Fear: The Call to Fear God

Picking up where we left off yesterday, I would like to discuss the concept of our call to fear the Lord.  Do you fear God?  What do you think of when you think of God?  I have been challenged by Francis Chan to think of Revelation chapter 4 when I think of the Father.  Let's look at that passage of scripture starting in verse 1 and continuing to verse 8:

"Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast.  The voice said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this."  And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.  The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones - like jasper and carnelian.  And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.  Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them.  They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.  From the throne came flashes of lightening and the rumble of thunder.  And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames.  This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.  In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.
In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.  The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.  Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out.  Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty -
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come."

Wow.  Imagine being the witness to such a site.  The awesomeness of the moment would take me away.  Do I stand?  Do I kneel?  Do I lay prostrate?  I don't know for sure, but I do know that I say over and over "holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty - the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come."

That is a healthy fear.  That is respect and love and admiration.  Our fear of the Lord is tangled up in our love for him.  The fear that I spoke about yesterday does not know love.  In fact, 1 John 4:18 says, "Such love (the love of God) has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.  If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love".  Again, wow.

If we take a close look at the Word we can see plainly the benefits of expressing or showing a healthy fear toward the Creator.  Throughout the Old Testament we have examples.  Here are just a few:

Psalm 2:11 "Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling."
Psalm 25:12 "Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?  He will instruct them in the ways they should choose."
Psalm 25:14 "The Lord confides in those who fear him; he will make his covenant known to them."
Psalm 33:18 "But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love..."

Some things to think about:
Where do you put your fear?  In God?  In the world?
How do you view God?  Do you see him as he is - majestic and worthy of infinite worship?
What will you do with the lies of Satan that cause worldly fear?
Will you allow the Lord God to bless you through your call to fear, love and respect him?

Have a blessed day!

Fear: Origins

Fear is something that I find quite intriguing, and although I am no academic expert on the subject, I thought I would dabble in it for a couple of posts.

I first want to ask the question: where does fear come from?  What is its origin?  When do we first see fear in the Bible?  If we look early on at the life of Adam and Eve in the garden we see that they demonstrated fear by hiding from God after they had eaten the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:10).  They had just sinned.  Where did the sin come from?  Satan.  Satan breeds fear.  Fear leads to lies, deceit, manipulation, and eventually death.

Have you ever bought into a lie spun by Satan (through someone else or even you) that led to fear?  I have.  I have often times labeled myself as inadequate, unworthy, or not smart enough because of the lies that Satan has planted in me. Some of these have come from other people and some of these have come from "the evil one".  So, how do we escape these lies?  How do we identify them as lies and look to truth?  What is the truth?  Well, I'm glad you asked!  Here is a passage of scripture that I love.  This has helped me stay focused on strength, truth, and power!

2 Timothy 1:3-12 says:

I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.  Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.  I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.  For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of hands.  For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.  So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.  Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.  This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.  And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.  That is why I am suffering as I am.  Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

I especially love verse 7 here (bold, italicized).  We are empowered by the Spirit of God to fight fear!  We are not made to be timid!  The context of this passage is regarding the spreading of the Good News.  Paul is encouraging Timothy in his spiritual walk and is trying to help him look past the pressures of the world.  Satan is of the world, therefore, that is where we find lies.  You will not find that truth originates in the world.  Truth only comes from above.  So, in order to identify what is truth and what is lie we must ask ourselves where it is that our doubts, fears, and uncertainties come from.  You can look at this passage of scripture taken from 2 Timothy and ask yourself "what are some pressures (lies) that I take on that shake my faith?"  Identify the lies.  Look for and identify the truth that is exposed by the Spirit.  Praise God!

Fear does have a good side.  It aligns itself with respect.  The way a child should respect the love and authority of a parent.  We are called to fear the Lord!  I will address this concept in the next post.

Community

Have you ever thought about who belongs in your community?  What is that exactly?  Is community the people who live in the houses on your street?  Is it your church family?  Who plays a part in your community?  Well, I like to think about things like this, so I will share my thoughts.  Community, in my opinion is the relationships that we invest in.  According to the world, community is your town or village or neighborhood.  Spiritually speaking, it revolves around your relationships.  My good friend, Bren White, likes to say "It's all about relationship!"  That is what life is meant to encompass... relationship.  We are not meant to be alone.  We are not meant to be secluded.  We are meant for community, relationship, fellowship.

About three years ago I read a very interesting book entitled, The Community Life of God by Milt Rodriguez.  I enjoyed it a lot.  In it, Mr. Rodriguez spoke about our design for relationship/community.  He had some interesting points about how God feels about relationship.  I grew up with the thought that God sat on a cloud in heaven answering prayers and giving guidance alone.  I don't know why I thought that way exactly, but that is what was in my childhood mind.  With the help of Mr. Rodriguez I see how God, from before time, has been in constant community and relationship with the Son and the Spirit!  They are always working together.  They are always in fellowship.  They are always in communion.  That thought was profound for me.  It made me see Jesus in the garden and on the cross in a new light.  I always saw Christ as being alone in those places, but I'm sure He wasn't.  The cross may have been the first time that there was a separation of the three and that is why Jesus said, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") in Matthew chapter 27.

I think about those that I have been in close communion with.  I think about important conversations and times of prayer.  I think about the laughter and tears.  I think about confession and blessing.  Ask yourself (and I will ask myself too), "What do I look for in community?  What do I put into my community and relationships?"  Jesus put a lot into His community when He was in fellowship with the twelve.  He modeled fellowship, relationship and community throughout His ministry.  If we want to be like Jesus, I believe one ingredient is to dive into community and to discover how we might bless, encourage, love, share and fulfill.

Transitions

Life is full of change and transition.  Sometimes transitions are difficult when you are in the midst of them.  I am currently in the middle of such a transition.  After two and a half years of service with the Saturn Road church of Christ I am seeking out what God has planned next.  I didn't really plan to be in this position, but life has taught me that you really can't make plans and not expect that it is possible that God might have something else in mind. 

With God in charge the change and transition is easier.  I try each day to focus on His plan and care for me and my family.  I am confident that I have nothing to worry about as I search for a new ministry where I will be needed and wanted and where I can express my gifts in a way that bring the Father glory.

Trust is the main ingredient.  Each day I remind myself that I am made to worship and praise and trust in Him.  I hope and pray that as we go from where we are today to where we will be tomorrow we will be a light of hope to those who don't have any. 

This post is the first of this new blog.  I'm not sure what I hope to get out of this.  Maybe it will be a healthy outlet of expression and hope as I move forward and discover myself, my future and my God.  In any case, I'm glad you are here.