Good morning!
Today is a reflection day
Sometimes the Lord speaks through His Word over several days’ reading. Wednesday in Proverbs 10:9 we read that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” On Thursday we read Acts 9:31, which mentions fear as well; “And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it [the church] multiplied.”
The Lord is indeed fearsome, Holy, righteous and just. He is a God who pours wrath out on sin and indeed upon sinners. In our flesh and in our temptations, we ought never forget the awful consequences of sin… and fear is in fact commanded of us in our relationship with the Lord.
At the same time, He is loving, compassionate, merciful and kind. We have been forgiven our sins by the blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit has ushered us into that reality, and He is our constant companion to remind us that we are living in grace, forgiven and set free. The motive for our obedience is love, not fear. We live safe and secure, but we also abide with a fearsome God. In Acts 9:31 we see that both the fear of the Lord and the comfort of His Spirit belong as needful elements of our life together in Christ. Amen.!
in Him, Mike