Q6. Reverence

[KenBoy]

Q6. (Daniel 5:22-24) In the New Testament, Jesus doesn't present God as legalistic, but as holy -- "hallowed be thy name." We are to be God-fearers. How do Christians commonly act irreverently in ways that would offend God? How have you changed your ways to conform to God's holiness?

 

Christians who do not know about the uniqueness of One God may inadvertently use his name in trivial matters ,swearing and also take part in festivities of others ,

Yes ,I am conscious of taking His name vainly and strive to keep God in the First position in decision making and spend time asking /listening to the prompting of Holy Spirit ,I also forgive easily and move forward ,encourage others with the Word of God ,

[jr4624]

Q6. (Daniel 5:22-24) In the New Testament, Jesus doesn't present God as legalistic, but as holy -- "hallowed be thy name." We are to be God-fearers. How do Christians commonly act irreverently in ways that would offend God? How have you changed your ways to conform to God's holiness?

 

 

I believe we mostly are irreverent in our persons. Jesus tore the curtain so that all can come into the holy presence of God, and we forget that we are really always in His presence. All through the N.T. we are reminded that we are part of a nation of priests, that our bodies are temples of the living God, that we are each living stones in a spiritual house built on the cornerstone of Jesus and so forth. Therefore our speech, dress, actions, etc. should reflect God's holiness. I find that is very often not the case. It's usually hard to tell the difference between believers and non in social situations.

 

I am personally offended by the way people who aren't praying to or praising Him use the phrase "Oh my God!" or "GDit." I have made an effort not to say such things or to swear by His name so that His "name be kept holy" as Jesus said in the model prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. Of course I am no more perfect than anyone else in doing so. I try to keep a repentant heart and constantly ask God to help me in my sanctification. Like all Christians, I believe I'm a work in progress and God's not finished with me yet. (Praise Him for that!)

[Commissioned]

Q6. (Daniel 5:22-24) In the New Testament, Jesus doesn’t present God as legalistic, but as holy – “hallowed be thy name.” We are to be God-fearers. How do Christians commonly act irreverently in ways that would offend God? How have you changed your ways to conform to God’s holiness?

Christians commonly act irreverently in ways that would offend God by deliberately sinning.  I have changed my ways to conform to God’s holiness by daily, through His Holy Spirit, live in obedience to His Word.

[Frangena]

Q 6.

1. Christians commonly do the following things that can offend God:

• We forget that the church of God - buildings - should be observed as holy and be respected as such. We make a lot of noise inside the church building as if we have come to a theatre for pleasure instead of being silent before their Lord.
• The money donated for development of God's work is sometimes used for worldly issues and not for growth of God's kingdom.
• We hardly think deeply and cleanse ourselves before the Eucharistic elements prepared for us on the Alter and we just approach God's Table as a routine.

     2. I have changed in many ways but I must confess that this is a difficult and continuous journey. I read the Word of God daily. I pray twice a day with the evening prayer focussed on what happened during the day. I participate in Bible studies and other evangelistic sessions like the ALPHA course in order to bring other people closer to God. I make sure to do deep spiritual searching before each and every Eucharist. I have a Spiritual Director who is my Soul Mate in this journey. I have pledged to give a certain amount of money for God's work in the church where I worship.

[haar]

Q6. (Daniel 5:22-24)

 

Q. In the New Testament, Jesus doesn't present God as legalistic, but as holy -- "hallowed be thy name." We are to be God-fearers. How do Christians commonly act irreverently in ways that would offend God?

 

A. When they serve God in singing, worship, offering etcetera without honouring/ reverencing Him.

 

Q. How have you changed your ways to conform to God's holiness?

 

A. I try to come before Him knowing that He is holy and I need to worship Him in holiness by humbling myself before Him and confessing any known sin at the beginning of my worship/ prayers

[Old Jerry]

I think that we do all kinds of things that show that we are irreverent and would offend Him. We go to church like we would go to the beach. We wear hats in the church. I don’t think that we even try to respect God even when we are in the church. I have changed my ways to conform to God’s holiness.

