How many of us truly understand what having the fear of the Lord means ?  The word fear, fears, feared, fearing, fearful, fearfully occurs 334 times in the Bible,  according to the ‘NIV Exhaustive Bible Concordance” by  John R. Kohlenberger III.

To help us understand the fear of the Lord let us turn to Psalm 25:14  “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.”  God offers us an intimate, personal relationship with Him for those who revere, fear and hold Him in the highest honor possible.

Turning to Deuteronomy 10:12 we read “ What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and His statutes which I command you today for your good.”   We shall add to the fear of God with;  to walk in all His ways-to love Him- to serve Him- to keep His commandments.

And again we look at Psalm 33:8  “ Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.”  We stand in reverential awe of His almighty power and His wonderous works throughout all of creation.

Proverbs 8:13  “ The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride, arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”  Our pride, arrogance and our sinful self-serving desires are what hardens our hearts and prevents us from fearing the Lord.  

Proverbs 9:10  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”   Growing in the wisdom, knowledge and understanding of God's holiness, righteousness, goodness, mercy, grace and truth, we will humbly submit to His will and surrender to His ways.  Living apart from God there is no fear of the Lord when you choose to live according to what you think is right, true or just.

So based on these truths we shall define the FEAR OF THE LORD as: To stand in reverent awe of God's greatness and almighty power and by hating evil through the wisdom and knowledge of His Holiness, righteousness and justice. Our only response is to love Him, to walk in His ways, in obedience, and to serve Him with all of our heart. 

Most of us will equate fear as to what the world’s threats are and so place more power of human fear  over the divine fear that those of us who are Christ followers know to be true.  

As Jesus Christ Himself said in Matthew 10:28  “ Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.”  Fearing the Lord is what turns a person away from the evil of this world’s sinful desires and toward our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

My friends let me leave this loving reminder of these words of truth, of what to expect when we pass from this life into eternity, and the choices we can make here in this world.  The choice of where you want to spend eternity is in your hands. Choose wisely and live in the presence of the Lord forever. 

2 Corinthians 5:10  “ For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”  God’s gracious gift of salvation does not free us from the requirements for faithful obedience.  All must give account for how they have lived.

Start today – Don’t delay and change your life - Let the words of God speak to you and be filled with a peace and joy beyond measure. 

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