Prayers for Europe

 To all my Ukrainian and Russian readers, I pray that God grant you grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ during this time of war! And to each and everyone else, let us hold up our brothers and sisters in Christ in prayer. 

The Fear of the LORD

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:

 and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding. 

Proverbs 9:10 

 

1)Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man that fears the LORD, that delights greatly in His commandments. 2)His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. 3)Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endures forever: 4)Unto the upright there arises a light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 5)A good man shows favor, and lends: he will guide his affairs with discretion. 6)Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in the everlasting remembrance. 7)He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 8)His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 9)He has dispersed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honor. 10)The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. Psalm 112:1-10

In verse one, the Hebrew word for blessed is ASH'REI which means How fortunate or blessed is... This whole chapter enumerates the benefits of one who FEARS the LORD.

 

Jesus instructed His disciples, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: Fear Him, which after He has killed has power to cast into hell; yes, I say unto you, Fear Him. Luke 12:4-5  And while reading this, we would only have a fear of God that is not reverent, rather only fear that causes one to be afraid to do anything - good or bad for God. However, the Messiah didn't stop there. He went on to say, Are not two sparrows sold for one penny, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows. Also, I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. Luke 12:6-10

In context, we see that the fear of the LORD is not constantly afraid of a vengeful and wrath God who is ready to strike us dead when we disobey. Rather, we see a loving Father who knows every detail about our life, even down to the number of hairs on our body. And He loves us so much, that we walk in reverent fear, that we not offend Him. When an earthly father has a positive relationship with his children, they are not afraid of him, rather they don't want to cause pain to their father by being disobedient. And when a righteous man has this relationship with his Heavenly Father, his Father in heaven abundantly bless him, for, The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22

In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge. Proverbs 14:26

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27