There seems to be a great amount of fear in our world these days.  Between the coronavirus pandemic and the civil and political unrest in our nation, people are stressed and fearful, and they are concerned. 

        “Words from Above” in the Bible give us many examples of situations where fear came into the picture.  Many times when God sent angels from heaven with a message to individuals, the angels always told the individuals to “Fear not.”  It was natural for people who were visited by an angel to be fearful, but the angel always tried to calm their fears.

        On the other hand, the Bible is full of references to the need for us to “fear the Lord”, but not in the way that we normally would think.  When the Bible talks about fearing the Lord, it is usually talking about having a healthy respect for the Lord.  There is all the reason in the world to have such a respect for the Lord, and we should definitely not only have such a respect, but we should also show Him respect.

        One of the best ways to show and have respect for the Lord is to read His Word and keep His commandments.  Reading His Word is the one and only way to gain respect for the Lord, because in His Word we read about all the ways that God interacted with people through the years.  We see how He gave them instructions as to what He wanted them to do to help Him carry out His purposes, and how He would help them carry out those purposes. 

        Another important way to show and have respect for the Lord is to join with others to worship Him in His house.  We gather there to give Him the praise that He deserves, to seek His will for our lives, and to be inspired and encouraged to be faithful in serving the Lord.  We also gather there to allow ourselves to be drawn closer to the Lord as well as to one another, and to allow the Lord to prepare us for the day He will send His Son Jesus back to the Earth to gather us up and take us with Him to our heavenly home.

        One more important way to show and have respect for the Lord is to do our part in helping Him to build His Church.  We do this by sharing the message of the gospel story with those who have not yet heard it or who have not yet accepted it.  We do this so that they can become followers of God and be a part of the family of God. 

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.