LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Generally I’m a pretty confident guy – except when I’m tired or stressed. That’s when I begin to doubt my abilities and question my value. I dare to believe that you do the same thing.

Well, this morning I was reminded about confidence when I opened my personal devotional and I read this – “Jesus gives me confidence to be a minister of a new covenant.” It was followed by these verses in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6. “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit.”

So I began to do a word search for the places in Scripture that talk about confidence. I found a story that went straight to my heart in Second Chronicles. Briefly, the people of Judah were in a predicament. King Sennacherib of Assyria had come to overthrow King Hezekiah of Judah and laid siege to their territory. This massive barbaric army was striking fear into the residents of Judah.

King Hezekiah puts their fears into perspective in 2 Chronicles 32:7-8. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles. And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”

I love that line – “with him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God.” I am challenged by the people’s response – the people took confidence from the words. I tend to let words of people destroy my confidence, when Words of God have already been spoken that solidify my confidence. I am responsible for the words I choose to listen to. I alone choose what value I assign to what people say. I am solely accountable for my confidence level based on what words I have chosen to believe.

I have decided that the following words will be the foundation of my confidence level.

Psalm 27:3  “Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.”

Proverbs 3:26 ”for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

 Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 13:5-6 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?””

1 John 5:14  “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”

Check your confidence level against God’s words, not man’s. It will make a difference in your day.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, March 4, 2025

One morning I heard a story from Ron Hutchcraft. It’s called “The Stink Takes Over.”

I checked the bread drawer and it was still there, but there was a smell! Our daughter was visiting and she put in a bagel order with her aunt. She said, “I want an onion bagel.” Well, somehow that onion bagel spent a few days in that bread drawer before it finally disappeared. Oh, the bagel was gone, but the smell remained. Well, that’s not correct. Oh, no! In fact, the taste wasn’t even gone. That little round stinker flavored every bagel in the drawer. So they all tasted like onion bagels now. Who would have guessed that one thing could stink up and flavor everything?

In 2 Corinthians 7:1 we read,  “Since we have these promises dear friend, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit; perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

God gives us a pretty interesting standard for deciding what you will allow your body to do; what you will allow your mind to take in. Will it contaminate you?

Contaminate makes me think of a germ or a bacteria. And now I also think of an onion bagel. There’s no way to let it into that drawer without it infecting everything around it. That’s why it really matters what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, who you spend time with, what you do for entertainment, what you laugh at.

Oh, you may think you can contain the trash they carry. You say, “Oh, it’s no big deal. I can handle it.” But sin is highly infectious. What began as just a passing thought ultimately becomes a desire, and desire ultimately becomes a sin you never thought you’d do. That’s why the Bible says, “Don’t give the devil a foothold.” The devil just wants you to think about it, then want it, then do it, and then pay for it.

Maybe you’re underestimating the corrupting, contaminating power of a little compromise. You can’t afford that dirty joke, that dirty picture, a powerful video image or something on the Internet, a rumor about someone, a strong song about something that’s wrong. See, you can’t afford to let the stink in. You may feel a little defensive about some of the input that you’re letting in, but ask yourself a few questions about what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, what you laugh at, who you hang around with.

We don’t like to be challenged on these things, but ask these kinds of questions, “Is it making me a little harder than I was before? Am I becoming a little more tolerant of sinful things that I never used to put up with? Am I flirting mentally with some things I know are wrong? Am I finding the good things less interesting and more boring? Is my heart getting a little colder toward Jesus?” That’s the power of contamination.

You know why? Because in the verses proceeding what we read today, in chapter 6, verses 16-18, God says, “I live in you. You are my people. You are my sons and daughters. Therefore, don’t touch any unclean thing.” In other words, do you know who you are? Then purify yourself from everything that contaminates. You’re too good for this. You’re too special for this. You were too expensive to God for this.

So, back to my smelly bread drawer that proves a little bad influence can spread very quickly. It can spoil everything. Look, if you’re letting into your body or into your mind anything that smells spiritually, get rid of it now. It could ruin what you never meant for it to touch.

Thanks Ron, for the challenge to not let Christ’s character be exposed to corruption.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday. March 3, 2025

As I was sorting through old emails, I found one that I saved from November 11, 2013. I chose to leave it in my inbox because I knew that would guarantee me to look at it again. As I read it again I knew that today was the day for which it was intended.

