Title

The Fear of the Lord?

Scripture
The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.
(Proverbs 19:23)
Devotional
If we fear God, we will fear nothing else. The phrase, “the fear of the Lord” is found thirty times in the scriptures. We are often instructed as to its definition or by what it produces. We are told that “The fear of the Lord is:” “Clean, enduring for ever,”(1) “The beginning of knowledge,”(2) “The beginning of wisdom,”(3) “To hate evil, pride, and arrogance,”(4) “Strong confidence,”(5) “His treasure.”(6) To fear the Lord is to reverence Him above all else by realizing who He is and submitting to Him above all in like manner. It is to realize that He does not only love, but disciplines, as well. As a child should fear the discipline of a loving parent, we are to fear the chastisement of a loving God. Likewise, as an obedient child does not wish to bring shame, disappointment and hurt to loving parents, we are not to do so to an even more loving God.

(1) Psalm 19:9, (2) Proverbs 1:7, (3) Psalm 111:10, (4) Proverbs 8:13, (5) Proverbs 14:26,
(6) Isaiah 33:6
Text For The Day
Proverbs 19:23: The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.
 
Thought For The Day
“In reading the Scriptures I find a great moral power. Therein am I made aware of two great forces for good in human experience: the "fear" of God and the "grace" of God. Without the fear of God I should not stop at doing evil; the fear of God restrains from evil. Without the grace of God I should have no desire to approach positive goodness. The one is a deterrent from evil; the other an encouragement to good.” Jim Elliot, The Journals of Jim Elliot
 
Questions To Ponder
Morning Study Guide
Defining:  The fear of the Lord:                 “In scripture, fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion.  In good men, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience.  This is filial fear,” Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
 
Referencing: The churches… walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied,” Acts 9:31.
 
Applying: Fear God and you will not fear man or anything else.