Loving God by honoring Him
The advertising media is full of suggestions how to show love to others by spending money. How do we show love to God who has everything. One way we can show love to God is by honoring Him as Jesus tells us to pray to God daily, "MAY YOUR HOLY NAME BE HONORED". Yes we can show love to God by honoring His name, by using the name He prefers and is found in the Hebrew over 6,000 times. God told Isaiah "I AM YAHVEH; THAT IS MY NAME!" Privately we can use His name, Yahveh (accent on the "veh"), in our prayers and publically as a follower of Jesus we may communicate better to use the word God, which people will understand as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who has a son named Jesus, rather than the word Lord which is a confusing by product of Jewish manmade teachings . Yes, as a child of God we also bring honor to God by living the way God wants us to live. Live so others will see how you live and as a result they "WILL PRAISE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN". Occasionally we are blessed to be able to bring honor to God by sharing facts about God, such as God giving mankind the first manageable alphabet or details how He blessed us by sending His son, Jesus which can also be a lifestyle of honoring. 1
Frequently we may have the opportunity to bring honor to God by sharing what God has done for us. Recently there was a person who had a fancy new cell phone stolen. After it was recovered, he shared how he considered it an answer to prayer that a couple of days after it was stolen, a person found it that knew how to use it. Most of us would be clueless how to find information on it. Even though it was partially erased the finder was able to determine the owner's name and trace the name using one of the social networking sites. As person gave honor to God for answered prayer, so many details became obvious to have required God's intervention for the recovery of the cell phone. Another person had a work injury so serious that amputation was a concern. After surgery, with no amputation, and subsequent physical therapy the person was partially released to work. When the person was finally completely released to return to work in less than two months, he was very strong in giving God all the honor and credit for his healing and speedy recovery. Frequently, when Jesus was involved in someone's healing, people nearby praised God and then followed Jesus. We do not know how Jesus inspired them to praise God but a possible insight was when Jesus was outside Lazarus' tomb prior calling Lazarus back to life Jesus looked up and said, "FATHER, I THANK YOU THAT YOU HEARD ME". Be encouraged to show love to God and honoring Him by giving Him credit and by sharing about all the wonderful blessings you have received from Him. Make God your number one love. 2
1. Mt 6:9 (GN); Is 42:8 (ET); Mt 5:16 (IC)
2. Jn 11:41 (IC)
click here for bible verse and translation abbreviations
Bonus teaching: Ask God for help understanding how to bring honor to His name. The honoring of God's name that God wants is different than the honoring we do for people.
A Psalm for reflection "God has blessed us; may all people everywhere honor Him." Ps 67:7 (GN)
Understanding the Teaching: What I share in the teaching is what I believe God wants me to share. All the direct quotes from God are highlighted in royal purple. Of course the words of Jesus are in red. Rather than follow some made up doctrine, remember that Jesus said that every thing He said (Jn 12:49) and everything He did (Jn 14:31) comes from God. All teachings and all opinions should be supported by what we learn from God or Jesus (see the scripture referred to in the footnote).
MARRIAGE WORKSHOP MOMENT
One of the first things that is overlooked in marriages is having fun. Too busy, children, work etc. can crowd out fun time together. In marriage you will have conflicts but that is not what attracted you to each other in the beginning. Fun is important to martial happiness. Have a weekly date night. So you enjoy date, be sure and have your weekly couples meeting before, using the Speaker Listener Technique. This should help you get issues and problems out of the way so your time together on your date can be more enjoyable. Your date can be as simple as a walk in the park or walking in the mall window-shopping. Do something different. Go skiing, water or snow depending on the weather.
One suggestion Allen age 10 had for a good marriage: "you got to find someone who likes the same stuff. Like if you like sports, she should like that you like sports and she should keep the chips and dip coming."
I do Marathons and my wife walks on treadmills. We have done treadmills side by side at the gym. We have shared by her going with me to out of town Marathons and she helps by driving me home, like from Memphis and Kansas City. After 26.2 miles, it is wonderful to have driving help. Our Marathon trips are like having a two-day date. There are many ways to share and have fun together
The Better Half "When your partner won't support your efforts to make your marriage better" Without your spouse's support to improve your marriage, you can still pray daily for God's will to be done in each of your lives and your marriage ("all things are possible with God", Mk 10:27 NI). You can encourage having fun together on your own. Suggest and encourage things you both like to do or to get things started suggest things your spouse likes to do. Remember the things you did to have fun when you first got together. In marriage you will have conflicts but that is not what attracted you to each other in the beginning. Fun is important to martial happiness. Work at it! When a spouse calls "time out", it is an opportunity for a couple to calm down before continuing the conversation at a later time (anywhere from an hour to no later than the next day) using the Speaker Listener Technique. Initially after calling time out it is an opportunity to take authority over the enemy and pray for the marriage.
Example: "In the name of Jesus I command you demons to shut up and leave our marriage and not return" "Thank you God for helping our marriage be in Your will and guiding us in our relationship, in Jesus name, amen." When a spouse will not cooperate, you can still take authority over the enemy and pray for your marriage.
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Hearing God's Voice - Greek Miracle - We Center on Jesus - Honoring God Physically
Eye Healing Miracle * The Alphabet is from God * Family Prayer Outline * Jesus Knows the Bible and Spoke Hebrew *