For several years I’ve been reading stories of the miraculous things happening in the persecuted Church: stories of Christ appearing to Muslims in dreams and visions; stories of Christians protected by angels; stories of lions appearing to rescue Christians about to be beheaded. Many more such stories have been told. Are they believable? I believe that God is working in miraculous ways.

I have communicated with a handful of Christians native to persecuted areas. Many have now vanished from social media and email. I know this about them: they felt abandoned by the Church in the West, if not by God; they felt alone.

It is in our nature to sometimes feel alone in the struggle of righteousness, even here in the US. It is both easy and self-serving to believe we are the only ones standing against the post-Christian version of Baal worship. In truth, the Church in the West may be fooling itself into believing we are a part of the Church at all. Our faith paddles in comparison to the faith of Christians in Africa.

We in America may be a type of Church of Pergamum while the Church in Africa and the Middle East is the Church at Smyrna (see Revelation 2:8-17).

Yet, know matter how often or to what degree any of us feel abandoned, we never stand alone. God always has a remnant. Just as Elijah knew nothing of his 7000 contemporaries who had not bowed down to Baal, Christians worldwide are refusing to bow to the false gods of this world. We are not alone, even when we stand unto death.

Christ said, “For I am with you always, even into the end of the earth.” He is with us, and there is always a remnant.

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Persecution of Christians Nears Genocide – Read More…

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I imagine times are tough for two of my Christian friends who live in Muslim countries. Both have disappeared from social media for months. I had just been composing stories about them for publication here when they stopped corresponding. I fear the worst. Though we are not facing persecution in America, we, too, live in tough times.

The last two presidents have polarized the public in ways I had never dreamed possible. Liberals now mistrust and fear conservatives the same way that conservatives mistrusted liberals during the last administration.

No longer are our national leaders people of good moral fiber. They, in fact, seem to pride themselves in personal debauchery. No one trusts national elections to be honest. Everyone fears that, someday, a president will simply refuse to step down. Not a week goes by without some publication mentioning a looming civil war. No one has stepped forward on the national level to provide true leadership both politically and morally.

Hard times, though, are not all political. Both conservatives and liberals ignore or neglect the true scope of many social problems. The disappearance of the middle class, the plight of the working poor, homelessness, and legalized abortion all seem to be problems that no one on the national level dares to address. The collapsing healthcare system is just one symptom of a larger problem: the disappearance of quality jobs. Everyone but the super-wealthy suffers. But, no one left or right wants to see the bigger issue.

Yet, no where in my Bible do I find where it says, “Follow me, and I will give you a perfect economy, a caring government, and money to fight your cancer (for example).”

Jesus sees things from an eternal perspective, where we see only the past and the immediate. Our God does make several promises of an eternal nature to which we – I – should greatly cling.

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

• Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

• Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

• Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

• Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

How does one accomplish such “beautiful attitudes?” By prayerful and determinedly seeking the heart and mind of Jesus Christ.

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I love the sentiment from this Catholic prayer of contrition. It indirectly points to the Good News: We don’t have to die rather than sin again. Jesus has died for us, paid the price, and won victory over death. Because of His sacrifice, God forgives us of our sin, all of it. Our only duties are to repent and believe in (put our trust in) Jesus Christ, God will forgive us of all sin and unrighteousness. And, He will give us the power to find victory over sin so that we do not have to live as a slave bound in darkness. We are free indeed.

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We must remember: God’s love is perfect; His timing is impeccable. His ways are above our ways, and we cannot comprehend.

Only Trust Him.

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There are many obstacles to pursuing holiness in the Western Church of the 21st Century. Two of the most impeding are polar opposites.

The first is the idea that if you don’t pray enough, read your Bible enough, or go to church enough, God will be angry at you or love you less. This is legalism and it is absolutely wrong. You didn’t do a thing to earn God’s love, so how can you lose it? His love is unconditional. He loves us because His Son loves us so much that He laid down His life for us.

