More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
August 27 - October 6, 2023
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke with each other, and the LORD listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name” (Malachi 3:16).
it is important to acknowledge that there are indeed destructive fears, even when they seem sensible. If we fear losing all our money and possessions, we will likely obsess over them and become misers and hoarders, worshiping our money and assets over everything else. If we fear losing a spouse, we will cling to that person too tightly or be suspicious of their every action.
As we begin our journey, please allow me to make four statements of truth: We are human, and we will fear. The awe and fear of God is way deeper, more beautiful, and more intimate than many dare imagine. The fear of God swallows up all destructive fears. The fear of God is the beginning of everything good.
“The fear of God is the death of every other fear; like a mighty lion, it chases all other fears before it.”
All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God . . . and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God’s providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13 AMPC)
“Who are those who fear the LORD? He will show them the path they should choose” (Psalm 25:12).
Holy fear keeps us connected to the wisdom of our Creator—the only One who knows what enhances us and what undoes us.
He declared, “I’ve made it a general principle to refrain from promoting anyone to a place of authority whose record is perfect.”
“I learn more about a person’s character by their response to failure than anything else. Did they own responsibility, repent, and grow from the experience? Or did they justify their behavior and delegate the blame? It shows if he or she is fit for responsibility.” What I learned from that was: it indicates if wisdom is what he or she prizes above all else.
I buffet my body . . . and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]. (1 Corinthians 9:27 AMPC)
Embracing godly fear as our most prized treasure empowers us to remain under submission to truth, and in so doing, it keeps us on the path of life, which brings remarkable rewards.
However, the person who fears God has nothing to hide. He or she is terrified of being away from God.
“The LORD is a friend to those who fear him” (25:14). The firm reality is this: God wants to be close and intimate with you. So rest assured, holy fear does not quench intimacy; it does just the opposite—it enhances our interaction with God.
To fear God is to reverence and be in complete awe of Him. To fear God is to hallow Him. Hallow is defined as “to respect greatly.” To fear God is to esteem, respect, honor, venerate, and adore Him above anyone or anything else.
When we fear God, we take on His heart. We love what He loves, and we hate what He hates.
To fear God is to hate injustice. To fear God is to depart from evil in every sense—thought, word, and action.
To fear God is to walk in authentic humility before God and mankind.
To fear God is to give Him the praise, adoration, thanksgiving, and worship He deserves.
To fear God is to give Him all that belongs to Him.
To fear God is to tremble before Him in w...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
To fear God is to obey Him.
To fear God is to abstain from any form of complaining, murmuring, or grumbling.
To fear God is to respect, honor, and submit to His direct and delegated authority.
The fear of the Lord shapes our intentions, thoughts, words, and actions.
His whole character commands our reverence because it is superlatively holy, and his name is to us a word of awe never to be mentioned flippantly, and never to be quoted without earnest thought and prostration of heart before him. —C. H. SPURGEON
“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him” (Psalm 89:7 NKJV).
Here’s a firm truth: you will never find God’s wonderful presence in an atmosphere where He’s not revered and held in awe.
When I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground. Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling. (Daniel 10:9–11)
We will only find God’s manifest presence in an atmosphere where He’s held with the utmost respect.
The people hadn’t verbally asked for forgiveness or prayed, yet God’s presence manifested due to their changed hearts.
Here is the bottom-line truth: where the Lord is reverenced, His presence manifests.
The fear of the Lord changes atmospheres. It cultivates an environment for the Holy Spirit’s power to change our lives and the lives of others.
When we see Him face-to-face in all His awesome holiness and blazing glory, it will seem incredible to us that we ever had a casual thought in relation to Him. —JOY DAWSON
“No one can measure his greatness” (Psalm 145:3)
His glory is beyond understanding. His glory is unsearchable, has no boundaries, no limitations, and is incomparable.
Men reverence one another, not yet God. —HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Mortal flesh cannot stand in the presence of God’s glory. The prophet Habakkuk declares it to be “as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden” (3:4).
The glory of the Lord is everything that makes God, God. All His characteristics, authority, power, wisdom—literally the immeasurable weight and magnitude of God. Nothing is hidden or held back!
We must fear God out of love, not love Him out of fear. —SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES
This gift safeguards us by keeping us close to the Giver of life and away from what would ruin us: the fear of man, which is the polar opposite of holy fear.
“what people value highly is detestable in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15 NIV). He also makes this remarkable statement: “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26 NKJV).
“The world will know that you [God] sent me [Jesus Christ] and that you love them as much as you love me.” (John 17:23)
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message” (John 17:20).
They cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough to live forever. (Psalm 49:7–9)
When we preach the love of God there is a danger of forgetting that the Bible reveals not first the love of God but the intense, blazing holiness of God, with His love at the center of that holiness. —OSWALD CHAMBERS
“This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.’” (Leviticus 10:3 NKJV)
Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. (1 Timothy 5:24 NKJV)
“By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.” (Leviticus 10:3 NKJV)
One who lacks holy fear easily succumbs to this force and slips into the mindset of believing that God doesn’t take notice, or care about, what they do.
The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!” (Psalm 10:11)
