Does God honor you?

1 Samuel 2:30 (NIV)

Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.

Ninety one years ago, a remarkable man did a remarkable thing. Eric Liddell of Scotland refused to run a heat at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris because the race was scheduled on a Sunday, which his faith taught him would violate the Sabbath.

As we know from the Academy Award-winning film, "Chariots of Fire,'' Liddell managed to negotiate an unheard-of switch from the 100-meter race he had been scheduled to run to the 400 meter, for which he had not trained, later in the week. On July 11, 1924, Liddell won that race and was showered with Olympic glory.

Instead of cashing in, Lidell turned his back on fame and fortune and followed in his parents' footsteps, becoming a missionary in China, where his most powerful contributions to God and to his fellow humans were made.

In our day of focus groups and leadership weakened by uncertainty of belief, Eric Liddell's example continues to stand out. A fanatic might have demanded that others not run on Sunday, either, and organized a group to enact legislation to conform society to his point of view. Not Liddell. He just said he wouldn't run. Some newspapers denounced him as a traitor to his country and king. How quickly they changed their tune when he won a gold medal. Had he yielded to temptation and compromised his beliefs, we might never have heard of him again.

The account of the race in the July 12, 1924, Times of London conveys the excitement of that day in Paris: "Liddell had the outside berth -- generally considered the worst place .... There was a perfect start, and from the first jump-off the pace looked, and was, terrific. Two men of the six fell .... But that made no difference, for there was never more than one man in the race, and it was the pace he set that fairly ran them off their legs. Sweeping round into the straight Liddell led by four or five yards, and increased his lead by a couple of yards more in the run home. No one ever looked like catching him .... "When the time was given out as 47 3-5 sec., and it was realized that, for the third time in two days, the world's `record' had been lowered, the Stadium went insane ....'' When Liddell left Edinburgh for China the following year, the number of people wanting to bid him farewell was so large that 1,000 were unable to get in. Twenty years later he was taken prisoner with other missionaries and Westerners and became one of 1,800 crowded into a Japanese camp. His personal space had shrunk to 3 by 6 feet. Before his arrest, Liddell managed to get his wife and two children to safety in Canada (Florence Liddell was pregnant at the time with their third daughter, whom Eric would not live to see). He died of a brain tumor on Feb. 21, 1945.

His biographer Sally Magnusson recalled that most people who knew Liddell observed the consistency of his life. She tried to learn whether he had "clay feet.'' In her book, "The Flying Scotsman,'' Magnusson thought she might have discovered something when she "happened on a disillusioning eyewitness account of the behavior of some of the missionaries in the Japanese internment camp where Liddell spent the last months of his life.

`It is rare indeed when anyone has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he comes as close to it as anyone I have ever known.' Of course, he was talking about Eric Liddell.'' Magnusson adds that thousands of people live similar lives in obscurity and the world does not know their names. "And the first to remind us of that would be Eric Liddell -- who would be full of embarrassment at the very idea of being the subject'' of a book or film.

At the end of "Chariots of Fire,'' producer David Puttnam put on the screen: "Eric Liddell, missionary, died in occupied China at the end of World War II. All of Scotland mourned.''

Press accounts of the 1980 premiere of the film in Edinburgh told of huge crowds. How fitting. The people of Scotland, who had shared their native son with China, were welcoming him back and affirming the note given to Liddell by his masseur before that 1924 race. It referred to the Biblical passage 1 Samuel 2:30: "He who honors Me, I will honor.'' And so He did. And so He still does 91 years later.

Dear Lord, help us honor You in everything we do so that You will honor us. Help us not do things that bring honor to us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A Commitment That He Will Honor

Deuteronomy 3:22 (NIV)

Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.

Pope Pius the Ninth once received a letter very different from the many he received every day. It was written on a plain sheet of paper; there were ink spots on it, crossed out words, and spelling mistakes. A very young boy living in a suburb of Rome had sent it. The boy's mother was ill; he had no money to help her and he asked the Pope for the thirty-seven lire he wanted for medicine. Pius had his secretary reply to the boy, saying that he would receive him at the palace the next morning.

On the following day the now happy boy went to the Vatican, presented his letter of audience, and asked that he be taken to see the Pope. The guards were very surprised, looked at the letter and passed it on to an officer to check, and finally let the boy into the palace. The boy's honest and determined look immediately appealed to the Pope, who after a little talk, gave him a gold coin. The boy thanked him then innocently mentioned that it was only twenty-five lire he had received and he wanted thirty-seven.

