Spiritual Lessons From My Cat

I wanted to share about an enlightening experience I had this morning with my cat, Shiloh. Now, many people believe that all attachment cats and other pets have to their people is purely instinctual, and that they do not truly feel any emotion whatsoever. I do not want to argue against or in favor of this view. But I would like to point out that regardless of whatever it is that cats feel, they are capable of strong attachments, and it is my cat's attachment to me that inspired and convicted me today!

I was trying to get ready for my busy day, rushing around my room and wanting to be sure to get time with God before I got started with everything. My bedroom is the regular hang-out place for all the cats whenever I am home, but they are not allowed to be in there when I am out and about. I opened my door hesitantly and just wide enough for me to slip out for a minute, not wanting to let any of the cats inside to disturb my time of prayer and not wanting to have to throw them all out when I left today. Immediately Shiloh darted inside my room – he often waits outside my door for me to let him in. I sighed, and determined to ignore him. But as I eventually settled down on the floor and hugged my knees to my chest to pray he came up to me, put one paw on my knee, and waited. He looked up at me expectantly. Thwarted twice and warmed by his persistence, I gave in and let my knees down just a little bit, and he crawled into my lap, even contorting his body to fit in the small space I allowed. I figured he might leave and stop bothering me if I did not pet him, but he didn't. He just laid there, perfectly happy and content even though I was not interacting with him at all.

I noticed three things about Shiloh this morning. First, his eagerness, next, his persistence, and lastly his contentment to simply be with me. This both touched me and challenged me. Am I this way with God? Does my cat, who “potentially” is only motivated by the fact that I feed him and pet him, make a greater effort than me to be with his master? My cat eagerly waits daily behind my closed door for me – do I daily wait eagerly and accept my Lord's invitation to knock on His door, believing His promise to open? (Matthew 7:7) When in the same room, my cat will not rest until he gets my attention in some measure. When I enter the throne room of God, do I persist until I know I am communing with God and do I “pray always without losing heart” like Jesus taught us to do with The Parable of the Persistent Widow? (Luke 18:1-8) And even when I am not showering my cat with attention, he sits with me and purrs with contentment. When it seems as though every worldly comfort is removed, am I still content to simply be near to my Father, who has adopted me and sacrificed His perfect Son to redeem me? Will I be satisfied as with rich and fat food by simply remembering the Lord on my bed and meditating on Him in the watches of the night? (Psalm 63:5-6)

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, 
and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; 
your right hand upholds me.”

~Psalm 63:1-8

Live by faith, not by sight

I was thinking this afternoon about the fiery trials that the Lord puts us through in order to "smelt away the dross as with lye and remove all alloy (Isaiah 1:25)," specifically when it feels as though the Lord has withdrawn His presence from a believer. Amidst the trials and darkness of some seasons of life as a Christian, it can feel as though God no longer walks beside you, no longer upholds you with His strong right hand (Psalm 63:8). For example, Darlene Rose, in that Japanese death camp when she was in solitary confinement awaiting execution. During that time, she felt exactly that thing happen - the Lord withdrawing His presence, even in the midst of soul-soaring worship. However, God brought to her mind 2 Corinthians 5:7: "we walk by faith, not by sight." She was filled with such joy at the thought that she was able to sing hymns and praises to her Father amid Job-like affliction! It's an incredible encouragement, but our example for living, really, is Christ Himself; as 1 Corinthians 11:1 says, "Be imitators of me as I am of Christ."

We are to follow His example in every aspect - dealing with grief and sorrow is no exception. In fact, it seems only natural to imitate the "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3)" Christ was wholly perfect in His time on earth, always totally believing the promises of God for every second of every day. When on the cross, bleeding and dying and suffering the most agony any being will ever endure, even crying out "My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46, Psalm 22:1)" He truly was living by faith and not by sight, as shown by the rest of the Psalm Jesus quotes there. Forsaking His earthly "self" in order to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15), let us imitate Christ, as Paul did, and violently crucify our worldly "selves." "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)" Then we, like Paul, can truly understand what he wrote to the Corinthians: "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-20)"

Do not lean on your own understanding, brethren, but "in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5 & 6)"

Be Wise and Attend to the Obeying

The devotional for today in Morning by Morning by Charles Spurgeon made me marvel at God's infinite wisdom and sweet attentiveness to His children's needs daily! My unbelief is shown to me every time I am so shocked by how timely these entries can be for me on the exact day I need them and how well they answer my darkest struggles and trials.

