Music is often linked with our emotions. But the word music calls us to use our minds. It comes from the Greek mousa where we get the term “muse”—to meditate, think carefully and thoroughly. For us as Christians, this also means to think biblically. Not doing so would lead to music being merely for our amusement, negating the very meaning of the word. Paul said, “I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding” (1 Cor. 14:15).
In Job 38, God spoke to Job out of a storm: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?” “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand” (vv. 2, 4). We can ask ourselves a related question: Do we sing on Sundays only with emotion or with knowledge and understanding?
In Job 38, we discover that there was musical worship when the Lord laid the earth’s foundation, when “the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy” (v. 7). A faithful pastor once said that “singing is as old as creation. Singing was there before the creation of the very world you and I inhabit...the DNA of singing is worship to God. It was there in the heavens before we ever enjoyed it here on earth.” Apart from God— from whom comes all knowledge, understanding, and truth—music and our singing in praise and worship is meaningless.
Whether we sing in public or private, work or leisure, church or home, it is important to understand the divine design and purpose of music (and our entire lives): to worship and to give glory and honor to the living God. We worship Christ, the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20) who laid the cornerstone (Job 38:6). “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD” (Ps. 150:6)!
Go Deeper
What has been your personal experience with music and worship? Have you ever experienced music in a way that made you both feel and think?
Pray with Us: Lord Jesus, how incredible to realize that even the stars sing, and the angels shout Your praises. What a privilege to join this eternal choir! As we study, may our hearts understand Your divine design for music in our lives.
When a judge or jury renders their final verdict in a trial, it’s a significant event. People stand and pay attention. Reporters might be present in the courtroom. Everyone wants to know the outcome. Which way did the evidence lean? Which arguments were most persuasive?
In Ecclesiastes 12, we read such a verdict. King Solomon had experimented with “life under the sun”—the meaning and purpose of human life on its own, without God— and he was now ready to present the “conclusion of the matter” (v. 13). He’d already called everything “meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Eccl. 1:14). Is there any hope?
Yes. “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (v. 13). Earthly wisdom is not sufficient to be its own end. Only godly wisdom, which begins with the fear of the Lord, gives meaning and purpose to life. To say this another way: Loving worship of the one true God is the foundation of all true wisdom. Without God, human endeavors are empty and end in death. But with God, in the context of a right relationship with Him, human endeavors can take on meaning for His glory.
Why? Because the bottom line of everything is God (v. 14). At times we act as if it’s all about us—our beliefs, our choices, our actions. But it is God who will one day “bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (see Rom. 2:16). To his verdicts there will be no appeal.
The Teacher (Solomon) communicated his conclusion in “just the right words” (v. 10). But the right words can be irritating, “like goads” (v. 11). These are sticks with embedded nails used for prodding straying animals back to the right path. May God’s wisdom have that effect in our lives!
Go Deeper
In what ways is the fear of the Lord a foundational aspect of following Christ? How can we make it a fundamental dimension of our daily discipleship?
Pray with Us: Lord, enable us to live in light of Your future coming, when everything will come under Your judgment. As we look forward to the Second Coming, teach us to live by the guidance of Your Spirit, with hope, love, joy, and peace.
Saul had inspired much fear in the early church by pursuing and persecuting believers in Christ. When Christ met him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–19), he found the true fear of the Lord and did a complete turn around. But when he arrived in Jerusalem, the original disciples remained afraid of him (v. 26). They didn’t trust him. Was this another trap? How could an outspoken enemy like Saul become a believing friend?
In faith, Barnabas took a risk and became Saul’s advocate with the apostles (v. 27). Barnabas probably felt a bit afraid, like Ananias when he was told to go and heal Saul (9:13–14). It would have been normal, even sensible, humanly speaking. By obeying God in faith, they put the fear of the Lord ahead of their own human fears.
The church’s former greatest enemy had become one of them (vv. 28–30)! The believers perhaps watched with amazement as Paul evangelized boldly in Jerusalem, debated successfully with the Hellenistic Jews, and aroused their enmity to the point where they even tried to kill him. The believers then sent him to Tarsus for his own safety.
Otherwise, with Saul the persecutor transformed into Paul the apostle, the church enjoyed a time of relative peace and growth. “Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers” (v. 31).
