Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Leviticus 16

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! Psalm 100:4

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter fourteen - God Forgives and Removes Sin - covering Leviticus 16:1-34, looking specifically at the second theme for the chapter - We Come into God's Presence with Care.  Here, the commentary theme for today highlights God's instructions for Aaron to follow on the Day of Atonement as described in great detail in Leviticus 16. God warns Aaron to follow these instructions to the letter "so that he may (does) not die" (v2, 13). The commentary writes how Aaron, after the death of his two sons as described in Leviticus 10, was surely more motivated to be careful to follow God's instructions. During my study of Leviticus, I've previously posted on the topic of how we are to approach worship carefully and with a right heart - certainly not flippantly or carelessly as we might if we are simply going through the motions. The commentary urges us to see this same application today: "we are not to approach God in a haphazard way or in the way that suits us in the moment.  We submit to what God says in His Word about how to approach Him.  He is God, not man.  He is our sovereign Lord, not our buddy, and we come into His presence with a keen awareness of that fact....We don't come into His presence naming our demands or imposing our opinions; we come into His presence giving Him praise as God and bowing our hearts in reverence out of fear of His holiness and awesome power."  The commentary provides both Matthew 6:9 and Psalm 100:4 as scriptural examples of how we are to approach God. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is always available for me - in worship, for prayer and quiet time studying the Word, etc.  Thank You!  Yet I am undeserving of how You bless me and protect me as I have often gone through the motions.  Please forgive me Jesus!  Help me overcome and turn from such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

Leviticus 6-7

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:29

This afternoon, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter seven - Serving God in God's Way - covering Leviticus 6:8-7:38, looking specifically at the theme - We Maintain Holiness Before God.  Here, the commentary focuses on how God desires us to avoid uncleanliness (or sin), and for us to "show reverence for God's means of atonement."  In several places in the text for today, God commands the Israelites to keep the place of worship clean - the implication being for Christians of today is (per the commentary) that God "does not want us to engage in something holy, like worship, when our lives are unholy.  He wants us to live holy lives and offer holy worship." We are urged to see how this principal in Leviticus shows up elsewhere in scripture, including Isaiah 52:11 and in 2 Corinthians 6:17 when Paul quotes Isaiah 52:11. 

The commentary for today and this chapter wraps by urging believes to not treat Christ's sacrifice "flippantly."  God designed the Old Testament sacrificial system and all of its details perfectly with an eye towards having the Israelites work through the details carefully to ensure complete obedience to God.  While this sacrificial systems is no longer used for Christians, God nonetheless wants us to see Christ's death on the cross as a very serious matter and an act that demands both our attention and ongoing focus was we approach worship and every aspect of our life.  We must remain right with God.  As a scriptural basis for how we are to remain right with God and to not treat His death on the cross flippantly we are to refer to Hebrews 10:29.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are Holy and You are perfect and all of your designs are perfect, including how You command us to worship.  I have also seen Your perfect design in my life with how You orchestrate the many blessings I experience - thank You Jesus!  Yet there are times when my worship is treated flippantly - please forgive me Jesus! Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.

 2 Samuel 6, 1 Chronicles 15-16, Psalm 105, and Psalm 96

And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord. 1 Chronicles 15:15

Day 96 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) focuses on David as he completes his efforts to bring the ark of God back to Jerusalem, including the resulting celebration and praise of God.

This time, David is careful about following God's instructions about how the ark is to be carried - unlike 1 Chronicles 13 where it details how the ark was carried on a cart and steadied by Uzzah who accidentally touches the ark while preventing it from falling off the cart.  He is struck dead by God - see 1 Chronicles 13:9-10.

We ought to be careful about how we approach God - I am reminded of one of God's commandments that we are not to take the Lord's name in vain (the 3rd commandment - see Exodus 20). John Piper has this excellent post about how we are likely to take the Lord's name in vain when our hearts, minds and actions "empty God of his weight and his glory".  Piper encourages us to focus not on the negative perspective of this command but instead the first commandment where we are to "revere God, love God, delight in God, know God, [and] fill up God with all that he is. And then out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak".

See also my post yesterday on how our lives evidence fruit and how Jesus tells us what the most important commandments are.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has transformed my heart and life - I am grateful for how You are able to produce fruit in my life - thank You Jesus!  Yet I am not deserving - I am still harsh with others.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

Revelation 19

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.  He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” Revelation 19:1-2

Session #10 of David Platt - Revelation: The Hope of Glory (requires login which I have though my church) focuses on Revelation 19.

Jesus arrives! The battle is over!  This is where all of eternity is headed.

