THE FEAR OF THE LORD

One of the phrases that is repeated often in the book of Proverbs is “the fear of the Lord.” I have been preparing for a message that I will share this morning, and it has been an interesting study (just scratching the surface) on understanding the concept of what it means to fear the Lord.

Bill Gothard says: “The fear of the Lord is the continual awareness that God knows, weighs and sees, every one of my thoughts, deeds, words and actions.”

That is a pretty powerful definition. As I did a phrase search through the Scriptures, I learned several principles about “the fear of the Lord” that I would like to share with you over the next couple of days.

The fear of the Lord is a concept that was to be taught by fathers to their children. There is a huge market right now in a series of books on a variety of topics from auto repairs to developing a strategic plan. You’ve probably seen the series … “Auto Repairs for Dummies” and the list goes on.

Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, not for dummies, but so that we would have an instruction manual for life. For dads in particular, this is a great training manual for teaching our kids and grandchildren on how to fear the Lord.

There are three ways that we can teach this life-changing concept:

1. Instruction. The Word of God is such a powerful tool in our lives. That is why it is so important that we spend time in it every day. Not just reading it, but meditating on it and memorizing it. Most of us have experienced the pain of trying to put something together without reading the instruction manual. We get to the end of the project and there are three or four pieces left over! We end up having to start over. We could have saved ourselves time, energy and frustration, if we had just taken the time to read the manual.

2. Example. My grandson Tanner is very inquisitive. He constantly asks, “What’s that?” which is helping him learn much about life. One of my favorite vacation spots is Disney World (don’t send me letters, please). I enjoy visiting there for many reasons, but one of the things I like to do is observe what they do, how they do it, and why they do it. They have worked hard at serving people, and since I am serving in that field, I can learn much by their example. I have a copy of their “training manual” which is over 1000 pages. The easiest way for me to learn is by example. The Scriptures contain many biographies of men who feared the Lord. They weren’t perfect, but we can learn from their examples. You can also read biographies of great men like D. L. Moody, Jonathan Edwards, George Mueller, etc., to learn how they lived their lives.

3. Application. All the knowledge in the world doesn’t mean a thing if we don’t apply it. I have come back from a trip to Disney with lists of things I have learned. If I don’t do anything but file the information in the folder, there was really no value in taking the time to observe and learn. I have just gathered useless information. The value in observing and learning is taking the information and using it in my world.

All that to say, over the next couple of days, I want to give you some observations about the fear of the Lord that I am learning so that together we can apply the principles to our lives. Hopefully you will use what we learn to teach your kids and grandkids. And the principles work in every area of life.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

A PRAYER OF THE PURITANS FOR THE LORD’S DAY

O Lord, my Lord,
This is your day,
The heavenly ordinance of rest,
The open door of worship,
The record of Jesus’ resurrection,
The seal of the sabbath to come,
The day when saints militant and triumphant unite in endless song.
I bless you for the throne of grace,
that here free favor reigns;
that open access to it is through the blood of Jesus;
that the veil is torn aside and I can enter the holiest
and find you ready to hear,
waiting to be gracious,
inviting me to pour out my needs,
encouraging my desires,
promising to give more than I ask or think.
But while I bless you, shame and confusion are mine:
I remember my past misuse of sacred things,
my irreverent worship,
my base ingratitude,
my cold, dull praise.
Sprinkle all my past sabbath with the cleansing blood of Jesus,
and may this day witness deep improvement in me.
Give me in rich abundance the blessings the Lord’s Day was designed to impart;
May my heart be fast bound against worldly thoughts or cares;
Flood my mind with peace beyond understanding;
may my meditations be sweet,
my acts of worship, life, liberty, joy,
my drink the streams that flow from your throne,
my food the precious Word,
my defense the shield of faith,
and may my heart be more knit to Jesus.

From THE VALLEY OF VISION — Prayers of the Puritans

Great quote: When we worship the Lord, let’s remember that He is in control. Nothing alarms Him, or takes Him by surprise. Nothing is too big for Him to handle, or so small it escapes His attention. When the winds of my world begin to blow, He remains seated. When raging waves surround me, He governs their temper…I need not be moved … Because the Lord is seated and sovereign…He alone is sovereign.

Ronald James

TODAY IN CONCERT AT AMERICA’S KESWICK — George and Kathy Abbas
2:30 PM Hymnsing followed by the concert at 3:00 PM — ACTIVITY CENTER

PERSPECTIVE

Things are heating up in the Middle East today and many are concerned the that events unfolding before our very eyes could have ramifications that could trigger a major world. Are these events signs of the times in God’s prophetic timetable?

I believe that they are. But I also want to give your another perspective to think about today. Christians love Israel because we know how God feels about Israel. Over the years we have been admonished to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” We need to be praying for the Jewish people, first of all, that they will come to know MESSIAH in a personal way.