One of my former associate pastors led a Bible Study for all members of his worship and technical ministries. On Sunday, November 10th, 2013, they read the following paragraph from the book they were studying:

“When men first learned to navigate the open seas using the stars as their “road map” a whole new world opened up to them.  Until the development of state-of-the-art Satellite positioning technology, the compass was the primary instrument of navigation at sea.  It was said, “He who is a slave to the compass enjoys the freedom of the open sea”.

One of the members of the Bible Study wrote this email to me the next day.

“The last line really hit me and has stuck with me (which is rare).  I started thinking about the freedoms that we have in Christ.  What we watch, say, drink, eat, do, etc.  Often times Christians will argue or judge what is right and wrong…..which is a form of legalism.  We do have freedoms but if we are just roaming about at sea going wherever the wind takes us, looking for the next big thing and paying no attention to the compass we are bound to get hurt and find ourselves in a storm not knowing which way to turn.

“But if we are a slave to the compass, we can truly enjoy the freedom of the open sea, but with direction and purpose.  This does not mean there will not be storms because a compass cannot predict that, but when we are in a storm we will have a clear direction to go for safety.  If we are truly focused on the compass I would think that a lot of the areas of the sea that we are free to roam around in just will not seem that appealing because all they will do is take us off course and slow us down from getting to our purpose and destination.

“Purpose = share the Good News

“Destination = Heaven

“Compass = Holy Spirit”

Proverbs 11:3  “The integrity of the upright guides them…”

The world is a sea of opportunity which we are trying to navigate. The only way to stay on course – to maintain integrity of character – is to trust the Compass provided to us by Jesus Christ when He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. We who are in Christ have a resident Compass; a Guide to show us the way through the ocean of life. Whether or not we are on course is totally our responsibility – we are either gazing at the Compass and staying true to God’s course or we are peering over the railing at the ocean of potential piers that appear to be desirable ports in which to dock the ship of our life. 

As we sail across the sea of life, it is tempting to look around at all the beautiful islands where we could stop for a while. There is an Island of Pleasure, and an Island of Prosperity. There are Islands of Power and a Port of Prestige. But none of these places is worthy of our consideration – never once should we shift the rudder to steer towards them unless the Compass directs us and the Wind of the Holy Spirit shifts to move us there. Resist the allure of the tropical islands when the Compass is pointing towards the eternal shore.

Stay on course. Let integrity be your guide. Character never cuts corners, nor does it change direction.

Pastor John

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1g6yVRRPpnANtS1aghGxOQ?si=dFTYkblTS3uA4HvAFcoHSQ

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, February 28, 2025

When God runs to us with forgiveness and acceptance, He grants us equal standing with all others who by faith have trusted Jesus for salvation. That’s a powerful truth revealed to us by the Apostle Peter.

2 Peter 1:1  “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:”

Think about it. Isn’t this the same Peter who walked on water? Isn’t this the guy whom the resurrected Jesus told to take charge of the sheep? Yes it is! Sure he had his problems. He had to be rescued from the water as his faith grew weak. He denied the LORD three times. He made brash statements about his superior faith and commitment but had no follow through – at least not prior to the resurrection. And even in the early church age he had to be corrected by the Apostle Paul for his segregation from the Gentiles. Yet this was Peter, the one whom Jesus transformed from an arrogant self-exalting fisherman to a humble, Christ-exalting servant-leader of the church.

I am amazed that this man of God, a hero of the faith, can say to all of us that we have obtained a faith of equal standing with him. The same faith that God granted Peter to be His servant is the faith that we have to be servants of the LORD. WOW!

How is this possible? Because our standing before God is not based on anything in us, but on the righteousness of God that has been granted to us through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul said it this way in Second Corinthians 5:21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The righteousness of God gives every follower of Jesus Christ equal standing before God.

That’s hard to believe. We tend to envision our place before the throne of God being somewhere near the back of the crowd. Literally millions of people are much more “qualified” to be closer to the throne than we are. Their lives of perseverance under severe persecution, even to the point of death, gives them a huge advantage on throne room placement. Their consistency of faith in the face of financial loss, family crisis, and fear puts them way up the list of invited guests to be honored. Who are we to think that we would ever be able to stand next to Peter in the presence of Christ?

But wait – we are qualified! We have an equal standing with all the saints in glory. There is no single Bible hero or Christian who has ever lived that has more righteousness than we do. The same righteousness of God has been imputed to us ALL in Jesus Christ!

What an amazing thought. What a bondage-breaking truth that sets the prisoner free from the chains of approval and affirmation. We have obtained through our Savior Jesus Christ the same faith that brings the righteousness of God and grants us equal standing before the Father in heaven.

