#180 - Reverent Fear of the Lord

Good morning! Happy belated Mother's Day to all you moms out there! :) I pray you had a great day. I had a great day getting to spend time with my two favorite boys! :) Tyler Sr & Tyler Jr!

OK... let's get going today... more of a look into the life of who this Proverbs 31 woman is...

Proverbs 9:10a-11 - The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom... ¹¹For by me [Wisdom from God] your days shall be multiplied, and the years of your life shall be increased.

Proverbs 31:30 - Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! 

In Proverbs 9:10, the Hebrew further describes "fear" as: awesome thing, respect, reverence, piety. We're talking about having the utmost respect for the God Most High! The King of Kings. Though we can cry "Abba Father" and cry out to him as a Father figure, we also have a healthy respect for Him, there is a humility that would cause us to bow at His feet because He is so great. A worshipful respect, a worshipful honor, to hold Him up, highly exalted. This is honoring to our Father. I'm just briefly reminded of how Sarah called Abraham "lord" with a lower case "l". Now, don't get me wrong... I'm not going around calling Tyler, "lord", but the same feeling behind it is one of respect. A respect and honor. I know I have times with Tyler, where he is more of the person where I sit on his lap and get a hug, but equally so, I know he values and appreciates it when I show him respect as head of the home. When I value his opinion and recommendations instead of always "questioning" or "second guessing."

Bottom line, what is a great benefit to having a reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord? Proverbs 9:11 lets us know the great news! Those who fear the Lord, honor Him, respect Him, THEIR days shall be multiplied, the years of their life will be increased! Imagine this... living a good life, living a long life because you are a "good person", but then you add honor, respect, fear of the Lord to the equation and the already decently "long life" that you have is extended! Your years are increased! Time with loved ones is extended! Time to accomplish great things for the Kingdom, time to pour into your grandchildren or great grandchildren is increased. TIME. Fearing & honoring the Lord gives you a precious commodity that so many people long for more of, TIME!

Our Proverbs 31 friend has figured out a way to accomplish this. Proverbs 31:29 tells us that SHE excels them all! She excels ALL women! Verse 30 explains WHO will be praised. It's not the woman with a 6-pack set of abs, though our Proverbs 31 friend is in good health and physically fit. But it is the person who above all else, honors, respects & fears the Lord.

I took time this morning to just think about what that really means. What does it mean to "fear" the Lord, or show Him "reverence." I came up with a list that I think is a good start. Let me know what you would add.... what do you think?

• Obedience - One who is obedient to His Word shows him honor and respect. One who follows His commandments for our life. 
• Study - One who honors Him by KNOWING and STUDYING His Word. His direction for our life. 
• Love - I'm reminded of Jesus talking in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about loving those who love you, don't even SINNERS do that? Jesus says, "But I tell you, Love your enemies & pray for those who persecute you." Later it talks about whatever you do for someone else, it is as if you are doing it TO Jesus himself. How are you treating even your enemies? Those people who get under your skin? The potential "thorn" in your side... how are you praying for them? Are you wishing evil upon them? Are you even praying for them? What does your heart look like when you pray for them? Ask God to give you compassion for them, to show you more into why they are acting as they are. 
• Praise - Honor & fearing the Lord through praising Him! Thanking Him. Through song, through your words, through offering thanks. 

Honor, respect, fear, obedience... I desire to let my Father know that I honor Him above all else. That I don't put anything in front of Him. That I fear Him out of respect. I humble myself out of respect for ALL He has done for me. For sending His ONLY Son just for me! In return, He blesses me & you even further by increasing the years of our life. What a blessing. 

So... today... can you attempt to honor, respect or fear the Lord in at least ONE way? Show Him today that above all else, like the Proverbs 31 woman, that you too have a reverent & worshipful fear of the Lord. 

#165 - A Winner GETS BACK UP!

