To Fear God and Love Him

July/Holiness

5 July 2010

Love God: everyone will love you. Fear God: everyone will fear you.

- Colman mac Beognai, Aipgitir Chrabaid (Irish, 7th century)

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him...

Deuteronomy 10.12

Celtic Christians understood that holiness begins in the fear of God. This is why Paul exhorted the Corinthians to bring holiness to completion in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7.1). If we do not fear God we will not forsake our sinful ways, will not cower before His threats or dread to fall under His discipline (Heb. 12.1-11). Fearing God comes before loving Him, for when we know Him aright, for His awesome holiness, justice, and might, we will fear Him, and then we will love Him because of His mercy and steadfast love.

But as I have often lamented in this space, neither the fear of God nor the desire for holiness seem to be high on the agenda of the Christians of this generation. Believers today are mostly interested in God meeting their needs or providing them some sort of spiritual high, even if it's a very low version of high. Holiness and the fear of God may be on the list of things to do, but most contemporary believers haven't quite found their way there yet.

But fearing God is the first requirement the Lord holds out to us. How can we see that so plainly in our text, and not make it our primary business in life? How can we give God anything but the best moments of our lives, and all our possessions and strength, when we know that He requires that we love and fear Him?

We are in danger of trying to make God in our own image, to fashion Him according to our needs and desires, and to appeal to Him for whatever we desire from Him for our temporal happiness.

But God, we should know, will have none of this. He has told us what He requires. He will bless us when we come to Him on His terms, rather than our own, and seek Him while He may be found.

July Exercise: Download "Called to Be Witnesses." For the first week (July 1-11), read this little brochure over several times each day. On several days during this period, rate yourself - 1 to 10 - on the two areas, A Way of Life and Empowered for Witness. Talk with the Lord about why you rated yourself the way you did, and look for ways to improve these two aspects of your call to be holy.

Today in ReVision: A Friend of Liberty - Wisdom from John Witherspoon for the Church in America today.

This Week's Download: Called to Be Witnesses - This little brochure can help you begin to make real progress in the life of holiness.

Thanks again to all of you who send gifts from time to time. This daily devotional is but a fraction of what God is doing through The Fellowship. Your support, either by clicking the donate button on the website, or sending a gift to us here, at 100 Lamplighter Ct., Hamilton, VA 20158, can help this ministry reach more church leaders.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.