Act 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
The other day, my wife was making a cheese casserole dish for dinner. The recipe called for rice, ground beef and sharp cheddar cheese. She had forgotten to put the main ingredient in; the cheese. As we sat down to eat it tasted kind of bland. There wasn’t really any flavor to it when she realized, “Oh my gosh! I forgot the cheese!” As I was reading this verse I noticed there we’re two “key” ingredients that gave the church peace
1. Fear
2. Comfort
Seems like an oxymoron for both to work together doesn’t it? However, we need both to have satisfaction in Jesus. If all you think about is the “fear” of the Lord (Which also means a “healthy” respect of the Lord) you’ll live a life of bondage. It’s “all” sharp cheese and no casserole. Then again, if all you dwell on is Jesus comfort without a healthy respect of Him you’ll have all casserole with no cheese. You’ll have a life that’s bland and tasteless. You have to know God’s holiness and judgment before you can have Gods peace. Peace begins with understanding who we really are and fearing God in His holiness. The Bible says, Pro 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. It starts with a healthy respect of who Jesus is then it causes us to seek comfort from Him. He is more than willing to give freely His comfort but comfort is not comfort if we do not fear God first. Do you have peace? Are you walking in the “fear” and “comfort” of Jesus? If not, check your casserole. You may be missing a key ingredient.