Several years ago, I had the privilege of meeting a man from our church who has served in Jordan for over 30 years. Dr. George Kelsey has helped many of us to see a different perspective that often goes unnoticed. Despite the tensions and factions in the Middle East, God has been working in the hearts of my Arabic and Muslim people. Because of the persecution that they would face for openly talking about their faith, the life transformations going on in these countries often goes unnoticed. But the reality is that there are many Jordanians, Egyptian and Lebanese believers that are growing in their walk with the Lord.

We have several friends right now who have significant ministries in Lebanon. Despite the fact that their families have ostracized them because of their faith in Christ, they continue to serve the Lord and share Christ with their people.

While we are encouraged to pray for our Jewish friends, I want to encourage you pray for the Christians in these Arabic nations. They are the ones that are going to be affected by the current events taking place in the Middle East. While we pray that the Jewish people will come to trust Messiah, let’s not forget to pray for the salvation of people in other Middle Eastern nations for whom Christ died.

Hope that helps to give you a fresh perspective. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, a scholar on the Middle East and End-time events, will be our prophecy week speaker, July 23-28. Call today for times and information. 800-453-7942.

CATCH ‘EM DOING SOMETHING RIGHT

I do a lot of reading throughout the year and a good portion of the books I read are written on leadership. As a leader of a major Christian ministry, I want to hone my skills and be the most effective leader than God wants me to be.

One of the things that has struck me the past few days is how many books are written with themes that supposedly are new revelations. Concepts and principles are put in writing and the next thing you know — you have a best seller. The more I study leadership, the more I realize that what the “gurus” are telling us come right from the Scriptures . . . They just don’t know it or haven’t quite figured out that God has the market on leadership principles.

Recently I read Ken Blanchard’s book, HIGH FIVE TEAMS. One of the principles of the book is to catch your staff doing something right. People tend to repeat behaviors that are rewarded positively. He encourages us to take the time to watch and observe the people we work with, can reward them with praise when we catch them doing something right. Positive reinforcement will produce men and women who will continue to do the right things.

I challenged my staff to do this and we are giving a $10 cash gift to the person who is caught doing something right during the month of July. My hope is that rather than people looking for blunders and mistakes, we will create an atmosphere of encouragement that will result in greater team unity and a greater understanding of why we do what we do.

The writer to the book of Hebrews said: “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” (Hebrews 10:24). Ken Blanchard thought he discovered a new principle! It’s been in the Bible for a long time. The context of this verse is in relation to the church … and wouldn’t it be great if we put that into practice. Think about how the church would grow if we took up the challenge. But we can also apply that in the world where we work as well as in our families.

How can you this weekend stir up love and good works in the lives of your spouse and kids? How can you do that in your church? Rather than looking for something someone did that was wrong — how about “CATCHING ‘EM DOING SOMETHING RIGHT!”

Let me know how it goes!

PRIORITIES

Depending on how God has wired you, you may be the kind of man who sets goals and has a plan for your life. Some of us set goals during the last days of the year as we think through the year looming before us. Some of us are disciplined enough that we have check points throughout the year to see where we are in terms of meeting and reaching our goals, and depending on the outcomes, make mid-course corrections so that we stay on track.

For many of us, life is like a treadmill that has been stuck on a fast speed and somehow we cannot get the control bottom to slow down. We constantly running and never quite able to catch up. When I first started in ministry at America’s KESWICK, I realized that every day was going to be an adventure. And you know what, over a month in my tenth year, it is still true. I cannot say that any day has been “boring.” There are some days that I find myself saying, “It would be nice to get to the end of the day and say, ‘I was bored.'”

With all that is going on in our lives, how do we stay focused? How do we keep from losing control and the perspective we need to stay on track? One of the ways is too established priorities in our lives. For many years I heard that my priorities should be God first, family second, and then work/ministry. Quite honestly, while that sounds good, it isn’t always to follow.

Oswald Chambers helped clarify priorities for me several years ago and I have turned down the corned of the page on the July 13th reading as each year when I read this devotional, it becomes for me my mid-year course correction:

“Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, ‘In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one by You.”

If we are really honest with ourselves, usually the first priority on our list seems to take the backseat. We get caught up in the stuff of life and our time with God gets put on the backburner. Yeah, we want to do it, but we oversleep or we get a late start. So we say, “I’ll do it later . . .” and later never comes.

Several years ago I was really stressed and came home from work to find that Zach wanted my undivided attention as soon as I walked in the door. I had a long day and had spent considerable time dealing with people issues. I really wanted some space to debrief and pull myself together. To my shame, I was very short with him and in a snippy voice said, “Can’t you give me twenty minutes of quiet so I can get my thoughts together?” Deflated, he left the room. Ten minutes later, the phone rang and it was a staff member asking me if I could meet with a man from the Colony who was in distress. I told Jan that I had to go and meet with him and an hour later returned to a very icy house. I could tell as soon as I walked in the door that I had stepped into a freezer.

