Tag: fear of the Lord
Week 24–Day 1–Don’t fear men
Scripture reading for June 8: Luke 12:4-5“”I tell you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear; fear Him Who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!”” Proverbs 16:6 “By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.”
Fear is a hidden force that lurks in the minds and hearts of human beings. Our enemy, the devil, thrives in an atmosphere of fear because he works through lies and deception. His lies bring about fears of punishment or rejection that allows for manipulation and control. A fear of failure holds man back from obedience to God and locks them in lifestyles of addiction and slavery to the flesh. Behind these fears, the devil works through men and women to plant fear and division instead of the faith and obedience that comes from hearing God’s Word. Proverbs 29:25 states that “The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Jesus warned His disciples concerning the fear of men and their manipulations. They were not to fear those who threatened them with death because those who can kill the body do not determine a person’s eternal fate. God Alone holds that authority and He is the One we must fear (respect) and obey. Through Jesus Christ’s steadfast love and faithfulness our iniquity has been paid for and fear of death and punishment is removed. Through a relationship with Him and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we turn away from sin and evil.
First responders who are also faith responders understand this admonition of Jesus. We act in faith, trusting God to keep us safe as we deal with those who are hurting or those who through fear seek to manipulate or control others. We can be free from the fear of man and the fear of death and punishment through resting in Christ Jesus. We are then free to more effectively do our jobs.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for delivering us from the fear of man and his manipulation and threats. Help me to live each day trusting in You Alone for safety and wisdom to effectively deal with each incident in the courage of faith. Amen.
Restore with gentleness!
Scripture reading for March 29th: Galatians 6, Psalm 63, Proverbs 1
Galatians 6: 1-5 “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.”
Paul had just warned the Galatian church about the works of the flesh and that those who are involved in those works will not inherit the kingdom of God. He also had warned these believers about going back under the law and trying to work for their salvation. Those caught in these sins must be dealt with in love and gentleness. Walking in the Spirit means we do everything in love. We bear one another’s burdens of weakness and even sin to God in prayer for our brothers and sisters. We should first examine ourselves to be sure we are not operating in sin ourselves or in pride or a haughty spirit instead of the Holy Spirit. We will all have to answer before God for our attitudes and actions!
Psalm 63:3-4 “Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your Name I will lift up my hands.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your knowledge and instruction for Your children. Thank You for sharing this knowledge through the Word of God. Help me with this instruction on restoring brothers and sisters caught in sin and transgression or following the lies of our enemy Satan. Keep me from pride and deception in my own heart. I desire to be innocent of great transgression when You judge.
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Greatness through serving!
Scripture reading for January 12th: Mark 9, Psalm 9, Proverbs 9
Mark 9: 33-37 “And they came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another abut who was the greatest. And He sat down and called the twelve. And He said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And He took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in My Name receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him Who sent Me.”
Jesus was the Wisdom of God in human flesh. His disciples had been arguing about who of them was the greatest of disciples. Jesus asked them what they had been discussing so energetically, not that He did not know! They kept silent at His question but He answered it for them with a short statement: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” He then picked up a child, considered among the least of that culture. He encouraged them to receive a child in His Name. That act was equivalent of receiving Jesus Himself, and not only that, receiving His Father Who sent Him! That is true greatness–serving the least in Jesus’ Name and for the Father’s glory.
Proverbs 9:9-10 “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”
Prayer: Father, thank You for sending Your Son to instruct Your disciples in true greatness. I am seeking to follow Jesus’ teaching and example by applying this wisdom to my life and modeling it for those in my family and in the church. Guide me today into more wisdom and knowledge of how to properly serve each person that I meet or have relationships with. I trust You and seek You today in this time of trouble.
Psalm 9:9-10 “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know Your Name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
Be careful, don’t judge legalistically!
Scripture reading for June 10th: Proverbs 14-15, Romans 14
Romans 14:1-4 “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
In the culture of the church in Rome there were those who were weaker in their faith because of being immature and untaught in God’s Word. They still held some cultural beliefs or held to portions of the law although they had repented and come to salvation through believing on Jesus. Those who were more mature were passing judgment on these and looking down on them because they refused to eat meat that may have come from idols. Some became ‘vegetarians’ and both sides were critical of the other. Paul told them emphatically not to pass judgment by asking them a question. “Who are you to pass judgment?” He also added another truth: each person would stand before Christ and give an account!
Romans 14:10-12 “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for setting Your people free from dietary laws and condemnation. Forgive me when I have been haughty and critical of others whose faith may not have been developed yet. You alone are the Judge. Thank You for ‘life-giving’ reproof from Your Word to instruct me in the fear and respect for Your Word and Your people whom You have redeemed.
Proverbs 15:31-33 “The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor.”
The call to holy separation!
Scripture reading for December 24th: Job 28-30, Revelation 18
Key Scriptures: Revelation 18:4-8 “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, My people lest your take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit like a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’ For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God Who has judged her.””
