Thanks for Seeking God With Me.

If you need some Christian Nonfiction books to read, check out 5 Powerful Ways to Show Love and Heroine: Rising to the Challenge on Amazon

The Fear Of The Lord, part eight

Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

I think I understand what a divided heart is.

There is room in my heart for only one God. The Almighty God, Creator of the universe, is the highest authority. He alone is God. But many times we humans want to be God. We know what God wants us to do, but we want to choose our own path. We make our own decisions without his guidance.

A divided heart has trouble focusing on the path because there are two options. His way and our way. Since we don’t know what the future holds, we often make choices that lead us to disappointment and despair.

An undivided heart makes one choice and sticks to it. Trusting God to show us the right path when we can see only two steps in front of us is sometimes scary. But an undivided heart will be focused on God’s path. Faith tells us to follow God even if we can’t see the path.

When we look back on our journey and see where God has led us, everything seems to make sense. We respect God more when we see how trusting him always works out for the best. He proves his word is true and his path is right, but we must give him the chance.

Yes, Lord, teach me your way.

The Fear Of The Lord, part seven

Proverbs 14:27
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

Building a relationship with God on the foundation of a deep reverential respect is what will turn the possibility of failure into the opportunity for success.

We are given a lifetime of choices which determine how rocky or sweet our road will be. How we make those choices is guided by our relationships. We learn from who and what we see.

Who surrounds your life? Do you pick friends who will lift you up or drag you down? Do you invite God to be a part of your life everyday or a few times during the year? Who do you see most often and what are you learning from them?

The fear of the Lord is an attitude. It’s a lifestyle. It’s a way of gathering what we need to make good choices.

When we pull from large deposits of wisdom and knowledge which we’ve received from the heart of God, our earth experience can be full of life. But when we stop seeking God and turn away from his wisdom, we turn away from life. Turning to God with a deep respect turns us away from deadly mistakes.

Our attitude of respect for God is a place not to visit, but to stay. It helps us enjoy life.

Keep seeking him.

The Fear Of The Lord, part six

Ps 25:14
The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.

When someone shows deep respect for God, a reverential respect that flows naturally from his heart, God pays attention. He wants to speak to us, but he waits for those with an ear tuned to his words.

Listen to the world around you. Listen to how everyone treats the name of God. Some people use his name as a curse word, some as an exclamation of surprise. This isn’t showing respect to God, or in other words, the fear of the Lord.

If I went through my day using the name Mary, Bob, or Rufus D. Frankenheimer as some people use the name of the Lord, I would get all kinds of strange looks. Am I the only one who sees how weird that is? No one asks if you’re praying when you use God’s name without speaking to or about him.

I’m not amazed when those who disrespect God complain that God doesn’t speak to people. I’m not amazed that they can’t hear the daily guidance God wants to give us. When you treat God the way anyone wants to be treated – with respect, that perks up his ears. He notices that you’re interested, you’re listening to him, you’re willing to respond to him.

Who would you confide in? Personally, I’d rather confide in those who show respect.

The Fear Of The Lord, part five

Ps 103:11, 17

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him…
…from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children…

I’ve noticed that some families share the same sense of humor or the same cooking skills or the same ability to sing. It’s given from one generation to the other through a long line of descendants. Have you seen a kind person and then met that person’s parent who’s also very kind? Kindness probably was a family tradition for them.

People who acknowledge God as their Heavenly Father can come together as brothers and sisters in a very large family. None of us is the same, yet we all possess the same family trait: the fear of the Lord.

Since we, as God’s children, fear or revere or have high respect for him, we can see how God pours his love on us throughout the generations. We tune our senses to notice him in our lives. We can see his family receiving the love of a father in so many situations. We see him as Protector, Healer, and Guide. He cares about us because we are his family.

But our limited minds can’t conceive of the greatness of his love. So we use words that mean “really big”. The psalmist tries to give us a picture of God’s big love for us, “for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love.”

Growing up in the comfort of a loving family will probably flow down through the generations beyond my children. I’ve seen my older relatives showing signs that they have felt loved by their parents too. It reminds me of the book I used to read to my children before bedtime. Guess How Much I Love You has stuck in my daughter’s mind so that to this day she still competes with me about how big our love is for each other.

I imagine God listening to our fun competition and answering each of us with his own, “I love you more.”