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. -Proverbs 16:33

"If the disposal of the lot is the Lord's, whose is the arrangement of our whole lives? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by Him, how much more the events of our entire lives, especially when we are told by our blessed Savior, 'The very hairs of your head are all numbered' (Matt. 10:30). Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from your Father's will (v. 29). It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would relieve your mind from anxiety, so that you would be better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious, he cannot serve his Master; his thoughts are serving himself. If you would 'seek... first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness' (Matt 6:33), all things would then be added unto you. You are meddling with Christ's business and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying 'providing' work and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the obeying; let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father's storehouse, and ask whether He will let you starve while He has laid up so great an abundance in His garner. Look at His heart of mercy. See if that can ever prove unkind! Look at His inscrutable wisdom. See if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look to Jesus Christ, your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while He pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If He remembers even sparrows, will He forget one of the least of His poor children? 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved' (Ps. 55:22)."

My soul, rest happy in thy low estate,

Nor hope nor wish to be esteem'd or great;

To take the impress of the Will Divine,

Be that thy glory, and those riches thine.

50 Great Nature Pictures of 2011

Click the link below to see some very beautiful pictures! I like number 49 but you don't have to agree. :)

Click Here!

432 in the Redemption

I found this hymn tonight as I was reading through a non-Redemption hymnal at the house. I can't believe I don't know this song! The words are amazing! I found the second verse especially poignant. The idea of Christ being both the way and the prize paints all else in a way that makes it conform to the reality of Philippians 3:8. I often find myself wandering from that truth and as a result I sit in a slouch, wallowing in a mire of filth like the sow and eating my own vomit like a dog (2 Peter 2:22). Fight with all of your might, brethren! There is a war going on around us and we must be prepared to do battle!
[If you happen to know this song, please teach it to me when next we meet?]

Fight the good fight with all thy might;
Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right;
Lay hold on life, and it shall be
Thy joy and crown eternally.

Run the straight race through God's good grace,
Lift up thine eyes and seek His face;
Life with its path before thee lies,
Christ is the way, and Christ the prize.

Cast care aside, lean on thy Guide;
His boundless mercy will provide;
Trust, and thy trusting soul shall prove
Christ is its life and Christ its love.

Faint not nor fear, His arms are near;
He changeth not, and thou art dear;
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee.

Verified Sonship

"The voice attesting His sonship came to Christ in prayer. The witness of our sonship, clear and indubitable, is secured only by praying. The constant witness of our sonship can only be retained by those who pray without ceasing. When the stream of prayer is shallow and arrested, the evidence of our sonship becomes faint and inaudible." - EM Bounds: The Reality of Prayer

"Fruitless Discussion and Opposing Arguments" -Clint Leiter Bible Study 12/6/11

This is often the case on MU campus outreaches with people who want nothing but arguments

1 Timothy 1:3-7:

"As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions."

Jews coming with a lot of myths that they're trying to introduce to Christianity

Genealogical distinctions had been done away with in Christ

-They're just not pertinent anymore

-the result of these is speculation rather than edification

--they don't promote true religion or anything good in the soul

--misses SALVATION

Verse 5 here: "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

-this is a foundational principle for the Christian life

--love to God from a pure heart that's been cleansed by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit so that we have a clean conscience, all through the conduit of faith in Jesus Christ

Verse 7 is talking about proud, ignorant men without knowledge of what they're talking about or the ramifications of that knowledge

1 Timothy 6:3-4:

"If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions"

advocating a different doctrine that doesn't agree with sound words - i.e., Christ's teaching

