“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”
Proverbs 1:7a
The fear of God helps us to delight in His presence, His holiness, His righteousness, and His mercy. Solomon said, “Write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3b).
God wants His words to be engraved on our hearts. Have you ever stopped to think about the tablets that the Ten Commandments were written on? The stone was carved, and chiseled, until a deep etching was made that remained engraved forever. This is how the Lord wants His words to be inscribed on our hearts, never to be removed. He encourages us to memorize scriptures in such a way that they become like our own thoughts, until His whole Word is made part of us. This will lead us to find grace and favor in the eyes of the Lord, and in the eyes of others.
When referring to the people of Israel, God said, “If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemiesand turn my hand against their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you” (Psalm 81:13-16). God cried out to His own people but they closed their ears refusing to hear, and they shut their eyes to stop themselves from seeing His law. If they had only listened, all of their enemies would have been destroyed in an instant. However, because of their rebellion against God, their enemies towered over them, eventually causing their destruction. The Lord wanted to fight for His people and just one intervention of His hand would have been more than sufficient to annihilate all of their adversaries. However, because of their obstinate hearts, their rule over the land as the people of God, which was meant to be permanent, only lasted for a brief time.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
In 1923, nine of the most powerful men on earth met in the city of Chicago. Anyone could have felt envious of these men because within that small group seventy percent of America’s wealth was represented. The group was made up of the following men:
• Charles Schwab, President of the largest steel producing company of the world.
• Samuel Insull, president of the largest electricity producing company.
• Howard Hopson, president of the largest natural gas producing company.
• Arthur Cutten, the largest seller of wheat in the United States.
• Richard Whitney, president of the Stock Exchange of New York.
• Albert Fall, Secretary of the Interior in President Harding’s Administration.
• Jesse Livermore, a great Wall Street investor.
• Ivar Kreuger, head of the largest monopoly of the world.
• Leon Fraser, president of the International Settlements bank.
These men were the most powerful men on earth because of the amount of influence they had through their wealth. However, they lacked moral values and placed all their trust in uncertain riches. Before long, they found themselves facing a harsh reality. The hope they had placed in their riches came to a sad and abrupt end.
In 1948, twenty-five years after that famous meeting, they were all left with almost nothing:
• Charles Schwab filed for bankruptcy and spent the last five years of his life surviving on borrowed money.
• Samuel Insull died in a foreign land, a fugitive of the law and penniless.
• Howard Hopson died an insane man.
• Arthur Cutten lost his economic solvency and died abroad.
• Richard Whitney had just been released from Sing Sing Prison that year.
• Albert Fall had just received a presidential pardon so that he could die in the company of his family and not in prison.
• Finally, Jesse Livermore, Leon Fraser, and Ivar Kreuger had all taken their own lives.
The lesson we learn from history is clear and powerful. Each one of these men had come together to be praised and envied by the whole world, however, just some twenty-five years later and all nine of them had passed away to eternity with more sorrow than glory. This was all because they placed their trust in uncertain riches. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23-24).
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“Because I have decided to obey the Lord and His Word, God will fight for me and I will see the defeat of everything that seeks to harm me.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Two.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
