About halfway through Psalm 103... wondering what we will see today...
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions for us.
Psalm 103:11-12
Love greater than the distance between heaven and earth...
Transgressions removed farther than we can even imagine...
Yet... this love... this forgiveness... reserved for those... who fear Him...
Let's look at what this fear of the Lord is about...
The biblical conception of fear embraces a much wider dimension than does our common English word, which simply denotes dread or terror. While this meaning forms an essential part of the scriptural picture, it is by no means the primary significance, especially when the fear of God --- an awe-inspiring reverence --- is referred to.
There is, of course, a legitimate place for the fear of God in the lower, anxious sense. We are told, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb 10:31, RSV). Jesus taught that we should fear God because he has the power to punish sin and consign people to utter destruction (Lk 12:4-5). Fear has a constructive role to play in enabling men to realize both the degeneracy of their souls and their need of divine forgiveness.
---Tyndale Bible DictionaryJesus showed us the greatness of God's love...
Love greater than we can fathom...
He came and made a way... for sins to be removed...
blotted out... cast east and west... never to return...
But there were... are... those who reject His love...
disregard His forgiveness... for they have no fear of Him...
no understanding of what Jesus revealed...
our need for a Savior...
Those who rejected Him... crucified Him...
Those for whom He prayed for forgiveness... spat on Him...
Those who preferred their own light... to the Light of the world... stayed in darkness...
"... And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world,
and people loved the darkness rather than the light
because their works were evil. For everyone who
does wicked things hates the light and does not come
to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
But whoever does what is true comes to the light,
so that it may be clearly seen that his works
have been carried out in God." --- Jesus
John 3:19-21 ESV
To truly know God...
even an inkling of the reality of Him...
is to fear Him...
Jesus came... to reveal the reality of His love...
mercy... compassion...
Where fear of the Lord drives us to follow the law...
His love... compels us... to follow Him...
His love... enables us to trust...
trust enables us to walk out of the darkness...
Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant?
Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
But now, all you who light fires and provide
for yourselves with flaming torches,
go, walk in the light of your fires
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:
You will lie down in torment.
Psalm 50:10-11
Those who refuse to fear the Lord...
see Him for who He is... and who they are before Him...
will not receive... experience... His love... or... forgiveness...
Those who fear Him... know Him... trust Him... receive...
love beyond comprehension...
forgiveness unimaginable...
all in Jesus's name...
Father God... fill me with a proper fear of You...
without You I'm lost in the dark...
I trust You... Lord... show me the Way...
use me to shine Your Light in the life of others...
that they may find the Way too...
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