-doesn't accord with godliness

"values himself superior"; ignorant and puffed up with conceit

-often ignorance and conceit go together with "confident assertions"

"sick interest in controversy"

-nothing good comes from these conversations since their only aim is the argument itself rather than Truth-seeking

the closing of the letter is the same a the opening in that it's a strong warning

-guard the Gospel; the teaching entrusted to you

"irreverent babble" - the result of argument rather than informative conversation

"knowledge" -> science

-again, many Speaker's Circle conversations about this kind of false science

--the word science comes from the same Greek word from which we get knowledge

2 Timothy 2:14-17a

"Remind them of these things and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will led people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene."

avoid quarrels about words - explain the Truths

-does no good - useless; leads to the ruin (catastrophe) of the hearers

diligently being accurate with the Word of Truth

-unashamed workman; conjures the image of a man adept at the use of tools, like a craftsman

"irreverent babble" comes up here again

-further ungodliness; will spread like a debilitating infection

refuse to engage in foolish and ignorant controversies and speculations

-one is not in a right mind when arguing in this way

--calls people starting these conversations fools

Titus 1:13-14

"This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth."

commandments from men who've turned from the truth

-yet another warning against foolish controversies and genealogies

--"morose" in Greek - where we get "moron" in eng; lit., stupid controversies

--blunt descriptions of apostatizing; knowing and seeing some Truth - even giving a mental assent to it for a season - but not living life according to those Truths because of the lack of the Holy Spirit's work on one's soul

People are perishing! Devote yourself to heeding these exhortations!

-be praying that you wouldn't be drawn into these conversations

-The account of John 4:1-42 where the Lord is talking with the woman at the well is an example of how best to guide conversations towards things of merit - there is discussion about what seemed to be the woman's concerns, but as a whole the conversation is geared toward the salvation of her soul.

"The bible is a proclamation, not an argument - you can't argue someone into the Kingdom." -Clint Leiter

Bands Who Play Hymns Well

Here are some bands that, in my opinion, play hymns wonderfully.  These aren't in any particular order:

1) Indelible Grace
2) The Enfield Hymn Sessions
3) High Street Hymns
4) David Potter
5) Jadon Lavik
6) Page CXVI
7) Chris Rice

Sunday Meeting 12/4/11

We had the wonderful privilege of having our dear brother Mason Vann come share with us on our last Sunday Meeting. I did take notes, but he happened to be sharing a message he recently preached at Lake Road Chapel, so I thought I would post a link to the message on their podcast instead of my notes this time so you can actually listen to it! :)

http://sermon.net/lakeroad/sermonid/119746860

What an important topic! Satan hates unity among believers and loves to divide brothers and sisters in Christ! But our love for one another and the way we interact amongst ourselves is something that Jesus says is evidence that we are even Christians: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

On What Basis Will God Judge Those Who Have Never Heard?

On What Basis Will God Judge Those Who Have Never Heard?

This question comes up a lot during evangelism. Justin Taylor shares a excerpt from Schaeffer. Just click the link if you're interested.

A Snapshot of Finishing Life Well

A Snapshot of Finishing Life Well <- Click here for the original post by Justin Taylor

Here is a great example of love and faithfulness to the woman or man that God has called you to marry.

Nathan Rages 11/29/11 Achan & Sin

[NOTE: Sorry to anyone who looked for this post yesterday and did not find it. I did finish the notes yesterday, but I failed to post them as promised! I am thankful for the opportunity to grow in diligence and faithfulness through keeping up with this blog and providing notes for those who've asked. As some of you may have picked up on by now, it is an area I need and desire to grow in! ~HCK]

Joshua 7

“But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’”

So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.”

• This is a weighty story. And the Bible says these things are written for our instruction. This is not for our entertainment. In this study I want to focus on what I think the heart of the story is about: Sin.