John taught, “There is no fear in love” and “Perfect love drives out fear.” He meant the fear of punishment. That fear is gone for us because Christ took the punishment for our sins (1 John 4:16–18). The apostles, Barnabas, Paul, and all the believers did not fear punishment or persecution. They did, though, fear the Lord and on this basis the church grew and was encouraged.
Go Deeper
As the apostles’ behavior toward Paul illustrates, it’s difficult to change fearful habits. How can we retrain our hearts away from human fears and toward holy fear, that is, the fear of the Lord?
Pray with Us: Jesus, You saved us into a community. In You we have our family of faith, our brothers and sisters who walk this road of faith alongside us. We are grateful that we can journey together in courage, support, and godly fear of the Lord.
Many these days have been wondering if we’re too casual or “flip” with God. We livestream church for our convenience. We check our phones during the worship service. We wear very informal clothing and judge a church by the quality of its snacks and coffee. God is our “good buddy.”
The story of Ananias and Sapphira gives us fair warning of what can happen when we lack the fear of the Lord. We’re including this negative example to underline the seriousness of the issues involved. Taking the fear of the Lord lightly is not a chuckle-worthy mistake but rather a fatal error in our relationship with God.
Ananias and Sapphira did not have the fear the Lord. Their gift to the church from their land sale was not an act of worship. Rather, they put on a show to be admired for their “generosity” and to earn status in the eyes of others. Apparently, they viewed “church” as just another social ladder to climb. In pride, both told a premeditated lie (vv. 3–4, 9). They must have had a pretty low opinion of God if they thought they could fool Him in this way. Unsurprisingly, Satan was behind their actions.
Ananias and Sapphira were punished with death for their pride and lies. Among other things, they didn’t understand that “Humility is the fear of the LORD“ (Prov. 22:4). God is not to be tested or trifled with (v. 9). “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events” (v. 11). As God’s name had been dishonored by the couple’s actions, so their deaths brought Him glory. The church and a watching world learned a memorable lesson: Everyone was reminded of God’s greatness and power and that He absolutely must be approached with awe and reverence.
Go Deeper
What are your motivations for giving or for doing good deeds? Are there deeper layers that need exposing? If applicable, ask the Spirit to help you confess any sins in this area.
Pray with Us: Sin is powerful and destructive. As we read of Ananias and Sapphira, we are reminded of the dangers of pride and lack of the fear of the Lord. God, search our hearts and keep us humble! Reveal to us any hidden sin we should confess.
Fat Bear Week is held every year at Katmai National Park in Alaska. Twelve bears are entered into a bracket-style competition, with online viewers voting based on the bears’ success at fishing for salmon from the Brooks River. The winner in 2023 was a female bear named 128 Grazer. The National Park Service has been tracking her since she was a cub and called her one of the most skilled anglers in the region.
Luke 5 contains another good fishing story. Jesus boarded Peter’s boat so that He could put out from shore a bit and better teach the crowds. Sadly, Peter and Andrew hadn’t caught any fish all night. When Jesus gave the word, though, they let down their nets and miraculously caught so many that the nets were near breaking and the boat near sinking (vv. 6–7). They had to call James and John to help!
Peter knew he was in the presence of a Man who could do the impossible. He felt “astonished” at Jesus’s awe-inspiring display of power over creation, as well as a strong sense of his own sin and unworthiness. He fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (v. 8; see Isa. 6:5). In short, he felt the fear of the Lord. Though Peter had turned in the right direction, toward Jesus, the Lord still had to tell him, “Don’t be afraid” (v. 10). All four fishermen responded in faith to this miracle and to Jesus’s compelling and somewhat humorous call, “From now on you will fish for people” (vv. 10–11).
In this episode, Peter and the others felt God’s power and authority. They sensed that Jesus was the Son of God. They felt a fear that pulled them toward Him, and they left everything to become His disciples.
Go Deeper
How firm is your loyalty to being Christ’s disciple? What are you willing to do or endure? Compare your answers to the cost of discipleship outlined in Luke 14:25–27.
Pray with Us: Dear Lord, help us better understand the true cost of following You, of sacrifices and rewards of discipleship, and what it means to die to ourselves. Thank You that we can experience You through Your Word the way Peter and others did.
