If you are a Star Trek fan you will remember Dr. Spock’s raised right hand, with his fingers parted in the Vulcan salute saying, “Live long and prosper.”
Actually, the hand sign comes from a Jewish priestly blessing. The fingers separated in this way signify the Hebrew letter “Shin,” which stands for “El Shaddai,” or “Almighty God.”
And Spock’s blessing, “Live long and prosper,” reminds me of God’s blessings to those who fear the Lord, that is, those who hold the Lord in such high esteem that they should walk in accordance to His word and His ways.
“Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways.” (Psalm 128:1)
The Psalmist says that they will be blessed, that is, they will be happy, their labor and household will be successful and filled with joy, and that in the end they will see good and peace.
But what does it mean to fear the Lord? The word “reverence,” would be more in line with the true meaning of the word. To reverence God is to hold Him in the highest esteem and respect.
Our problem is that instead of reverencing God, we reverence and respect humanity, and in the process, we try to bring God down to our level, rather than raising ourselves up to worship and bow down to Him.
When we humble ourselves that is when God will lift us up.
The Apostle James said, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10)
It’s only when we come to the end of ourselves, and at the end of trusting in everything and everybody else that we come to the understanding that it’s only when we fear the Lord Almighty, it’s only when we place Him in the highest place learning to hear His voice and walk in His ways that God’s blessings will be ours.
It is only then that we will live long and prosper.
Dennis Lee is the senior pastor of Living Waters Fellowship located at 211 West 1st South, behind ACE Hardware.
This Sunday at 10 a.m., Pastor Dennis will be starting a new series to get us ready for November’s Welcome Back Sundays, and the need to get ourselves reset, reignited, and refueled for life.
This Sunday Morning we’ll be looking at the remarkable conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus, and what it means when Jesus said, “You must be born again.”
Sunday morning service begins at 10 a.m. either in-person or on-line (Children and Youth ministry available). All services and teachings, including Sunday 6 p.m. service, are available on our YouTube Channel, “Mesquite NV Living Waters Fellowship.”
Pastor Lee also provides daily inspiration (Devotionals, Scripture and a Prayer, and Thoughts) on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dennis.lee.3760/.
Excellent tidbit!
Hey Vance,
I hope you guys are doing well and that everything is okay. I really hope that we can connect sometime soon. I’d love to catch up.
What I found interesting is that several people who grew up in the synagogue remembered the Cantor and the Rabbi holding their hand up like this saying the blessing over the people.
Take care my friend and God bless
Dennis
That is so true. The apostle Paul tells us Philippians 2:2-4, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Yet He goes on to indicate that the only way we are going to this is to put Jesus first. The very next few verses, 5-9, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,” If Jesus, who is the Son of God set the perfect example of humility putting the Father first above all things, shouldn’t we do the same? That is such a reminder to me as well.
Thank you Debbie for sharing what the Lord has been showing you through His word on this.
Take care and God bless
Pastor Dennis
Thank you for the message, it appears we fear man more then God. Praying that eyes and ears are open to the TRUTH and we FEAR the Reverence Power and Love that comes from God
Blessings
James
Thank you James, I’m sorry but I missed your comment earlier. We definitely need that reverential fear of the Lord if we’re ever going to make a difference in this world today. Take care my friend and God bless