The Fear Of The LORD

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.” Psalm 111:10

One day I went to get my vacuum cleaner repaired.  When I walked into the store with two of my daughters, we met a very outgoing and nice young gentleman who was the attendant at the time.  As I shared with him what was wrong with my machine, he began to repair it.  As he was repairing it, we struck up a conversation.  He said that he was a Christian and as soon as he knew I was a Christian as well, our conversation was fueled with both of us sharing about God’s faithfulness and God’s love.  My daughters loved the way he expressed his love for the Lord.  He made us laugh and we were all hi-fiving each other each time we expressed how great God is.  Needless to say, there was a lot of joy and laughter in the store.

He shared with me that he recently rededicated his life to God and that he also recently just got back with his wife after a short separation.  He said that he was serious about having a marriage the way God intended.  He wanted to be a good example to his children and he shared that he was determined to be the husband that God called him to be.  When he talked about his relationship with God, his eyes lit up and the joy on his face was hard to miss – his love for the Lord was a beautiful sight.

Right before I left with a repaired vacuum cleaner in my hand, I turned to him and said, “You know, your love for your wife will not keep you faithful to her.”  He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.  I then said, “What will keep you faithful to your wife - is the fear of God.”  His face lit up again and he said, “Amen sister!”    

The kind of fear of the Lord that followers of Christ have - is not the kind of fear that causes you to be afraid of Him because we fear His judgment.  Followers of Christ understand that Jesus took the penalty for our sins at the cross when He died for us – Jesus took away the fear of judgment.  The kind of fear that followers have, causes us to reverence Him, respect Him and value His commands over our emotions because He has proven to us that His instruction leads to life.  It is the fear of the Lord described in Psalm 19:9, “The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.  The decrees of the LORD are firm and all of them are righteous.” 

When we respect and reverence God, we will love His precepts and statutes.  The Bible says that God’s statute are more precious than gold and they are sweeter than honey. By them we are warned and keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:7-11).

“When we think of statutes, precepts and commands, we often think of rules that keep us from having fun. But here we see the opposite-law that revives us, makes us wise, gives joy to the heart, gives light to the eyes, warns us, and rewards us. That’s because God’s laws are guidelines and lights for our path, rather than chains on our hands and feet. They point at danger and warn us and then point at success and guide us.” Bible Commentary for Psalm 19:7-11

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.” Proverbs 9:10

A Vase Or A Bucket?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

There is something very beautiful about the prophet Isaiah’s immediate response to God.  His willingness to be used by God is a reflection of his heart and love for His LORD.   I was reading a book by Charles Stanley entitled, “The Blessings of Brokenness”, and the verse above reminded me of what I read.  I think you will be blessed too as I share it with you!

“God’s desire is for us to serve, not for us to be served. Jesus clearly taught that the servant is the one who is the greatest of all. Service is to be our life.  It’s a matter of being a vase or a bucket. You can have a beautiful vase that’s worth thousands of dollars and set it in a prominent place in your home so that you and others can walk by and say, ‘Isn’t that pretty?’ Or you can have an old five-gallon bucket and use it to carry water to refresh a lot of people who are thirsty. The same is true for us in ministry. Some folks desire solely to be pretty, looked at, and admired for their “worth”. Others are willing to be old buckets, full of God and emptied of self, in order to be of service to others.”

The Bible tells us that when God called Isaiah as a prophet, God did not encourage him with predictions of great success. God told Isaiah that the people would not listen. But God wanted him to speak and write His messages anyways because eventually some would listen.

In a sense, God was calling Isaiah to be an “old bucket”, full of God and emptied of self, in order to be of service to others!

