Hi, my name is Mel Ponder and I’m a representative in the Florida House, District 4. Today we’re with GOD TV. The scripture I have today is 1 Peter 2:17 and it says this, “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the King”. Today I want to pull out of that, “fearing God”. You know for us, we can kinda sometimes get “Honor all people and loving the brotherhood”, but when God works in fearing Him there are some principles, I think, for me when I read this that speaks to me.
And I challenge myself often on what does it mean to fear God. The Bible says, “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound mind”. And so we get that aspect of fear, we’re afraid of the dark, we are afraid of an encounter, and anxiety sets in. But, when God says to fear Him, there are a couple of scriptures I want to add to this. One of them is Proverbs 9:10 it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” You know the Bible says in Proverbs a lot of times to ask for wisdom, to seek it out, to get wisdom, gain understanding, and all these great things.
And we get the part about wisdom, but the prelude to that is “fear God is the beginning of that wisdom”. Psalms 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” You know, there’s an expectation of God to have a reverent fear of Him and to really hate what is wrong. To look at things and decide, “is it good or bad?” and to really dislike those things that are not good. For me, when I read this scripture and I hear about fearing God in this aspect it’s like if you’re like me, and maybe you weren’t a great bowler growing up, and you go to the bowling lanes and sometimes those bumpers come up on the sides and you roll the ball down and it hits and hits and it stays on target to go down and maybe hit a pin or two. But for me, hearing the scripture this way, fearing God, is the kingdom aligned “God” bumpers in our life.
Before we step out sometimes, to check our hearts. Are we in proper alignment with Him? Do we fear the right things? Are we seeking first the Kingdom? So, before we seek wisdom before you step out in these things, is to first have the bumpers in your life of fearing God, and all in reverent fear and love and appreciation for His goodness and His love for you and me.
So, today I challenge us to step out in that fear of the Lord. So, Lord, I bless everyone today, let them have ears to hear and eyes to see what you’re saying about fear of you. Not a fear that we’d be running and hiding, but a fear that we’d embrace you and have a greater reverence for your presence, your goodness, and your love for each one of us. That we’d have those bumpers in our life to be a constant reminder that we’re chasing you and being led by you, and protected by you. In Jesus’ name.