The second obstacle is, as I said, just the opposite. It is the idea that, because Grace is not conditional, we can then do whatever we want… abuse alcohol, indulge in sexual perversion, and abandon Christian ethics, and that none of that matters because we are, after all, simply human and frail. After all, according to this line of thought, we didn’t earn our salvation, so we cannot lose it. This is lawlessness, or Antinomianism. It is wrong because Christ asks us to walk with Him. He expects us to share His yoke. He compels us to pick up our own cross and follow Him.

Either of these two extremes, lawlessness or legalism, leads to bondage. The one who is truly saved realizes that his (or her) salvation depends on faith alone. The one who has truly been rescued by God from sin does not continue to live in depravity because that one is so full of God’s love (and love for others) that there is no room for debauchery. We love Him so much that we dare not again step away into a life of sin.

We find freedom only when we first acknowledge that our very breath is dependent upon Him, and then walk beside Him, holding the hand of the one who would guide us. Only then may we find rest.

From Steve Hager, The Quest for the Mind of Christ.  

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FIRST, I shall endeavor to show you in what respects we are to understand this assertion of our Lord’s, “that we must be converted and become like little children.” I shall then, 

SECONDLY, Speak to those who profess a little of this child-like temper, 

And LASTLY, shall speak to you, who have no reason to think that this change has ever past upon your souls. And I shall endeavor to show you, what we are to understand by our Lord’s saying, “Except ye be converted and become as little children.” But I think, before I speak to this point, it may be proper to premise one or two particulars. 

     I think, that the words plainly imply, that before you or I can have any well-grounded, scriptural hope, of being happy in a future state, there must be some great, some notable, and amazing change pass upon our souls. I believe, there is not one adult person in the congregation, but will readily confess, that a great change hath past upon their bodies, since they came first into the world, and were infants dandled upon their mother’s knees. It is true, ye have no more members than ye had then, but how are these altered! Though you are in one respect the same ye were, for the number of your limbs, and as to the shape of your body, yet if a person that knew you when ye were in your cradle, had been absent from you for some years, and saw you when grown up, then thousand to one if he would know you at all, ye are so altered, so different from what ye were, when ye were little ones. And as the words plainly imply, that there has a great change past upon our bodies since we were children, so before we can go to heaven, there must as great a change pass upon our souls. Our souls considered in a physical sense are still the same, there is to be no philosophical change wrought on them. But then, as for our temper, habit and conduct, we must be so changed and altered, that those who knew us the other day, when in a state of sin, and before we knew Christ, and are acquainted with us now, must see such an alteration, that they may stand as much amazed at it, as a person at the alteration wrought on any person he has not seen for twenty years from his infancy.      But I think it proper to premise something farther, because this text is the grand strong-hold of Arminians, and others. They learn of the devil to bring texts to propagate bad principles: when the devil had a mind to tempt Jesus Christ, because Christ quoted scripture, therefore Satan did so too. And such persons, that their doctrine and bad principles may go down the better, would fain persuade unwary and unstable souls, that they are founded upon the word of God. Though the doctrine of original sin, is a doctrine written in such legible characters in the word of God, that he who runs may read it; and though, I think, everything without us, and everything within us, plainly proclaims that we are fallen creatures; though the very heathens, who had no other light, but the dim light of unassisted reason, complained of this, for they felt the wound, and discovered the disease, but were ignorant of the cause of it; yet there are too many persons of those who have been baptized in the name of Christ, that dare to speak against the doctrine of original sin, and are angry with those ill-natured ministers, who paint man in such black colors. Say they, “It cannot be that children come into the world with the guild of Adam’s sin lying upon them.” Why? Desire them to prove it from Scripture, and they will urge this very text, our Lord tells us, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Now their argument runs thus, “It is implied in the words of the text, that little children are innocent, and that they come into the world like a mere blank piece of white paper, otherwise our Lord must argue absurdly, for he could never pretend to say, that we must be converted, and be made like wicked creatures; that would be no conversion.” But, my dear friends, this is to make Jesus Christ speak what he never intended, and what cannot be deduced from his words. That little children are guilty, I mean, that they are conceived and born in sin, is plain from the whole tenor of the book of God. David was a man after God’s own heart, yet, says he, “I was conceived in sin.” Jeremiah speaking of every one’s heart, says, “the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things.” God’s servants unanimously declare, (and Paul cites it from one of them) “that we are altogether now become abominable, altogether gone out of the way of original righteousness, there is not one of us that doeth good (by nature), no not one.” And I appeal to any of you that are mothers and fathers, if ye do not discern original sin or corruption in your children, as soon as they come into the world; and as they grow up, if ye do not discover self-will, and an aversion to goodness. What is the reason your children are so averse to instruction, but because they bring enmity into the world with them, against a good and gracious God? So then, it is plain from scripture and fact, that children are born in sin, and consequently that they are children of wrath. And for my part, I think, that the death of every child is a plain proof of original sin; sickness and death came into the world by sin, and it seems not consistent with God’s goodness and justice, to let a little child be sick or die, unless Adam’s first sin was imputed to him. If any charge God with injustice for imputing Adam’s sin to a little child, behold we have gotten a second Adam, to bring our children to him. Therefore, when our Lord says, “unless ye are converted, and become as little children,” we are not to understand, as though our Lord would insinuate, that little children are perfectly innocent; but in a comparative, and as I shall show you by and by, in a rational sense. Little children are innocent, compare them with grown people; but take them as they are, and as they come into the world, they have hearts that are sensual, and minds which are carnal. And I mention this with the greatest concern, because I verily believe, unless parents are convinced of this, they will never take proper care of their children’s education. If parents were convinced, that children’s hearts were so bad as they are, you would never be fond of letting them go to balls, assemblies, and plays, the natural tendency of which is to debauch their minds, and make them the children of the devil. If parents were convinced of this, I believe they would pray more, when they bring their children to be baptized, and would not make it a mere matter of form. And I believe, if they really were convinced, that their children were conceived in sin, they would always put up that petition, before their children came into the world, which I have heard that a good woman always did put up, “Lord Jesus, let me never bear a child for hell or the devil.” O! is it not to be feared, that thousands of children will appear, at the great day, before God, and in presence of angels and men will say, Father and mother, next to the wickedness of mine own heart, I owe my damnation to your bad education of me.