• Sin just means disobeying God, acting contrary to God's instruction. That is exactly what happened here in this account

• You see the effects of sin here: how it affects Achan, his family, his leader, and all of Israel

What truths about sin can we see illustrated in the sad story of Achan?

Sin is serious

• Sin causes great misery and trouble

• 7:25 “Why did you bring trouble on us?”

• All the problems in the world can be traced back to sin in some way

• Sin is horrible, devastating, and destructive. It ruins and defiles everything it touches. It is like a cancer, and it robs us of everything that is precious

• Is that how our culture views sin?

  • Some sins, but in general our culture does not consider sin serious. We hardly even hear the word sin; we talk about crime, fault, and error – but sin is explained away and even laughed at

  • Take the average sitcom, and you find that most of the jokes are making light of sin

• Even Christians can fall into the trap of taking sin lightly

  • We can even begin to focus on the fact that we are forgiven, or even accuse ourselves and others of being legalistic when they seriously pursue holiness

  • But we are supposed to hate sin – it is evil, and God hates it!

God distances Himself from sin and punishes it

• Isaiah 59:2 “...your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God...”

• God tells Israel that they will not make any more progress or have victory if they do not cleanse themselves from the sin

• This is an example of God's chastening

  • He showed them that they had a problem and that they needed to fix it

  • “Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord...”

  • God will chasten His children; He will not allow us to continue in sin. There are real consequences to disobeying God. He loves us too much to simply let us go on – He wants us to be holy.

  • Some became sick and even died from abusing the Lord's supper in the Corinthian church

Sin impacts others

• The spies underestimate the situation, then Joshua gets off track and follows their advice resulting in the death of 36 others. Then Achan's family and livestock are killed with him. The whole nation is put to shame.

• Do we really believe this? We sometimes think that our personal sins won't affect others, but they do

  • Your family will suffer from lack of positive example, the church will suffer lack of your spiritual gift. It will definitely affect your walk with God which in turn affects your interactions with others.

  • “If one member suffers...”

    • When there is a problem with one tiny root of your tooth, the whole body suffers.

It glorifies God to confess sin

• “Give glory to the Lord and tell me what you've done”

• How does it glorify God?

  • It is acknowledging God is right

• But it did not save Achan, and it is the same with us

  • We not only need to confess our sins, but we need a Savior. We need atonement for our sins!

God hates sin

• “The anger of the Lord burned...”

• The whole chapter is about the wrath of God. That is why sin is a big problem – it not only causes other problems but is displeasing to God

• Are we comfortable with this truth? Do you apologize for this attribute of God? How can we worship God and rejoice for this?

  • Without wrath, there would not be mercy

  • God has wrath because He is holy. God would not be a just judge if He tolerated sin.

  • One reason people can become uncomfortable with this is because they picture a human full of anger and wrath. People are usually wrong when they are full of wrath, but God is perfectly right in His judgment.

• Is God's wrath always carried out immediately?

  • No. God is so patient!

Sin needs to be dealt with quickly and violently

• God told Joshua to immediately take care of this

  • This illustrates the role of a pastor and even other believers to deal with sin in the church

  • Joshua confronted the congregation and together they stoned Achan and his family

• We are to be concerned about sin in each other – the Bible tells us to reprove sin lovingly and gently

  • Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy”

Sometimes we still bear the consequences for certain sins even after we are right with God

• Sin can have a longterm effect

  • Some people who are drug addicts permanently damage their brains and become Christians, but are not instantly healed of the damage or anything. They still feel the consequences from their former sins.

• It is an warning to us that we do not always know when God will cause us to be immediately punished or feel longterm consequences.

The implications of sin go beyond the act in itself

• Many people would not consider Achan's sin worse than murder or something like that. Adam and Eve only took a bite of some forbidden fruit. But sin is ultimately disobeying God

Sin is not worth the consequences

• The things he stole could not even be put into use.

• “Fleeting pleasures of sin”

Sin results in death

• Achan did not just get a reprimand, but he was killed.

