God's Mercy

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

Psa 103:11-13 ESV

I remember before I was saved, there was a time when I had not a care in the world what so ever about God’s opinion on anything. This is an example of the lack of fear of God. How can one come to understand the mercy of God without a fear of God? The cross of Jesus does not make any sense. Why would God send His only Son to die on the cross if there was nothing to fear because our sin had no eternal consequences?

Now suppose your job was an electrician. You need not be afraid of electricity, but you do need to have a fear of it. You must respect it and know the rules to perform your job. If you thought you were bigger than the electricity and did not care about the “rules” in working with it, the ending is not going to be good, now is it.

Now suppose once again you are a child whose parents love you very much, they show great compassion for you and are deeply concerned about your welfare. All in all you are obedient to them. Every once in a while you blow it; they show you love and mercy because they understand you are not going to be perfect. Every now and again they must discipline you because of your disobedience. This discipline teaches you respect. The fear of their discipline hopefully will keep you from doing wrong, at least most of the time. If you respect them and understand they know what is best, you know they have your best interests in mind. Now one day you broke the rules, got seriously injured and you are going to die. Your father would say, “If I could, I would step in and take your place.”

The good news is Jesus did step in to take our place. He died for us and now God remembers our transgressions no more. He casts them “as far as east if from the west.” This is God’s compassion and His mercy. There is no one else who is able to step in for us. Every one of us has broken the “rules” which lead to death. Jesus will step in, but we must not reject it. Click here if you like more information on receiving God’s mercy.



Photographer: Arvind Balaraman www.freedigitalphotos.net





Fountain of Life

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.


(Pro 14:27 NKJV)






Photographer: Bonnita Moaby. freedigitalphotos.net

Every commandment of God is for our own good.
They protect us from harm and keep us away from traps the evil one sets before us. Jesus said in John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

Fear Of God

The following is from Acts 17:11 Ministries titled "Fear of God." What if the Church in America today had a "God's burning presence in our lives..."

Is there a "burning presence of God in your life?"

Ps 19:9 (NIV) The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
Mike Yaconelli: "We have defanged the tiger of truth. We have tamed the lion... The tragedy of modern faith is that we no longer are capable of being terrified."

Acts 5:13 (NIV) No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.

Mike Yaconelli: "I would like to suggest that the Church become a place of terror again; a place where God continually has to tell us, "Fear not"; a place where our relationship with God is not a simple belief or a doctrine or theology, it is God's burning presence in our lives. I am suggesting that the tame God of relevance be replaced by the God whose very presence shatters our egos into dust, burns our sin into ashes, and strips us naked to reveal the real person within. The Church needs to become a gloriously dangerous place where nothing is safe in God's presence except us. Nothing--including our plans, our agendas, our priorities, our politics, our money, our security, our comfort, our possessions, our needs.

"Our world is... longing to see people whose God is big and holy and frightening and gentle and tender... and ours; a God whose love frightens us into His strong and powerful arms where He longs to whisper those terrifying words, 'I love you.'"

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.acts17-11.com/fear.html

What Is Fear Of The Lord?

Have you ever pondered what "fear of the Lord" means?

Proverbs 8:13 (New King James Version)

     The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
      Pride and arrogance and the evil way
      And the perverse mouth I hate.
  

Psalm 111:10 (New King James Version) 

      The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
      A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
      His praise endures forever

Hebrews 12:28 (New King James Version)

     Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken,
     let us have grace,  by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence
     and godly fear.



Fear of the Lord is respecting Him. It is having a reverence for Him. It is knowing and trusting that He knows what is best, and obeying what He says.


http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3374&t=KJV

http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?type=getTopic&topic=Fear%20of%20God&DictList=6#Nave's