We will continue this message from George Whitefield next Sunday, on Christian Holiness Sunday.

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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The oldest business in the USA is not the Hartford Courant Newspaper, established in 1764, 254 years ago. It is not the Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Roller Mill in, established 293 years ago in 1725. The oldest business in the USA is not even White House Tavern established in 1673 in Newport, Rhode Island. 345 years old. The oldest business in the US is found in Charles City, Virginia.

Established in 1613, the Shirley Plantation has been run for 405 years by the same family. The beautiful farm, the childhood home of Robert E Lee’s mother, is today an National Historic Landmark. The bottom floor of the home is used only for tours. The Hill Carter family occupies the upper floors.

We are discussing the word established today on Christian Holiness Daily.

This week and next we are looking at salvation and how Good changes the lives of those who are saved. We’ve been drilling down into Colossians 2:6-7, which reads

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

We’ve talked about being rooted, deep and wide, like a tree. We’ve talked about being renovated or built up. Today we look at the word “established.” Established in the faith.

What does it means to be established? Notice I’m not asking how one goes about establishing something – a business, for example. To establish something is the active sense of the word. The Greek word translated established here in Colossians – like the words translated rooted and built – is a passive word. We were established. It is something imparted to us.

It is saying, “The Hartford Courant was established in 1764” as opposed to saying, Thomas Green established the Hartford Courant.

Paul, a gifted Greek writer choose three tenses for this verse, something we would normally not catch. If it was important to Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to choose three tenses, then we should try to figure out why. The first clause, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord is past perfect tense. It is done. It is a fact. It is over. We received Him, the Lord. It was a one-time event that need not redoing because He never leaves us or forsakes us.

