Teaching

Once I heard a preacher on the radio talking about the fear of the Lord being a feeling. It isn't. Let's stick to the Word. It has nothing to do with emotions. It's about grasping full reality,  accepting that full reality with our hearts and minds and shaping our lives around it. Easier said than done, but knowing where to start is better than trying to "feel" something and thinking you're there, should you get goosebumps. 

Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade people.  (2 Cor. 5:11) 

Paul says: since we know what the fear of the Lord is, we try to persuade people. We preach, we evangelize. We teach. 

Why? Because we understand, we know the end of the story. We've accepted the full reality of what's really going on.  

No need to guess, no need for "feelings". Just knowing this, should be able to keep us on the edge of our seats each day: 

"So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Cor. 5:9-10)

Seeing our daily lives through the lens of eternity might be single most pragmatic approach to life. It's not about staring at the sky and weirding out on our families and friends. It's about getting real with ourselves. 

To me, it's very close to the way I begin to think when I have to travel somewhere for a week or more and I have 3 hours left before that plane takes off. I know if I don't pack my stuff, I'll be in trouble. Time becomes a very tangible commodity. Each movement receives new meaning and weight. It's either wasteful or purposeful. It either contributes to my immediate goal or it doesn't. 

And while I'm taking care of everything I need to, I have to watch my attitude so I don't treat anyone at home as if they're in my way.

I'm reminded I won't see them for days. I can't take them for granted. 

Life is short. We can't take those closest to us for granted. Tomorrow might be our last day. We simply don't know. No one does. Plan practically as if you'll be around until you're 120, but live morally pure as if tomorrow might be your last. 

How much better the world would be if we all thought like this? 

That's what the fear of the Lord should produce in us - purity, focus, anticipation.  

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Word for 2010 and Beyond

Submitted by Laurie Skipper Tuesday, December 29, 2009. (Scriptures are from NASB, unless otherwise noted.)

Part 1: For The United States

• We, the Body of Christ in the United States, have become complacent if not despondent when it comes to the war on terror in this nation. We want to look, point the finger, and blame the government for their errors. The only true protection for our nation lies in keeping a spiritual hedge of protection in place. We have let down our guard and will pay the price for doing so if we do not re-establish it.
 

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And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.  Gen. 13:14-15 (NKJV)

Power Principle # 21 was about developing a God centric mindest, which is really the only way to understand the Bible and to be properly positioned to receive His instructions for success.
 

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You might have heard this -- why isn’t there unity in the Church? Well, if by unity you envision some idyllic, picturesque kind of pastoral unity, this will never happen. Rather, what we COULD have in the Church are tribes, clans, or whatever you want to call them -- “pockets” of people who form different clusters of unity and together they form the Church.  

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Let it be all joy to you, my brothers, when you undergo tests of every sort; James 1:2 (BBE) 

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I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. [Jer. 1:10] 

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All of us want to see a good harvest in our lives. All of us want to succeed in the mission Jesus has for each one of us. There are two things we need to do to make sure this happens: we must purge the seeds and we must pull out the weeds. 

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Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 1Cor. 4:2 (NKJV) 

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Spiritual uncleanness opens the door to satan in our lives. As a Christian, you have the power of remove uncleanness from your life - nobody else can do it for you! We'll look at uncleanness through the Old Testament type of leprosy. 

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When we begin to loose our conviction, we become like Gideon, who was hiding from his enemies, trying to survive. And even after an angel came and spoke with him, he was still uncertain about the reality of God and His promise for breakthrough. Many in the church have lost their CONVICTION. 

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