Fearing God from A to Z

H is for Honor

"You just wanted to improve your life," Jenny said as we sat at their kitchen table visiting.

  

"You've always been nice people," James, her husband, added.

My sister and I had just told our friends how God had changed our lives for the better. They, being intelligent, liberal thinkers, wanted to shrink our salvation stories down to mere self-improvement. They rationalized that our righteousness was a part of us, apart from God. 

We smiled at each other. My sister and I knew better and didn't want to take credit for the miracle God had performed in our lives. 

"No," she said. "Jesus is the one who changed us."

"He saved us from our sins, something no one else could do," I said. 

Awkward silence followed, then Jenny turned the conversation. "It's been unseasonally hot, don't you think?"  

Did our long time friends see reliance on Jesus as weakness or blind faith? In reality, spiritual blindness keeps people away from the Lord. Whatever their reason, they didn't give God the credit for helping us turn away from a life of futility to one that honored Him.

Not surprising. It's a human tendency, even among Christians. We give credit for someone's accomplishments to their outgoing personality. If a person does well financially, we may credit a connection to family money, a lucky break, or a supportive spouse. Sure, God uses our circumstances and other people, but He deserves all the recognition. 

It irritates me when others try to explain away blessings until there's nothing left to thank God for. Staying mindful that He is the One teaching and helping us live His wisdom reminds us to give Him the credit He deserves. 

Way back in the day, Abraham said he wouldn't accept even a sandal strap from a local king. He didn't want anyone to think they helped him succeed in life. Abraham had learned enough wisdom to give all honor for his position and possessions to God. (Genesis 14:23) Glorifying the Lord for all He is and all He does is the essence of fearing Him. 

"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forver and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17).

Fearing God from A to Z

G is for Generous

The smell of warm chocolate filled the kitchen. I carefully lifted chocolate chip cookies from the baking sheet onto a plate. Ten seconds later my four-year-old granddaughter ran into the room with a question on her face. She didn't have to say a word. 

"Yes, you can have one but only one," I said smiling.

As I scooped dough onto the baking sheet, Lily took a cookie in each hand, which was unusual for her. 

"Didn't you hear me say only one?"

"Yes," she held out a cookie. "This one is for you." 

"Ahh, how thoughtful," I accepted her gift. "Thank you, sweetheart." 

Some children seem born on the considerate side, while the rest of us have to learn as we go. Still, we like giving things to others, especially the people  in our families. Jesus used that tendency to help us understand God's generosity. He said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11)

In some ways the fear of God can be considered the imitation of the God. Psalm 112:9 says giving to the poor is one of the characteristics those who fear the Lord have in common with Him. Like Father, like child in everyday, visual ways. 

"A generous person devises generous things and by generosity he stands"

(Isaiah 32:8)  

I love the way some verses leave no room for misunderstanding. A lifestyle of generosity is clearly one of the things God likes to see in His children. Giving to others across our table, across the street, and across the ocean, shows we trust God to keep meeting our needs. 

The more I learn about fearing God, the more I see how practical it is. Our fear of Him can be heard in our prayers, praise, and thanksgiving. But it can also be seen in the simplicity of sharing. Even if it's just a cookie.  

Fearing God from A to Z

F is for Focus

Last spring we heard an unusual tapping sound coming from our drive
way. Stepping outside we discovered a bird perched in front of the rear view mirror on the car. The sparrow was pecking at the mirror over and over. We watched her stop to gaze at her image and then start pecking 
again. Cute little bird.

Eventually, Ray scared her away. But as soon as he walked in the house, 

she swooped back to the mirror to ponder and peck at her reflection. The next morning she flew in to stare and peck at the mirror again.  

By the third day, her obsession wasn't so cute anymore. Ray covered the 

mirror with a bag to discourage her. She moved to the driver's side. We covered that one too. She migrated to the truck mirrors.  

Did she think of herself as the best looking bird on the block? Or did her 

obsession grow out of insecurities and self-loathing? For us, it's usually the 
latter. Either way, it kept her from interacting with the other birds. It also 
kept her eyes off her Creator.

The same proves true for us. When we look too long and close at ourselves 

we lose sight of the One who made us. God delights in those who fear Him 

(Ps. 147:11), those who put their hope in Him and their eyes on Him. He 

also has a purpose for us we can't pursue when we focus too much on
ourselves.

Rather than act like that sparrow, whether pridefully or critically self-absorbed, 
we can focus on the Lord by delighting in Him (Ps. 37:4). That's easy to do because the longer we look at Him, the more goodness we find. 

I don't know about you but I'd rather delight in God's perfection than despair

over my imperfections. Wasting anymore time focusing on something so futile is for the birds.