As I said already, the words rooted, built up, and established are passive, and they speak to us about sanctification. Because they are passive, we know that Paul does not imply that the Colossians Church rooted themselves. They did not build themselves up. They did not establish themselves. Rather God rooted the in faith. God built them up. God established them in faith. And He established us, roots us, and builds us up in Christ, as He explains that it is God who established us in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.

So what does the Greek word mean that is translated here as established? It can also mean to be attested.

So, God has given us Jesus as Lord. He had rooted us so that we may not be toppeled or fall. He has built us up, perfecting our love and our faith. And he has established us, attesting that we are His.

Do you see a trend. These verses speak to our salvation and the sanctification that follows, but it is all about Him. Our job is only to allow Him to work in us.

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Beverly Sinclair was a spinster heiress who lived in a mansion of enormous size during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is the main character in a short story I wrote a few years ago. She was considered eccentric by folks who knew her, a spooky old witch by children, and foolish by most. Foolish because she – who never married and had no close family – lived with her three cats alone in a 42-room palatial home.

What made her eccentric was that the home wasn’t always so big. When she inherited her fortune from her father, the home was a impressive Victorian-style home with five bedrooms, a parlor, kitchen, dining room, basement, and three bathrooms. Over the years, she added two more wings to the home, including a gymnasium, indoor pool, sunroom, library, two additional kitchens, three formal dining rooms, two more parlors, ten more bedrooms and eleven bathrooms. She would build something one year and tear it down the next. She was never happy with the work, and always improving on it.

It was said that old lady Sinclair, as she was known, kept the same general contractor employed her entire life and that she would never hire anyone else to do the work. She hired him first in 1889 and he was still working on the place when she died in 1943.

Long after she died a girl from the local historical society discovered in her journals that Sinclair had been in love with the contractor but had never told him because she was married. He was the reason she had never married. Hiring him to renovate the home was the only way she could see him. Renovations continued until the day she died.

I did not write the story as an analogy of the Christian life, but when I read Colossians 2:6 and thought of the word built this story came to mind. Our walk with Christ is much the same as this story. When Christ saves us he goes to work on us, tearing out the old and building the new, adding a room here and testing down a room there. He loves us too much to allow us to live a dark, putrid life and we love Him enough to let Him enough to keep working.

Colossians 2:6 reads this way:

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith

The word built in that verse is passive, we do not go build ourselves. Christ builds us and perfects us and does not stop working on us until death. Why? He is building and perfecting His body, His home, die He dwells in us, according to Acts 17:24. We are the temple not built by human hands. What then are we to do in this whole process? Allow Him to continue to work in us. Do not quench the Spirit of God (1 Thessalonians 5:19, Ephesians 6:30).

Besides, how can we, mere humans, expect to improve on what God builds?
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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Blessed are the Meek.

Meek – We are to find the term by its application to character. We find there is no one thing that is so exalted and so insisted upon, or so held up as the crowning glory of Christian life as meekness. Perhaps it is because it is not simply one thing but a blending of many things.

Jesus Christ applies it to Himself as making up much of His character, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Paul in writing to the Corinthians said, “Now, I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ,” and in writing to Titus, He makes a very touching appeal to the church. There were many things they should not do, and many things they should do, in the trying condition in which they were placed, the sum of which was that they should show of all meekness and to all men.

One of the elements of meekness is humility. Humility is essentially a Christian virtue. It is not simply an absence of pride and arrogance, but an adjustment of our feelings toward others which comes from having been made a partaker of the Spirit of Him a who regards every human being as of infinite value.

Humility is not an underestimate of self. No one who properly values others can fail to feel and be thankful for his own relation to God, and for God’s thoughts of him. He realizes his own infinite value in the site of God, that he is one of this great family, all of whom he knows are anxious to serve Jesus.

Gentleness is also an element of meekness. That sweetness of spirit, of touch, that reverence for established usages, a readiness for every good work, speaking the evil of no man.

