July 27 Jeremiah 5:14-6:30 Fearing God Based on Nature

Jeremiah 5:21-24 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. 

"Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. 

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. 

They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

God is making a case for acknowledging His awesome power over all creation just by looking around and seeing nature. We can learn a lot about God and His power over us just by being observant and acknowledging that we are but a blade of temporary grass in this universe compared to the God who made this whole thing and Who sustains it all - on and on. If we stop and consider this - we will fear God in the totality of fear - terror, reverence, awe, etc.

Once we fear God, we will seek to find our place UNDER Him. He is who He says He is, NOT who we make Him out to be. We need to seek Him and our role that He created us to fall into.

All this can begin with us glorifying and praising Him through nature.

Romans 1:18-21 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Paul tells us about the absolute, utter importance of beginning to seek God (the Creator and Sustainer) by at least glorifying Him and giving thanks to Him for Who He is as Creator and Sustainer. Both Paul and Jeremiah tell us about the growth of sin that takes place when God is not glorified and thanked. Proper fear brings one to glorify and thank God for your own existence and all that is around you.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 

Begin! Then, God will move you on.