Let that truth sink in and set you free from the comparison game you’ve been playing. Let it release you from the chains of seeking affirmation and approval from people. Let it liberate you from the bondage of earning anything from God. You and I are completely and eternally accepted by the Father, and we will ALL stand right next to Jesus in the throne room, for we are all equal in His sight.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, February 27,2025

Has the sun ever not risen in the eastern sky? Since the days of Noah, have the rains that water the earth ever not fallen anywhere in the world? As surely as the sunrise and the spring rains can be expected, so can we expect the LORD to come to us. That’s what we are promised in the last part of Hosea 6:3 that we are currently studying.

“Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

The LORD’s coming will eventually affect us all. Working backwards from the end of all things, His final coming will bring ultimate and eternal judgment to all who reject Him. Prior to that He will come to rule the earth in His glorious Kingdom in which we His people will serve Him. Before that He will come to remove His Bride – the True Church – from the earth so He can prepare the world for His Kingdom reign. And prior to that – even now – He will come as the sunrise and the rain to those who press on to know Him.

No matter where you are or what you have done, if today you choose to turn your back on it all and press on to know the Lord, He will come to you. He will come as the sunrise at dawn, spreading light and warmth across your cold dark heart. He will come as the spring showers to water the dry and hardened soil of your heart so that the seeds of truth can be planted and grow to produce a harvest of righteousness. Because of the LORD’s great love and mercy, He will come to you.

The LORD will come to you if you break up the unproductive soil of your sinful heart and seek Him. “Break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD,  that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12)

The LORD will come to you with healing and refreshment to restore life to you. “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2)  “He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.” (2 Samuel 23:4)

If you ask Him to come, He will. “Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the spring rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give you showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.” (Zech. 10:1)

The promise of the LORD Jesus is that He will not leave you alone as if you were fatherless. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” 

Right now the LORD will come to you. Even the smallest step of turning towards Him is rewarded with His coming. His eyes are watching for the repentant prodigal to return to Him, and when the LORD sees you turn from your sin and press on towards Him, He runs to you. He runs! He comes with arms of forgiveness extended to embrace you with acceptance. He will come to you. He died on the cross so that He could come to you. The debt of your sin has been paid so there is no longer any barrier to His coming. Turn to Him, and He will come to you. He will run to you! As the song lyrics say,

“Almighty God, The Great I Am, Immovable Rock, Omnipotent, Powerful, Awesome Lord. Victorious Warrior, Commanding King of Kings, Mighty Conqueror and the only time I ever saw him run, was when He ran to me, He took me in His arms, Held my head to His chest, Said “My son’s come home again!” Lifted my face, Wiped the tears from my eyes, With forgiveness in His voice He said, “Son, do you know I still love You?”

He caught me By surprise, when God ran…and He will run to you.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, February 26, 2025

This morning I am overwhelmed with this simple yet profound thought – I am privileged to know the LORD personally and intimately! My passion to press on to know is completely satisfied in the privilege of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD. As a result, I can choose to make that my constant priority.

Let’s review the progression of truth we find in Hosea 6:3.

Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

1. We press on – it is our passion, regardless of the pain it involves, to press on toward the prize of the high calling we have in Christ Jesus.
2. We press on to know – it is our privilege to be able to know. We have been created in the image of God with the ability to reason – to think rationally. Praise God for this privilege.
3. We press on to know the LORD – it is our priority to use the privilege of knowledge to know the Lord Jesus Christ intimately as Savior and LORD.

Many times privilege is taken for granted and ceases to be a priority. The value of privilege is diminished by our choices. The passion to pursue the fullness of the privilege is lost and replaced with what we think are more significant, meaningful, and rewarding objectives, usually based on nothing more than a deep need for immediate gratification. Oh how quickly we turn from the priority of our privilege to know the LORD to the priorities of life as we assign value to their importance.

Once there was nothing, followed by everything being spoken into existence by the voice of Almighty God. Beyond the limits of what we can see and know is the One True God of eternity, with no beginning and no end, no boundary or limitation, and with no need of anything outside of Himself for His sustenance. His knowledge is limitless, His power cannot be diminished with time or exertion, and His presence is not limited to time and space. His thoughts are beyond our thoughts, and His ways, plans, and purposes are beyond our understanding. He answers to no one, seeks the counsel of no one, and needs the approval of no one. He exists as One God in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – each one fully and completely God in Himself, a mystery that is received by faith in the Word of all three and yet unexplainable in human understanding.