• Core message of this chapter: man centered worldliness will ultimately be overcome by God-centered worship - 19:10.
• God orchestrates all of history to display His glory v1, 3, 4, 6 - only time in NT when Hallelujah is mentioned.
• Goal to which all history is headed is glory of God.
• God ordains all of His people to enjoy His glory - our deepest satisfaction/delight/joy is found not in this world but in God.
• Bow before the splendor of God the Father; He is victorious/glorious/omnipotent/just/eternal/mighty (almighty mentioned 9 times)/sovereign - 7:10, 12:10, 19:2, Psalm 149:1-6, Revelation 6:9-11; do not play around with the justice of God
• Behold the supremacy of Christ the Son 19:11-16 (not on a donkey but a war horse), faithful and true, righteous, Messianic warrior 9:15, sees everything; many crowns on His head (Revelation 12, 13 show Satan playing king but this is to seduce us - but this is NOT so), much mystery to His name 19:12, He conquers God's enemy (see also Isaiah 63), He ends the history of this world (but there is not battle!), He rules the nations of this world 19:15, brings God's wrath upon this world - upon sinful men and women, Satanic agents and ambassadors! (19:17-21), He is the King of kings and Lord of lords 19:16
• Let's revere Him 19:5! No room for casual worship!
• Let's rejoice Him 19:7-8
• Let's be ready for His coming! Walk by faith by Him! Remain faithful despite persecution, by enduring, obeying, completing mission, etc. and work by grace from Him (Philippians 2); we live surrounded by adulterous Babylon - walk in righteousness only by the grace of God
• 19:14 Jesus returns and He is not alone - we know from all of the NT that He is coming back to participate in His reign forever - let's by ready!

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has saved me from eternal damnation - You are King of kings and Lord of Lords!  I am grateful.  Yet I am undeserving.  My sin is daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”

Jeremiah 43

“Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.” v19-22

Just as Jeremiah prophesied, Babylonia sacked Jerusalem, took King Zedekiah captive (Jeremiah 39), left a remnant behind in Judah: "some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields" (Jeremiah 39:10).

In chapters 40-42, we see fear in the eyes of the remnant as Ishmael son of Nethaniah kills Gedaliah, the appointed governor over Judah.  Many begin to flee Judah to Egypt (Jeremiah 41) and in chapter 42 we see Jeremiah deliver a message from the Lord warning the remnant not to flee to Egypt.  This warning goes from verse 7-22.

In chapter 43 we see Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah accuse Jeremiah of lying to them regarding the Lord's message (see v1-7) and in direct disobedience to God lead the remnant to Egypt.

The question in my mind is when fear strikes do we trust in the Lord or in man?  

For the leaders of the remnant here it seems a bit more clear cut in that Jeremiah was clear in his words from the Lord that going to Egypt was a bad idea - and Jeremiah has a track record of being on the up and up.   

For the rest of us, we must a reverent fear of God.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who leads me when times are good and when times are bad - thank You for carrying me through valleys of darkness.  You are truly a great God.  Yet I am undeserving of such love.  I often fall down in my faith and trust in myself, others or in idols.  Please forgive me Jesus!  Help me overcome and turn from my faith.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Please help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to accept Jesus as their Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”

2 Kings 1

So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!” v13-14

Now that Ahab had died (just as prophesied), his son Ahaziah becomes King.  Ahaziah did evil, led Israel into evil, and worshiped Baal, just as his father did (1 Kings 22:52-53).   Ahaziah injures himself and desires to seek Baal's input (via messengers) whether he will recover from this injury. But the angel of the Lord directs Elijah to meet these messenger to deliver a stern warning to Ahaziah:


"Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” v3-4


Ahaziah seeks to capture (and likely kill) Elijah so he sends his men after Elijah.  However, God protects Elijah and each time men are sent after him "the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed" Ahaziah's men (v10, 12).

The third time this happens Ahaziah's men show display fear and beg to Elijah that they not be consumed as well.

We don't know what happened to these men but we can learn from them. 

We ought to demonstrate reverent fear of God.  We don't get what we deserve (Romans 6:23), yet we get what we don't deserve (Jesus came to rescue us while still sinners - Romans 5:8).

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.  1 Peter 1:17

 

My Prayer: Heavenly Father - Jesus, You are an awesome God who has created all things, is in all things, and is in control.  You know everything about my sin, yet You came to rescue me anyway, willingly laying down Your life for me.  Thank You Jesus.  I am not worth such love.  I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Joshua 5

The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. v15

As Joshua takes over leadership from Moses and as he prepares to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, he encounters an angel of the Lord who will command the Israelites into battle with Jericho.  The angel speaks to Joshua and commands reverence - or "profound adoring awed respect".  God commanded this of Moses as well when God spoke to Moses through the burning bush.