[nancyann]

As Christians we disrepect God by not allowing God to work in and through us.  We put God in a box. I know I sometimes say one thing but actually do another.  I also sometime do not speak out for God. I think this must be offensive ot God. People know I am a Christian and will say something that I feel is disrespectful to / about God, and I will keep quiet. I am not sure if this is classed as not acknowledging God or just not standing up as Daniel did for what is right?

 

To change this I have tried to say in a loving and gentle way that I do not agree with the subject or that I find what the person is saying is offensive/or disrespectful to some.   I also try to spend more time in pray and study.

[joy irowa]

the use and misuse of God`s resource

 

what is done in the house of God 

 

how men of God are being treated

 

not putting God first

[elizabeth kerr]

I am one of those women who dress modestly, but I strongly object to being held responsible for making sure that a man or boy does not think or feel sexual **** when he looks at me.  It is each male's job to discipline himself so that he does not **** after a female he sees.   

 

A woman's manner of dressing is not sufficient to keep a man from ******* after her.  She can be modestly dressed and his imagination can still run wild about what is under the clothes.    Even a woman in the Middle East who wears the burqa and hijab, which are required of her because "men cannot control their **** when they see any part of any woman," is not free from unwanted looks and touching and verbal comments or sadly, even rape, from some of the men who see her. 

 

A woman may offend God by her choice of clothing, but it is not because some man may **** after her when he sees her.  That man is responsible for working with the Spirit to change his heart and mind and put to death his ******* after women who are not his wife.  The woman he lusts after is not responsible for his ****;  she is responsible for her choice of clothing and the motivation for that choice.

[Lionwolf]

Q6. (Daniel 5:22-24) In the New Testament, Jesus doesn't present God as legalistic, but as holy -- "hallowed be thy name." We are to be God-fearers. How do Christians commonly act irreverently in ways that would offend God? How have you changed your ways to conform to God's holiness?

I believe we act irreverently more often than toward fellow Christians. We are children of God. We get caught up in legalistic arguments over scripture or our denomination. We seem to forget we belong to God and we should show respect to each other. 

[Krissi]

 In the New Testament, Jesus doesn't present God as legalistic, but as holy -- "hallowed be thy name." We are to be God-fearers. How do Christians commonly act irreverently in ways that would offend God? How have you changed your ways to conform to God's holiness?

In a culture that seems to deny consequences, many so-called Christians act fearlessly and recklessly. They do not stop to think about God before acting or speaking -- He is far from their mind. These are Christians, mind you, not seculars. For them, the ideas of the world are so pervasive and media/tech so overwhelming that their minds are primarily shaped by forces outside scripture, prayer and an intimate knowledge of God.

To revere God as holy means putting aside worldly thoughts. This is easier written than done. How many of us put aside our cell phones, laptops, tablets, tvs, movies, etc. in order to purify our minds to focus on God?

--

I have tried, not always successfully, to purify my mind from cultural/social/political influences. I threw out the tv years ago, stopped listening to radio in the car, got rid of all music in the house, got rid of all fiction books, never go to movies ... yet still, my mind wanders down paths it should not. God sees my efforts as well as my failures. 

Getting rid of the bad stuff is only the first step. The second and much harder step is replacing the bad with good. What I have found is that the "good stuff" isn't always as good as it once seemed. For example, I am fascinated by the Western war against Russia taking place in the Ukraine, now. I read a lot on it. Perhaps obsessively. This is the sort of "filler" that I should excise from my mind even though it isn't sinful per se. Rather than think about Western decline, I should think about more spiritual things. Though my goal is to go one day without thoughts that are NOT of Him, I can barely go an hour, now ... much to work on.

Recall those old medieval mystics who lived their lives without distraction or confusion; I marvel. Even though today's culture is ubiquitous compared to that of medieval times, I know I could separate myself more from it. What would it be like to live a day in total fear and reverence toward God? Why am I not more afraid of offending Him?

One of the teachings that evangelicals focus on -- rightly -- is forgiveness. But we forgive cheaply and lightly as if our sins were inconsequential. They're not, however. In Roman Catholic teaching, confession was followed by Penance and then restitution. We rarely do penance in the church. We forgive cheaply without personal cost or acknowledgement the our unholy behavior has a rippling effect of unholy consequences.

To be holy is to recognize the horror of unholiness.