Hello friends and family of Village Bible Church,
As a shepherd among you, it is my hope and prayer that you are growing daily in your affection for and knowledge of our great God. If there is ever anything I can pray with you over or talk with you about, please know that I count it a privilege to serve this body of believers. Don’t hesitate to contact me.
For the last few days, I’ve been awestruck, as I consider what it means to “fear” the Lord. Over the next few weeks, Lord willing, I will be discussing what it means to fear Him, according to scripture.
This week, simply an introduction.
Fear the Lord
As we consider what it means to fear Him, the first thing we must rightly understand is what fearing the Lord actually means. Nearly everyone has a fear of something - be it spiders, heights, or something else entirely. Yet in scripture, it says:
“The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7 LSB
Let us understand that when God’s Word says “fear” in Proverbs 1:7, it is not talking about a fear of being bitten by a spider or falling from a ladder. When scripture says the “The fear of Yahweh”, the Hebrew word is “yirah”, and it means a fearful reverence, an awe-filled respect, a holy fear. Thus, scripture is saying that the first step in being wise, is reverencing God as holy, and trusting and obeying Him according to His Word.
In the opening lines of the book of Proverbs, we are reminded that if we would have wisdom and knowledge, the foundational building block is a right understanding and reverential awe of Yahweh. Whereas fools despise God’s wisdom and discipline, the wise person acknowledges God as the creator, sustainer, Savior, and judge of all, and thus fears Him rightly for who He is.
This week, my question to you is simply this: Do you rightly fear the Lord with reverence and awe? Yes, He is merciful and gracious, but this should not diminish our awe-filled respect and holy fear of Him! In fact, His mercy and grace should cause us to all-the-more to tremble at His greatness. Dear Christian, if you would be wise, seek to understand what can be known of our great God (revealed to us in His Word), and rightly and reverently fear the Lord.
This coming Sunday, we will gather together to sing, pray, and hear God’s Word proclaimed. Pastor John White will be continuing through the book of Exodus, specifically covering the 2nd commandment (Exodus 20:4-6).
Lord willing, I will see you then.
In Christ,
Jon Collins, pastor
You can reach the elders anytime by email, call, or text at:
Jon Collins, jcollins@thevillagemi.com, (810) 869-3949
John White, jwhite@thevillagemi.com, (810) 275-4267