Psalm 76:7 It is you alone who are to be feared.
    Who can stand before you when you are angry?

The world has forgotten the fear of the Lord. By dismissing such things as hurricane and earthquakes as “strictly natural,” the world seeks to avoid all accountability before the Creator. It is no accident that no people-group is as attacked as the Jews, and no religion is as ridiculed as Christianity. The thing is, other religions exact human vengeance on those they see as their enemies (Christians and Jews), but those who follow the God of the Bible, though they shouldn’t be passive, leave vengeance in God’s hands, just as He said to do. (Romans 12:19) What all these enemies of Christ forget is that God’s power is absolute, and absolutely no one will escape having to stand before Him. It is that awareness that enables the martyrs in such places as Nigeria, killed by Muslims, and India, killed by Hindus, to go to their reward in peace. Things like what Israel is accomplishing against Hamas and Hezbollah might be satisfying in the short term, but ultimately, none of the enemies of God will get away with anything. Israel is entirely justified in their actions, but we aren’t to pin our hopes on such things. The Gospel is seen as sweetness and light, but at the same time we must realize the alternative. Those who reject the Gospel are rejecting, spitting in the face of, their Creator. That’s not a wise thing to do! Fear isn’t the preferred motivation, but there have certainly been plenty of people who have been scared into repentance and faith. If we have no fear of the Lord, He is no more than Santa to us, and Santa cannot save.

I grew up in such an atmosphere of loving God that fearing Him did not come naturally to me. That was not a good thing when it came to avoiding the traps of the devil! However, God has been more than gracious toward me, and I am deeply grateful. I know without the shadow of a doubt that God doesn’t pick on us, that He isn’t capricious, zapping us on a whim, but I have come to a stronger and stronger conviction that our actions have consequences, and I would hate to deal with those apart from the atoning work of Christ on the cross. I have never been a “hellfire and brimstone” preacher, and I don’t intend to become one, but I must not gloss over the consequences of rejecting the Gospel, when I am presenting it to people. In yesterday’s message the Lord had me point out that our ultimate destination is to stand before Him, and our choice is simply whether we will do so with great joy to see our Lord, or with abject terror at the just sentence we are about to receive. I think that gave some people something to think about!

Father, thank You for making salvation possible through Your Son. Thank You for the privilege of communicating that message to others. Help me do it more and more effectively, so that more and more people may indeed repent and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!