[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] When We Honor God, God Honors Us - by Dr. Larry Ollison

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "thefamilyoffaith" <TheFamilyofFaith at tampabay.rr.com>
To: <thefamilyoffaith at yahoogroups.com>,
<INTERCESSORS-ALLNATIONS at yahoogroups.com>,
<dfpprayerwarriors at suddenlink.net>, <unitedprayermail at aol.com>,
<CcHhEeSsTtEeRr at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] When We Honor God, God Honors Us - by Dr.
Larry Ollison
Date: 
Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:29:01 -0400



When We Honor God, God Honors Us 
by Dr. Larry Ollison 



"Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house
and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the
LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and
those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed" (1 Sam. 2:30).

The Bible tells us here that God honors those who honor Him and that He
lightly esteems those who despise Him. By this scripture, we know what we
must do, but the question is, how do we esteem and honor God?

Of course, we esteem and give Him honor when we worship Him and tithe.
But there is another way to give Him honor that is often overlooked.

Jesus said, "..In as much as you did it to one of the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me" (Matt. 25:40). Who are "the least of these"?
The Greek word for least is translated as "in amount: of management of
affairs...in importance...in the estimation of men: of persons," and "in
rank and excellence: of persons." Here's an example that shows the heart of
Jesus in this matter.

When the disciples attempted to keep the children away from Jesus, Jesus
rebuked them. (Mark 10:13-14.) The children are considered least by some,
but according to Jesus, they are valuable, "for such is the kingdom of God"
(v. 14). We can give honor to Jesus and we honor God by giving honor to the
little ones.

But that raises the question again, "How do we honor the children?" We
honor our children at home and at church by giving them the Word of God and
by training them in the ways of the kingdom. As Christian adults, we should
supply the very best teaching materials for our children. We must give them
quality time and understanding. We must be an example to them of peace and
wisdom. 

Too many parents will control their tongue and their anger in public, but
release it in an ungodly way privately in front of their children. This
should not be. When we do this, we are not giving honor to our children.
And according to Jesus, what we do to the least, we are doing to Him.

So how do we honor God? We honor God by giving honor to children and to
those the world would consider of less value. We should never judge people
because of their income, education, or for the work they do in society. Man
looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. Philippians 2:3 tells us
to, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."