How do you show love and honor to someone special in your life? Do you take them out to dinner, buy them a gift, or treat them to a day out on the town?

If you wanted to give someone a gift of love, how would you go about it? Would you take someone who hates roller coasters on a roller coaster ride? Would you bake someone a chocolate cake if they were allergic to chocolate? Would you write them a check for a million dollars, knowing you only had 10 dollars in your bank account?

You would not be showing love or honor by doing any of these things. Why? Showing love and honor begins with understanding what someone wants and what they would appreciate.

Many people put more time and effort into learning how to love and honor their family and friends than they do in loving and honoring God. I have been told numerous times that how we worship God does not matter, it is what is in our hearts that matters. If we love Him, He accepts all of our gifts.

What does He say about this?

In Deuteronomy 12: 29-31, God states plainly that He finds the thought of being worshipped in any way resembling the worship of idols, repulsive.

“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods."

History has proven that many of today's worship practices associated with Christmas, Easter,and Sunday have come from pagan worship. Yet there are those who still believe that it doesn't matter to God. They would rather choose these days over God's Holy Days because everyone else is doing it.

God has set out a plan of salvation that is represented by His Sabbath and Holy Days, the days of worship that He put into practice. They have meaning and are full of His love. By choosing to worship on days that He did not set aside, what are you saying to Him? Are you really putting Him first in your life? Are you denying yourself a deeper understanding of who He is and His plan for all mankind? When God says He hates something do we make excuses as to why we should be able to continue in a particular practice?

Have you taken the time to learn about the way God wants to be worshipped? Did you know that even after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ the Church continued to keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days? Did you know that in the book of Revelation we learn, that after the return of Jesus Christ, God will again teach people about these days and what they mean?

Understanding how to worship God as He describes in the Bible is the first step to understanding His love for you and showing your love for Him. It is not easy to go against what "everyone else is doing." However, when it comes to worshipping God, He does care. Doing it His way can bring about a relationship with Him based on His way of life and what He wants for you. If you really want to worship Him, give Him the gift of worship that He desires.