Bible Reading: Hosea 12, 13, 14, Revelation 4.
Memory Verse: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11 (KJV)
Glory is a great beauty or splendour, that is so overwhelming it is considered powerful while honor is the state of being morally upright, honest, noble, virtuous, and magnanimous; the perception of such a state.
While Glory is to exalt with joy; to honor is (us) to show respect for, to reverence or be in awe of someone or something. Giving glory and honour to God therefore implies Exalting God with joy while reverencing him. Praising God while remaining in awe of him. If this is what the Four beasts do day and night (Revelation 4:8-9), as well as the twenty four elders, what then should we be doing regularly? It’s obvious we need to praise God with reverence more often. So do you really honour God with your praise, do you recognise his glory while worshipping him?
The bible says the twenty four elders continuously cast their crowns and sing: Revelation 4:11 (KJV), “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” However, giving God glory and honour while on earth is different from how it is done in heaven. In heaven, only holy vessels are in his presence giving him the glory and honour. However on earth, all beings, both clean and corrupt try to glorify God. But we know he does not behold iniquity, so the glory and honour of the corruptible vessel will not ascend to the throne of God. It’s like singing praises of a deaf man, he will not hear you and so cannot appreciate what you do. To avoid this, we need to ensure that we present our bodies a living sacrifice by living a holy acceptable life before God ( Romans 12:1).
This entails checking our lives daily and asking for mercy for every act of sin we might have committed but taking every action to ensure we live a daily life of holiness. Some people say holiness is impossible for any human being. But Hebrews 12:14 (KJV) says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” God will not ask us to do what is impossible knowing our framework. So it means it’s possible for us to live holy. And he has given us the process of achieving this. In Luke 9:23 (KJV), “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
So God is saying we should be holy everyday just as we brush our teeth and take our bath everyday. So every morning, you wake up, you should say to yourself, “I will live holy today” and be cautious of that decision as you go about your daily chores that day. Then you repeat it the following days. That way, it becomes a way of life. Let’s put it to practice and we will be able to give our body to serve God as a living sacrifice.
Action point: Determine to start living holy from today. Just do it in the next twenty four hours and review your performance at the end of the day. You can do it, just seek the help of the Holy Spirit.