Tag: awe

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1 Timothy Devotionals

Standing in awe of God

1 Timothy

You’ll have to forgive me if I seem to be beating the same drum at times.

But this is one drum that I’ve been trying to keep in mind, because if I don’t, I’m likely to forget it.

I was just thinking once again, “Why do I do what I do?”

I look at all the things Paul writes in this chapter.

“Be content.”

“Don’t chase after riches.”

“Seek godliness.”

“Flee worldliness and sin.”

“Pursue righteousness, godliness (again), faith, love, steadfastness.”

“Fight the good fight of the faith.”

“Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.”

But why do all these things?

Because we stand before God, the giver of life.

Because we stand before Jesus, who asserted his sovereignty over Pilate during his trial.

Because Jesus is coming back, and will rule forever and ever.

Because God is the blessed and only sovereign.

Because he is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Because he alone is immortal.

Because he alone lives in unapproachable light.

Because he is the one no one has ever seen in his full glory.

Because to him belongs all power and glory.

To be honest, at the point I’m writing this, I don’t truly feel the weight of these words. But I want to.

Lord Jesus, open my eyes. Help me to stand in awe of you.

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Philippians Devotionals

How our awe of God affects our attitudes

PhilippiansHope

I did want to write one last thing (for now about our awe of God).

It should affect our attitudes.

It strikes me that with Euodia and Syntyche that was one thing they were lacking in their spat with one another.

What exactly they were fighting about we don’t know, but one thing is clear: instead of looking at him, they were looking at themselves and each other.

How often do I do the same? I fail to stand in awe of God, so my focus turns inward, thinking about my rights, my “righteousness,” and what I deserve.

More, I start criticizing others for not measuring up to my standards.

Awe should also affect how we see our problems.

We remember that the Lord is near, and so we aren’t anxious about anything. Instead, with confidence and faith, we place all our needs before our Father, knowing that he will take care of them.

Right now, I have no huge worries, but I have in the past, and they were times of major stress for me. But God saw me through.

I’d like to think that I’ve learned my lesson, but when the next crisis hits, will I be anxious, totally stressing out about my situation? Or will I rest?

More, awe should keep us content in the midst of hardship.

Instead of complaining about what we don’t have, we worship and praise God for what we do have, particularly our salvation, but also the many other blessings that we so often take for granted.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

Lord, help me to do just that.

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Philippians Devotionals

Rejoicing in the Lord

PhilippiansHope

Recently, I preached a message on standing in awe of God. And so as I have been reading through Philippians, I see that theme everywhere.

It struck me as I read chapters 3 and 4, that in rejoicing in the Lord, (which is a major theme of this letter), we show our awe of God.

How do we rejoice in the Lord?

1. We worship him by the Spirit of God (Philippians 3:3). The Spirit that causes us to cry out “Abba, Father!” The Spirit that lets us know that we are truly God’s children. (Romans 8:15).

2. We “glory” in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:3). Because I am in Japan, I often look at the Japanese Bible, and the translation there pulls out another meaning of “glory.” It says we “boast” in Jesus.

What exactly do we boast about?

We boast of who he is.

King of Kings.

Lord of Lords.

Creator.

Redeemer.

We boast in what he has done. That through the cross, he paid our debt of sin.

We boast, not in our own righteousness, but his righteousness that he now clothes us with. (Philippians 3:9)

So in worshiping God through the Spirit and boasting in Jesus, we show our awe of him and rejoice in him.

As we consider him, what other things do we rejoice about?

We rejoice in the surpassing worth of knowing him personally, and him knowing us personally. Everything else is like dung compared to him. All our righteousness. All our efforts. All our accomplishments. (3:4-8)

We rejoice in the honor of suffering for his name as the apostles did. (10)

We rejoice in the fact that Jesus has taken hold of us and made us his own. (12)

We rejoice that we are part of his kingdom. (20)

And we rejoice in the fact that one day we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (21)

So each day, let us stand in awe of God. And as Paul says,

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (4:4)

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Psalms

The blessing of fearing and delighting in God

Psalms

Fear and delight. Those are two words that you don’t often see thrown together.

But the psalmist here does use them together, talking about the blessing that comes from fearing God and delighting in him and his word.

He writes,

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands. (Psalm 112:1)

What does it mean to fear God? I think it’s a combination of things.

It’s an overwhelming sense of awe at his greatness.

It’s understanding that he is so much greater than we are, and that he is so much holier than we are.

And because of that, there is some actual fear, because we know we are so unworthy to even be in his presence—that we deserve to die because we are sinners in front of a holy God.

All the saints that met God in the Bible face to face experienced that feeling.

Yet, at the same time, they knew his love and mercy toward them, and because of that they were able to delight in him and desired to please him.

The psalmist says that such people will find blessing.

The interesting thing to me is that they then take on the character of their Father in heaven.

They too become gracious, compassionate, and righteous in all their ways. They are generous, lending freely, and are fair and just in all their dealings (4–5).

What’s the result?

Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.

They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. (6–8)

So often, because people trust only in themselves, they are worried about the future. Why? Because they can’t control it. And when they hear bad news, they panic trying to figure out what to do.

But when we trust in the Lord, even in the bad times, our hearts remain secure, and we have no fear. Why?

Because we’re not trying to control things. Instead, we put control into the hands of the one who can handle it. And even though people may oppose us, God will give us the victory.

As the psalmist puts it,

The wicked will see and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing. (10)

But as for those who trust in God, we can continue to be generous, blessing those around us. More than that, God will honor us for it. (9)

So each day, let us fear and delight in the one who is holy, awesome, and good.