John hears another angelic voice from heaven calling out to the people still on earth who belong to Jesus Christ. The call is for a holy separation to God and His kingdom. They are warned that the sins of this corrupt world system of humanism and false religion have risen to the point of judgment. That judgment will come in a single day from the Lord God Almighty through the fire of His wrath. The people living in the world system of “Babylon” are living in greed and luxury, thinking proudly of themselves and their great accomplishments. They are deceived by their own pride and do not realize that their destruction will come suddenly.
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for sending someone to warn me of my need to repent and come out of the man-centered world system of ‘Babylon’. Keep me in the fear of the Lord and use me to warn others of the coming judgment and way of escape through Jesus Christ.
Job 28:20, 28 “From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?” . . .”And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.”
Come out of Babylon, My People!
Scripture reading for December 24th: Revelation 18, Psalm 139-40, Proverbs 9
Key Scriptures: Revelation 18:4-7 “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, My people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back other, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, . . “
God’s heart is that all made in His image would not be found in the wicked city of Babylon, involved in its false religion and materialism. John heard a voice from heaven calling out to God’s people and giving stern warning of the impending doom of that city and its residents. God remembered their sins and was about to repay. In contrast, the sins of God’s people had been cast away and carried away by their Savior, the Lord Jesus.
Faith Confession: I am thankful that I heard the call from heaven to come out of ‘Babylon’ and look for God’s City–the New Jerusalem. I thank God that He graciously forgave me through the sacrifice of His Son and remembers my sins no more! Hallelujah!
Proverbs 9:10-11 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by Me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.”
The blessing of sharing our faith!
Scripture reading for October 11th: Philemon, Psalm 54, Proverbs 19
Key Scriptures: Philemon 4-7 “I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.”
Paul wrote to Philemon, a friend and fellow church member, from prison. This letter accompanied Onesimus, Philemon’s run-away slave who had been miraculously saved under Paul’s ministry in Rome. Paul wrote to ask Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother. As he began the letter, he thanked God for Philemon’s faith and love for Jesus and for his ministry of refreshing the other believers in the church. He prayed that Philemon would possess a full knowledge of every good thing in him through the sharing of his faith.
Faith Confession: Through the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I have come to a more complete knowledge of everything I have in Jesus Christ my Lord. Lord, fill me with faith and love to refresh the saints!
Proverbs 19:23 “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rest satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.”
Preach with your life!
Scripture reading for September 27th: 1 Timothy 4, Psalm 44, Proverbs 9
Key Scriptures: 1st Timothy 4:11-14 “Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
Paul went over with Timothy how to live out Christ’s life in the power of the Holy Spirit. He was to apply the Word of God in faith and practice in his own life and to publicly read Scripture and preach it. He was to use the gifts granted him at his ordination by the elders. Persistence would insure his salvation and those who would listen. A good example preaches a powerful message!
Faith Confession: I seek to apply the Word of God to my own life and to live an example to those around me, either in the church or on the outside. Lord, help me to persevere until You come or I go to be with you. I desire those who “hear” my life to be saved!
Proverbs 9:10-11 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by Me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.”
True greatness!
Scripture reading for March 14: Luke 9, Psalm 53, Proverbs 22
Key Scriptures: Luke 9:46-48 “An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by His side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My Name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
Pride manifested itself among the chosen disciples of Jesus. They argued with one another about which of them was the greatest disciple! Now it’s a noble thing to want to be the best follower of Jesus, but we can make an idol of our service to Christ and miss what Jesus desires for us. Jesus used a child as an example. Our treatment of children and the least among us requires humility and taking a lower position. True greatness, says Jesus, comes from this.
Faith confession: Lord, I want to attain true greatness by humbly receiving children and those looked down on by our culture. I believe You love children and the marginalized of our world and want me to love them. Action step: Reach out today to a child or someone hurting and show the love of Jesus to them.
Proverbs 22:4 “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.”
Strong Confidence!
Scripture reading for March 4th: Luke 1, Psalm 45, Proverbs 14
Key Scriptures: Luke 1:35-38 “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
Luke carefully wrote down the story related to him by faithful ministers, the apostles and Mary, Jesus’ mother whom he had known. Jesus’ birth was miraculous. Mary was a virgin and visited by Gabriel, the angel messenger of God. She was informed of God’s plan to use her to bring His Son into the world. Although Mary struggled to comprehend this process, she humbly offered herself as God’s servant to do His will. Her faith confession is a response to the angel’s words: “Nothing shall be impossible with God.”
Faith Confession: I believe that nothing is impossible with God and I trust His Word as truth to be believed and acted upon. (Action step: Respond in faith to God’s Word concerning an impossible situation you are facing.)
Proverbs 14:1, 26 “The wisest of women builds her house, . . .” “In the fear of the Lord on has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.”