Transforming the hearts of man…

Fighting for the Heart of the Few...

A Heart that Fears God

Deuteronomy 5:29 (New International Version)
“Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!”

Wow!  It is no easy task to tackle writing on the fear of the Lord!  

According to the Lexicon Transliteration the word fear is derived from the Hebrew word, yare'.  Read this slowly and allow its meaning to settle into your mind, heart and soul: Yare’ means to fear, revere, to stand in awe of, be awed.

Let us turn to scripture to find out what the perfect Author has to say about this topic.  

The fear of the LORD is…

Pure and enduring forever.  (Psalm 19:9)
The beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10)
Provides understanding (Psalm 111:10)
The beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)
Leads to the understanding knowledge of the Holy One (Proverbs 1:7)
A fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27)

I may be wrong, but from what I have personally experienced and from what I read and understand from scripture, the beginning of fear originates with man’s simple obedience.  Reading Genesis 17:9 (NLT):

“Then God said to Abraham, ‘Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.’”  

How simple and straight forward is that? Is it more difficult to follow than one might think?    The theme of obedience is a reoccurring topic for me.    Childlike obedience that is!  I honestly believe that those who approach Christ in any other way are limited in what and how much He reveals to them.  

I grew up respecting God, but it was not until I stepped out in obedience that respect turned into yare'!  It is an ongoing process, too.  The more I obey, the more He reveals.  The more He reveals the deeper my yare' grows.  It is truly amazing.  I find myself wanting more; more of Him, more knowledge, wisdom and understanding!  

Marvin Williams, in Our Daily Bread for January 23, 2009, writes in his study of Isaiah 6:1-10:  “God also enlarged Isaiah’s realization of his own sin (v.5). This led to an expansion of his understanding of God’s complete forgiveness and cleansing (vv.6-7). Only when Isaiah understood the depth of his sin could he appreciate and accept forgiveness and cleansing from God. Finally, his encounter with God led to Isaiah’s declaration of availability and commitment to reach out to others and to help them increase their understanding of God (vv.8-9).”

There is a correlation between us understanding “the depth of my sin” and the deepening of our fear of the LORD.  My prayer for this year is that I would grow in my fear of the LORD!  Without it, it is just head knowledge, intellectual understanding and superficial information.

Please join me in praising and praying for the following:

1. Please pray for our country, our new president of the United States of America and those in elected offices.  
2. Praise God for providing new ministry opportunities.  I see God’s hand in directing young men to PureHeart.  It is humbling -- and a massive blessing at the same time.
3. Continue to pray for Brad, Ryan and me.  Pray for our marriages and our children.  
4. Pray for those who partner with us.  Pray for the administration and faculty at OWU.  Pray for the pastors and their staffs at churches in which we attend.  
5. Pray for the upcoming PHM leadership retreat.  Pray for the planning and preparations that are underway.

Sharing from the Heart,

Steve