Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.

    All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.

Praise him forever! Psalm 111:10 (NLT)

This passage comes up for me time and time again over the years.  In part, because I spend more time than I should trying to figure out if I am off my rocker.  You may wonder why.  Well, it's because I don't see alot of the fear of the Lord in the people around me.

More often, even within the church, there are many excuses made about why it's acceptable for an individual to engage in pretty much whatever they want to do.  In the church, the hideous excuse is 'GRACE'.  As though God's incredible grace were a good reason to sin against a holy God continually.

So what is fear of the Lord?  Is it being literally afraid of Him?  Is it reverence?  Is it obedience?

Fear of the Lord means seeking the Lord for wisdom in all things.  Fear of the Lord means looking for His way of doing life.  EVERY. ASPECT. of life.  

The way you talk(tone of voice, word choice, body language), how you spend your time, what you watch, what you listen to, how you dress, what you look at, what you read, where you go, who you go with, who you ignore or don't ignore, how you spend your money, what causes you champion, what causes you malign.

I've heard people mock those who will literally ask God about every action they take.  I like to stand a little distance from someone who would mock someone else for seeking wisdom.  We are called to submit to the Lord in all things, not just the things we decide are the important ones.  

It may be the case that after a person has spent years asking the Lord for direction in every little thing that he gains the perspective of the Lord more fully and doesn't need to ask every time, but how can we go wrong in asking the Lord for direction?  Is learning to wait on His answer ever going to hurt us?  

Fear of the Lord is ultimately humility. Humbling ourselves before an awesome God and seeking Him alone for wisdom.  Putting ourselves in His hands regardless of what those around us may think and fully surrendering.

Since fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, I'm going to guess it's also the beginning of true love.  And we know that is a priority dear to the Father's great and gracious heart.

Does following Christ really look like what we see in the Church today? Ask Hard Questions.

Just as He asked Peter, Jesus asks each of His children, we, who are disciples of Christ are asked, by the Lord himself, 'Do you love me child?' ................................'Do you love me child?.......................'Do you love me child?'

I believe He is asking if we love Him first and best?  He was showing Peter that he was going to need to lay aside whatever else he loved first and best and love Jesus himself, FIRST and BEST.  

The scriptures are full of passages demonstrating what that looks like.  We can believe an interpretation that we've been taught, or we can choose to act on what the Scripture actually says.  

I've often wondered why it is so confusing to read the bible and then hear it taught in ways that are often quite non-literal.  I've wondered why it has to be so confusing.  I've asked LOTS of questions along the way and the answers are different depending on who I ask.  But the most common response I've received is one that explains away what the Scripture actually says.  

For example I'll share the following Scripture with you that has often tied me up in knots.  Mainly this is because what I read has not been consistent with how I've lived or how I've seen others live.

1 John 3 says 'Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life[a] is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers[b] does not belong to God.' 

Does it actually mean that a believer can't continue to live in continual sin?  The common explanation is that this means that while they will continue to sin, sin won't characterize their whole life.  Even this is pretty weak when I look at myself and others who say we are children of God.  The Scripture says that a child of God CANNOT keep on sinning.  CANNOT!

When it says that a believer is filled by the Spirit and can do things greater than what Jesus himself did, does it mean it?  What does the Lord say about that?  

And what about the spiritual battle?  Is that a real thing that we must expect and actively fight, moment by moment?  

If you've read this far, I am encouraging you to look at the Scriptures and ask the Lord to show you the truth.  Many of us have been looking to men for answers which we should be looking to God for.  Take 1 John 2:26-27 to heart and be taught by the Spirit of God instead of the spirit of religion. 'I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit,[h] and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit[i] teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ'.'

The Fruit of Destruction

I just watched an episode of the show 'Hoarders'.  It's the first time I'd seen this show.  I really almost never watch television at all.  However, someone linked the show, saying it was about a scrap-booker.  I thought it might be good to see so that I can be careful of where my thoughts could take me.

I was blown away.  Truly, I was dramatically affected by the pain displayed on this show.

As I reflected on what causes such additive and compulsive behavior, I came to the conclusion that it is often the result of hurt or disappointment.

Hurt is the sort of thing that Satan pounces on rather quickly.  Once a hurt has taken place, he piles on the fertilizer producing a large tree of pain whose fruit is destruction.  The end result is hopelessness.

Further, I began to consider that many people I know within the church are harvesting this very fruit daily.  The hopelessness that exists even within the church is astounding.  It's painful to consider.  And I wonder that most of us don't even see that it is there.  How then do we address it?  What do we do?

I pray, asking God for wisdom, for healing and for revelation from His Spirit.  I invite you to do the same. We certainly can do nothing while we just sit an wonder. But we can and must pray.  Will you join me?

