Fear the Lord

Who or what do you fear? What a great question. During my life I have feared many, many things. Let's name a few; sleeping in my own bed as a child, failure, disappointing people, academic eligibility in college, my wife or children getting hurt or sick. Now these are just tipping the iceberg, but my point is that we all have things we fear in life, but do we fear the One we should? I'm currently in a bible study on the book of Isaiah, so this and many blogs may come from this study. The night we were going through chapter 8 I was having difficulty focusing due to being so tired, but when we got to verse 11 I was immediately awakened. Isaiah 8:11-14 commands us not to fear man, but to fear the Lord. As I read this I had an instant burden on my heart. I fear so many things, but do I really fear the Lord. To answer honestly, I don't think I always do.

So let's answer the question, What does it mean to fear the Lord? Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. If to fear the Lord is the beginning of knowledge it must mean that we know of His greatness, His love, His almighty power and we love, respect, and FEAR letting Him down. That is my take. Relate it to your parents. Most love and respect their patent's and thus they fear doing something against their wishes. There is no difference in theory, but our fear of the Lord should far surpass that of any earthly thing. This verse goes on to say that if you do not fear the Lord, then you are a fool.

As I thought about this, I realized how so many of us fear the things of this world and those fears drive us to sin. Not just sin of not fearing the Lord, but other sins. For example; why do most teenagers start to drink alcohol? I would say the majority do because of peer pressure and the FEAR of not being accepted by the "cool" people. Now if these teenagers feared the Lord and feared sinning against Him, they may make a better choice. I know many may be saying, wait a minute, drinking isn't a sin. We can get into that another time, but for this example, it is sin. For one, teenagers are under the legal age and thus not obeying authority. Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Secondly, they are drinking alcohol excessively with the goal of getting drunk. Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. This is just one example that I'm sure many of us can identify with. But think about it and try to relate this to many decisions we make or have made in life. Would we have made more Godly decisions if we would have thought, what would God think of this choice, instead of how it is going to affect us here on earth. The decision may not be the easiest, but would be the right one in the Lord's eyes.

My challenge for us all is to think about our choices and things we may fear at this very moment. Put those things in the hands of the Lord, trust in Him. Cast your fears upon Him. And fear the Lord. Exodus 14:31 Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Focus on Jesus: Part 2

We saw in Focus on Jesus: Part 1 how Jesus is omniscient or all knowing. It was amazing and extremely comforting to find out that know matter what our circumstances are or what dark paths we are wondering down, Jesus knows right where we are. And better yet, he is always there, waiting on us to turn to Him.

The second thing we wanted to focus on in this great passage, Matthew 14:22-33, is Peter's faith in Jesus. We will pick this up in verse 29, He (Jesus) said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. WOW!!! Does this not absolutely blow your mind. Peter, a mere man, walked on water. How? You might ask. He had faith in Jesus and knew that He would carry him.

It's so sad what our culture puts it's faith in. Our jobs, our favorite sports teams, our friends, family, and our pastors, yes I said it, our pastors. What do all of these things have in common? They are all man or of man. We as man are destined to fail. Romans 3:12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good,not even one." Now I'm not calling you a failure or worthless, but just pointing out the fact that we are human and destined to sin. If you put your faith in man you will be disappointed in due time. I'm not saying don't trust anyone, but only put your FAITH in Jesus Christ. So if we understand that as humans we are going to disappoint and be disappointed then when that time comes we aren't completely shocked. This is one of the main reasons for the "dechurched". You are probably asking, "What is the dechurched"? Well, these are the people who have left the church due to being disappointed by man at one time or another. They didn't focus on Jesus and when a "man" let then down they bolted. Isaiah 8:22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

As Peter walked on water, his complete focus was on Jesus. But as we all do, he turned his focus to his surroundings. Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." This is very practical for us today. Our lives are full of storms and waves, especially in today's world. We have an economic crisis, job loss, war, sickness, and much more. If we put our focus on these things, we will sink and that is a fact. Jesus didn't promise us life would be a bed of roses, he actually said the exact opposite. Matthew 5:11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. A good friend of mine just wrote blog about the "prosperity gospel" and it's heresy, VoiceofTruthblog.com.

So our lesson here is very simple, but so hard for us to follow as humans. Focus on Jesus, not our earthly troubles. Because in the end, there will be no more. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

Focus on Jesus: Part 1

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Matthew 14:22-33. Let's pick up the passage in verse 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Let's break this down and see what God is telling us through His Word. I want to do this in 3 parts since the passase is full of great truth for life application.

First you have to understand that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is without error. We won't get into all of the different types of writings in the Bible, but this passage is an account of an actual event. So put away your fairy tales thoughts, if you had any, and realize that Peter, a mere man, walked on water, but only through the power given to him by Jesus Christ.