The question is - when are we NOT to feel as if we are standing on holy ground.  Since God created the Heavens and the Earth and everything in it and He is in everything and holds everything together (Colossians 1) - we should be in reverence ALL of the time.  God is everywhere and in everything.

 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Paul also claims that we are to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Reminder that we exist to glorify God.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has created the heavens and the earth and everything in them and You created me in Your image and then rescued me from the pit by nailing Yourself to the cross - to free from death and from being slave to sin.  Thank You Jesus!  The greatest gift of all time...I am not worth such a gift.  I am hard on others...too hard.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

Deuteronomy 32

I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. v3-4

As a follow up to yesterday's post, in Deuteronomy, Moses writes a song that chronicles the story of the Israelites as the Lord led them out of Egypt to the Promised Land and as the Israelites turned from the Lord on so many occassions.  

We must worship the one and only true God - for He holds us and everything else in His hands.  We should live in reverent fear of God.

See now that I myself am he!
    There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
    I have wounded and I will heal,
    and no one can deliver out of my hand.

I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear:
    As surely as I live forever,
when I sharpen my flashing sword
    and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
    and repay those who hate me.
I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
    while my sword devours flesh:
the blood of the slain and the captives,
    the heads of the enemy leaders.” v39-42

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.  1 Peter 1:17

Lord Jesus, please help me respect who You are and live my time in reverent fear and help me worship only You.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what a great God You are - creator of the heavens and earth and everything in them.  You hold the world in Your hands - yet because You loved me You came for me as a child, as a man, then suffered and died for me...even though You lived a perfect life.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love.  I fail to be all who You intend for me.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?

Genesis 37

When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now? v29-30

Reuben, perhaps because he was the oldest of Jacob's sons and possessed a level of maturity his other sons did not have, sought to avoid harsh treatment of Joseph.  Yet he was not able to stop what his other brothers wanted to do - to get rid of Joseph.  For sure this was sinful and even though he was not present when it happened, Reuben had a hand in Joseph being sold into slavery.

As well, the Macarthur Bible Commentary suggests that Jacob may have been punished now for sins committed earlier in his life - such as his trickery of his father and brother.

Regardless if this is indeed that case - there is no doubt that we are to live in reverent fear of God.  

He knows all - that nothing is hidden from Him.  We may believe that we can "get away" with sins but we pay a price one way or another.  Our belief that we can get away with sin is playing with fire.  Avoid sin...period!

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 1 Peter 1:17

See also posts here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who knows and sees all....including all of my sin.  You are full of grace, compassion, and patience.  Thank You Jesus.  I am not worth such love.  I am not You intend me to be.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. v17

God is just...and His justice is perfect.

He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. Psalm 9:8

 

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Luke 8:17

 

"For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done." Matthew 16:27

 

As such, we should live our time on earth with reverent fear.  We are not citizens of earth so we should respect the host - our God the Father.  And we should respect our God the Father because our bodies are not our own...we live for the glory of God.  We have a God who is perfect in all ways, is all powerful, and all knowing.  He is Lord of Lords and He reigns over all.  He demands our love and is worthy of it.  He knows everything about us yet chose to adopt us, and suffer and die for us.  

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, no doubt You are a great God worthy of my praise, worship, love, and obedience.  Thank You for being my God.  You have done everything for me yet I know I am undeserving.  I am selfish, lazy, and I worry.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.

Habakkuk 2

The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. v20

Many flaunt their sinfulness and place things, activities, people, themselves, etc. before God.  Sequentially speaking, NOTHING comes before God because HE is the Alpha - the beginning.  He is also the End (Revelation 22:13) with the implication being that God existed before time began, that He will exist after time ends, and that His kingdom will last forever.  You can also place other gods before Jesus in terms of priorities - yet this will end in peril as "no one comes to the Father except through [Jesus]" (John 14:6) and "[e]very tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 7:18). 

God must possess the rightful place in our lives - He must be the number one priority.

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

We must respect and fear God for who He is.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are King of Kings and the Name Above All Names.  You are also the Lord of My Life and worthy of my praise and worship.  I know You love me and I know that You suffered and died for me..even though You lived a sinful life and did not deserve death but willingly surrendered Your life so that I could have life.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and sacrifice.  I continue to rage in my sloth and selfishness.  Please forgive me and help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength and please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, the church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

Nahum 1

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. v7-8

We must live in reverent fear of the Lord.  God is in control (Colossians 1:17), He is all powerful (Matthew 19:26) and all knowing (Hebrews 4:12-13).  We must accept Him as our Lord and Savior and obey Him and His commandments (Exodus 20, Matthew 22:37-40), otherwise we face eternal damnation...this is truth.

