Here are some practical ideas to help you honor God in your life today.
1. Love the ones God loves
God loves all people. We should also love all people. That doesn't mean we like everything they say and do but we can learn to love them. Loving the people you already like is pretty easy. It is much harder to love the people you don't really like. We need to learn to love as God loves. Here are some ideas:
Try to understand where they are coming from and why they think or act they way they. As the old saying goes, try to put yourself in their shoes.
- One of the best ways to love someone you may not like is to pray for them. Let me clarify that, pray good things for them. Pray blessings for them not curses.
- Make the extra effort to say positive things to people and be careful not to criticize them.
- Spend some time getting to know people by asking some questions about things they are interested in.
- Be helpful when you can.
- Be friendly.
2. Spend time with God today
Prayer is a conversation—sometimes we talk and sometimes we listen. One of the keys to maintaining this conversation all the time is to be constantly aware of God around you and how He is working. Carve out some time from your schedule and devote that time to God. This could be some devotional time early in the morning before the day gets going or it might be at night before the day ends. It might be a quiet lunch that you share with God or your commute to work. In addition to the specific time you devote to God try to maintain that contact throughout the day by thanking God for blessings as they come up or sharing concerns as they occur.
3. Model Jesus in your words and actions
Living like someone is the one of the best ways I know to show honor to someone. Imagine how much God must like it when we try to follow His example. In the last 15 years it has become a cliché but WWJD Is an excellent way to try to model Jesus in our daily life. For those of you who may not remember WWJD stands for what would Jesus do? Or another way to say it is how would Jesus respond in this situation if He were here instead of me? Of course you have to make the effort to know Jesus through His Word before you will be able to answer this question. And when you know the answer you have to make the effort to do what Jesus would do.
Sometimes you will fail to do what Jesus would do. We are human. But the good news is God knows our heart and I believe He does honor effort and desire. King David was a great example of this—he had his failures and yet the Bible tells us he was a man after God's own heart. God knew how much he desired to honor God. God know what is in your heart also.
4. Tell someone about what God has done for you
This is the easiest thing in the world and yet sometimes it is so difficult to make the words come out of your mouth. You don't have to be highly educated or a great speaker. Just simply tell someone what God has done for you. For example, if someone asks why you are in such a good mood you could simply say "God is good" or, "God's love gives me joy." There a million possible answers to a question like that.
5. Read the manual
You have to know what the Bible says to know how to honor God. You don't have to have it memorized, or at least not all of it, but if you plan to live a Christian life that honors God you have to crack open the manual and put some time into reading your Bible. Recently I purchased the Bible in MP3 format and have been listening to it as I drive back and forth to work each day. I have to say I have noticed some things by doing this that I never noticed before. I have caught myself getting really excited about what I was learning about God. I have read through the Bible several times using the daily Bible reading plans and it never fails to amaze me how many new things I learn. I guarantee God has more to teach you even if you have read the Bible 100 times—there is more of God to learn.
I hope these ideas have inspired and encouraged you to do something today that will honor God. Read these other posts to learn more about how to honor God: Honoring God, A Tree is Known by It's Fruit, and The Fruit of the Spirit.
What are some ideas you have about how to honor God?
If you want to learn more about salvation and having a relationship with God click here.
God bless you real good!
Tim