Good morning! We were surprised yesterday evening... I got a phone call and "Maamaa & Paapaa" wanted to see if "the boy" could come over and spend the night. :) HELLO! OF COURSE! :) "Maamaa & Paapaa" watch Tyler Junior once a week and are like grandparents to him. They love him and he loves them! What a blessing! SO... I sit here in a quiet, empty home. Just me, my typing and chirps from the birds outside.

Let's get going...

Proverbs 8:10,14,17,18,21 - Receive my instruction in preference to [striving for] silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold... ¹⁴I have counsel and sound knowledge, I have understanding, I have might and power. ¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me. ¹⁸ Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness ... ²¹That I may cause those who love me to inherit [true] riches and that I may fill their treasuries.

Let's quick jump into some Hebrew as a foundation of what we are going to read...

• Riches (Proverbs 8:18) - wealth & riches
• Honor (Proverbs 8:18) - abundance, riches, honor, reverence, dignity, glory, splendour, reputation
• Inherit (Proverbs 8:21) - to get as a possession, to TAKE possession, to acquire, to be allotted
• Fill (Proverbs 8:21) - fullness, abundance, to be full, to be accomplished, to be satisfied, complete, to be filled
• Treasuries (Proverbs 8:21) - treasure, storehouse, store, supplies of food & drink, magazine of weapons, treasure-house

Wow! That really gives us a good foundation of what is in store! Sometimes in life we go through comfortable stages... all is well, all is easy. No ruffling of feathers. Each day, fairly a walk through the park. Still things we may be believing for, but for all intensive purposes, we are relaxed and not really in the battle... not really in a fight.

I have heard the statement before, "If a winner gets pushed in a corner, they will come out fighting." As I was reading this morning, that was a statement that kept coming to mind. A winner doesn't stay down, they come out fighting! Each time the winner gets up, the courage of the opponent is weakened. "He keeps getting back up! Why doesn't he just stay down?!" But as that winner keeps getting back up, the enemy realizes that his tactics are not working. His punches are not holding, they aren't strong enough. He's not fast enough, or he just isn't powerful enough. The winner keeps getting back up! Praise the Lord! Is anyone else out there with me a WINNER??!?!?! It's like I can see hands raised from winners all over who are reading this! A winner gets back up! A winner keeps getting back up! Another verse in Proverbs talks about, I may fall 7 times, but will rise again! As believers, since we have the Holy Spirit on the INSIDE of us, we can't help but be a winner! Even when we are tired, even when we feel knocked down or defeated, the Holy Spirit already knows the end of the story, HE IS the Greater One on the inside of us! He has created ALL THINGS, and knows that WE HAVE VICTORY! In our flesh, when we feel weak, that Inner Voice RISES UP, "YOU ARE MORE THAN A CONQUEROR! GET UP!" GET UP! GET UP! And we drag ourselves back to our feet and get up yet again, yet another time! 

Proverbs 8:17 is one way that we come out fighting! When things look tough, we dig in, we fight, we go deeper! Verse 17 says, I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me. When our strength is weak, when our flesh is tired, when we don't have the answers and what we SEE with our natural eye does not look good we DIG INTO THE WORD! We DILIGENTLY seek the ONE with ALL the answers! We do what a FIGHTER would do, we do what may be UNCOMFORTABLE! That may mean, waking up EARLY to fight! Waking up EARLY to prepare! Waking up EARLY to SEEK out the answers! Rising up EARLY to press in! Our diligence in our FIGHT is the PREREQUISITE of our Victory! 

Check this out! It says, when we DO that very thing, SEEK our Father early & diligently, WE WILL FIND HIM! WE WILL! And as we continue to read in Proverbs, it goes on to say those things He will bring with Him. RICHES. HONOR. ENDURING WEALTH. DIGNITY. REPUTATION. ABUNDANCE. WE WILL BE SATISFIED. 

