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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – First Step to Wisdom

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“How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord! Only fools refuse to be taught” (Proverbs 1:7).

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention was on the verge of total failure. The issue: whether small states should have the same representation as large states.

From the wisdom of his 81 years, Benjamin Franklin recalled the Scriptures which says, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1), and in this hopeless situation, he offered a suggestion.

“Gentlemen,” he said, “I have lived a long time and am convinced that God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?

“I move that prayer imploring the assistance of heaven be held every morning before we proceed to business.” God heard their prayers and the conflict was soon resolved. To this day, all legislative sessions continue to be opened with prayer, with God’s blessing.

“Reverence of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” reads the Modern Language translation of this verse – a preamble to wise living a good motto for life.

Someone has said, “The eternal task of religion is the conquest of fear.” Men fear many things – bacteria, losing their jobs, being dependent in old age, giving offense to their neighbors, war, failure, death.

Fear (worshipful reverence) of God represents a different kind of fear – the kind a child shows toward wise and loving parents when he shuns acts of disobedience to avoid both grieving those parents whom he loved and suffering the inevitable discipline which follows disobedience. Perhaps if we feared God more, we would fear everything else less.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 1:8-16

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: My fear and reverence of God is the beginning of supernatural living and will result in worship of Him – by walk as well as by talk.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – What It Means to Fear God

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Charles Stanley

Psalm 112:1-9

As we saw yesterday, the fear of the Lord has nothing to do with terror or trepidation, but rather refers to the appropriate awe and reverence for who God is. It is a quality that we as believers should seek and nurture. Though the expression isn’t heard very often today, it should still be received as a great compliment to be known as a God-fearing man or woman.

Proper fear of the Lord produces all manner of fruit in the Christian’s life. It leads to our hating evil as God does, and it is also the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:10) The more we acquire divine understanding, the greater will be our love for the Scriptures and the Lord’s commandments. Furthermore, if we hope to have a strong family with children who grow to be courageous for the truth, it is important that we properly reverence the Lord (Ps. 112:2).

God-fearing people also find that “light arises in the darkness for the upright.” (v. 4) This does not mean that we will never have painful situations or periods of distress in the valley—we will still have trials, headaches, and tears like the rest of mankind. But in our hardships, we are promised the light of deliverance.

The Bible says that “the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them” (Ps. 34:7). We who believe will be surrounded on all sides so that nothing can get at us without divine permission. Ask God to help you have a proper, reverential fear of Him. It is a request that He will be pleased to honor.

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – First Step to Wisdom

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“How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord! Only fools refuse to be taught” (Proverbs 1:7).

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention was on the verge of total failure. The issue: whether small states should have the same representation as large states.

From the wisdom of his 81 years, Benjamin Franklin recalled the Scriptures which says, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1), and in this hopeless situation, he offered a suggestion.

“Gentlemen,” he said, “I have lived a long time and am convinced that God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?

“I move that prayer imploring the assistance of heaven be held every morning before we proceed to business.” God heard their prayers and the conflict was soon resolved. To this day, all legislative sessions continue to be opened with prayer, with God’s blessing.

“Reverence of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” reads the Modern Language translation of this verse – a preamble to wise living a good motto for life.

Someone has said, “The eternal task of religion is the conquest of fear.” Men fear many things – bacteria, losing their jobs, being dependent in old age, giving offense to their neighbors, war, failure, death.

Fear (worshipful reverence) of God represents a different kind of fear – the kind a child shows toward wise and loving parents when he shuns acts of disobedience to avoid both grieving those parents whom he loved and suffering the inevitable discipline which follows disobedience. Perhaps if we feared God more, we would fear everything else less.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 1:8-16

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: My fear and reverence of God is the beginning of supernatural living and will result in worship of Him – by walk as well as by talk.

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Campus Crusade – Bill Bright – We Shall Never Lack

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“Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing” (Psalm 34:10)

“When you have nothing left but God,” a Christian leader once observed, “then for the first time you become aware that God is enough.”

With every command of God is a specific or implied promise to enable us to do what He commands us to do. He always makes it possible for us to fulfill the conditions to obey His commands.

Rarely, will some of us see a check for a million – or even thousands – of dollars. But here is a check for millions of millions, waiting to be cashed by those of us who know and love the Lord, who love Him enough to obey His commands.

Here is a promise of God which is great enough to meet our needs, our wants, even our deepest desires and distresses.

As you and I go through our day, how reassuring it is to know that our reverence for the Lord will be rewarded by provision of every good thing we need. That means the strength, the peace, the courage, the love I need to get me through the decisions, the trials, the testings.

That also means a new consciousness of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, the one through whom I find the supernatural, abundant life. That means a tender conscience toward God, so that I make a supreme effort to avoid yielding to temptation in any way, lest I grieve my wonderful Lord.

Bible Reading: Psalm 34:1-9

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I shall not be afraid to go to the bank of heaven today and cash a check for all my needs, enabling me to share the supernatural life with all whom my life touches.

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Loving and Kind

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“But His joy is in those who reverence Him, those who expect Him to be loving and kind” (Psalm 147:11).

Can you imagine an intelligent person saying no to Christ if he fully understood how much God loves him and if he realized that when he receives Christ his sins are all forgiven and he is given eternal life together with new meaning and purpose for his present life?

The non-believer who does not know all these things continues to live in disobedience, rejecting God’s love and forgiveness. Why? Simply because he does not understand; he lacks information.

It is difficult to imagine a person saying no to such a wonderful life of challenge and adventure with the risen Christ if that person knows all the facts about who Christ is and why He came to this world. It is the same with the Christian who is living in spiritual poverty. He often continues to live a frustrated, fruitless life, simply because he just does not understand who the Holy Spirit is and what the supernatural life is all about. But lack of knowledge is not the only obstacle to enjoying the supernatural life.

Pride: Pride, which is an exaltation of self instead of God, is the root cause of all sin. This defeating aspect of our human nature has kept many Christians from living supernaturally. Pride is not the same as a God-given healthy love and acceptance of oneself.

Fear of man: Peer pressure keeps many Christians from living the supernatural life. “The fear of man brings a snare” (Proverbs 29:25, NAS).

Many are afraid to be different, or are ashamed to witness for Jesus Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us. “But His joy is in those who reverence Him, those who expect Him to be loving and kind.”

Bible Reading: Psalm 147:5-10

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I will claim the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to overcome pride and fear of man, I will reverence the Lord and expect Him to be loving and kind as He promised.