Meekness is the ability to bear and to endure. That great passive quality by which a man pursues his way regardless of difficulties. It receives the opposition of the enemies without becoming their enemy. It receives the blows of this world without resentment. This does not mean that a meek person is never to contend against the wrong, nor that he is never to resist personal violence. It means that back of all is faith in God, and love to all men.

Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth. The earth here means “land” and as reference to the promised land. What the land was to Israel, what it prefigured to the Church of God, is the meaning of this promise. The histories of the Old Testament or full are spiritual lessons for the New. In all of them there is a meaning far deeper into other than what appears on the surface. God has intended that it should be so. He has intended that that these histories should be types of human life and that through them He should be able to pour the light of His love.

Have you ever looked with earnest longing into the Word of God to see if there was a better way? Have you heard the clear statement of God’s Word in reference to the hear being mad holy and even commanded to be holy? Have you heard, “For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Do you wait in the attitude of desire and expectancy? Can you say, with Charles Wesley:

Lord, I believe a rest remains

To all Thy people known,

A rest where pure enjoyment reigns,

And Thou are loved alone.”

Does the hope looking up in you as you wait sing out with these words:

Oh glorious hope of perfect love!

It lifts me up to things above,

It bears on eagles’ wings;

It gives my ravished soul a taste,

And makes me for some moments feast

With Jesus’ priests and kings.

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Eritrea is called the North Korea of Africa. Cut out of the north end of Ethiopia, it is squeezed between Sudan and Djibouti on the Red Sea. It began its struggle to break away from Ethiopia in the 1960s and spent most of the next 50 years at war with that nation. The tiny nation has seen so much war that, for two years, it was responsible for the majority of refugees entering Europe. Even though the country has known peace in the past few years, its government – like that of North Korea – is so repressive, over 3% of its population has fled country.

Like most authoritarian nations, the elite grow obscenely wealthy, the masses starve, and the a dictator wrestles for control of freedoms, including freedom of religion. In Eritrea, about half the people are Islamic and the other half are Christian, but only three Christian churches are recognized: The Catholic Church, the Orthodox (Coptic) Church, and the Lutherans. All others are illegal.

Other churches may register with the government, but registration is such a complicated, lengthy, and invasive processes that the independent church registration has ground to a halt.

Many churches, then, meet in secret, illegally.

The Voice of the Martyrs just released the story of a worship leader in Eritrea – Helen Bethany – who was arrested for her participation in an outlawed church. She was imprisoned for 10 months, kept locked in a shipping container with a severely mentally handicapped woman. The woman physically abused her.

In spite of her imprisonment in such harsh conditions, Helen sang and prayed throughout the ordeal, even when guards beat her for it. She explains why she sang in this quote from The Voice of the Martyrs News, August 14, 2018:

When I was in prison just worshiping, [it] just kind of gave me strength. Also when you sing, it’s a heavy stone on the head of Satan, because he put you in these kind of things and when you start worshiping he is shocked. People don’t understand when something happen they close their door and cry … so he comes with other kind of [trials] or you repeat the same exam.

But when you start worshiping God … it is totally no space for Satan to attack you again and again.

What does following Jesus cost you? Your very life. Jesus tells us to consider the cost before we commit to Him, for we must give Him that which we love most: everything that we are, everything that we do, and everything that we ever hope to be. The cost is the commitment of our entire life. Our life is His to use as He pleases or to take as He wishes, for only He sees it from the unique perspective of the all-knowing creator of life. It is His breath in these lungs that I so foolishly consider my own. Who am I to argue with the very essence of life? All that I am is His.

My Tribute – by Andre’ Crouch

How can I say thanks for the things

You have done for me?

Things so undeserved yet You gave

To prove Your love for me

The voices of a million angels

Could not express my gratitude

All that I am, and ever hope to be

I owe it all to Thee

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Grant never sought command over the armed forces Union. He sought only a role commensurate with his West Point training and experience. He was certainly not pro-slavery, but had never taken a stand against it prior to the war. He had – in fact – worked his Missouri farm using slaves that were given to him by his father-in-law. Early in the war, though, he was compelled to take a radical stand. Long before Lincoln freed the slaves, General Grant declared that the nation could remain united only if all men were free. He sought only to lead his troops, but because of his dogged determination and brilliant mind, he soon led the North into new hope and onward toward victory.

