Fear God, 20

~ The Israelites Were Commanded to Fear God, 13 ~

God does not want His children living in fear.  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:2-3).  However, God does want His children to have a proper respect and reverence for Him.  We are told in many places in Scripture to “fear God.”  

This Week’s Passage  ~  “Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.  And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.  Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.  You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

“Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.  For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.  When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you” (Deuteronomy 8:1-10). 

Fearing God Results in Salvation  ~  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).  “A wise person fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident” (Proverbs 14:16).  This does not mean the Christian is to live a fearful life—but a life which reverences God and seeks to do His will. 

Fearing God Results in Fearlessness  ~  “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).  The answer is: only God.  With the gift of salvation comes responsibility.

Fearing God Results in Witnessing  ~  “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Best GPS

~ The Best GPS You Will Ever Possess ~

The Good (advantages of GPS units)  ~  There are three primary benefits to good GPS systems:

• They know where you are at the moment.
• They take you from where you are to where you want to go.
• They avoid needless and unprofitable side trips.

The Not So Good (disadvantages of GPS units)  ~  Modern GPS systems also have three primary problems:

• They require regular software updates.
• They require a source of electricity—which needs replenishing.
• They are constantly improving—you soon desire a newer, smaller unit with additional features.

The Best GPS (By far!)  ~  “God’s Plan of Salvation” is the greatest GPS ever! 

• This GPS knows precisely where you have been, your present condition, and exactly where you are now.
• This GPS gives you clear and explicit directions to where you want to go!
• This GPS guides you to the very best place of all—heaven.
• This GPS causes you to avoid the very worst place of all—hell. 
• This GPS gives you corrective warnings when you get off course. 
• (This GPS is not just a Global Positioning System but a UPS—Universe Positioning System.)
• This GPS does not need require periodic battery replacement. 
• This GPS provides an on-going source of power—the indwelling Spirit of God.
• This GPS comes with a complete Owner’s Manual—the BIBLE (“Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”). 
• This GPS never requires a software update—God’s Word is like God Himself: “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). 
• This GPS is available to everyone as a free gift from God Himself! 
• There is a key which many miss—a decision to accept the offered gift must be made by the potential recipient.

Owner’s Manual (obtaining the Best GPS)  ~  An equal opportunity product—it is available to both genders, all ethnic groups, and all social classes.  Here is the simple step-by-step procedure for obtaining the best GPS you will ever have: 

• Agree with God that you have sinned!  “For all [including you] have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  “As it is written: ‘There is none [that includes you] righteous, no, not one’” (Romans 3:10).
• Understand that God loves you!  Jesus said, “For God [the Father] so loved the world [including you] that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him [that includes you] should not perish but have everlasting life [you can have eternal life].  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world [that includes you], but that the world [including you] through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).  “For when we [you] were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly [which includes you].  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us [including you], in that while we [you] were still sinners, Christ died for us [you].  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we [you] shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:6-9). 
• God has provided a way for your forgiveness!  “For the wages of [your] sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).  “But as many as received Him [including you if you choose], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those [your choice] who believe in His name” (John 1:12).  “For I reported to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our [including your] sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.  After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have since died.  After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8a). 
• You may obtain complete forgiveness and GPS right now where you are!  “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight [you cannot save yourself], for by the law is the knowledge of sin [if you are honest with yourself you know that you have sinned]” (Romans 3:20).  “Whoever [including you] calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved [notice it does not say: might be saved]” (Romans 10:13). 
• Would you like obtain the best GPS right now?  Simply pray a prayer similar to the following:  I confess to God that I am a sinner.  I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins on the Cross and that He was raised from the dead for my justification—making me just before a holy God.  I do confess Him and receive Him as my Savior.  If you have prayed you now have eternal life!

I would encourage you to find a local Bible-believing church to attend regularly.  Also, be sure to read the Word of God regularly (The Gospel of John—the fourth book of the New Testament) is great place to start. 

Also it would be a good idea to become very familiar with the following verses:

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved [notice it does not say: might be]” (Romans 10:9).

Jesus Christ said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not [does not say: might not] come into judgment, but has [past tense] passed from death into life” (John 5:24). 

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know [not hope or wonder] that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13a).

“These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have [eternal] life in His name” (John 20:31).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .