Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king (1Peter 2:17).
MOST PEOPLE DO NOT FEAR GOD and have no intention of fearing Him. Whoever God is, He is not to be feared for I am not a bad person and I have done nothing to offend Him. I think that about covers it.
SOME MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS WILL TELL YOU IN A HEARTBEAT that it is a form of child abuse to teach children that God might be displeased with their behavior and that there is a future time of giving an account of ourselves to a powerful, living God.
If they can get that passed into law, then children can be taken from the home when this “child abuse” is heaped upon them. The World Health Organization (of the United Nations) long ago defined health as “a complete sense of well-being and not merely the absence of disease.” This is a dangerous definition for a state government to adopt and then add to it the “sense of well-being” to include no mention of a holy God who judges sin.
WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE PERSONAL TESTIMONIES OF SOME OF THE PEOPLE in the mental health profession who decided to major in psychology so they could figure out their personal insecurities and unhappiness. As I took psychology courses and subscribed to some of the professional publications in that field, I began to see the general insecurity manifested in that profession of people.
MY INTEREST WAS TO SEE WHAT THESE PROFESSIONALS ACTUALLY KNEW about human behavior, how they measured it, and what I might be able to use of their findings to help troubled people. It is obvious that they need reference points and definitions to measure us. The system is happier with Freud (1856-1939) than with an “outdated Bible.” (Freud made his mark as the father of psychoanalysis, the unconscious mind and the sex drive for explaining human motivation.) Freud fell into disfavor for a while but other approaches that have been tried have some of the experts wondering if they should restudy Dr. Freud.
THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO MENTION THAT SOME IF NOT MOST UNIVERSITIES, the schools of science do not allow the school of psychology to share the same buildings with them. Psychology does not enjoy the same status of certainty as the field of science. The parasite of unscientific evolution gets a free ride, but not the field of psychology.
WHEN I WORKED AS A LOBBYIST IN THE N.C. LEGISLATURE, I noticed a stream of bills coming through that turned troubled children over to “licensed psychologists” who, supposedly were the ultimate authorities for managing dysfunctional families and the displaced children from those homes. We are overrun with drugs and gangs and single-parent families. God and theology and God’s structure of the family were never mentioned as a reference point nor as a part of the solution.
The solution was to throw money at the problem through State institutions and programs. Some of these programs have proven to be helpful and a necessity in many cases but are virtually helpless to stem the unending flood of unhappy and dysfunctional families and individuals.
IF GOD IS OUT OF THE PICTURE, all the solutions are going to be wheels without axles. (That’s what happened to the Egyptian army when they chased God’s people through the Red Sea. The wheels came off their chariots and they drowned in the Red Sea.)
God is the only axle there is for the wheels on your chariot. When the wheels come off your chariot, the horses will have to drag your chariot and that’s the end. You need God, my friend. Fear God and surrender to Him. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)
I WAS ALREADY COMMITTEED TO WHAT GOD'S BOOK SAYS ABOUT HUMAN THINKING and behavior, since He is the author of the human race. My early and continued conclusion about human beings is that those who do not believe in an all-powerful, an all-knowing, and holy God who dearly loves every person He creates, that person is at a terrible disadvantage in knowing how things work.
In Paul’s classic book of Romans, he says: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:11-12)
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:14-18)
IN SIXTY-PLUS YEARS OF COUNSELLING AND LISTENING to the woes of troubled people and watching real tears flow down their cheeks, I learned some things. I must tell you: If you do not fear God and respect Him with all your heart, you are going to wander through life with extra trouble and sorrow. When you do your best to fear God and serve Him, there are going to be some hard times. But, I promise you. He will be with you through the storm. But, if you do not know God; if you do not fear God, your attitude and your behavior are going to go against you. You are going to go it alone and reap the briars and wounds that belong to rebels.
I must tell you that you are not smart enough to manage your own life. You’re not. You are going to pay a high price for being a reckless daredevil. When it comes to marriage, the chances of two people staying married without God are slim. It takes three to have a truly happy marriage. God must be the Lord of both people in the marriage.
I’ve told this before. Ed Gay in Pensacola, Florida worked on my van in his back yard. We pulled up to a small building that contained his tools. When he finished he began putting up his tools in the little building covered with black tar paper. He said: “We used to live in this building. When I spent everything for alcohol and lived my own life, this was the best we could do. But, when I got saved and turned my life over to the Lord, He began to convert my paycheck into furniture and then we were able to build our three-bedroom house and the blessings have continued to come our way.” Ed Gay is a monument in my memory. He got it right.
In our text for today, we are told to: “Fear God.” Fearing God is a choice. You don’t have to fear God. You can pretend like you’re a powerful force to be reckoned with but you’re a fool if you do. I say that because the Bible says it: The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. (Psalm 14:1)
It all goes together: if you do not fear God, then you are capable of doing just about any wicked thing. Get God in your life and a lot of things will straighten out. As the song writer says, “He made something beautiful, out of my life.” Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 2, 2018 – FRIDAY
A.M. Exodus 29-30 P.M. Matthew 22:1-22
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
A Good Verse to Memorize:
Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king (1Peter 2:17).
Song for Today:
He Made Something Beautiful (2:35) (Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMQqSarDf8Y
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