Posted on Fri, Jul 15, 2011
Have you ever seen the car decals that say NO FEAR? Or, how about those that respond by saying FEAR THIS?!? I've always wanted to get one that says FEAR GOD, but someone probably already beat me to it.
FEAR GOD. FIrst of all, let's define what this means.
The fear of the Lord is an understanding and perspective that sees God for who He is, and an understanding and perspective of how God sees us. It is the knowledge of our place as "created" and His place as Creator. It is an understanding that all LIFE comes from Him, and without Him there is nothing good or valuable about ourselves.
The fear of the Lord is a GOD-CENTERED focus and lifestyle, where we look to Him for our righteousness (our right-doing) and everything we do and say is meant to lift Him up for the world to see ... to glorify Him alone. You cannot be SELF-CENTERED and GOD-CENTERED for very long. Christ is working in us as believers, continuously bringing us out of our sinful self-centeredness and into a God-centered focus. This is what Philippians 2:5 means when it says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus".
Today's scripture passages (Proverbs 15, Psalm 15) talk about the Fear of the Lord. Both chapters paint a verbal picture that contrasts a God-fearing person against a person who does not fear God. And what a dichotomy it is!!! You can't get more opposite views or results than what we see in these chapters. It's like oil and water ... they just don't go together.
So the question you must ask yourself today is this ... "Is my life God-centered or self-centered?" As you read today's scriptures, you see the result of each focus,and the rewards of each lifestyle.
You can't have both focuses. Which do you choose?
Today's prayer: "God, I repent of my self-centered focus and surrender to Your correction and discipline in my life. I commit to following You completely with my life, starting right now, and ask that You would bring the right people and circumstances to me to help me stay focused on You. In Jesus' name I give You myself, Amen."
No messages have been posted.
|
Post a Message:
|