Perhaps you are thinking that this is not true.  Perhaps you think that it's not that common in the church.  Why do you think that is the case?  Do an inventory or your church body?  What do you find?  Is it joy unspeakable that permeates the people?  If so, then praise God.  If not, praise God and then pray for His healing touch.

What do you crave most?

"One of the reasons we want to overeat is because the human heart craves fullness and satisfaction." Mike Cleveland


This would be the third time I've read this statement and yet again, I am moved to think about why I eat.....or shop.....or talk when I need to just be quiet with the Lord.  


I'm not suggesting that we are called to continually sit with our hands folded in prayer and listen for what God might say.  That would be unreasonable as we all have responsibilities.  However, I am beginning to think that I react to life without a lot of thought quite often.


A reaction looks a whole lot like an addiction as far as I can tell.  It looks like doing something to cover up the uncomfortable feelings that I have inside.  The thing that makes it difficult to recognize is that I've been doing it my whole life.  Every. Single. Day.  For nearly 40 years.


Addiction is often fed by a heart darkened by sinfulness.  I want to continue in my sin.  I do continue in my sin.  I feel guilt/shame.  I indulge in my addiction to cover up that feeling.  Our addictions come in many more forms than the obvious ones.  Most of us fancy ourselves to not be addicted.  I submit that this is far from true.


We're addicted to control in some form or other and when we feel out of control, we indulge in more control.  Maybe we're addicted to scheduling, to cleaning, to exercise, to looking put together, to golf, to food, to shopping, to yelling, blah blah blah.  


It's Jesus I must turn to when I feel out of control.  I need to create that habit as my first defense.  I know that for me, life feels out of control every day.  Multiple times a day.  I must turn to Jesus over and over, leaving those things I can't control at His feet.

Self Worship vs. Hardcore Christianity

I'm doing a study called the Lord's Table.  I've started it over for the third time because once you get  half-way through, if you don't see the fruit that you should see, they recommend starting over.


Each time I start, I learn more.


Today, what struck me is this statement by Mike Cleveland:

"Most dieters are motivated to lose weight by a desire for personal glory; they want to slim down in order to fit in that outfit, look good at their class reunion, hear others comment on how good they look… or maybe they just want to be healthy and feel better about themselves. As innocuous as these motives may seem, they all grow out of self-worship, which should have no place in the heart of the Christian who professes to worship God."

Self - worship. I wonder how often any of us can see that we are worshiping self.  Whether in the area of dieting or any other area.  

I can see that for me, this is certainly true.  I have tried to rid myself of this attitude but have failed every time.  I think the truth is that I really do love myself more than I love God.  More surgery needed.

Heart of Stone or Heart of Flesh

Ezekiel 36:26 says "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."


I encountered this verse in my bible study and I am shocked to realize that in the areas where I hold on to sin, I have a very hard heart of stone.


I desperately need God to graciously do heart surgery on me and replace that hardened heart with a soft and mold-able heart of flesh.  


I need to truly grieve over my own sin.  


I wonder how many of us as Christians actually grieve when we realize that we have been sinning against God in one area or another?  I fear that the number is woefully small.


I fear that our hearts are so hard that sin is a casual thing to us.  I fear that we do not realize how deep is the chasm between us and our God when we sin casually and 'just ask forgiveness at the end of the day'.  I fear we often trust in something called cheap grace.


Oh my God, please forgive me.  PLEASE grant me a heart of flesh that grieves my sin.


Teach me to be intentional. To think about about every action and put every thought before you.  At present, I don't hesitate before making excuses.  Please give me the grace and strength to hesitate often if means I am about to sin.

Am I a 'Victim'?

Victim mentality is something we talk about fairly often in our home.  Having taken in a number of children at older ages has 'brought the topic up' so to speak.

But God has been bringing the idea to my attention for myself over the last few years and recently, even to my husbands mind for himself.

Last Sunday, our Pastor preached on John 5:1-15.  You can check it out here if you like.  He made a statement that really resonated with me.  It was this: "If I always tell myself that I can go back to my old way of doing things then I will".  If that is how I think, then I am choosing to be victim.

Dr William Glasser says "Healthy people do not make excuses."  If I expect to fail, guess what, I am going to fail.  Almost every time that is what will happen.

This applies to sin.  If I have a sin that I struggle with and I keep saying that I just can't seem to overcome it and I make excuses for why it keeps happening then I won't overcome it.

I have to believe that there is a way out in order to find that way out.  I have to persevere and do the hard work in order to win the prize.

For me, I can see this issue most clearly in the area of weight loss.  I have very often had the idea that I may just stay the same and never get past this issue.  That is the sin of unbelief and it is a sin of not persevering.  I CAN lose weight but I have to change.

I don't want to be a victim anymore.  I want to move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit.  I want to pick up my mat and walk.  I want what Jesus has for me.