Fearing God

I grew up in a home where the first day of the weeks were spent in church. Back then, it was more of a habit and a duty to wake up early for Sunday School in a Methodist church. Yet, I remembered anticipating excitedly the lessons and fun activities that were conducted by my teacher.  

 

Upon reflecting about the different phases and events in my life, I realized that my sinful nature and lack of knowledge in the scripture compelled me to do the things that  the Lord disproved of. Sadly, the characteristics I knew about Him were limited; I did not know how to fearfully love Him. Thus, I displeased Him due to my ignorance while I prioritized the mundaneness of life in the past. 

The topic, "Fear of God" was discussed by Pastor Jed for almost five years during the Wednesday prayer meetings. Through this series, I realized that God is not only loving, merciful, faithful, nor forgiving.  He ceases and withholds the rightful blessings and favors from a Christian. He also allows the lukewarm to have a miserable life, chastises the hardheaded in the process of rebellion (Hebrews 12:5-13). 

 

 

The Malonzo Family: (L-R) Matthew, Paul, Bro. Fiel, 

Sister Tak and Faith

 

Fearing God is best exemplified by our church's missionary family to Vietnam. Four years ago, Bro. Fiel, together with his wife and three children gave up their comfortable lives and high paying jobs. They put aside their worldly ambitions, trusted Him to steer their lives in a foreign land (despite the language barrier in the beginning) so they could share the gospel to those who have no inkling about our Father in heaven!

Fearing God further deepened their convictions. They equipped themselves by continuously studying His Word. Despite the many tears and heart aches from rejections, from uncontrollable events, from the familial problems their relatives unloaded to them; they persisted. They never gave in to discouragements. Their accountability to God far outweighed these. 

Fearing God equated to blessings. Bro. Fiel was hired as head of Training and Development for all branches at Pizza Hut Vietnam (the same international company he worked for in the Philippines). His wife, Sis. Tak  works from home as an HR Consultant for Recruitment and Selection for the Table Group, Inc. at OSM Ship Management. Concurrently, they have established various group ages who are learning about Jesus.

When most are busy hustling to make a living, they are using their lives to honor God. Their story is truly heartwarming because its framework is fearing God.