The Guns Have Been Silenced
Acts 9:31 Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
A few years ago, I wrote and produced a radio message on the fear of God. Now, I remember thinking – no one wants to hear about the fear of God in this day and age, but I just felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to speak about that very thing. The fear of God.
So, I recorded the program, and by the time it went to air, I’d forgotten all about it. Until early one morning, I went to my computer and discovered an email from a man in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
This is what he wrote:
Some weeks ago I was attending a peace conference in Goma, while in my hotel room I heard your program. As I was listening to it, I realised that with no fear of God in hearts of people, there will be no peace! No peace at all! I don’t know if this was a revelation from God, but this 8 minutes were enough for me to take me to a turning point of my life as well as in my peace effort in this region. I left that room, as a changed man. I’ve been on battlefield for 13 years now, I don’t know how many people have died because of my gun, but what I know is that I decided to lay down my arms.
He’s right you know. Without the fear of God, there can be no peace at all.
God is a God whom we should fear. Because one day there will be a day of reckoning for each one of us as we stand before God and give an account of our lives. And those who have rebelled against Him will spend eternity in hell. It’s right that we should fear God.
But at the same time, He is a God of grace and mercy and when we accept Jesus, it changes everything. Not just on that day of judgement but here and now.
I’m always intrigued by this passage about the early church:
Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (Acts 9:31)
The fear of the Lord AND the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Those two sides of the one coin – a coin called “peace”. A right fear, a right respect of God, but living in His grace, in His mercy, in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. That’s what peace looks like.
And when they were doing that, the church grew. Why wouldn’t it? God wants us, God made us to live in peace. And that peace only comes when we have a right fear of the Lord.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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