“The joy set before us, however, is the joy of knowing that God is with us, that God is working in us and through us, and that God is pleased with us. And friend, there’s no greater joy than that.” Charles Stanley

"Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

 

 

The Way Forward

"Then the Lord said to Moses,'Quit praying and get the people moving! Forward March!'” Exodus 14:15

You have probably heard the saying, “Showing up is half the battle”. The first time I heard the concept of showing up, was about nine years ago when I was complaining to God about how unprepared I felt for a speaking commitment. I kept on whining to myself day after day about my need to be prepared for a message.  Sometimes I complained in prayer, but mostly it was a nagging thought of guilt that stole my joy away.  Finally, as I came to God with my cares, I heard His still, small voice say, “Show up.” Up to that point I was blind to the fact that each day that went by I did everything but “show up”.  The next morning, I woke up very early, sat at the kitchen table and there is where God met me.  I did my part in showing up and God did His part in inspiring me to write a message.

I can’t help but think of a story in the Bible in the book of Exodus. God had just delivered the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. Moses was their appointed leader by God to lead approximately two million people through the desert to their appointed promise land. Throughout their travels in the desert, it was God who enabled Moses and the people to keep moving forward.

As the Israelites were encamped near the sea, the Egyptians decided that they had made a huge mistake in letting the Israelites free (Little did they know that their power was limited by God). The Egyptians – all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops – pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching against them. The Bible says in Exodus 14:11 that the Israelites were terrified and cried to the Lord. They turned to Moses whining and this is some of what they said, “Have you brought us out here to die in the desert because there were not enough graves for us in Egypt? Why did you make us leave Egypt?” Moses responded by saying this, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch, and you will see the wonderful way the Lord will rescue you today. The Egyptians you are looking at – you will never see them again. The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t need to lift a finger!”

What God said next to Moses was something very interesting to me.  God said in Exodus 14:13 “Quit praying and get the people moving! Forward March!” God instructed Moses to hold his rod over the water and by God’s power - the Red Sea opened up a path for the Israelites to safely walk through on dry ground - saving His people from Pharaoh and all his men.

More than likely, if we want to accomplish anything, we will be called to “show up”. If in faith we do “show up”, God will part the red seas in our lives and we will confidently and successfully be able to accomplish what God has placed in our hearts to do.
 

FATHER, how gracious you are!  Thank you for your protection and for the effective and powerful ways You use to encourage us to move forward – sometimes it is through a gentle word and other times it is through a strong command. Thank you that we can always trust in your unconditional love and your perfect will for our lives. In Jesus’ Name we pray – Amen

Heart To Mouth

“The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.” Proverbs 15:28

Yesterday, as I was enjoying lunch with a friend, we were discussing an e-mail that my friend had received and that needed to be addressed immediately.  As my friend hurried back to work, I blurted out without thinking “Remember - respond instead of react”. I was surprised that I had given that exhortation to my friend. I decided I would research the differences between reacting vs. responding and below is good information from the site that I found entitled, ThinDifference.com – A Mindful Difference.

“React in action. When people react, it seems to be defensive. We seem to be at a disadvantage. We are uncomfortable with what is being said or done, and we react. In our reactions, our emotions take a central role. The hair on our neck stands on end. We feel our stomach turn. Our face heats up and our defenses are on red alert. We know reactions when we see it. There is a downside to reacting. We let emotions without reason drive us forward. We lose control. Reacting is sporadic and emotional. The upside may be passion, but our passion needs to be centered on purpose, not an unexpected, unproductive stimulus.”

“Respond in action. On the flip side is respond. There is still an external spur to our response. Responding, though, is more thoughtful. Responses contain reasoning. The difference may be this: Responding is guided less by emotion and more by logic. Responding may be passive in nature, as we are going second in a series. However, a response is more active, and it can change the direction of an interaction. The upside of a solid response is an engaging conversation, all positive and all civil. We learn. We grow. We listen. We respond. We act forthrightly and from within.”

I love that God has given us the Bible, a manual on how to live life skillfully. The Bible says that the righteous (those who have humbled themselves and received Christ as their Lord and Savior), carefully plan their words before they pour out their thoughts. 

