Tag: Fear the Lord

Receive my words

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;”

Psalms 34:9  Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Proverbs 4:1   Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,

Proverbs 7:24  And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

Proverbs 8:17  I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Proverbs 22:6   Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Ecclesiastes 11:9  Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.  Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Ecclesiastes 12:1  Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

Isaiah 28:9   “To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message?

Matthew 18:2  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them  and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

“Listen to my words”, “humble yourself”, “be attentive”, “remember your creator”, “seek diligently”, and “fear (reverence and respect) God” are all spoken with the intent of the hearer taking action – making a choice to do it or not.  We make choice each day on how we will act, what we will say, how we will react, what we expose our eyes to, and what we listen to.  Staying close to God, seeking Him, humbly serving Him, listening to Him, and obeying Him will certainly guide the previous choices and how we face each day.  One path seeks only what is right in our own eyes and the other seeks what is right in God’s eyes.

 

Worthy of Praise

” I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”

“I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

Psalms 34:2 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!  I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

1 Timothy 1:15-16   The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.  But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:13   though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,

Psalms 32:5-6  I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

Psalms 22:22-24  I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:  You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!  For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

Jeremiah 9:24  but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Psalms 105:3   Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!

Isaiah 1:18   “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

When you think about praising God what comes to mind?  How many things can you list?  Try writing them down for the next 5 minutes.  I imagine at the end of this time you are just getting a good start and more and more flood your memory.  There is much we can praise God for past, present and future.  God is an awesome God and worthy of praise, honor, and glory.  Humbly submit to Him, seek Him, follow Him, obey Him and continually PRAISE HIM!!!!

Daily Choice

“I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

Hosea 10:3
For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.
The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf of Beth-aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—
those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—
for it has departed from them.
The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
as tribute to the great king.
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.

1 Samuel 12:12
And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king. Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.

Gideon 8:23
Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

What does it mean the Lord will rule over you?  In Samuel there seems to be a choice we make – “If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.”  The choice to fear Him, serve Him, obey Him, and to follow Him each of us will make every second of the day.  Hosea says those who choose to do what is right in their own eyes will have judgements that spring up like poisonous weeds on those who make choices with words rather than their heart.  Some will die in this choice and others will see what they have done and will be ashamed. In James it is stated something like this – “you say you have faith, but I say your works should demonstrate this faith for faith without works is meaningless.”  Is it easy to determine what choice has been made – or what  is the desire of your heart?  Is God and His word written on your heart – this would mean time spent in it.  Do you meditate on His word with the sun comes up and when it goes down – this would mean time spent in His word.  Do you desire knowledge and understanding of God and to grow in it – this would mean time spent in His word.  There is so much from this world and our culture that would lead us down a path that sees no need for God and seems to validate our choices.  David said “God’s word is a light unto his path.” Everyday we make a choice to live for and serve God or live for and serve self.  Some may think this is a  “one time” choice but it much more than that.  It is a continuous “life long” “daily” conscious choice,  lived out every second every single day.

What is your snare

All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Judges 8:23
But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)
They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring from his plunder onto it. The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels’ necks. Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

1 Samuel 12:12
And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.

Exodus 32:7
And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt

I keep reading these accounts of God’s greatness and how He allowed people to see it.  I sit back and wonder how could these people so easily fall away from what God truly expected of them.  Look at Exodus where the people saw God perform great power and wonders in their exodus from Egypt.  When Moses went to the mountain to be with God and be instructed for 40 days the people immediately made an idol to worship.  Again in Samuel we see where the people had God present with them and they asked God for a king when He was clearly their King.  There are numerous examples throughout scripture of God’s people choosing something other than God to worship and give honor to.  Is this still true today?  Do we give honor, glory, worth to something other than God?  Do our lives reflect humble submission and service to Him?  Is there both and outward and inward difference to our lives compared to those who regard God as a fairy tale?  The only way to answer these questions is to reflect on what God’s word says and speaks into your heart.  If there is no regular time spent in His word how are we able to (as instructed) “write it on our heart”, “write it on our door posts”, “meditate on it day and night”, “take it with us on our coming and going”.   The biggest error in any life is to disregard His word and having a deep heart desire to humbly serve Him.

Limping Along

“How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

Joshua 24:14
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

Deuteronomy 10:12
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day

1 Samuel 12 24
Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king

1 Kings 18:21
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word”

Notice how all of these scriptures proclaim our purpose, the benefit of following God, and the consequence of not.  Elijah said How long will you limp along without committing to one way or another.  Moses said you be sure you follow God in all your ways – this is what He requires. Samuel said to serve Him faithfully with all your heart and to consider all the great things He has done – but there are consequences if you don’t.  And Joshua said be sincere in following God – for sure he and his house choose to follow Him.  We have a choice as to how dedicated and to what level we will follow and serve God.  Some people outright choose to follow other gods, others limp along really not committing to ether one and seem to choose whatever seems right at the time.  And then there are those who choose to seek, follow, serve, and obey God.  Their is no age limit on this commitment choice – you can’t start to early and surely there is no upper age limit.  We don’t ever retire or slow down from seeking, following, serving, and obeying.  Why not start today with a choice that will make your life so much more worth living?