Note to Children on the Fear of God

My Dear Sons and Daughters,

In studying this morning Psalm 111, we are reminded of the perfect faithfulness of God and of the foundational theme of Proverbs, the fear of the Lord.
To walk in the ways of God and to follow the principles we are taught in the Bible is certainly the wisest course we could take. In fact, woe be to us if we walk another way. You merely need to go back two chapters to see the end of the man who opposes God in his ways.
There is such comfort in the fear of God. When you bow to the Lord of the universe, you know that you are bowing to someone who is competent, someone who is faithful, and someone who can be trusted. If your shrine lies elsewhere, then you can only rely on yourself, and in the end you will see that we are too feeble to be relied on to even handle one day apart from God.
It is simply awesome to think that God the creator is our Savior and our Friend. That is why we can both fall down before Him with tears in reverent awe and gleefully laugh as we rejoice in Him as He reveals Himself to us in power. The only way that we can possibly respond to the goodness and grace of God is to faithfully live by His principles.
If we refuse to live by His principles, then we are fools. That is why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. He holds the keys to life. Life is all about Him and what He is doing in and through your life. Ignore him and you will fall. Despise His reproofs and you will die.
The voices will be many and often which compel you to take another route, but you must be resolute. You can’t afford to walk in the ways of the unwise. You know better. (You have sat under an average of 150 sermons a year from your father for most of your lives…. ). Anyway, as you walk, keep your eyes on Jesus and listen to His voice as the Holy Spirit guides you. The resulting blessings that begin to rain down on you will refreshingly remind you that God is faithful. He has written your name on the palm of His hand. He numbers every hair on you head. Ignore His promptings only to trudge once again agonizingly slowly down the muddy ruts of pain and isolation from God. I say slow, because it is such a dreary way once the initial thrill of rebellion wears off, but it happens all of a sudden if you are not alert to what Satan is trying to do. Be sober. Be alert. Satan is like a roaring lion seeking to devour you and your children. Fight for them. You boys fight for your future wives and children. Do it now! Tomorrow you will be old men. Listen to your father. Fight my sons. Pray my daughters. Do not be deceived. I am praying for you and am confident that God is faithful.

Love,
Dad