Proverbs 14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the LORD,
but he whose ways are devious despises him.

One of the things you can get from this verse is a secular proverb: “Actions speak louder than words.” The Bible has a lot to say about hypocrisy, and none of it is good for the hypocrite! There are those who protest that they have faith and they love God, but when they think they are not being seen, their lives are anything but pleasing to Him. Sadly, that includes more than a few people in active ministry. The thing is, nothing is hidden from God, and failure to remember that is effectively despising Him. The Old Testament speaks a lot of fearing God, but even there, in what Jesus said was the Greatest Commandment, we are told to love God with all we are. (Deuteronomy 6:5) The thing is, we can’t love Him properly unless we respect Him fully, and that’s where the fear comes in. God doesn’t want us cowering before Him, but unless we understand that He has absolute power and is perfectly holy, we won’t relate to Him rightly. To me, that is the thrust of the many Biblical admonitions to fear the Lord. Words alone are not a reliable indicator of a person’s attitude toward God; their lifestyle tells the true story.

Once again, this applies to me as much as to anyone. I had the advantage of growing up in a home with parents who indeed loved and feared God, so I had that example. The other side of that was the old thing of familiarity breeding contempt. Knowing God saw and heard everything didn’t keep me from doing things that I knew full well weren’t pleasing to Him! I’m as far from sinless perfection as anyone else on earth! However, I have learned that God’s grace is indeed amazing, and I am deeply grateful. That should motivate me to share the good news of God’s grace with as many as possible, not excusing their sin but letting them know that repentance and faith bring forgiveness and salvation. Such sharing is the privilege of every child of God, and as a pastor, I need to help other believers recognize and exercise that privilege as well.

Father, that certainly seems to be the theme that You are developing for this year for this church. I pray that I would both act on it myself and communicate it effectively to the believers so that they may act on it as well, so that this may be a year of great harvest in this church, motivating all the churches in Omura to follow suit, for the salvation of multitudes, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!