Jan made this remark that whacked me on the side of the head: “We are tired of getting the leftovers!” Well, my friend, as you think about the priorities of your life, I want to suggest that God doesn’t want the leftovers! He needs to become our number 1#, number #2, and number #3 priority. And you know what I am discovering? When that happens all the other issues of life begin to fall into proper place, and life, even though it may feel like a treadmill, is easier to handle.

What are your priorities today? Maybe today is the day to make a mid-course correction in your life.

FEAR NOT

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, HE is the one who goes WITH you. He will not leave you or forsake you. The Lord, HE IS the one who goes BEFORE you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord Your God is with you wherever you go. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and HE shall direct your paths. He HIMSELF has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we may BOLDLY say: ‘The Lord IS my helper; I WILL NOT FEAR.” (Exodus 33:14; Deut. 31:6,8; Joshua 1:9; Proverbs 3:6; Hebrews 13:5-6)

I was reminded this morning in my quiet time that “fear is a powerful controller. It either compels is to do what is IRRESPONSIBLE or it impedes us from living RESPONSIBLY . . . The most frequent command of Jesus in the Gospels is, ‘FEAR NOT.’ In anticipation of Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land, God tells His people four times, ‘BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS’ (Joshua 1). The writer of Proverbs says, ‘The wicked flee when NO ONE is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion.’ (Proverbs 28:1).

The fact that God doesn’t look favorably on cowards and unbelievers is made evident in Revelation 21:8: “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’ Does it surprise you that cowardly, unbelieving people are listed in the rogue’s gallery with murderers and liars?

It is characteristic of the Spirit-filled life to be BOLD (“When they gathered, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the Word of God with BOLDNESS.” Acts 4:31) The early church did not pray for ‘divine appointments,’; they prayed for BOLDNESS. God’s kingdom can only be established by faithful courageous people.” Adapted from Neil T. Anderson’s reading for July 12th from DAILY IN CHRIST — A DEVOTIONAL

Is there an area in your life were you are fearful today? Listen to these words and apply them to your heart: FEAR NOT!

HOW HUNGRY AND THIRSTY ARE YOU THIS MORNING?

Advertisers have been using subliminal advertising techniques for years to cause people to go out and buy their products. When I was working on the staff at Sandy Cove, one of our staff members would head to the vending machine room right before a big group check-in and put a bag a popcorn in the microwave. The smell would soon waft its way into the lobby and before you knew it, people were heading to the vending machine room to buy a bag of popcorn.

Since I struggle in the area of food, just the thoughts of certain foods can make be hungry. The more I think about it — hmmmm — what food does that for you? A crispy cream donut? A gelati at Rita’s? A steak at Charlie Browns? Right now a good donut and a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee are causing my stomach to rumble.

The real question this morning is are you hungry and thirsty for the only ONE that can satisfy the hunger and thirst of your soul? Those hunger and thirst pangs are there and we so try to fill them with other stuff rather than run to the only ONE who can take care of the longing of our soul. Listen to some verses of Scripture that were a part of my daily quiet time this morning:

HE satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. You have TASTED that the LORD is gracious. O God, You are my God; eagerly will I seek You; my soul THIRSTS for YOU; my flesh LONGS for YOU in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for YOU in the sanctuary, to see YOUR power and YOUR glory. My soul LONGS for YOU, yes even FAINTS for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the LIVING GOD. (Psalm 107:9; 1 Peter 2:3; Psalm 63:1-2; Psalm 84:2).

My friend, HE IS THE ONE who can quench the thirst of your soul. HE IS THE ONE who can satisfy the hunger in your heart. Thousands of men are using internet porn to fill their hungry souls. Others use drugs and alcohol. Allow HIM to fill you today. Get in the Word this morning and allow Him to fill you with HIS presence. You will be filled and satisfied, desiring more and more of HIM — and He is carb and calorie free!!!

Good words for you to consider today. God bless.

GROW IN GRACE

Grandparenting and gardening have a lot in common. Last week I had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours with my grandson, Tanner, and my granddaughter, Lindsay. It has only been a few weeks since I have seen them, but I was amazed and how much they have grown. Tanner’s vocabulary has increased and his little brain is going a mile a minute. And Lindsay, just born several weeks ago, has already grown and changed in appearance.

Our daughter Julie is expecting in September with our third grandchild, and we have had the fun of watching Emma grow and seeing her growth through ultra-sound pictures. Growth is important in the development of our kids.

