Crown him

10 The Lord loves those who hate evil; he protects the lives of his people and rescues them from the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the godly and joy for the good. 12 May all who are godly be happy in the Lord and crown him, our holy God. (Psalm 97:10-12 TLB)

How do we actually "crown him" Lord of our lives? I think it is in the small ways, like when we choose to be kind when a hurtful word would be easier or quicker to say. It might be in the moments when we give of ourselves unselfishly to help another who is struggling to figure something out. It could be in those moments you offer yourself for 'whatever needs to be done', knowing someone is having a hard time keeping up with the tasks at hand. It is definitely in those moments when we actively choose to worship him, but it is also in those small things that might not seem to matter all that much, but that make all the difference in the lives of another.

Someone once said you can get happy in the same pants you chose to get mad in, or feel good about life in the same pants in which you chose a sour disposition instead. We choose to crown him in our actions - not in just our words. We make conscious, and some not very conscious decisions to honor him within the context of our everyday comings and goings. We don't need to 'have church' to bring him honor - because giving him honor is elevating him to the place of the highest control and the most frequent focus in our lives.

We looked at the word 'honor' just briefly yesterday and found the meaning to be that of having or living with integrity between one's actions and beliefs. It is fine to 'believe' - Jesus told us that even the devil believes. It is fine to make gestures of good deeds, but they don't stand alone. The link between beliefs and actions is what produces honor. Some equate honor to that kind of fame someone gets for winning the gold medal, or coming in with the highest marks. While this is true, it isn't the root of honor - honor began with the belief one could win the medal, underwent years and years of rigorously focused training in order to win it, and then performed at the top of one's ability to obtain that honor. Beliefs were linked to specific actions.

Honor begins with making the right choices. We choose to give Christ his rightful place in our lives - at the center - in control of it all. Then we choose to actively learn how it is we live each day continuing to make the active choices to leave him in that center of control! Yep, it isn't a one time deal - it is a continual choosing. It takes actively choosing to turn away from evil and toward what is right and true. In time, our actions become more consistent and we begin to see our beliefs and actions align. As this alignment occurs, we are bringing honor to Christ, for it is in the evidence of his presence within us that he is seen. Crown him today, in both your beliefs and actions. If they aren't in perfect alignment yet, don't fret - you are on the way! That is one way we honor him with our lives - by taking the first steps in the right direction (even if we have to take them a few times over and over again until we get consistent in taking them each time!).  Just sayin!

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