• “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6)

• If you are lost, you will come to the judgment seat of God like Achan

  • He was caught red handed, with no escape. In the end he confessed, but it was too late, and will be for all those who do not have Christ as their substitute.

  • This is the backdrop on which the gospel shines. Christ came to save us when we are just as guilty as Achan. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life!

Fear of God

A question that seems to be consistently brought up at bible study is the meaning of the word "fear" when talking about the Lord, since it's used to describe a position towards Him with a very different connotation than we're used to hearing it in our everyday lives. Yeah, I'd be filled with fear if a bear were charging me, but why does the Bible continually talk about the fear of the Lord being the beginning of knowledge, wisdom, understanding, et cetera, especially in light of Christ's exhortations to fear not? Well, I've done a little bit of digging around in some languages I don't really understand to try and figure it out.

First of all, I wanna bring up a few verses as an example of what it is that I'm talking about.

Proverbs 1:7(ESV) - "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Proverbs 9:10(ESV) - "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."

Psalm 111:10(ESV) - "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!"

All of these verses talk about fearing God as the fountainhead from which all Truth flows. The building up of our souls, since it usually comes by way of the Word, seems to be dependent on wisdom, knowledge and insight, be it in relation to what we read or what's being presented by a pastor. However, in the Gospels, Christ is portrayed as saying over and over again "fear not." (Luke 8:50, 12:7 & 32, Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:40)

First of all, as Nathan Rages and others have pointed out a few times, God is described in Hebrews chapter 12 as "a consuming fire." regardless of everything else, God is clearly to be feared since He is capable of much more power than a charging bear, and God is "angry with the wicked every day. (Psalm 7:11 KJV)" There is righteous judgment to be feared by the wicked man, and the way of salvation from that wrath is only found in Christ. You - His creature - must follow the way He has set up in His Scriptures; YOU have sinned and in His goodness He has made a narrow path for your redemption. But it seems like Christ's exhortation in Matthew chapter 10 and Luke chapter 12 to "fear Him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell, (Luke 12:5)" is directed at Christians - the Lord first spoke these words to his disciples (Luke 12:1).

The verses in Proverbs and Psalms that we looked at all use the Hebrew word "yir'a," which can be translated a few different ways. The word does mean "fear," but with a connotation of reverence and piety inherent therein. Taken from Strong's description of the related word "yare", "to be afraid, be frightened; to revere, respect… in some contexts fear relates to terror and fright, in other contexts fear relates to honor, respect and awe, as in 'the fear of the Lord.'" It's a similar situation with the Greek of the gospel narratives. In the previously quoted text from Luke, the word is "phobeo," which, again referring to Strong's, means "to fear, be afraid, alarmed, in some contexts improper and an impediment to faith and love; to reverence respect, worship, in other contexts a proper fear for God, a deep reverence and awe." There is a subtlety in the Hebrew and Greek that doesn't seem to be conveyed in our English translations. It seems like both words, "yir'a" and "phobeo," have both meanings built into them that their contexts would bring out, either the fear with reverence or the reverence with fear. Our wording is almost more specific, so the reverence seems to get dropped from the word and we just get fear, or we only have the reverence and we lose the sense of fear that goes along with it. There doesn't seem to be that kind of a distinction in either the Hebrew or the Greek.

It seems to me that, with the verses from Psalms and Proverbs combined with the information about the Greek and Hebrew words, proper reverence for God has a healthy fear of His might behind it, and fear of His infinite might will lead to reverence and worship. Paul Washer has a wonderful way of putting this that I can't quite quote, but he basically says that yes, there is judgment for a believer and it will be absolutely terrifying - but when we go to the judgment seat of the Lord of lords and the King of kings, we won't see a face of wrath and malice but the tender, loving smile of our Father and our Brother.

For as long as this is, it really only scrapes the tip of the iceberg of this issue, but I really hope this can be of some use to you. There are over 400 uses of the word "fear" throughout the bible, so there is a lot there to study if you need further examples. I'll leave off with this one - one that I have found to be fairly helpful: "Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin.' (Exodus 20:20)"