In this word by Randy Walter of Maryland, he shares a testimony of honor and gives us some awesome examples of honor from the Bible.
As you read through this, I hope you are encouraged to keep honoring others unto the Lord! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
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As I was preparing to lead devotions at a homeless shelter, the Lord told me to teach about honor. I've realized that we honor the things and people we cherish and respect the most. The Lord said to me, "What you honor, honors you," and He instructed me not to tell them this until the end of the teaching.
I define the word "honor" as meaning: to hold in high esteem; to be given special preference; a privilege; a person's integrity and reputation.
To help illustrate this teaching, I gave a list of the things I try to honor:
• God, my faith in Him, and what He has done for me—my testimony.
• My wife and family—doing things for them that I wouldn't necessarily do for myself.
• My skills and gifts —We all have abilities in certain areas. Do we use them to help others or just for ourselves? Honoring these skills and gifts means to be unselfish with them.
• Other people—the Golden Rule says to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. It's not necessary to agree with them or even like them in order to honor them.
• Our nation—forget about politics for the moment. God established this nation and the freedoms we enjoy, and we need to honor the United States as part of honoring Him.
The word "honor" is used over 100 times in the New King James Version of the Bible. What does it say about honor? It says we are to honor God, His prophets, angels, kings, the saints, leaders and parents.
What the Old Testament Says About Honor
• The Ten Commandments say to honor your father and mother, that your days may be long and it may be well with you in the land God is giving you (Exodus 20:12). Jesus repeated this commandment as well.
• God promised to honor His Chosen people. God said, "...those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed" (1 Samuel 2:30).
• Proverbs 4:8 (emphasis mine) says to exalt wisdom and "...she will promote you and bring you honor when you embrace her."
• Proverbs 18:12 says that you must first have humility before you receive honor.
• Ecclesiastes 10:1 says that just like dead flies make the perfumer's ointment stink, so does a little foolishness to someone respected for wisdom and honor.
What the New Testament Says About Honor
• People should honor one another, especially Christians to other Christians (Romans 12:10).
• Romans 13:7 says for us to give honor to whom honor is due, not just according to their person but their position; and to respect those in authority. So to help us understand this, let's not look at national politics. Let's see it in terms of the people we encounter in our own lives—police officers, social workers, pastors, neighborhood leaders. They deserve our respect for trying to help others, not according to whether we like them or not.
• Our personal honor is something we must maintain as we make ourselves acceptable to God. 1 Peter 1:7 says to let the genuineness of our faith honor us as it is severely tested; it is more valuable than anything.
• Hebrews 2:7 says that God made man "a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor," and put him in charge of the earth.
• 1 Peter 2:17 says, "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." I reminded the guests not to see this only in terms of whether we like or agree with our nation's leaders, whose difficult jobs come with more responsibility than any of us would want. We must respect them for that.
• Honor is how wives and husbands are to treat each other, and how God and kings reward the people they favor.
• 1 Peter 3:7 says husbands must live with their wives with understanding and honor them.
• Throughout the Book of Revelation, the angels and creatures in Heaven declare, "Glory and honor and power and blessing to God and to Jesus forever" (emphasis mine).
Honor in the Family
After sharing this, I asked how many of the guests have been married and are still married. I mentioned statistics which state that after divorce, fathers often stop interacting with their kids after about a couple years. This ignited a conversation about engaging in family relationships as honoring family members. One man talked about being separated from his wife but still spending time with his children.
Members of the shelter staff, usually occupied with other duties during devotions, leaned in to listen. One joined the group and told how needing to care for her elderly mother necessitated changing her entire daily routine. At first she resented the inconvenience until she thought about how much her mother had always done for her. When caring for her became a privilege, she knew she was honoring her mother.
A woman talked about how her husband was not open in his relationship with her but kept things to himself. "He was not honoring you, was he?" I asked. I could see by facial expressions that the guests were applying this to their own lives.
Then I asked what people honor today. What the media portrays. What their friends value. What they are taught. "What you honor, honors you," I said. Looks on faces ranged from introspective to stunned.
This is a principle we all need to remember. After loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, the Bible tells us to love others as ourselves. In Psalm 91 God says of those who love Him, "I will deliver them, set them on high, answer them, honor them, satisfy them with long life, and show them My salvation" (emphasis mine).(To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
Randy Walter
Shiloh Ministries | Chesapeake Revival Prayer Network
Email: shilohministries@comcast.net
Randy and Barbara Walter conduct Shiloh Ministries on Maryland's Eastern Shore, emphasizing intercession and the prophetic, and facilitating seminars and workshops. They have interceded on-site and led prayer journeys at hundreds of locations through their Chesapeake Revival Prayer Network. The Lord has assigned them to pray for awakening, Holy Spirit outpouring, and cultural transformation. For 25 years, Randy edited a regional Christian newspaper called The Manna. Randy and Barbara have ministered together throughout their 35 years of marriage, and have published their eleventh book, Marriage God's Way.
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I really enjoy reading words teaching us about "honor" and what it is in the Kingdom. There is so much we can learn as we honor God and others. After all, honoring our parents is also the first commandment with a promise (see Ephesians 6:2).