I have enjoyed gardening more and more each year (I’m getting old!) and this year we expanded our garden. I don’t really know where my head was, but we put in over 18 tomato plants. The area that we are using for our garden is our old chicken yard. Last year the chicken were running around and, well let’s just say, that chicken droppings makes the best fertilizer. At the end of our garden last summer, Zach and I tossed the rotten tomatoes into the old chicken yard as they love vegetables. So guess what — we have 10 or 12 additional tomato plants that I didn’t plant.

In mid-June we went to Minnesota for a visit and before I left, I used Miracle Gro on my garden plants. During our time away, one of our maintenance guys who cares for our grounds, decided that he should put stuff on my plants to help them grow. The result? Tomatoes on steroids. I have plants that are taller than me with very thick stems and they are loaded with tomatoes.

Like babies and tomatoes, we should be growing in our walk with the Lord. Peter prayed that we would “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18). One of the ways we grow is to be fertilized with the WORD OF GOD. That’s why it is so important for you to spend time each day in God’s WORD.
The MIRACLE GRO of God’s WORD will help you grow and mature into the man that God wants you to be. As my good friend, Dr. John DeBrine, host of the daily radio program SONGTIME says, “If we don’t grow, we will groan!”

Are you growing in your spiritual life? If not, purpose today to get into the Word and allow it to fertilize your life.

We all have met them. People who claim that they don’t believe that God even exists. How do we reach them? Dr. Ron Rhodes shares how we can effectively reach atheists and agnostics on this weeks KESWICK TODAY broadcasts. Listen in right from our website: http://www.americaskeswick.org.

MAINTAINING YOUR FREEDOM

“It was for FREEDOM that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

“The Revolutionary War was a hard-fought battle, and many lives were lost in order to ensure the freedom of our country. There is always a price to pay for freedom, and the moment we take our freedom for granted, we run the risk of losing it.

Freedom in Christ from our sinful nature and the god of this world is the inheritance of every believer. Christ has set you free through His victory over sin and death on the cross. But if you have lost a measure of your freedom because you have failed to stand firm in the faith or you have disobeyed God, it is your responsibility to do whatever is necessary to maintain a right relationship with God. Your ETERNAL DESTINY is not at stake; you are secure in Christ. But your DAILY VICTORY in Him will be tenuous at best if you fail to assume your responsibility to maintain your freedom in Christ.

Remember: You are not the helpless victim of a tug-of-war between two nearly equal superpowers. Compared to Satan’s LIMITED attributes, God is IMMEASURABLE in His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience — and you are united with Him! Sometimes the reality of sin and the presence of evil may seem more real than the reality and presence of God, but that’s part of Satan’s DECEPTION. HE IS A DEFEATED FOE, and we are in Christ the eternal VICTOR. That’s why we worship God; to keep His divine attributes constantly before us in order to counter Satan’s lies. A true knowledge of God and our identity in Christ is the greatest determinant of our mental health. A false concept of God and the misplaced deification of Satan are the greatest contributors to mental illness. Are you walking in freedom today? — from Neil Anderson’s writings, DAILY IN CHRIST–A DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

There is a story told that during the Civil War when freedom from slavery was secured that many slaves continued to suffer oppression and bondage because they didn’t know that they had been freed! That’s the way many of us are living. My friend — CHRIST HAS SET YOU FREE FROM THE BONDAGE TO SIN! Now live like a free man!

Have a great Lord’s Day.

GRACE … IT’S AMAZING

We talk about it. We sing about it. But do we really comprehend it? The word is used 150 times in the New Testament so it must be important. Here are ten amazing realities of grace that Richard Blackaby, shares in his new book, PUTTING A FACE ON GRACE … LIVING A LIFE WORTH PASSING ON:

1. Grace is a gift of kindness given to someone who does not deserve it.
2. Grace is not reciprocal. It goes one way.
3. Grace is costly. Someone has to pay for grace.
4. Grace looks at what people CAN become and seeks to help them reach their potential. Grace does not condemn those who have not yet arrived.
5. Grace focuses on SOLUTIONS, not problems.
6. Grace leads to action.
7. Grace is what motivates God to relate to us moment by moment with perfect love. God looks at us through eyes of grace. If He didn’t, we wouldn’t have no hope.
8. Grace is the lubricant that eases friction in any relationship.
9. Grace expects the best but offers freedom to fail.
10. Grace celebrates success and does not keep score of wrong things.

The songwriter expressed it this way:

Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Greater than all my sin;
How shall my tongue describe it,
Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden,
Setting my spirit free,
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
All sufficient grace for even me!
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than ALL my sin and shame!
O magnify the precious name of Jesus,
PRAISE HIS NAME!

Good truth to ponder throughout today as we prepare our hearts to gather with the body of Christ to worship corporately on the Lord’s day.

Sunday afternoon concert: Composer, arranger, organist, pianist, Harold DeCou, in concert, Sunday afternoon, July 9th at America’s KESWICK. 3:00 PM