Posts Tagged ‘Fear of God’

Is God Safe?

Posted: March 17, 2026 in Something to think about
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I was reading from a book recently when I came across this question the author posed which I found intriguing because of the obvious contrast. This contrast I am referring to is the God we often refuse to see: the God who is simultaneously our ultimate Privilege and yet, our ultimate Peril. He is one God—with two very different realities— but yet He is held together without contradiction.

I hope I don’t surprise any of you with this post but to be clear, the more I learn about our God, the more I fear Him. God isn’t “just” filled with compassion and mercy; He is an Almighty and “Consuming Fire” and as a reminder, many times when He spoke or just showed up in the Bible, people were filled with sheer terror. 

I think one of the best examples of this is when God leads His people to Mt Sinai where he gave them His Ten Commandments in the book of Exodus. Moses serves as the liaison between the Children of Israel and God by going back and forth, or… up and down the mountain 8 different times to accomplish this task. 

As J. A. Motyer tells us, “The 10 Commandments were spoken by the Lord, in His own voice to Israel, but to those who heard this found the experience terrifying beyond endurance and appealed to Moses to be their mediator”. See the Exodus verses below:

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”  Exodus 20:18-19.

You see, God was building a foundation for them to understand that He was the God who saved them from Egyptian slavery and brought them to this place. Here, at His mountain, He would teach them about His holiness. And that without holiness, no one will see the Lord. 

But as we learn, Israel assumed that “an easy going people believe in an easy going God” which could not have been further from the truth. Because “the Lords holiness is like a huge force held in check, but constituting an overwhelming menace if released”.

The real lesson here is DO NOT TAKE GOD FOR GRANTED. Do not approach Him with indifference or apathy because He is God and He should be revered.

So I ask you the question again, Is God Safe?

Let’s see how Donald McCullough answers that in his book, The Trivialization of God:

God is definitely not safe. To appear before the Wholly Other with steady knees – well, it would be foolhardy, to say the least. In the presence of this God, human indifference gets slapped to alert attention and human pretension gets knocked on its backside. 

God is not safe, but God is good, very good. For the dangerous otherness is a transcendent, loving commitment not to be separate – a threat to our egos that establishes our true selves, a danger that is our only safety. 

Why is this important now? 

Because if you haven’t noticed, this society continues to move at warp speed towards indifference and apathy…two human characteristics God hates the most because they come from the evil one. And it is critical for you and me to constantly be reminded that although our God is a patient and loving God, He is still a consuming fire who, as the Psalmist tells us in 115:3, “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.” And guys, there is absolutely nothing you or I can do about that…except be humble and reverent towards Him.

Which is my encouragement to you today. Don’t get lost in apathy or lack of caring about your relationship with Christ. Renew it today and stay connected to Him.

Let me leave you with this quote from the C.S. Lewis book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe about the first time the children learn about Aslan:

“Is…is he a man?” asked Lucy.

“Aslan, a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a Lion  –  the Lion, the great Lion.”

“Ooh!” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”.

“That you will, dearie, and make no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Until next time Guys-

NOTES:

  • Motyer, J. A. The Message of Exodus, Inter-Varsity Press, 2005
  • McCullough, Donald, W. The Trivialization of God, Navpress, 1995
  • Lewis, C. S., The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Harper Trophy, 1950

God is Serious about Salvation…Are you?

Posted: October 7, 2025 in Something to think about
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I wrote a blog a few months back titled, By Not making a Choice, You have made a Choice, and I wanted to expand on that further after reading some very direct, and to-the-point scripture. You see, as I have learned by reading His word, God has a serious edge to Him. What I mean is, there is a STRONG reason why Fearing Him is a real thing and that point very rarely gets mentioned…Unless you read His word like below:

God ALWAYS speaks directly and He means what He says

I can’t communicate this any clearer than that. Secondly:

If you dont fear God, please rethink that. (I will unpack the Fear of God in an upcoming blog)

But please…read this verse below:

Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 

For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  Hebrews 10:28-31

What in the world does this mean to you and me? It means that God takes His gift of salvation to all of humanity extremely seriously. He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, so He could provide a free gift to everyone who would accept Him. However, if you make the conscious choice to reject His gift, the writer of Hebrews asks, How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot…? 

