Scripture verse is at the end of the devotional

Let’s go back about 55 years to when people didn’t have cable or satellite TV.  The only TV signals we received were from local stations within signal distance which was about 75 miles.  Beyond that, there wasn’t TV service.  A simple antenna was on the roof of each house in order to receive the signals.

Reception at times could be wonderful but frequently weather interfered and the TV screen was blurry or fuzzy and having big lines go through it.  The sound was also affected so that when reception wasn’t good any program was hardly worth watching or even listening to.

Into the above picture came my older brother with a Christmas gift to my parents.  When Mom opened it, she asked, “What is it?”  He said, “It’s a UHF antenna.”  She replied, “Like I said, what is it?”  The UHF stood for Ultra High Frequency.  There were TV stations nearby that sent different signals than the main stations we received from across the lake in Chicago.  Once we connected this small antenna we could receive their signals.  Obviously, we had never heard of it and were clueless.

That morning, in spite of the snow, I helped my brother climb up on the roof of our 2 story home and attach it to the pole of the regular antenna that was attached to the chimney.  One side memory of standing on the chimney with my brother holding my ankles while I attached the antenna was my dropping the wrench.  It slid across the roof and shot down and crashed into the rear window of our car!  Boy was my dad thrilled with that!

Well, we got the UHF antenna connected and my brother turned on the TV in front of everyone.  First he turned to our normal channels in Chicago 2, 5 and 7 (CBS, NBC & ABC).  Reception was poor.  Then he turned to each of the three UHF stations broadcasting from northern Indiana (16, 22 & 28).  The reception on each was crystal clear!!!  We were all stunned and my parents couldn’t believe it!!

We turned the TV back to the normal stations – crummy reception; and then back to UHF and perfect reception for the same programs!  WOW!  Many times over the years we all laughed about this story.  But here is the punch line of this story for today:  For all practical purposes, Christians today are as clueless about the fear of the Lord as we were back then about how to get good TV reception.

Just the mention of the fear of the Lord produces a negative reaction in many.  Often, “Perfect love drives out fear” is quoted.  But that verse is not talking about the fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord is not simply reverence – nor is it a negative.  It is a glorious positive in our lives that we desperately need. It is identified in Proverbs 14:27 as a fountain of life!  If this sounds strange to you, think of my Mom’s response holding the UHF antenna.  Also remember the radically results once it was connected.

To be continued…