The word in this scripture from 1 John 4:18 is the Greek root for phobia. It isn’t the same word as in yesterday’s scripture: “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” But you can see the thoughts from yesterday’s entry Here.
This word deals with negative connotations for fear:
Yesterday, we started a new season in Thirty Days of Devotion. Today’s topic deals with the holiness of God. Proverbs 1:7 say, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
I think the comment on the left is a valid point, but it’s missing something.
See, I’d always thought about fearing the Lord as a reverence. A holy awe. I can picture the saints with bowed heads and clasped hands or perhaps kneeling before Him.
How can we understand our unfathomable God with our finite minds? Impossible. But like the blind men trying to comprehend the elephant, we can wrap our brains around specific traits of our God. For the next several weeks, I intend to look at the various Old Testament names of God, which also testify of his character. Continue reading →