Here is a really important point to understand about this. You, me, everyone…is accountable, whether you believe in Him or not. And I wrote that blog about not making a choice…is actually making a choice, specifically so that you can’t or won’t plead ignorance when the time comes.

No excuses are accepted.

Remember the story about the wide gate and the narrow gate that Jesus talks about in Matthew? 

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”. Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus tells us that many will enter the wide gate and few will enter the narrow one. And then, when judgment day comes and we try and remind Jesus that even though we actually entered the wide gate…because we chose NOT to make a decision for Him…His answer will be simple, “I never knew you”. No conversation. Just judgment.

THIS IS REALLY TOUGH TALK

I completely understand that but this blog serves zero purpose to you or anyone if I pull punches and not clarify what God really is asking of you. Remember that you, me, everyone are accountable for our own actions on this earth. My question is, did you make your choice and then follow through by living out that choice in front of God?

Every single person who has ever lived on Earth will face the same judgment, all having been made accountable for either accepting or rejecting the gift of salvation.

Guys, I cannot end this blog without pointing out the last couple of verses I shared earlier from Hebrews. God is absolutely serious when He tells us…

“It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

No one can live in denial after reading these verses. Yes, God is a faithful and loving God…but He is also a God of vengeance and judgment…and if you reject Him then all I can say is…

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Until next time Guys-

Getting Back to the Basics

Posted: July 20, 2024 in Heaven Bound
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I have always enjoyed the carefully worded answers that new coaches give when speaking to the media about how they plan on turning around a poorly performing football program; “We are going back to the basics” or “We are starting again with the fundamentals of this game, blocking and tackling, etc.” They always say the same thing because they want their players to forget about the past and focus on the present. New coaches don’t want memories of bad seasons to haunt their message of a new beginning. I completely understand why coaches speak this way, which is why I think this same method can work for this blog post. 

I believe we need to get back to the fundamentals of how God intended our relationship to be with Him because I know God had a different plan for interacting with us than what is going on in our world today…So let’s start there…

I have always been fascinated by the dozens of times the phrase “Fear of God” or “Fear of the Lord” is mentioned in the Bible. I think it is very obvious that if the Bible mentions the same subject repeatedly, you might want to pay attention because it’s probably important. As is the case here, the Bible tells us:

The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom…(Proverbs 9:10)

The Lord has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalms 103:13)

Moses even told us in Psalms “Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is a great as the fear that is due you.” (Psalms 90:11)

Now I think it is safe to assume that the wrath of God is beyond anything we can imagine because none of us have seen His wrath personally. So if Moses tells us His wrath is as great as the fear due Him? then, I think we are extremely “out-of-balance” in our relationship with the Almighty. 

In other words, do you ever think about fearing God as a part of your daily life? Has that thought ever crossed your mind before? If it hasn’t, I’m not surprised because that lack of understanding of who God is, to me, is the core problem and why I am writing this post now. This is what I meant earlier about returning to the fundamentals of our faith because I believe this society is lacking a healthy “reverent fear of God” (1 Peter 1:17).

I am suggesting that we either have forgotten who God is or we never really understood our relationship with Him in the first place. Unfortunately, I think the latter is more accurate. 

To take this thought a step further, when the idea of God is lowered to our human level, then life becomes very hard to live out the way He intended because how do we “Fear Him” if we think we are on the same level with Him?… As if He is our “buddy”.

A.W. Tozer, the theologian said, It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. He also said It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God current in these middle years of the 20th century is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.

Now I understand that times have changed even from when he wrote these words in 1961 and I agree our society is completely different from what it was back then, but I think Tozer’s point still resonates. 

We have drifted our focus from Him…to all the important “things” we deal with every day. Remember, when we are absent from Him, we are not close to Him so what I am suggesting to you today is going back to the fundamentals. 

