Prayer Journal
Monday, October 9, 2000
"Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.'" Job 1:8
Scripture contains many references to fearing God. Psalm 76:7 says, "You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry." Malachi 3:14-18 says that God knows those who fear Him and He spares them. Those who fear God, the Scripture says, will be spared in the coming judgment.
For most of my Christian walk, I've been told that Christians should not fear God, but instead have a reverential trust for Him. I'm sure this advice is based on scripture references like, 1 Thes 5:9 that says, "But God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." I am also sure that such a loving trust for God is much more palatable than is a "fear of God". Could it be, however, that such trust in the absence of fear robs us Christians of something needed in our daily walk with Him?
We must remember that God's attitude toward sin is one of hate not tolerance. Too many times we translate Jesus' tolerance of sinners for a tolerance of sin. That simply never happened, no matter how good it "spins". God hates sin and he gave his only Son to, not only redeem us, but to drive the stake of God's judgment into the heart of sin.
Today we, calling ourselves Christians should revisit the teaching of fearing God - not so much for fear of judgment, but for our tolerance and neglect for that which He sacrificed so much to defeat. May the fear of God that causes His children to tremble, also turn the wicked from sin and toward the Savior - the only hope for our salvation.
Just Thinkin'.. WebServant
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
