*Piety- n- reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations: the quality or state of being pious: dutiful respect or regard for parents, homeland, etc.:
*Syn.- 1. respect, veneration, awe. 2. godliness, devotion, devoutness, sanctity, holiness, faithfulness
* Hebrew- Yir’ah – fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety
“To sum up, remember that unless piety and your interest be in the same thing, piety cannot be maintained in any man.”-Epictetus
My Key Belief- Piety in its full manifestation comes directly from the Holy Spirit. Piety at this stage is something we cannot produce on our own. Let us think about what took place on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
Using the KJV, Isaiah 11:2 states- And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;-(i.e. Piety)
In this world, fear can be classified as alarming respect. For example, a lot of us have earthly levels of fear, i.e. a fear of flying, animals, truth, and what others do or say to us. The idiom works well here “Once bitten, twice shy” (If somebody is said to be once bitten twice shy, it means that someone who has been hurt or who has had something go wrong will be far more careful the next time.) Experiences of fear are great lessons, yea?
We unconsciously have respect of that fear by staying far away from it as possible and consciously have respect of by remembering the bite. Simply put- Fear of puts us in a position of being controlled by whatever the fear is. With that being said, it leads me to ask what a lot of us ponder in our hearts and mind. Why should we have fear /Yir’ah of the Lord? Specifically, why should we, when He says that He loves us? The reasons will come directly from the Word of God as shared below from Genesis 20 and other chapters about Abraham. I feel the Spirit working in my heart, as I write, so let me pray.
Prayer- Abba Father, Holy Spirit, let the focus and the truth manifest itself from Genesis 20 about piety. Out of all the other verses that speak of piety, you have led me here for a reason. Lord, thank you for the death of things and people you are removing and replacing in my life, even those things I fear letting go of. Lo, Father, I don’t understand why you need me to lose, but I know you will provide and renew in another area away from those and places that hinder my growth in you. All I ask is not to be moved too far away from my children and grandchildren. In Psalm 37, David said “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” You have called me out Lord to walk upon your many oceans without the fear of drowning as I trust in and give you all reverence due you. In Jesus name, let your Spirit lead others who read this to understand where this message fits in their life because your truth is deeper than we can even imagine. Amen. I’ve been led to share this song of worship with you. (TYHS)
This has been put in the order given to me, be not confused. Tis, the season of migration til we get to God’s POINT. (TYHS)
Genesis 20:11 – And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake. (What one thinks when one has a reverence of God and others do not) As the story goes, God came to Abimelech in a dream and put fear in which turned to fear of, so that Abimelech does right by a man who already has fear of God. In short, piety was produced by the Holy Spirit of God.
In Genesis 20:6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Can we agree that this example shows that piety keeps us from sinning against God?
Verse 17 -So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. Can we agree that piety allows one to be healed? Did God show Abimelech love?
Verses 7-8– Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. Can we agree that piety allows us to be obedient to the word of God without giving it a second thought? Can we agree that piety allows us to tell others about God’s power?
Verse 13-15 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. Can we agree that even piety of God exists within those that lie out of fear of what others may say or do to them?(Read the full story about Abraham) Can we agree that piety leads us to wander to get to the place God has set before us through other venues? (Oh Lord! TYHS!)
In closing I believe that upon receiving the gift of Piety from the Spirit of the Lord we can understand migrating to where God wants and needs us to be, forever in His presence.(TYHS):
Genesis 20:1– And Abraham journeyed from thence toward…..
Genesis 18:33 -And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Genesis 12:1– Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Genesis 15:1– After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. (God’s POINT)
A Key for you– Having Piety of God and a true interest in Him brings forth His love and shield of protection which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. For He alone is God.
Many thanks to you beloved readers for stopping by and spending time with my thoughts! I pray that you received a blessing and that you never be led astray by me nor others, from the Word of God. May the gift of Piety rest upon you. One more gift to go!
I Love You
Love Covers a Multitude of Sins
🙂 Sorry! The Holy Spirit wouldn’t let me end this…have to sneak in some Job
Biblical Thoughts 