Take a few quiet minutes each day to pause, pray, and reflect on God and who he is. The impact of this time will be mind-blowing and LIFE CHANGING…

You probably think I’m nuts because seriously, how could anyone take the time and do what I am suggesting? I mean who has the time? My answer is this; if you can just slow down long enough to grasp even a microscopic understanding of the Almighty God, how HUGE He is and how small we are…and yet He cares for you, He loves you because you’re YOU.

This concept is so very hard to get our minds around because it is NOT what we hear in the world but I assure you, IT will change your life forever…

The overwhelming impact of this knowledge is we realize how selfish we have been for not enjoying our time with Him regularly…the Magnificent Creator who simply wants to hear from us…

I challenge you! Take the baton from me and run with it!

I have never been more sure of anything in my life…Getting back to the basics works.

Until next time guys…

Is Fear or Humility your Motivator?

Posted: March 21, 2015 in Something to think about
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humility

In my own life, I have found that fear can be a very strange motivator. In the heat of the moment it can cause us to move towards both good and bad behaviors. Sometimes fear can cause the hero in us to come storming out of the depths of our core ready to take on anything…

Other times fear can also cause some of us to cower in the corner and be almost paralyzed. Either way, fear has very different reactions for each of us…with none of them predictable.

I have written about fear before in past posts but I felt the need to revisit it again because of some recent reading in the Bible where once again I learned more about the absolute might of our Lord God. It has always amazed me that God describes Himself as “Love” as well as our “sanctuary of refuge” yet throughout the Bible He reminds us that we need to fear and dread Him as well. Those have always seemed completely opposite to me, but then let me remind you of the love of your earthly father. On one hand he is the one who teaches and helps guide us along our path as we grow but yet when we do wrong, he is there to punish us and remind us that there is always a consequence for sin. At the same time, we experience both fear of the punishment and love from the same person because he is a father who loves his children.

The Lord God Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary. Isaiah 8:13-14a

But as I think about this world around me and our human nature I think that without actual fear in our relationship with God, humanity would become to comfortable and relaxed towards Him…oh wait…many of us ARE to comfortable and relaxed and that my friends, I believe, is a big mistake.

We cannot forget that no matter what is going on right now…He is God and we are not. Everyday the business of life piles up in front of us and we get distracted and diluted with our responsibilities. Trust me when I tell you this guys, I am speaking to myself just as much as my audience. We cannot be too busy to be humble in the sight of God…to recognize His might as well as His love for us.

This is simply a friendly reminder for all of us. If we can maintain that fear relationship with God, there is a humility there in all of us that God can use. When you focus on maintaining that condition of the heart, that Humility…well simply put, life is better because the joy of the Lord will be your strength.

Remember Proverbs 22:4

Humility and fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life…

I don’t know about you but I could use all three of those…

 

Until next time guys…

God is God and I am not…

Posted: October 7, 2011 in Father, Heaven Bound, Inspirational
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I have always enjoyed the carefully worded answers that new coaches give when speaking to the media about how they plan on turning around a poorly performing football or baseball program; “We are going back to the basics” or “We are starting again with the fundamentals of this game, blocking and tackling, etc.” They always say the same thing because they want their players to forget about the past and focus on the present. New coaches don’t want memories of bad seasons to haunt their new message of a new beginning. I understand why coaches speak this way, which is why I think this same method will work for this blog post as well. I believe we need to get back to the fundamentals of how God intended our relationship to be with Him. I think God had a different plan for interacting with humans than what we see in our world today…So let us begin there…

I have always been fascinated by the dozens of times the phrase “Fear of God” or “Fear of the Lord” is mentioned in the Bible. I can say from experience that if the Bible mentions the same subject repeatedly, you might want to pay attention, it’s probably important. As is the case here, the Bible tells us:

The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom…(Proverbs 9:10)

The Lord has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalms 103:13)

Moses even told us in Psalms “Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is a great as the fear that is due you.” (Psalms 90:11)

Now I think we can assume that the wrath of God is beyond anything we can imagine because we have never seen His wrath personally. So if Moses says His wrath is as great as the fear due Him? then I think we humans are extremely “out-of-balance” in our relationship with the Almighty. In other words, do you fear God or even think about fearing Him as a part of your daily life? Has that thought ever crossed your mind before? If it hasn’t, well I am not surprised, because that lack of understanding of who God really is, I believe is the core problem and why I am writing this post now. This is what I meant earlier about returning to the fundamentals of our faith because I believe this society is lacking a healthy “reverent fear of God” (1 Peter 1:17).

