THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

Those of you who were around in this church in the late 1970s and early 1980s might still remember Oom Moses Nugroho. Because he was, at the time, going back and forth to Indonesia, you might not have seen him that much, then. But, I am sure you have met his children—Esther, Yoyong, and Priscilla—who were involved in our college group. Oom Moses went to his eternal home on Thursday.

A few days before he passed on, he was asked if he had anything he wanted to say to his family who gathered around him. His answer was simple and straightforward, “Just fear the Lord.” When asked if he had more to say, he said, “No, that’s it. If you live in the fear of the Lord, everything else will fall into place.” I can only say, amen!

The older I am, the more aware I am of the fact that sin has already taken its root deep in my soul. All the spiritual knowledge that I have gained over the years has not completely uprooted sin. You see, sin is like grass. Without water and under scorching heat grass in our lawn will inevitably turn grey and yellow. It will look so dry that we think it is already dead. But, it is not. Give it water, and long behold, the grass will begin to sprout. The root is never dead.

Therefore it is imperative that we live in the fear of the Lord—all the time! There is no break—even a short one—because a break from the fear of the Lord will make the grass of sin sprout again. There have been too many examples of those who have fallen into sin simply because they took a short break from the fear of the Lord.

God commands us to fear Him not because He enjoys intimidating us but rather because that’s the way to a life of peace and freedom. The more we fear God, the more peace and freedom we’ll enjoy.

Pastor Paul