Peter first asks in verse 28, "Lord, if it is you". The reason he does not know it is Jesus is because Jesus sent the disciples ahead of Him as seen in Matthew 14:22-27. After he dismissed them, Jesus went on the mountain to pray, so the disciples were well on their journey when Jesus approached them on the water. I feel this is a very important point in the passage. We don't know the exact amount of time that went by, but we see that it had passed from evening to night and they were in their 4th watch. Roman military night watch was divided into four 3 hour shifts. The 4th shift would have been between 3:00 and 6:00 AM, meaning they could have been at sea for almost 9 hours. In John 6:19, we are given mileage instead of a timeframe. Knowing what we know about the Sea of Galilee, 13 miles long & 8 miles wide, they were probably right in the middle of the sea.

You are probaly asking why is he giving me a geography lesson. It's very important to know the diciples location because it shows the great power of God. First is the obvious, He is walking on water. But it's facinating to me that He knew right were to find them. Let me draw you to a couple key points: it's dark since we have found it was between 3:00 and 6:00 AM and there was a storm with high winds and big waves. So what? Ok, here's my point, YOU COULD NOT SEE A THING. It's not like it was clear blue skys in the middle of the day and could see for miles. Jesus, being God in the flesh knew because of His omniscience or all-knowing power. That is our great God. He always knows right where we are. No matter our circumstances or storms we are going through, God knows right where we are and He is always there. I pray that you will seek Him during these times.

Next time we will look more closely at Peter and his faith to walk on water.

CHRISTmas Challenge

I'm a couple of days behind on this challenge, but better late than never. Christmas is just around the corner, 40 days as of Monday until we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This challenge is actually from our Youth Director, but figured why not pass it along to everyone.

If you read my first blog then you may have noticed that I stated Jesus has only been Lord of my life for the past couple years. Well you may be wondering what changed. What changed was a multitude of things, but one of the most prominent was that I began to be in the Word on a regular basis. In 2009 I can say that I've read my Bible every day. Now with that said, it's not about me. It's about seeking God through His Word, yearning to know Him more. The Word of God is so inspiring, so captivating that it keeps you wanting to come back for more. I know most of you are thinking, are you kidding me, how can the Bible be that exciting. Well, that is part of the challenge. I challenge you to be in the Word for the next 38 days, seeking God during this CHRISTmas season instead of the material holiday season we have all come to know.

Ok then, where would I start? I recommend starting with one of the Gospels, but Luke would be great since it's the Christmas story. As you read, take your time, soak in what God is trying to tell you. If you really seek Him, he will speak to you, but you have to be listening.

1 Kings 19:11-12 And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

Guys, most of the time God speaks to us in this "low whisper" and if we aren't listening, we will miss it. If we take time to slow down this CHRISTmas season, focus on God and listen for His "low whisper" then we will find Him. Psalm 119:10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wnder from your commandments! Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. As you read, ask God to speak to you, to change you, and to motivate you. Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Just one final thought. If you are currently in a relationship or married, what would happen if you never talked? How would you learn about each other? How do you think that relationship or marriage would be? The answer is simple, it wouldn't be very good. Most people think of Christianity as a "religion", but it's not, it's a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If we don't take the time to talk with Him, how can we expect the relatioship to grow.

So I ask you, WHY NOT NOW?

In His Holy Name,

Hutch

This past weekend I had the distinct privilege to speak at our church's youth group retreat. The topic of my message was on eternity and the inevitability of it. Sharing this truth is what prompted me to start a blog and since blogging is something I never thought I would do, I'm as surprised to be doing it as most of my friends would be to know that I was "preaching" this past Sunday.

If you knew me in high school or in college you are probably floored right now, so I'll briefly share how this came to pass. In 2002 I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and have been changed ever since. Now I've had my ups and downs since then and probably haven't been the greatest example of a Christian, but hope to share my passion for the Gospel that I've come to know over the past couple years. You see, accepting Jesus as your Savior is only the beginning. He wants to have a personal relationship with everyone and you get that through being in the Word and in Prayer, among other things that I will share in upcoming blogs. Once I grasped this amazing Truth, my life was radically transformed. You see he has been my Savior for the past 7 years, but has only been Lord of my life for the past couple. As mentioned before, he wants to be intimately involved in our lives so he can mold and shape us.

My hope and prayer for this blog is 3 things:

1) To encourage and challenge my fellow believers to be passionate about the Gospel.

2) To instill the importance and excitement of being in the Word daily.

3) To share the love of Jesus Christ to those that have yet to hear about him or accept Him as their personal Savior.

So let's saddle up and get ready for what I hope will be an amazing ride.

Until next time...

In Christ's Love,

Hutch