I am suggesting that we either have forgotten who God is or we never really understood our relationship with Him in the first place. Unfortunately, I fear the latter is more accurate. To take this thought a step further, when the idea of God is lowered to our human level, then life becomes very hard to live out the way He intended because it is difficult to “Fear Him” if we perceive ourselves to be on the same level with Him…Like He is your “buddy”.

A.W. Tozer, the theologian said, It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. He also said It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God current in these middle years of the 20th century is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.

Now I understand that times have changed even from when he wrote these words in 1961 and I agree our society is completely different from what it was back then, but I think Tozer’s point still resonates…We have drifted our focus from Him to all of the “really important projects” we deal with every day. When we are absent from Him, we are not close to Him. What I am suggesting to you, is going back to the fundamentals. Take a few quiet minutes each day to pause, pray, and reflect on God and who he is. The impact of this time will be mind-blowing and LIFE CHANGING…

You probably think I’m nuts and I can understand that because seriously, how can anyone take the time and do what I am suggesting? I mean who has the time? My answer is this; if you can just slow down long enough to grasp even a microscopic understanding of the Almighty God, how HUGE He is and how small we are…and yet He cares for you, He loves you because you’re YOU…This concept is so very hard to get our minds around because it is NOT what we hear in the world but I assure you, IT will change your life forever…

The overwhelming impact of this knowledge is we realize how selfish we have been for not enjoying our time with Him regularly…the Magnificent Creator who simply wants to hear from us…

I challenge you! Take the baton from me and run with it!

I have never been more sure of anything in my life…your efforts will NOT return void…

Until next time…

Seriously…The snares of death?

Posted: December 19, 2010 in Devotional, Heaven Bound
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The alarm just went off…time to get up…time to start your day…

When we actively seek God FIRST, each day, the Bible tells us in Matthew 6:33 that “all these things will be given to you as well.” What are “these things” Jesus is referring to in this verse? I believe they are the many different “nuggets of knowledge” that God chooses to give us as we move through the journey of life. Another word for these nuggets might be just plain old experience.

To clarify from personal experience, I have learned a better understanding of the humility necessary to seek God. In James 4:10 we are told to “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up”. When we are truly humble before God, we have as I call it, a “condition of the heart” necessary to seek Him.

We cannot approach God with pride or arrogancs. It will not work, I know, I have tried it. Just about the time we think we are so very good, God knocks us down a few notches and reminds us who He is and that pride goeth before the fall.

He will lift us up but that requires true humility, something that we are taught in today’s society really isn’t necessary. Take a look at Proverbs 22:4 where it says “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life”…that kind of sums things up.

A consequence of that “condition of the heart” I referred to earlier is recognizing the necessity of fearing God. Not the sheer horror frightening type of fear they show us at a haunted house during Halloween, but rather a glimpse of how incredibly amazing the creator of our universe is. That is the kind of reverent fear God requires of us.

We are told in Proverbs 14:27 “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.” This may seem like a contradiction but the fear of God I spoke about earlier is the key to this verse. By keeping our eyes focused on Him…First, we receive a Fountain of Life, which can be interpreted in many positive ways for a Christian man and secondly, the fear of God turns a man away from the snares of death because true Holy Fear…frankly…keeps us from sinning.

Take a look at Exodus 20:20 where Moses said to the children of Israel, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning”…

Guys, this was not meant to be complex at all, it’s God’s word, simply meant to encourage you by reminding us that God requires humility from us everyday and with humility comes the Fear of God which will keep us from sinning and save us from the snares of death.

That, my friends, is your ticket to heaven…

Until next time guys-