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Obligation or Honor?

by Tonja Taylor
7/27/2023 / Christian Living

9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another. 11 Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.…--Romans 12:9-11, Berean Study Bible (BSB)

17 Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.--Hebrews 13:17, NLT

When we honor others, we show them respect. Our Bible-believing true spiritual leaders should be honored.

When we know God has led us to a certain church or other God-honoring group, then to a point, we are obligated to help them and serve them and pray for them.

However, if things keep happening through the leader(s) that breaks the code of honor, then the LORD can free us from those obligations.

These are the last of The Last Days, and King Jesus will very soon return to earth. We must be in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing with the right group for the right reasons.

Only He can help us with that!

The LORD is a God of honor. He helps us learn how to honor Himself and our spiritual leaders, and others.

He also is Daddy God first, and loves each of us individually. He knows all things, and knows us better than we know ourselves.

If things keep happening in a church, and one experiences verbal or emotional abuse or other things not of God, and that is often and continual--especially when unprovoked, and unrepented for, then, at least in my experience and a few others I know, the LORD will release us from those obligations, and send us to new churches, where we can fully honor Him and the spiritual leaders--and be truly honored in return by the leaders.

No Believer is perfect. Spiritual leaders can allow themselves to be under a lot of pressure--or even create such circumstances, then get angry and frustrated and arrogant and impatient, and blame their congregations, for some reason, etc. etc. etc.

It is not just my opinion that, while we should welcome transparency in our leaders, when it crosses the line to abuse, and that continues, then God is not the focus and not being honored, nor are the recipients.

Only King Jesus is perfect. However, if you're like me, you expect and desire your spiritual leaders to be at a higher level of maturity than you, in many areas, if not all.

It can be very disappointing when spiritual leaders act like the world, whether in morals, or even continually in fleshly impatience, arrogance, and more.

Each of us is repsonsible to first show honor to the LORD our God, our truest and only perfect Leader.

I have found from personal experience that, if I am distracted and discouraged week after week, month after month, by a spiritual leader---no matter how well-known around the world or whatever--that I cannot receive the spiritual food I'm supposed to be able to receive from them.

I've had to change "vineyards" after over 18 years, but it has been one of the best things I've done!

The LORD helped me forgive and release and bless the spiritual leaders from whom I could no longer receive.

The LORD may be counseling you (He is our Wonderful Counselor!) about leaving your current church to go to a new place He will show you (just like He told me; first, that He was going to "break me out of boxes," and then to "get out of my (spiritual) father's house, and go to a land I will show you.").

It may be gut-wrenching, like it was for me, but it was totally the right thing to do. Although I continue to honor and pray for those spiritual leaders, and admire and appreciate them greatly for so many reasons--and even though my husband is still serving in that church, I am thrilled to be in the new church that the LORD led me to!

Notice I say "led"--which is so important!

One of the other main confirmations (besides the greace peace and gladness in my heart at my new location, of which I immediately became a member, after going through an orientation class) is that I have the complete agreement of my spouse.

I do not agree with church-hopping, just to try out a church if one is bored or whatever.

I totally believe that, to properly honor the LORD, and the spiritual leaders of the former church (which don't always like it or understand), and those of the new church, we must be led by the Spirit of God. We must honor the LORD by waiting on Him, which I did, having my spouse pray with me, and not saying anyting for a few weeks to anyone else, even a couple of close friends in the former church.

We must honor the LORD by remembering and thanking Him that, even when we don't understand why things happen a certain way, He is utterly trustworthy and only and forever has our very best interests at heart!

The LORD God of Heaven and earth, our loving faithful Father, truly works all things together for our best and His glory, when we are born again and called (and every born again child of God is called to complete his or her Ephesians 2:10 Destiny in the earth!).

In other words, Daddy God makes everything work out, when we trust in Him and wait on Him, and He's always working good out of evil!

20 As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this— to preserve the lives of many people. --Genesis 50:20, BSB

Here is one of my favorite Scriptures for guidance:

12 Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. 13 His soul will abide in prosperity, And his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.--Psalm 25:12-14, NLT

Do not fear. The LORD loves you, and He knows you want to honor Him above all. He will help you know for sure if He is moving you to a new church!

Through books, courses, presentations, service, prayer, worship, and more, Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. Her series for girls, P.O.W.E.R. GIRL ADVENTURES, is now out (books I-V), along with LEGACY; YOUR HOLY HEALTH: VISIONS OF THE KING, and more. See the "River Rain Creative" YT channel.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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