Today’s Daily Bread ~ Healthy Fear

Job 42:1-3, 5-6 – Then Job replied to the LORD, “I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You.  You ask, ‘’Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’  It is I.  And I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me.  I had heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my own eyes.  I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

I had the pleasure of going on a lunch date with my husband a couple of weeks ago.  On our way out of the restaurant, we ran into a gentleman that lives in our neighborhood, and struck up a conversation.

He works as a State Trooper, and my husband, who harbors a secret desire to be either a cop or an FBI agent, started asking questions.  Eventually, the gentleman revealed to us that his patrol car, which is parked in front of his car, has been vandalized several times.

“I’m pretty certain I know who did it,” he confided to us.  “Couple of kids been zipping down these streets way too fast, and I called them out on it.”  Then he told us how the teens had responded to him.  Completely rude, entitled and belligerent.  Unbelievable to me, though it shouldn’t be.

My husband serves as the president of our HOA, and he also has some stories.  One day over the summer he questioned some older teens up at the pool.  The pool is strictly for residents and guests, and he politely asked who they were with.  They responded less than politely, and that night someone threw every lawn chair into the pool.  Another woman in our neighborhood has been the target of profanity-laced outbursts for simply reminding high school students that they can’t park on our streets for school.

As our friendly neighborhood State Trooper put it, they have absolutely no fear of authority.

It would be easy to sit in judgment of them, except for this:  don’t we do the same thing?

My four year old daughter has heard people take the Lord’s name in vain, and now she is doing the same.  I knew this would happen; it’s something you hear people do on a regular basis.  But it offends my very spirit, and I’m always quick to reprimand her and give her an alternative phrase.  The name YAHWEH was so revered by the Jews that they wouldn’t utter it out loud.  Now we live in a society that throws “God” and “Jesus Christ” around like slang terms.  Absolutely no fear of His divine authority.

In Job 38:31-33, the Lord says to Job, “Can you hold back the movements of the stars?  Are you able to restrain the Pleiades or Orion?  Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons or guide the constellation of the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?  Do you know the laws of the universe and how God rules the earth?”  No.  Yet we use the precious name of the One who does in blaspheme and cursing.

In her bible study, Believing God, Beth Moore quotes authors John Clayton and Nils Jansma (The Source) on the likelihood of planet Earth occurring by chance.  The probability that Earth was an accident is one in 150,000,000,000,000,000.  This is how John Clayton summarizes: “If I offered you a billion dollars (tax free) to jump out of an airplane at 10,000 feet without a parachute, with the proviso that you had to live to collect it, would you accept the offer?  Not if you were in your right mind.  Obviously, the odds of survival are much too small for any rational person to accept.  Yet the odds of there being an ‘accidental’ planet hospitable for life using only the few parameters we have considered are 15 billion times LESS likely than surviving a free-fall from an airplane.”  Beth Moore writes, “Incidentally, John Clayton is a scientist and a former second-generation atheist who ‘came to believe in God while attempting to prove that the Bible contradicts known scientific facts.’  Instead of disproving the Bible, he found it to be absolutely reliable.”

If the Bible is absolutely reliable, and I would stake my life on it, consider this:

Matthew 8:11-12 – “And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But many Israelites – those for whom the Kingdom was prepared – will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Jude 1:5 – I must remind you – and you know it well – that even though the Lord rescued the whole nation of Israel from Egypt, He later destroyed every one of those who did not remain faithful. 

We are living in the Age of Grace.  Because of His unfailing love and the magnificent work on the cross, we need only to confess and repent to regain His favor when we fall away.  But we must never take it for granted.  We must never forget what that grace cost.

If we want to live as He intends for us to live, receiving the full share of the blessings He has in store for us, then we must live in fear and reverence of Him.  Proverbs 1:7 – Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.  Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.  Stated again in Proverbs 9:10 – Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.  And again in Psalm 111:10 – Reverence for the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom.  The rewards of wisdom come to all who obey Him.  Praise His name forever!

But instead of fearing Him, of viewing Him in awe and reverence, we take the gifts He gives us and distort them.  Sex outside of marriage, holding back our tithes and offerings, gorging on food and wine.  Instead of glorifying Him, we live in a society that glorifies self to the nth degree.  All you have to do to be famous is have a youtube account and a dignity deficiency.

That kind of life is empty.  God looks at His Creation and whispers, “There is more.  I have prepared a mansion for You, but you must die to self and let me raise you up to get there.”

It is easy to spot a child that has no (healthy) fear of authority.  They are usually marked by their disobedience.  It’s just as easy to spot a Christian with no fear of the Lord.  They, too, are marked by their disobedience.  If we could see Him but for a second, we would never take Him for granted again.  We are living in His grace.  He bathes us in His mercy.  We have His divine permission to run to His Heavenly throne and climb up into His lap for comfort, but we must never forget the price Jesus paid for it. 

Dear Heavenly Father, we sit in awe of all You have done, are doing, and will do through Jesus Christ.  Thank You so much.  Thank You so much for the blessings You continue to pour out on us; let us never take them for granted!  Lord, convict us when forget to thank You.  Help us to see the world through Your eyes, and to marvel at Your work.  Help us to revere You more, Lord.  Multiply our faith exponentially, and bless us to be a blessing to others.  We love You so much, and we pray these things in the blessed, holy name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.+