WE ARE FILLED WITH GOOD THINGS! We are BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING! Take Heart! Have PEACE! WALK OUT YOUR VICTORY! 

GET AGGRESSIVE WITH YOUR COVENANT, CHILD OF GOD! 

SATAN! YOU ARE DEFEATED! THE BLESSING OF THE LORD, THEY OVERTAKE ME! I AM A WINNER! YOU ARE DEFEATED! I AM A TITHER, THEREFORE ACCORDING TO MALACHI 3, I HAVE THE TITHERS RIGHTS! THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN ARE OPEN OVER ME, THE DEVOURER HAS BEEN REBUKED FOR MY SAKE!!! SATAN, SINCE I AM A TITHER, THE WORD SAYS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN REBUKED! YOU ARE DONE! I CLAIM MY VICTORY! I GET BACK UP! I'M NOT STAYING DOWN! I'M A FIGHTER AND I CLAIM MY VICTORY! JESUS HAS ALREADY DEFEATED YOU AND SO HAVE I! NATIONS ARE CALLING ME BLESSED! 

Take what is yours, VICTORY!

___________________

Malachi 3:10-12 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.¹¹And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts. ¹²And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. 

#35 - Love

What a beautiful day. My heart is full. My memories are rekindled. Today, I am reminded of love.

Proverbs 16:6 - By mercy and love, truth and fidelity [to God and man--not by sacrificial offerings], iniquity is purged out of the heart, and by the reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord men depart from and avoid evil. 

Proverbs 31:30 - Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!

In my own words... as I've been reading it, you can continue Proverbs 31 to verse 31... this is how it reads in my expanded thoughts; Give her the fruit of her hands. Let her own works, her accomplishments, her good deeds, let those things speak on her behalf. May you see those things and because of that may she be praised and lifted up. May she be exalted. This woman, who above all else loves, respects & honors her God, her Father, her Savior. Let her own works praise her in the gates of the city. She does not need to speak. Her work, her love, her heart speak so loudly you do not even need to hear her words. She is a woman after God's own heart. 


In Proverbs 16:6, it notes that the truth, the love, the mercy, fidelity.... TO GOD & MAN....NOT by sacrificial offerings. The heart of this Proverbs 31 woman, she does not have to sacrifice. All she is and all she has is because of God. Her life. Her activities. Her loves. Her joys. Her whole heart. It goes back to the blog post entitled, "Past the Point of Sacrifice". Our Proverbs 31 friend is past sacrifice. It is not about offering sacrifices because her life is LIVED as a sacrifice. But not the type of "sacrifice" we may think. Not the type of sacrifice that we are familiar with as a dread, or dragging of feet. She has got to the point where her deeds, her actions, her loves and her desires are all one. Her desires ARE the desires of the Lord. Her plans ARE the plans directed to her by the Lord. Her "job" IS served and done unto the Lord. If you can picture yourself, closing your eyes, blue skies, a breeze on your face, birds chirping and as you point your head to the sky, eyes closed, you feel the warmth of the sun on your face. You are not hot, but the temperature is perfect. The breeze is perfect. As you stand there arms out wide feeling the warmth of the sun, hearing the birds singing, smelling the freshness of life & the outdoors..... right there, at that moment you feel what is in your mind. You feel in your mind perfect...... perfect peace. You want to stand there in the moment forever. THIS is the picture of how our Proverbs 31 friend lives every day of her life. Walking in perfect peace. She is in the middle of exactly where she is suppose to be. The fundamental beginning, the foundation begins with her getting "spiritual food" for her and her household. She is grounded & directed DAILY - BY THE LORD. 


