cries and saves them.

Psalm 145:19 GNT

4. He will bless everyone who honors him, the great and the small alike.

Psalm 115:13 GNT

5. Honor me by trusting in me in your day of trouble. Cry aloud to me, and I will be there to rescue you.

Psalms 50:15 TPT

Photo by Peter Dlhy on Unsplash