Fear God

Monday night midnight another aftershock. I was in the bathroom and I didn't feel it. My wife did. So I go check on the kids. They are sound asleep. They have felt so many aftershocks in the 6.0 to 7.0 ranges that a 4 or 5 won't concern them. They have become desensitized. I had just finished a DVD by Francis Chan on his Basic series. This one was called Fear God. After the initial earthquake we had rocked enough that with each jolt we had a healthy fear of them and were ready at a moments notice to take action.

With God the Bible says, "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." Now according to Chan this term fear has been dumbed down to a term meaning great respect. Yet as we look at the patriarchs who encountered God they usually were greatly afraid or fell on their faces as dead men. I agree with Chan in that the term means to fear God. He is all powerful he knows all the future stuff. He knew when I'd be born and he knows my last day. The Angels fear him greatly and the arch angels cover their faces and feet in his presence.

The world has a way to enter the church and desensitizes us to the Word of God. Satan's greatest and first deception was to question the word of God. "Has God really said...?" Does the Bible really mean we should fear God maybe it is a term of respect you know like meeting the president. No this fear is like understanding this being has my life all written out and knows every detail about me before it happens. I should fear him greatly. In Proverbs, we are told to fear God but then the passage goes on to say... Do not fear. What? Did the Bible contradict itself? No. God wants us to fear him properly that is first and then as we come boldly into the presence of the Father through the blood of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit we need not fear him in that he will crush us. But that he loves us and will protect us.

Oh that we would do some meditating on God to the point we once again learn to Fear Him greatly.