What does it mean to live in reverent fear of the Lord.  For starters, we must love Him, worship Him and come to Him daily.  We must also serve Him, His church and others.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God worthy of my love, my worship and my full attention.  You freely give Yourself away to me and You have blessed me beyond what I deserve - all that You ask for is a relationship with me. I am thankful for all the ways that You bless me...and it is impossible for me to fully recognize all that You do for me...all I know is that I am blessed beyond what I deserve...thank You Jesus.  Yet again I am not deserving...I am too easily distracted.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.

Psalms 2

Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. v11

The Overview Bible Project has, I believe, good context for understanding the Psalms.  Books 1-41 are authored by David and in chapter 2, David rightly encourages us to "serve the Lord with fear and to celebrate His rule with trembling".  Indeed, we must understand our rightful position relative to God...He is sovereign over all.  Yes, we may be His children and created in His image but we were created to glorify Him and to serve Him...at HIS discretion.  The Bible is full of people who did not follow God and felt his wrath...even to the point of death.

See also here and here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are worthy of my full attention, awe, respect, and fear.  You are all powerful and capable of wiping me out at anytime...I am not worthy of Your mercy and grace yet You have provided too often for me to mention here.  Thank You Jesus for Your grace and mercy.  Please forgive me for my discouraging nature...in particular with Zach.  Help me overcome and turn from such and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do. Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects of chemo and radiation.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin, and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message today and every day.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation 2

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. v4-5

Speaking through John, Jesus warns the church in Ephesus that they have fallen...although God is fair and just, judgment is coming for all of us and we must be prepared (see posts also previous two days).  We must live with the end in mind and live in reverent fear of God's power and judgment.  We must repent!

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome and like the song says "You Reign" and You do so forever and forever just as it is written in Revelation.  I am no different than those You wrote in Ephesus...I have fallen and I do so again and again...too often I lean on my own abilities and understanding and this is a sin!  Please forgive me Jesus and help me turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer.  Praise for yesterday's awesome news about Barry and Brenda's permanent custody of Camdyn.  Please heal Will.  Please help me live with the end in mind.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” v28-29

Jesus, I know that You will never go away, Your words will never go away and that I should have 100% confidence and faith in You...a faith that is based on reverence and awe.  I should have such faith because if I don't believe in Him I am subject to destruction...which is what I deserve anyway for my sin.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are so full of grace, compassion, patience, etc.  I sin...repeatedly, sometimes knowing full well what I am doing...forgive me Jesus!  You have forgiven me for all of my sins already but I need You daily to do this...I am lazy, quick to anger and slow to listen...again Jesus please help me and forgive.  You are a great God and You have blessed me beyond what I deserve - thank You Jesus!  Help me turn from my sin and towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith. Help me live in reverence and awe of You...daily...and to base my faith on this reverence and awe.  Help me have in my heart Your permanent nature and Your permanent words.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 1

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. v8

Jesus says He is coming back and He says this will be a judgement day so we better be ready (see Matthew 25).  Luke also says that "[N]o word from God will ever fail (Luke 1:37 NIV)" so scripture is God and from God than we sure better be ready and be obedient...pronto!

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God, full of love, mercy, compassion,  patience, joy...ALL of the fruits of the spirit.  You are these things at all times, including with respect to dealing with me...I am not worthy of such a relationship as I am broken and disobedient.  Please forgive me Jesus that I am not as obedient as You desire me to be.  Help me turn from my sin and towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me obey!  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength, comfort and encouragement.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God

1 Corinthians 4

He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. v5

Heavenly Father, I do want to store up treasures in Heaven...I do want to please You vs pleasing others and success in earthly terms.  As I posted Friday, what is wise in this age is not wise according to the Father, so let me understand and please You Jesus so that I can live for Heaven and pleasing You.  I don't want to be tripped up.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are wisdom and understanding and Your ways and will are perfect - I want to be part of Your plan and Your will and I don't want to focus on earthly or my own plans or designs.  You are a great God and I know You are my guide.  I don't always follow You or love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength but I want to.  You have transformed my life, my heart, and You have blessed me beyond what I deserve.  Clearly I am not worth the blessing You have provided and the mercy and compassion You have poured out for me.  Thank You that You love me despite my sin...but please forgive me and help me turn from my sin.  Help me turn towards You instead.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today.