Jeremiah 32:27 - Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
THE LORD HELPS
~ WHAT IS FEAR OF THE LORD? ~
~ WHAT IS THE FEAR OF GOD? ~
~ WHY SHOULD I FEAR THE LORD ~
~ HOW DO I FEAR THE LORD AND LOVE HIM AT THE SAME TIME? ~
People have asked me: "Why should I fear the Lord?" In this present day and age, we associate fear with some guy wearing a hockey mask and chasing us with a chain saw. However, another definition of fear is "reverence", but you've heard that a million times, from a million different preachers, in a million different Churches or Christian TV programs, so let me explain in my own words.
Unlike 50 years ago or more, most (or
at least half), of the population has grown up in a "one parent home", so they can't really grasp the concept of Love and Fear and how they can relate to each other. When I was a very young boy, my parents believed in corporal punishment, and it was my father who administered it most of the time.
When my brothers and I deserved punishment, it came in the form of a "razor strap". For those of you who don't know what a razor strap is, it is a piece of hard leather (like a belt) about 3 inches wide and about as long as a belt you would wear around your waist. It was used for sharpening a strait razor to shave with. (disposable, Bic razors didn't exist then)
Granted, I didn't appreciate it much at the time, but I never repeated the same offense twice, and whether you can attribute it to my fathers discipline or not, neither I nor my brothers ever landed in jail or prison. We did however, share a healthy sense of "right and wrong", and still do. That has been many years ago, but a good lesson tends to stick with you.
The bottom line is: Did I love my dad? You bet I did. Did I fear my dad? You bet I did! Was it a good and healthy thing to fear him. Without a doubt - YES IT WAS! Would it have been better if he had simply forgiven me every time I did something dishonest or wrong? Absolutely not!!!! I would have grown up without learning any valuable lessons, and would have developed a sense of entitlement, that no matter how I treated others, they still owed me something.
The government may push an entitlement agenda, but where God is concerned, you are "not" entitled to anything! You have what you have by the grace of God, and you are saved only by God's grace and mercy.
God also disciplines those he loves.
Proverbs 3:12 - For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
So, is it a good and healthy thing to fear the Lord? You bet it is!
Psalms 111:10 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.
Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Contrary to what you may have believed, Fear of the Lord is "not" the same fear as though Freddy or Jason were chasing you with a chain saw. Fear of the lord means to: "Receive instruction". It is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. It is good for your soul, spirit and your life while you are here on earth.
~ FEAR OF GOD ~
God is our father. He is not an abusive father who comes home drunk and beats you and your mother, he should more accurately be compared to a loving father who will give you a stern punishment for trying to stick your hand under the lawnmower while it is running. Why? So you will not want to try that again. (fear of the Lord "is" the beginning of wisdom)
If you want your life to go more smoothly while you are here on earth, and if you want your prayers to be answered, receive instruction. It is he who can prevent or allow calamity into your life. The worst thing to fear from the Lord is that he may turn his face form you. Another definition of Hell is: "Separation from God".
Isaiah 45:5 - "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
Isaiah 45:6 - That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other,
Isaiah 45:7 - The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.
Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Dan Douglass
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