August 30, 2020
Greetings and blessings to all of you. How important is “the fear of the Lord?” In Proverbs 14:27 it states, “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.” Is the fear of man something that ensnares only a few? The Apostle Paul says that by nature, men outside of Christ have “no fear of God before their eyes.” Roman 3:18. However, even the godliest saint still has remnants of this fear of man in his or her soul. At times even believers choose to warm themselves at the fire of acceptance, like Peter did in the courtyard outside of the place where his Lord suffered. Fearing man mutes our witness to Christ and keeps us from living for His glory. It keeps us from saying and doing what is pleasing to Him because we would rather please men. Recall the story in Matthew 27 verse 23 says, “the mob roared even louder, Crucify Him Crucify Him”. Roman was the rule and the people wanted to please them….not Jesus… even though they saw his miracles, kindness, mercy and love. So, what are we to do? How do we cast off the fear of man and lay hold of the fear of the Lord? Follow Jesus. Jesus life was marked by the fear of God. He never worried about what people thought of Him. His singular goal was to bring honor to his heavenly Father. He never compromised for gain. He took the hard road of the cross to bear the wrath that we deserve for the sin of our fear of man. Jesus heart was so full of the fear of the Lord that He was despised and rejected of men.” When we trust Christ by faith alone, the Holy Spirit begins to produce in us the fear which constrains adoration and love. But, sometimes even the Body of Christ seek to avoid being disliked or rejected by the masses/world because of “the idol of approval”, “comfort” or “pleasure.” This behavior by “the Body of Christ” to compromise, to give in to wickedness from others in order to gain acceptance and peace puts us in a vicious cycle of idolatry. Please run your attitude through the filter of Christ first because often in the name of love and out of a desire to promote unity and peace the B of C have and will compromise with the world. Do you know that any compromise with the world will bring disastrous consequences to the Body of Christ? Let My People Think!!!
With the Love of Christ
First Lady Vivian C. Currie
Pastor ALC