Thursday, July 31, 2008

Do You Fear God or Are You Afraid of God

Some people have a problem with finding the difference in these. There is only one reason that I can think of that would give you cause to be afraid of God, and that would be if you did not fear God. You see to fear God, is to respect who God is, to know that He is over all, that there is no one or anything bigger than God. This is an "in awe" type of fear. Not a shaking in your boots scared sort of fear. Remember the word tells us that God did not give us the spirit of fear. So when the word fear is used as in to fear God, it means to be in awe of, to honor, to respect Him.

2 Tim 1 v 7...For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind....

Deut. 10 v 12..."and now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?".....

Now to be afraid of God, would have to mean that you do not know God personally. The way to get to know God personally is through His Son, Jesus Christ. The word tells us that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

John 14 v 6...."I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."......

God is a jealous God, and if you want to make Him angry with you, then try worshiping some other Gods. He is the only true God. He is a loving, and merciful God. His only desire is to have fellowship with you and for you to know Him.

Exodus 20 v 4-6...."You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments...."

Did you catch that, God's mercy is greater than His wrath. He will show mercy through His love for you if you keep His commandments, and He tells you that you must hate Him if you would worship other Gods.

So God, Himself tells you to worship Him only, so then how do people still seek other sources for answers? For example: Why would you look to your horoscope each day to see what the stars say? If you say you believe in God, and He is very clear about not worshiping other Gods, then why would you put yourself in the path of God's wrath? First of all, God created you and the stars, so why would the stars know more than God about your future? And how do you have a personal relationship with a star?

That would be an example of someone who would be afraid of God, but not fear God, as would be obvious since they are looking to stars for answers instead of to their creator. AMEN!

Ps 90 v 11....Who knows the wrath of your anger? For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due You.....

1John 5 v 3....For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome....

If you feel burdened by God's commandments, then you would probably need to check your relationship with Him. To walk in the love of God is to desire to keep His ways.

Neta

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