Yet – oh the glory of this thought – God has made Himself known to us and has invited us to know Him! How long has it been since we have basked in the splendor of that privilege? And if indeed we say we believe that He is all that He is defined to be in the Bible, then why is the privilege of knowing Him not our highest priority? Why have we replaced Him with things that are less than Him? Why do we press on to know more about financial freedom, job security, personal relationships, sports, politics, business, or any other secular and social pursuit when we have the privilege of pressing on to know the LORD of all those things? We are settling for less than our privilege permits.

We are living beneath our privilege. We have forsaken our first love. We have set as the priority of our lives the pursuit of this life rather than the eternal life we have been granted in Jesus Christ. We who were created in God’s image for God’s glory, sacrifice His glory for the temporal benefits of sin. Yet God, in His infinite grace and love has extended Himself to us in Jesus Christ, to reconcile our relationship and offer us restoration of intimacy. We have the privilege – how glorious this thought and yet how indescribable it is – we have the privilege of pressing on to know Him in a personal, intimate, and fulfilling relationship that provides all that we need for life and eternity.

My friends, I am writing in tears. My LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, God’s revelation of Himself to sinful mankind, was sent to earth to reconcile us to God through His own sacrifice for sin on the cross. He has guaranteed us permanent relationship with the Father through His resurrection from the dead. Yet we press on to know the world more than we press on to know Him. We have lost the passion of our privilege. May this not remain true any longer!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Let’s do a little mental exercise. Finish this sentence – I have an insatiable need to _____________.

I can only imagine some of the answers that are coming from all of you. Finish first. Make money. Be successful. Find love. Be known. That last one is the one I spend the most energy trying to resist. The answer that best describes me is know. For as long as I can remember I have had an insatiable need to know everything I can about everything that is relevant to my life.

As a child, I took things apart to see how they worked and to challenge myself to make them work again. I investigated everything I was told in order to understand the truth of it. I took classes in high school specifically to learn everything I could about electronics and how radios and televisions worked. I tore lawn mower and car engines apart to learn how they worked. Don’t leave anything broken lying around, because if I have time, I will attempt to fix it. I read instruction manuals. I read rules for games before playing them. I have an insatiable need to know.

However, that need to know is my biggest flaw in my spiritual life. Why? Because the need to know seems to get stuck in the intellectual mode most of the time rather than in the relational mode. That’s not healthy.

It is one thing to seek to know about God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it is quite another thing to press on to know Him personally. The prophet Hosea says, “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD.”

Those of us who get stuck in the intellectual mode have a serious problem, because that’s the Devil’s territory. The Apostle Paul reminded us of this in his letter to the church at Corinth when he said, “We know that all of us possess knowledge. This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1) Herein lies the contrast between pride and love – the intellectual versus the relational. People who know a lot about God tend to become judgmental and critical of others who don’t “measure up”. People who know God are filled with the nature of Christ – compassion, love, joy, and peace.

One night at 2:00 AM I woke up from an intense dream. I cannot tell you what it was about, but my whole body was on the verge of quivering with tension. It took me a long time to go back to sleep. During the first period of time I was awake I thought about how to get back to sleep. I searched my memory for tricks I had used in the past. Then I started trying to figure out how to solve many of the issues that were on my list of responsibilities. I figured that as long as I was awake I might as well put my mind to good use and fix some problems.

But oh how I wanted to sleep. Finally I realized that what was needed was some relational time with the Lord, so I started praying, not for solutions or answers but for intimacy with my Lord. I wanted to know His peace that passes all understanding. I wanted to know His love and His care for me. I pressed on to know Him, not to know what He could do for me or what I should do for Him. That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up at 5:30.

So as you try to figure out what your greatest need is, and what you will press on to achieve, think about this: an insatiable need to know the Lord relationally and personally will satisfy all of your other needs.

Press on to know the LORD!

Pastor John

Today’s Text:  Hosea 6:3 (ESV)  Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

True passion originated in the Bible. Our English word passion is the translation of the Greek word paskho, and is translated 39 times in the New Testament as suffering. That’s why the time of our Savior’s life between His arrest and His resurrection is called the passion of Christ.

So what does this mean for us today? Pressing on requires the courage to suffer for what one believes in. There is no true passion in a person’s life without the willingness to suffer as they press on to achieve what they believe in.

A rock-climber has a passion for reaching the top, which means they will suffer whatever physical pain and contortions of the body are necessary to accomplish it, all potentially based on a love for adrenaline and the belief that the meaning of life will be found in the view from the top.

A single mom has a passion to protect and raise her children in a safe environment, and will endure whatever financial and emotional suffering she must to see her children grow up strong and stable.

