Fear of the Lord 2.0

The conversation continues...

So I started asking people around me (pastors, trusted ministry leaders, friends) what "the fear of the Lord" meant to them. I got some good answers, some familiar and others shedding new light on the subject. But I thought that there HAS to be other Jesus followers who had or were presently wrestling with this concept. Again, believing that arriving at a conclusion was improbable, I'm continually being reminded that our faith is to be "worked out with fear and trembling". Which means we don't give up, we press on, we lean in, we don't let go like Jacob, and we persevere. Then we might, just might, receive a blessing. Or even a new name.

One conversation I had:
ME: What do you think of when I say "the fear of the Lord."?

OTHER PERSON: I had a friend that visited the White House in Washington D.C. He told me that before they enter, they are briefed by a White House staff member as to what is acceptable behavior inside the White House. This friend told me that it didn't matter what they were told before. As soon as you walk into the Oval Office, you are struck with the weight of where you are. This is THE Oval Office. As a result, you're behavior is such that you don't have to think about what is appropriate behavior, you are automatically in a state of respect, of reverence, of awe, and of fear.

ME: Interesting.

OTHER PERSON: So I think that to fear the Lord is to have a perspective that you are in the presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. You are on holy ground. God is near. And you act a certain way in that presence. Your reasons for doing things are changed in that presence. Your love for God is deep in that presence. Your desire is to be holy in that presence.

Fear of the Lord

I've been reading Tozer's book "What Happened to Worship?". In the opening chapters he mentions how we've lost the "fear of the Lord". Being the DEEP thinker I am, I wanted to know his definition of the fear of the Lord. Well, it so happens he gave me a couple.

astonished reverence, inner consciousness of the presence and nearness of God, high moral happiness because God is. Worship of God is so high that a transfer of emotions or affections doesn't exist.

I also wanted to look up some verses on "the fear of the Lord", so I did.

"Fear the Lord your God, and serve Him only..."
"What does the Lord ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways..."
"The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever..."
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..."
"He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress..."
"work out your salvation with fear and trembling..."

There are several Biblical principles that I struggle with off and on. What do they mean? What implications does it have for my daily life? Do I truly understand what it means and do I really want to? This is one of those.

Do I deep down in the bowels of my soul have a genuine fear of the Lord? Do I fear him? Not in a "fraidy-cat" sense of fear, but a knowledge that He is near, that I am in His presence, that He is with me. Do I? I don't think I really do. There are things that I'm tempted by that I don't think I'd be tempted by if there was a sense of God's nearness in my life. I think the number of prayers that go out from my heart in the course of a normal day would triple if I understood the fear of the Lord.

I want it. I really do. I like the thought of having a "secure fortress". Of beginning wisdom in my life and watching it grow. I need that.

Do I fear Him?

I did it!

If you've been keeping up with THE BROWN BLOG, you've read that I've been training to run a half marathon. My brother, Joey, ran it as well. We ran in the Helvetia Half Marathon, which spans 13.1 miles of country road in the suburb of Hillsboro, Oregon. A beautiful run, filled with challenging hills, gorgeous countryside, and miles of sprawling farmlands. My goal was to finish. My secondary goal was to not be the last person to finish. I was successful at both. It was the toughest thing I've ever done physically to date. But it was worth the feeling of knowing that I had trained, I had done the hard work beforehand, and I accomplished what I set out to do.

Kara handed Caleb to me and I ran with him the last 50 feet.

Give me my medal, lady!

Some of the staff from Salem Alliance who stuck around after they finished to cheer me on.

Me and my bro, bunch of studs.

My sister, Juli came up to cheer us on too. I'm holding her stomach because my niece/nephew is in there.

My biggest cheerleader through this whole process, my wife.

And so it begins...

Tough Song to Write...

As many of you know, I love to write songs. Most of them have been for and about my lovely wife Kara, so why should this be any different. If you click on the picture, you'll see lyrics that I wrote recently from my wife's perspective. I haven't put them to music yet, but it'll get there. Enjoy.

Pictures from May...

The worship department at Salem Alliance Church. We had an old fashioned picnic...on the worship stage...with corn dogs.

Melissa Morris came and spent some quality time with us and Caleb. I don't know if he doesn't like what she's feeding him or was smiling during this particular bite.

Mommy and Caleb at the McMenamin's in Lincoln City. We decided to celebrate our 5th anniversary by going to the coast. Good idea: surprise your wife with an ocean view room in Lincoln City. Bad idea: not get babysitting for your 10 month old son.

Another picture from McMenamin's.

Pictures from the beach. I think Caleb had fun.

After we came back from the coast, Kara needed a nap so I took Daddy Duty. Caleb fell asleep while he was playing with his toys. Ally (our chocolate lab) decided that Caleb needed another blanket.

Jean (Kara's sister) just graduated w/ honors from her high school. Kara and Caleb flew down along with Dara (Kara's friend), and spent the weekend in Fernley, NV.

Caleb is head-butting our good friend Dave Ludi. They were on vacation in Portland and met us at the airport to pick up Kara and Caleb.