Daily Devotional For Sunday, March 29, 2026
Good day Southside! Our daily devotional for today comes from Proverbs 9:10:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (NASB).
We talked a little bit yesterday about this verse but not in detail. Have you noticed we live in a world where both Christians and non-Christians scoff at God? You might say to yourself, “Oh, no me. I would never do that!” Before you exempt yourself from such, every time you and I excuse our sin, we scoff at God. Every time we ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we scoff at God. Every time we gossip about someone else, we scoff at God. Every time we judge someone to condemn them, we scoff at God. Every time we think we are better than someone else, we scoff at God. Every time we lie, we scoff at God. Every time we sin, we scoff at God.
So, what is your answer now? We chronically scoff at God because we have no fear of God in us. We really think that God’s judgment is for only the murderers, the adulterers, the pedophiles, the thieves, the fornicators, and etc. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5 that sin starts in the heart, that scoffing starts in the heart before it ever reaches our actions. If you doubt me, do not doubt God in Matthew 5:21-48. All of us are scoffers – all of us. To lie to yourself about this is to lie to God or to scoff God. Wisdom, God’s wisdom, cares about people.
When you hear your pastor share from the Word of God, you are hearing the Word of God. We have totally misunderstood what repentance is. Repentance is more than turning from sin; repentance is turning to Christ. Fear is based on the size and the power of the threat as well as the unknowns. If someone breaks into your home while you’re sleeping, you’re overwhelmed with multiple fears – how many of them, are they armed, will I be able to protect my family and myself? Someone once said, “Fear is a liar.” Sometimes it is and many times it is not. If you were driving down the Interstate and someone crossed the median and is headed straight for you, the fear you are experiencing is not lying to you. There are also different kinds of fear. The fear of an attacker and the fear of a loving parent are not the same kind of fears.
The fear of the Lord starts with the right biblical understanding of who God is. Our misconceptions about God give us the wrong beliefs about God. While we may acknowledge that God is omnipotent (all-powerful), that does not mean we understand what that means and how we measure up in comparison. The modern church has reduced God to some kind of old man with a long beard who is borderline senile but is loving. We treat God as if He is like us.
The Hebrew word for “fear” in Proverbs 9:10 is [יִרְאַ֣ת, yirat]. This word can mean terror, but most of the time it refers to awe, wonder and respect based on the power and size of God. For example, if a fellow employee comes up to you in anger you might have some kind of fear or anxiety. But if your boss called you into his/her office, due to who he/she is and the power he/she has to fire you, you will experience a different kind of fear.
When we can come with such awe, wonder and respect of Who God is, it creates a healthy fear in us because we realize who He is, the power He has, and what He could do to us if He chose to do it. The fact that God does not give us what we deserve – hell, but what we need – heaven, grace, and salvation – that should create in us a healthy fear of Him. The reason I believe most Christians lack this healthy fear of the Lord is there is never any obvious appearance of them being broken over their sins. They excuse them. They ignore them. They blame others for them. They rationalize them. We do everything but confess them and repent from them. This is blatant disrespect of God who loves us.
This is no different from the spouse who carries on a secret extra-marital affair and rationalizes it. They are disrespecting God and taking for granted His love for them. Proverbs 9:10 is one bookend of two. The first bookend is found in Proverbs 1:7. To fear the Lord is also to know the Lord. Which means if you and I do not have any real fear of the Lord we do not know Him. Knowing about the Lord is not the same as knowing the Lord. I know about Matthew West, but I do not personally know Matthew West. There is a huge difference. The only way to know someone personally and intimately is you have to spend time with that person.
For us, that means we have to be in God’s Word and on our knees. There is no intimacy without legitimacy in time with God. There can be no short cuts. Listening to sermons in church is not the same. Being in a community group or Bible study group is not enough. You have to be alone in order to be known. Christian author Wilbur Rees, in his book, writes how intentional most Christians are in wanting to know God:
“I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please” (Source: Wilbur Rees, When I Relax I Feel Guilty, p. 49).
Reflection Assignment: If the Lord were to give you a score on how much you know Him and want to know Him, what would that score be and why? Does your sin really bother you? Do you have respect, awe and a fear of the Lord by God’s standards?
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 111:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding has all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “”Dear Lord, I want more of You than just $3. I want to know You and the power of Your resurrection. I do not want to just know about You. I want to know You. I want to fear You. Be in awe of You and respect You. I need a healthy dose of fear of You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly