3 Tangible Ways to Reverence God

The US abortion rate has hit its lowest level since the procedure became nationally legal in 1973.

  • Data showed that 13.5 abortions per 1,000 women were performed in 2017, an 8-per-cent decline from 2014.

  • Researchers found that 862,000 abortions were carried out in 2017, down from 926,000 recorded in 2014 and from slightly more than 1 million in 2011.

  • The number and rate of abortions is recorded by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group.

  • Its figures reveal that the number of abortions has decreased across the country, whether in Republican-controlled states with conservative anti-abortion laws or in pro-choice Democratic controlled states. (Source: Dated 9-18-19. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-abortion-rate-lowest-roe-vs-wade-guttmacher-institute-a9110361.html)

While this is encouraging, this is far from good news! There are still hundreds of thousands of babies murdered each year. On October 2, the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) brought court proceedings on behalf of a pro-life client against Planned Parenthood for the selling of aborted baby organs for profit (news that broke 4 years ago). Somehow, Planned Parenthood turned things around and made those who exposed their practices as the evil doers! (Source: Dated 9-30-19. https://aclj.org/pro-life/aclj-begins-weeks-long-trial-against-planned-parenthood-regarding-ghoulish-practices) The lack of respect for God's creation, human life, is staggering!! God's people must engage with a reverence for God!

Take a moment to read II Peter 1:5-7. “... and to patience godliness…” — Spiritual Growth ought to have a reverence or true piety towards God. To have reverence is to have honor and respect that is deeply felt and outwardly demonstrated. Reverence does NOT refer to God as:

  • "the man upstairs"

  • "the big guy in the sky"

    …even the thief on the cross understood this when he rebuked the other thief (Luke 23:40-42) with, "don't you fear God?" — and then honored the Lord.

Consider the awesome grandeur of God. Psalm 19:1 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, Isaiah 46:9 tells us there is none like God. Genesis 1:1 informs us that He is our creator. Colossians 1:16-18 reveals that all was created by Him AND for Him. With the knowledge of that incredible power, I John 4:19 reminds us that He loved us first...and I John 4:10 shows us how generous His love truly is -- a love He points right to each of us. And most prominently, Isaiah 6:3 and I Peter 1:15-16 declare that God is holy. In all of this, He never changes (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17).

3 Tangible ways in which we can show reverence to God? Generally, it is a voluntarily dying to self and obedience to His commands (Galatians 2:20; James 2:12). Specially? --

God's Name.

Specially, one who shows reverence to God honors His name. Many believers today use the OMG acronym...thus making His name no more than "wow." This is not just disrespectful to the one true God — it is also sin! Exodus 20:7 commands against it.

God's Holiness.

Also, we show reverence to God by recognizing His hatred of sin, coming judgment of sin, pursuing holiness, and saying no to ungodliness. (Romans 10:3; I Peter 1:15; Titus 2:12).

Say yes to obeying your parents, say yes to forgiving, say no to pornography, no to profanity, no to people pleasing, no to immorality, and no to illegal drugs! The most recent study I could find by WI Dept. of Health Services says 13,000 12 to 17 year olds used Meth within a 30 day period; 128,000 used meth between the ages of 18 and 25 years old; and 757,000 used meth above the age of 26 -- and these are just Wisconsin's numbers for August 2019! (Source: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p01739c.pdf). We need to add to our faith godliness...and that means pursuing holiness!

God's Worship.

John 4:24 tells us that those who worship the Lord must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Today's culture often refers to the hymn service as the "time of worship." However, true worship is not merely about our favorite gospel song. It is not simply connected to an emotional response. To worship in spirit is to have one's heart abandoned to the Lord...holding nothing back (at least that we may be aware of)...willing to follow in obedience. To worship in truth is to engage our minds with understanding of God's Word and God's nature. Take heed to this warning: proper worship is not the same as stiff formality. Consider God's grand invitation for us to draw close Him, and in return, He would draw closer to us (James 4:8)!

God's people must add to their faith godliness…they must choose reverence for God!