I want to praise God for just being back at school. I know some students might not be excited to be back at school, but I personally miss school. It’s an opportunity to grow both spiritually and mentally. See, there’s something important to remember: learning itself is a gift from God.

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

Like in James, Solomon asked for wisdom when God visited him in a dream. God is generous when you desire to be wise; the key to learning wisdom is simple.

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

But what does that really mean exactly? Should we cower in fear whenever we think of him? No, absolutely not. Instead, fearing the lord is out of respect and love. See, fearing the Lord means that wisdom should start with a healthy fear of the Lord, a respect for his power, and remembering what he did for us.

So as we go into this next semester here at MVNU, remember throughout your studies, fear the lord, ask him for wisdom, and respect his power. 

“I killed people in the past,” Tanitan said, “but ever since I chose to believe in Jesus Christ, He will not allow me to commit such practices anymore.” Tanitan, a member of the Ilongot tribe from the Sierra Madre mountains in the Philippines, came from a culture of head-hunting—the practice of hunting humans and severing their heads. In comparing his life before he knew God to his life now, Tanitan said, “Before, I was afraid to die but not afraid to kill. Now, I am afraid to kill but not afraid to die.”

As I read Tanitan’s story in the book To the Headhunters of Sierra Madre by Florentino Santos, I thought of how his newfound fear of or reverence toward God developed his desire to obey Him. I remembered Moses’ words to the Israelites before they entered the land God promised them: “What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 10:2). Reverence toward God was to be reflected in obedience to Him. God’s people were to “walk in obedience to Him, to love Him . . . and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees” (vv. 12-13).

As believers in Jesus, our deep respect for God’s holiness compels us to hate evil and do what pleases Him (Proverbs 8:13). Let’s ask Him to help us make reverence toward God a way of life.

Read more from Our Daily Bread by clicking HERE

This week’s Name That Tune winner was Kevin from Mount Vernon, who won TWO $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica for correctly guessing… We Are Messengers – A Thousand Times

Tune in Tomorrow for the NZ Top 10 with Joe and Brock

Thanks so much for listening!

– Daniel