Sorry for the long wait between updates! I've been really busy, only getting a few minutes here and there. Hopefully it'll be more regular now, but sadly, no promises.
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
1 Peter 3:15
Honor Christ the Lord as holy. That is a very strong commandment. Honoring God means to revere, respect, and worship Him, because He is holy. The Hebrew word for holy is qadosh, which literally means "to be set apart for a special purpose." God is set apart from everything and everyone else. We must honor Him and worship Him, because He is worthy of our worship. Another version of this verse (The Complete Jewish Bible) says "but treat the Messiah as holy, as Lord in your hearts." He should always be first in our hearts.
This verse also says to "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." When we are questioned about our faith, and we will be, we must be prepared to give an answer. We may be questioned by people wanting to know more about Jesus, or by those who want to ridicule Christianity. We must be prepared either way. We must be ready to explain why we act differently from those around us, why we believe, what the hope in us is.
To be prepared, we should be well-versed in the Bible. Psalm 119 says, "I have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart." Memorizing, pondering and reading Scripture is the only way to become very familiar with the Bible, so that we can defend it.
But we must remember not to be angry or mean when defending our faith, which we might well be, if someone is trying to make fun of the Bible. Instead, we must do it with gentleness and respect. Courteously, not yelling or screaming or getting angry. Respecting them as a human being who is loved by God.
In short, honor the Lord. Study His Word so we can answer questions people may have. Respect others. But above all, love God and those around us. Pretty much every verse in the Bible can be boiled down to loving God and loving others. We must love. Always, always love.
