To fear Him is to love Him

Psalm 97:10 says : those who love the lord hate evil

If you equate this "Love" to the kind of "Love" that you and I are accustomed to, then it will be very confusing to understand the meaning.
Let me ask you this: Do you think the prodigal son hated his father? Neither do I.  I am sure the son loved his father as much as the "good" son did, but he just loved himself more.  You cannot apply that kind of love to the Lord.

There was a pastor that I was told somewhere in the states. Well spoken, charismatic, funny. He was a senior pastor of a mega church with 30 - 40 thousands congregation. People loved him and they flocked to wherever church he came to speak and most gave their life to the Lord at the end of the service. It was a manifestation of John chapter 1: "In him (the word of God) was life and that life gave light to the world".   The lord surely used him as a medium to transmit that light.  He also wrote books that promptly went on the bestsellers list.

But unbeknownst to his family, friends and the church, he loved evil. You see he was addicted to crack cocaine and in order to satisfy his expensive addiction, he depleted his bank account, his family's saving and when that was not enough, he helped himself from the church donation to the point where the mega church nearly filed for bankruptcy.

But the word of God is like a double edged sword and the same chapter (John 1) says "The light shines through the darkness and the darkness could not contain it". The pastor was exposed. The church sued and he was indicted and was thrown in jail.

An old friend of his (a pastor of a smaller church) went to visit him. After a brief conversation he asked him that one million dollar question. The question that everybody, even you while reading this wonder about.  "When did you stop loving the Lord?" to which the fallen pastor replied "What do you mean? I never stopped loving the Lord" and after a moment of silence he added "I just stopped fearing him".

How can you say you love the lord and not fear him? To love the Lord is to reverence him, to respect and honour him. Otherwise you are equating him to a mere mortal father.

Hypocrisy

The gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to those who believe
Roman 1:16

I am sure you know so many believers who know the bible inside out. They seem to know the exact chapter and verse for the exact moment. But the question you might want to ask is, do they really believe in its power.

You ever wonder who the bible is talking about when it says "The fool in his heart says there is no GOD"? (Psalm 114). I am sure the bible is not talking about an atheist, because an atheist doesn't think in his heart there is no God. He boldly denounces God. I believe this verse was meant for believers. Believers like you and me. Who doubts the power of the gospel. Superficially study the gospel and memorize it but deep in our heart, we doubt its power.  Salvation is not to those who know the bible inside out but to those who believe in its power.

A child was observing a hindu priest while he was doing his morning rituals. Surprised to see the priest placing a glass of milk and a plate of cookies next to a statue of a god, he asked "Sir, who is that for?"
The priest replied "Why, it's for the god of course"
"But this is a statue, it's a rock. You don't really expect it to drink that milk and eat those cookies, do you?"
The priest patiently and humbly replied again: "This might look a rock to you, my son. But to those of us who believe, I guarantee you this statue is as real as you and I. You just need a set of spiritual eyes  to see it. "

"Do you have "Spiritual" eyes,sir" the kid asked.
"Yes of course" replied the priest.
"What do you think I should do to get a set of spiritual eyes, sir", the kid asked
"Well I guess you just have to believe" The priest replied.

Nature called and the priest said to the kid "I have to go to the washroom. I will be right back"

The kid approached the statue, closed his eyes and prayed "I believe , I believe, I believe". Sure enough the statue suddenly became a  real person. He ate the cookies and  washed it down with the glass of milk and said "See you around, kid" and went back to being a statue again.  The kid was ecstatic.  He was both proud and happy that he has "spiritual" eyes just like the priest.  But when the priest came back and saw the milk and the cookies were gone and saw the kid with happy smile on his face standing next to the statue, he yelled " What have you done? Why did you eat the cookies and drink the milk. "
"No, sir," the child replied "It was the god. You were right. He became real, as you said and he ate the cookies and drank the milk and he said "see you around, kid" and went back to being a statue again"

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" the priest yelled and chased the kid out of the temple.

The moral of the story: What is the use of studying the bible and appear to be a believer if you yourself doubt the power that lies within it?

James 5:16 "The fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much"

Do you ever wonder what this verse really means? Who is bold enough to say that he or she is righteous.  The moment you boldly confess that you are righteous, you cease to become one. So who is that righteous person ? Also does this mean our prayer is not fervent enough? 

I used to struggle with this verse until I realized the answer was all along in Matthew 18:26. "Where there are tow or more gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. " So with HIM amongst us, our prayers become fervent enough to avail much.

So next time a believer says to you " No I don't need to go to church. I can worship and pray just as much in my house" , hit him or her with this verse.