A football player has a passion to be the best at his position, and will endure whatever pain he must to recover from injury and play through pain to become the MVP of his league.

Passion always requires the courage to suffer for what one believes. It is the same in pressing on to know the Lord. We cannot claim to be passionate for Christ while living our lives in fear of rejection or retribution from the world. It is unreasonable to state that we are passionate for the Lord and press on to know Him through consistent prayer and Bible Study, using our busy schedules as an excuse. We dare not claim to be passionate for the souls of the lost while we hide our faith in public and seek to be accepted by our culture.

Passion always requires sacrifice. Passion always requires suffering. It is the nature of the word that originated with Christ, and is fulfilled in the context of Christ’s life in us. Pressing on to know Christ is our passion, because Christ’s passion was His love for us that He courageously expressed in His sacrifice for our sins. He suffered for us, so we who are His children willingly suffer for Him. He is our passion, and His passion becomes our life. We will press on to know Him no matter what it costs or how it hurts.

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, February 21, 2025

I have done some very foolish things in my life. Fortunately, none of them got me in serious trouble. But they could have. I remember one time in particular when I crashed a car because I was trying to show off. I ended up in the ditch with the car leaning against a tree. That was a costly mistake based on a foolish choice made spontaneously to try to impress people.

It bothers me how quickly we can move from reason to impulse, especially when the rewards of impulsive actions seem so appealing. But the Bible calls all such choices, foolish, and it calls the person making those choices a fool. That’s because wisdom rationally considers every choice in light of both immediate and future consequences. Impulse eliminates the consideration of the future.

Listen carefully to how King Solomon personifies folly as a seductive woman who cannot see beyond the immediate.

Proverbs 9:13-18  “The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”

Here’s what Solomon warns us about the folly of impulsive behavior.

• Its temptation is loud and demands to be considered as valid.
• It offers immediate gratification without the need for knowledge of consequences.
• When followed, it reveals a person’s lack of common sense.
• The fool does not consider how others have failed and fallen from being foolish. Their pride tells them it can never happen to them.

My friends, as we draw to a close this study of the first nine chapters of Proverbs, which serve as an introduction to the individual bites of wisdom that follow, my prayer is that it has made you wiser and more alert to the deadly consequences of foolishness. I trust you have grown in your understanding of the value of following God’s wisdom, which is the foundation of all abundant life. I also believe that if God’s people, those born of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, would live wisely in this wicked world that more people would want what we have in Christ.

Control your impulses. Look beyond the pleasures of this world. Seek the wisdom of God and start where God tells you to start. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, February 20, 2025

I wonder how many people have died because of foolishness. It’s probably a lot.

One example from the Bible is a man named Abner. He was a military man who fought against David on behalf of King Saul. David had already been declared by God to be the future King of Israel, but Saul was fighting hard against God to keep his kingdom for himself.

In the middle of a battle, while fighting on the wrong side against David, Abner saw his defeat coming and fled. He was chased down by the brother of Joab, David’s commander-in-chief.

Abner killed his hunter, and as a result of his foolish choice to live outside of God’s purpose, he faced a foolish death himself. The story is in 2 Samuel chapter 3.

“Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him in the stomach so that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother.”

Hebron was a city of refuge where Abner would have been safe. But he was lured outside of the city gate by Joab, who killed him to avenge his brother’s death. Abner’s foolish death is an illustration of what it is like to have life ended by foolish choices.

Adrian Rogers says, “Jesus is our city of refuge, and yet many great, discerning men are going to die like fools because they will die just outside the gate of the city of refuge.”

Our wisdom verse for today is from Proverbs 9, verses10 and11.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.”

Let me make one thing clear. This verse does not promise that God will make your life longer because you fear Him. What it says is this. “If you grow in wisdom that comes from knowing and fearing God, and apply His wisdom to your life, it will keep you from doing foolish things that get you killed.”

In the early church at Corinth, people were stepping outside of God’s wisdom and using the Lord’s Supper as a means of personal gratification. As a result, the Apostle Paul says, “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (1 Corinthians 11:30) That seems harsh, yet God’s standard has always been that we either live life by faith in Him according to His wisdom or we will suffer death. Not just eternal death, but maybe even premature physical death.

We would be wise to consider our level of fear of the Lord. Fear that produces awe and wonder at His majesty. Then to let that awe inspire us to learn from Him and apply what we learn to how we live so that we can fulfill the days He has ordained for us. May God challenge you to do that and bless you with the fulfillment of His plan for you.

Pastor John