FATHER, let our conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that we may know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:6).  Thank you for all the times you have forgiven us when we blurted out impulsive and hurtful words towards others – even when we felt it was justified. Thank you for the Word of God and the wisdom that you give us as we turn to your Word for instruction. Thank you that we can always turn to you for forgiveness.  We love You and in Jesus Name we pray – Amen.

God’s Call - Do You Hear It?

“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

Sometimes people read about great men and women of the Bible and think they were born with their strong faith and have lived a perfect life.  But that is the furthest from the truth; many of the great men and women of the Bible have lived imperfect lives but God graciously used them nevertheless.

We have a perfect example in the Bible of God starting a good work in someone and completing it - just look at one of Jesus’ disciples - Simon Peter.

In John 1:40-42 the Bible records for us the first time Peter came face to face with Jesus. What an honor for Peter to be able to meet the One who created him! It says in verse 42, “Now when Jesus looked at him, He said to Peter, “You are Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter = the rock).

You may be wondering to yourself, “What does God see when He looks at me?” May I remind you that when Jesus sees you - He not only sees you as you are today but He sees the person that you will become in His Hands! 

The Bible shares with us that Peter stumbled greatly after his first encounter with Jesus but the following is what is encouraging: In spite of Peter’s failures, shortcomings  -  even in spite of Peter denying the Lord Jesus Christ  -  he went on to do great things for God! God used Peter's sermon at Pentecost to add three thousand souls as believers in Christ. Peter was also called to minister to the Gentiles and God used His tenacity to preach the good news effectively.  Peter also performed many miracles like healing the sick and he was esteemed highly. He went on to do great things for God because it was God who began the work in Peter’s life in the first place and it was God who completed the work in Peter’s life up to his last breath.

Just like Peter, we make lots of mistakes but God can still use our broken lives, IF, we are opened to Him, we too can go on to be used in many small or great ways to bring Him glory! 

If you feel that God is calling you into something that is different than what you are accustomed to, embrace His call! He will give you all the grace and power that you will need to do great things for His Glory!

 

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him is glory both now and forever! Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18

 

Last Night

Last night our family attended a wake for my brother-in-law’s brother.  When I awoke this morning, this is the scripture that my mind was filled with: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

“There are days when the last thing we want to do is rejoice. Tell God how you truly feel and just like the writers of the Psalms who often felt this way, as they talked to God, their prayers ended in praise. When you don’t feel like rejoicing, you will find that God will give you a reason to rejoice. God has given you this day to live and to serve Him – be glad!” Bible Commentary

FATHER, thank you for filling our mind with your Word!  Thank you for this day that You have made!  May we share it in a way that brings you glory as if it is our last day on earth. We love You – In Jesus’ Name - Amen

Bake Me A Cake

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Have you ever said, “God, I don’t have the resources for the needs we have to buy a home, to buy a car, to buy food, to pay for my children’s education, to pay for our monthly bills, etc.?

I would like to share a story from the Bible about a widow who was going through some very tough times.  In 1 Kings 17, the Bible says that Elijah, a prophet of God, proclaimed a drought to King Ahab, due to the nation’s idolatry. God instructed Elijah to leave the area and go to a city named Zarephath – for God had commanded a widow in the city to provide for him there.    

This is where the story gets interesting.  When Elijah arrived in Zarephath, indeed there was a widow - but she was gathering sticks to cook the last meal for her and her son!  As soon as Elijah saw her he asked her for water and bread to eat.  This was her response, ”As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

Why would God send Elijah to a widow who barely had enough food for her and her son’s last “meal”?  

Watch what Elijah says to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ”

The Bible says that the widow “Went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.  The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.”

Why did God send Elijah to a widow who barely had enough food?  Because God knew that she would obey and trust God as her provider when she heard the word from Elijah.

Are you going through “tough” times? Do not fear, go and do as God has spoken to your heart – God always supplies our daily needs and much more!

 

"Every miracle, large or small, begins with an act of obedience. We may not see the solution until we take the first step of faith." Bible Commentary