"Of course,' answered the Pope, "you are right, I had forgotten the exact amount you needed." Then he took a second coin from his purse and gave it to the boy. But this is too much now," the boy pointed out, "and I have no change. But I will bring it tomorrow." "That's all right; come and see me again tomorrow," replied the Pope.

The boy was very prompt and arrived next morning with the change. This greatly impressed the Pope. In the meantime he had his secretary make some inquiries about the boy and his sick mother. The secretary had reported to the Pope that the boy was truthful and conscientious and that the family was very poor. So when the boy arrived with the change the Pope told him that he would pay for his education and that his mother would be properly cared for during her illness.

And so it was done. The boy received a good education and became very successful in all that he did, worthy of the Pope who had helped him.

This story is about honesty, not about big things but small things, not asking for too much, only what is necessary. It’s also a story about making a commitment and honoring it. Today, the media abounds with stories of confidence tricksters, about misrepresentation, about dishonesty. Society now expects that we should question every offer of help or kindness in case there is a ‘bottom line’ and we become a victim.

One morning 2,000 years ago God made us a great offer. He placed on earth His Son who would live and work among His people. Jesus would not ask too much of us, only that we should honor His name and go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He commanded us. And He made a commitment that He would be with us always, to the very end of the age. It is a commitment that He will honor.

The dishonesty of many has caused us to become skeptics. But there is no dishonesty about God - He gave His Son to us as a gift, He made an offer of forgiveness and He made a promise of eternal life to those who believe. No matter how society behaves, this is honesty and commitment that we can rely on.

Dear Lord, we thank You for the commitment that You will honor to work with us. We thank You that no matter what we are going through you are there. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Are You Confident in God?

There is a story about a young woman, name Linda, who was in a terrible car accident. When the paramedics came upon the scene they found her in shock due to a loss of blood from a severed right leg. She was pinned in the wreckage and it was some time before they could free her and treat her wounds. All the while she remained conscious and alert. They were amazed at her calmness in view of the serious injuries she had sustained.

Later one of the paramedics said to newsmen covering the story, "I guess the only thing that saved her life was the singing." Puzzled at this revelation, they asked him what she was singing. He replied, "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear...what a friend we have in Jesus!" I doubt that Linda thought of herself as heroic, but perhaps she was. Each of us can be, under the right circumstances, just as surely as the Bible heroes listed in Hebrews 11. All we need is courage, character and a great confidence in a great God.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

- Hebrews 11:7

Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, give us the will to honor you in all situations especially when things look bad. We pray that how we handle the things that come our way in a way that brings honor and praise to your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What Are You Doing to Honor the Cross?

I found this and thought it was so good I had to share it:

During the Second World War there was a young boy in a small town who had to go to the drugstore for his mother. As he arrived at the drugstore, he saw a poster on the front window that made a great impression upon him. It was the picture of an American soldier dressed in full battle uniform lying flat on his face, dead in the sands of a South Pacific island. He was lying there with the ocean cradling his body, and at the bottom of the poster was this question: "What have you done for your country today that's worth this soldier dying yesterday?"

Let's change that scene and go outside the city of Jerusalem to a hill called Calvary and ask you to look on a cross and see the Son of God, the Savior, dying for your sins and the sins of the world. Let me ask you the question: "What have you done for Christ today that's worth what He gave for you on Calvary?"

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

-1 Peter 2:24

Dear Lord, We pray that you will help us to make a difference today that will bring honor to what you did on the cross for each of us. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Honor God with everything we are

So often we let personal preference, peer pressure, and concerns about the celebration of certain days, especially holidays, have a divisive effect on our Christian relationships. Bottom line: we're not to try to press our opinion or position on anyone else. We're not to judge another because he doesn't celebrate a special day to the Lord and we're not to judge another because she does celebrate special days. This is a matter of personal conviction that revolves around our desire to please the Lord and to honor him in ways we feel are appropriate. Let's not be so insecure that we have to do what everyone else does or force anyone else to do as we prefer. Instead, let's remember the right angle to take with all things: honor God with everything we are and consider the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

— Romans 14:5

Dear Lord, please forgive us for judging people based on human observances and our preference about those observances. As for us, please give us courage to honor Christ according to our convictions, but also please give us the wisdom to do so in ways that bless your people and that do not cause division. We know we will never fully succeed at this goal, but we do believe that, with your help, we will find ways to bring you the glory due you and to also maintain our fellowship with your children. Purify our hearts in this matter and guide us in the way we need to go. In Jesus' name. Amen.