Worshipful fear of the Lord. Fear in the Hebrew also translates as reverence, respect. Proverbs 16:6 is SO powerful. Check it out... by LOVE for God, sin is purged out of our lives. Because of our deep longing, our deep love and desire towards God, our LOVE drives us from sin. The GREATER the LOVE for God, the LESS of a SIN problem we will have. As our LOVE goes up, SIN goes down. Do you get that? Is that registering? As you spend time in the Word, as you spend time with God, as you worship, as you listen to His Voice..... your LOVE will grow.... and grow..... and grow. The sin or temptation of sin you once dealt with will be PURGED out of your heart. In your heart, you will not even have a desire for it. Like your "tastebuds" have changed. You do not crave or desire that sin anymore. The SIN has been PURGED!!!! WHOOOO! PRAISE THE LORD!!! By worshipful fear.... or to rephrase and include the Hebrew.... by worshipful respect for the Lord you depart from evil and AVOID evil all together! WOW!!! That is BIG!!!! Like this Proverbs 31 woman, she is walking in this great LOVE for God, she is walking in fear, aka: reverence & respect for God, that she is PRAISED! She is celebrated. She is walking in that place of utter peace and fulfillment! Stress? NO! Chaos? NO! Instability? NO! She is walking in a place of peace because she is walking in the middle of her calling, walking in the middle of WHO SHE WAS DESIGNED TO BE! 


I am reminded of a girl who is very, very close to my heart. She is a smart, vibrant, passionate girl. She is so full of gifts & talents. The Lord has placed in her some very GREAT and mighty things to do and accomplishments to complete. She is one of those types of girls that you look at her, you see her in her prime and you know, she was called to do GREAT and MIGHTY things for the Lord. She has the "IT". The "it" factor, she has it. You know that on stage, she would be wildly passionate for the Lord.... that her passion and zeal alone would draw thousands of people in to meet this God that she knows. To meet this Almighty One that could make someone's life so fulfilling. She has that "it" factor. It doesn't make her better than anyone who is not like that. It does not make her more important, that just makes "that" her calling. Her ministry. And we need ALL types and forms. I just heard recently a great quote, "You make the BEST you, but when you try to be someone else you will ALWAYS only be able to be 2nd best." So... those are Jennie's gifts.... passion, zeal, fire... the ability to draw people in. We haven't seen Jennie in several years. But she talked to Tyler for the first time yesterday in a long time. He could hear it through the phone. The mask and the layers. You just want to shout, and even help her BREAK FREE!!! Or you want to just begin to TEAR through the layers and pull out this passionate girl, this on-fire for the Lord girl, this girl who has GREAT and MIGHTY things to accomplish for the Lord. You just want to BREAK IT! Break the shell, the bondage that is holding her back. Break the power the world has hold of her right now. So, that is my prayer. My prayer is that she would BREAK FREE! My prayer is that she would be AWAKENED to her calling. That she would be RE-KINDLED, RE-UNITED with her FIRST LOVE! Her first love is still there. My prayer is that she would stop running and allow herself to just fall into the arms of her Father who is just patiently loving her and waiting, who is standing by when she is ready. And like the prodigal's son, when she is ready to come home, he will be standing at the top of the hill, looking out, just waiting for her to come up over the hill and come running home. 


I rejoice in the expectation that the time is near. Those called will be brought back to the Lord. The anointed will rise up. Not only will we live a life of love and peace, but we will live a life of SETTING THE CAPTIVES FREE! We will live lives of BREAKING BONDAGES, letting people experience what FREEDOM in CHRIST is truly like. It is not a life of a mere list of rules, regulations, standards and boredom. It is a life of ADVENTURE! It is a life of ABUNDANCE, TRUTH, EXCITEMENT. Living as a Christian is a life beyond any other. And, across the world, where ever YOU are right now, whoever you are reading this, I would welcome you to agree for Jennie being back. Being back where she is suppose to be. Being back from running. Being back with her Father who is waiting on her. And Tyler and I, with love in our hearts, fullness like she were our own child or sister, our love is just waiting for her to come back. A love that is so deep. So, Jennie, if you are out there, we would drive anywhere, we would do anything just to have you home. Day or night, we are here and we love you.