Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

"Alexander the coppersmith displayed to me much evil: the Lord will be paying him in accord with his acts --whom you also guard against, for very much has he withstood words of ours. At my first defense no one came along with me, but all forsook me. May it not be reckoned against them!. Yet the Lord stood beside me, and He invigorates me, that through me the heralding may be fully discharged, and all the nations should hear; and I am rescued out of the mouth of the lion. The Lord will be rescuing me from every wicked work and will be saving me for His celestial kingdom: to Whom be glory for the eons of the eons. Amen!"  (2 Timothy 4:14-18) Alexander the Coppersmith was most likely a witness for the prosecutor, and in his testimony brought  "evil"  accusations against Paul before the Roman tribunal. Paul had to testify for himself and had no friends there to testify on his behalf. Alexander was being used as a witness to impeach the character of Paul, and was lying

”He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.”  (Isaiah 33:6) I found the phrase  “fear of the Lord”  22 times in the New International Version of the Bible. Humanity is admonished to fear the Lord as a conscious CHOICE. That choice to fear the Lord is the key to the treasure of finding a sure foundation for loving God and our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. But God does not GIVE us a  "spirit of fear" . “God hath not given us the spirit of fear...”  (II Timothy 1:7). The choice to fear the Lord is the BEGINNING, not the end, of wisdom. It starts us on our journey to find that sin has been atoned for as the result of God's love and faithfulness. ”Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.”  (Proverbs 16:6) Unfortunately, the fear of God is where most Jews and Christians remain. But we are not to continue to fear Go