Being Honorable

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Exodus 20:12 NIV

Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death... Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.

Exodus 21:15,17 NIV

I have to tell you that one of the things that I see in society today that I find most alarming is the incredible lack of respect people generally have for each other. As and educator I see it everyday. Sometimes parents come in to discuss an issue concerning their son or daughter and the interaction between parent and child is as if two adults or two children were talking with each other. The child does not honor their parent and the parent, frankly, is not honorable in front of their child. When a child believes they have an equal position in the relationship then their extremely limited, immature and inexperienced point of view becomes the focal point of any issue. That is a formula for failure.

OK, I'm king of going off here, but, I believe that much of the problems in society today have their root problem in the break down of the family unit. God, as our Creator, set up the family as a foundational part of society. When someone knows how to honor their parents they understand that everyone has a place, important and valuable but not supreme (that is God's place alone). In life we all move from being children who are taken care of by their parents to adults who take care of their parents as they get older. As a child I was to obey my parents in the Lord. As an adult I (when the time comes) take care of my parents. Both actions honor them. 

Showing honor and being honorable are two sides of the same coin. But it starts when we teach our children to honor us. We teach them how to communicate, how to relate, how to express themselves even when they believe they are wronged, and how to trust God even when they can't see the end from the beginning. And that brings us the bottom line: Honoring your parents, honors God. My prayer is that you and I teach our children, by example and instruction, to show honor and be honorable.

Thank You For Laying Down Your Life

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 

John 15:13

Today is Memorial Day, a day of remembrance. A day we honor soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice that we might enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy today. 

The ultimate soldier in the ultimate battle is Jesus Christ. He died for our salvation, to redeem us from sin and death. 

My prayer is that our country honors the death of soldiers who died fighting for our freedom to live and worship in a manner we see best. 

WHO DESERVES HONOR?/ I Timothy 5:17

As a teacher I see it all the time. Students who have no respect for anyone. Then I meet their parents and it is apparent why. The idea of teaching your children to honor and respect their elders is long gone from our society. In a real sense I believe that much of the current generation does not know what an honorable person is, does and looks like. So, it is easy for them to be misled by someone with a strong personality. In all of life, including the church, it is very important to know who to honor as a leader.

"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." I Timothy 5:17

In the church it should be pretty easy to tell who the leaders are. Who is serving, preaching and teaching? Notice that Paul goes beyond simply serving and says, "direct the affairs of the church well". He emphasizes that some minister "well". Who should be honored in the church? Those who serve well. 

What does this tell me? It tells me that I need to be an honorable man by serving well, not just serving to say I did it, but, serving well. It also encourages me to do all things well, as unto the Lord. As I go to work today, I need to bring honor to God by doing the tasks set before me well. 

So, I encourage you  to honor those who serve well in your church and also to serve well yourself, in all your life.

Father, help us to serve well in all we do and bring honor and praise to you today! Praise be to you in us today!

CONTROL YOURSELF IN HOLINESS AND HONOR: I Thessalonians 4:3-4

We live in a world that has a very specific purpose. That purpose is to lead us away from God. So, I find it odd that so much of the world's beliefs about self-control are held by Christians. The world tells us that we can not control our desires and that love is something you fall into.  The world tells us that we are animals and we can't control those deep animalistic desires. That's not what the Bible teaches.

"It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable." I Thessalonians 4:3-4 

God's will should be the goal of all we do. If God wills it, then shouldn't it pretty much be a done deal? Yes, he is faithful to complete the work he began in you. His will is that we be sanctified. That we purify ourselves from this world. The world pushes sexual immorality. We avoid it. 

The world tells us that we must give into urges  but God tells us learn to control your body. You learn to control your body by seeking to be holy and honorable. Holiness has to do with being set apart. Sometimes we just need to be apart from what ever it is that seeks to control you. That is why is Proverbs it says to run. Don't think about it, run. 

The other side of sanctification is the do part. Do honorable deeds. Treat people honorably. That is why service  is so important. Thinking about others requires you to die to yourself. Service is about others, not yourself. Service is about being God's hands and feet, reaching out to others in Jesus' Name and letting God love through you. 

It is God's will that you learn to control your own body. Decide what to do with yourself. Choose to serve. 

Father, help us to avoid sexual immorality, teach us to control our own bodies in holiness and honor. Praise be to you in us today!