Going to Jesus

Daily Thoughts

 Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:

• Collection

  Thoughts for the Morning Thoughts for the Evening Random Thoughts

• Month

  January February March April May June July August September October November December

• Day

  08-01 Better Off? 08-02 Unmoveable 08-03 The Prosecutor 08-04 Just One Plural “You”
  Part One: Moses 08-05 Just One Plural “You”
  Part Two: Us 08-06 How I Learned the Bible 08-07 Psalm 125:3
  Part One: Restrained Wrath 08-08 Psalm 125:3
  Part Two: A Savior 08-09 Why the World Hates You 08-10 Why the World Does Not Hate You 08-11 Two More Reasons to Fear God 08-12 “What Is Truth?” 08-13 Your First Love, Part One 08-14 Your First Love, Part Two 08-15 Prisoners to Freedom 08-16 Coals of Fire 08-17 What Makes You Distinctive? 08-18 God’s Righteousness 08-19 Hating the Judges at the Gate 08-20 Keeping the Sabbath 08-21 Honoring Children above God 08-22 God’s Chambers 08-23 The “Self-Esteem” Agenda 08-24 Lawlessness
  Part One: anomia 08-25 Lawlessness
  Part Two: Forgiven 08-26 Ashamed 08-27 What Difference Does It Make? 08-28 Psalm 38 08-29 Forced Conversion 08-30 Unbelieving Disciples 08-31 Being the Truth

 

Random Thought
8-11

Two More Reasons to Fear God

“If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be feared.”
Psalm 130:3–4

It seems at first that David should have said that since there is forgiveness with God, there is no reason to fear Him. That is certainly how many people seem to understand God’s forgiveness. But David knew better. He knew that forgiveness was only with God and that without God’s forgiveness, we have no hope. Therefore, we should fear God and seek His favor.

Hosea (3:5) wrote an equally unexpected verse:

Afterwards, the children of Israel will return and seek Jehovah their God and David their king. And they will be in awe of Jehovah and his goodness in the latter days.

As with the verse above from David, at first it seems that because God is good, there would be no need to fear Him. But Hosea knew what David knew; namely, that God’s goodness cannot be presumed upon and that it might be removed from someone if that person persists in sin. The Spirit of Christ once prayed through the Psalmist that God would “be good to them who are good.” This prayer will be answered forever on the Day of Judgment, when those who have been good will be raised up to eternal life and peace. On the other hand, as Hosea knew, in the Final Judgment, those who have done evil will be cast into “outer darkness”, far from God’s goodness forever. We fear God and His goodness because to be without His goodness is eternal death.

God is good, but He has never forgiven anyone who refused His call to repent. And He has promised to forever be good only to those who follow in the footsteps of His dear Son, Jesus. That is why David and Hosea feared God and His goodness. They wanted His forgiveness and His goodness to continue with them forever.