The Best Kind of Fear

Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:11-17) 

We live in an age of anxiety, fueled by advertising. If we don’t have the newest and the best, we are told that we are missing out on the good life and that no one will love us. Yet God’s Word advises us to fear the LORD—not in the sense of being terrified, but in the sense of being more concerned about His approval than anyone else’s. We are encouraged to be made new through God’s forgiveness and to do what is best in God’s eyes, because He knows what is best for us and loves us no matter what. Those who trust His Word over worldly wisdom can be confident in His presence and deliverance when all else fails. 

“Heavenly Father, thank You for delivering our broken hearts and giving us new life; enable us to fear You above all and do what leads to life and good days, in Jesus, amen.”

WORLDLY WISDOM FROM GRADUATION SPEECHES:
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Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over 
if you just sit there. - WILL ROGERS
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If you think you are too small to be effective,  
you have never been in bed with a mosquito. - BETTE REESE
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 Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself.
- MARK A. COOPER
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 You will find the key to success under the alarm clock.
- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
- OSCAR WILDE
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If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because 
they do not realize how complicated life is. - JOHN VON NEUMANN
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Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do 
but never gets you anywhere. - ERMA BOMBECK
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The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
- VIDAL SASSOON
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So, what’s it like in the real world? Well, the food is better, 
but beyond that, I don’t recommend it. - BILL WATTERSON
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Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s 
path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path 
then by all means you should follow that. - ELLEN DEGENERES
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The unfortunate, yet truly exciting thing about your life, is that 
there is no core curriculum. The entire place is an elective. - JON STEWART
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If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of payments.
- EARL WILSON
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Go to it. Be bold. Be true. Be kind. Rotate your tires. Don’t drink so much. 
There aren’t going to be enough liver transplants to go around. - RICHARD RUSSO
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You will never have more energy or enthusiasm, hair, 
or brain cells than you have today. - TOM & RAY MAGLIOZZI
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If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be
fired with enthusiasm. – VINCE LOMBARDI
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Now that you’ve graduated, just remember: Bosses don’t 
usually accept notes from your mother. — MELANIE WHITE

The Lord give you wisdom this week!

Pastor Kirk