Even before Grant defeated Lee, he became a hero. The press followed him everywhere. His likeness appeared on front pages from Washington to Maine. Both Democrats and Republicans talked of nominating him for President in 1864. Congress reinstituted the rank of Lieutenant General to honor him, a rank that was retired after George Washington died. Abraham Lincoln, who had ascertained that Grant abhorred the idea of running for president, concurred with Congress and made Grant General of the Army of the United States. If Grant did not seek greatness, it was certainly thrust upon him.

Though his life is largely forgotten by generations of Americans who can barely describe the Civil War or identify Lincoln, and though his life has been misrepresented in the media, I have to wonder what made him great. Why was Grant a hero and hailed as our country’s savior before he had even set upon the task of vanquishing the Confederate Army in the East?

While one can hardly reduce his appeal to one aspect, the man did possess one quality that stands out in every biography, good or bad, old or new. Even those histories that wrongly portray him as a drunkard mention this one quality as a key to his success. He never gave up.

In the Battle of the Wilderness, in early 1864, Grant – for the first time – faces off in battle against Robert E. Lee. Lee, as brilliant and cunning and determined as Grant, has the advantage of fighting at home. He knows the country, and the terrain. The people of Virginia are Lee’s family and neighbors. They support him. Grant is the invader, far from home, unfamiliar with the country, and faces odds that seem insurmountable. Lesser men than Grant would have fallen back. In fact, other Generals had encountered Lee had previously won victories in the same part of Virginia. Many Union Generals were wary of Lee; all of them respected him. Grant, though, was determined. It was his determination that at him apart from all others and accounted for much of his mass appeal.

Sure, other Union generals were determined, but Grant never faltered, even when the cards were stacked against him. One incident in the Wilderness Campaign illustrates that point. Grants armies were facing off against Lee’s in what is better described as a jungle than a wilderness. Old growth trees, impenetrable undergrowth, unfamiliarity with the lay of the land, fog and smoke were as much an ememy to Union troops as the Confederate soldiers. After initial setbacks, Grant regrouped and began again.

Grant had purposefully been silent, telling Lincoln little about the progress of the battle. One day, though, he discovered a reporter had decided to sneak through the lines to Washington to file a story. Grant called him aside and, in a hushed tone, said, “If you see the President, tell him for me, that whatever happens, there will be no turning back.”

That determined attitude, the short that resolves “No Turning Back,” is one thing missing in the lives of many Christians today. Determination… Discipline… And Faith are all a part of the walk with Christ. If we truly seek the heart and mind of Christ, we must first repent of our sins, trust in Jesus, allow His Spirit to live through us, allow Him to discipline us, and finally determine to follow Him. No turning back.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

An old hymn is worth recalling:

I have decided to follow Jesus;

I have decided to follow Jesus;

I have decided to follow Jesus;

No turning back, no turning back.

Tho’ none go with me, still I will follow,

Tho’ none go with me still I will follow,

Tho’ none go with me, still I will follow;

No turning back, no turning back.

My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;

My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus,

My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus;

No turning back, no turning back.

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

Source

I have received a few messages, though, from people asking how I could say that they are not a good Christian just because they didn’t choose the path of full-time ministry.

I am sorry that I did not make myself clear. You should not go away from here thinking that I don’t believe that Christians should do any work besides preaching or being a missionary. That is not what I am saying, at all. What I am saying is this: Christians cannot separate the sacred from the secular. We are all called to be missionaries to the lost around us. We are all called to be the pastors of our home. We are called to be teachers to our children. We are called to be deacons to the poor, orphaned, and widowed. We cannot separate who we are at work from who we are at church from who we are at home. We have one life to live, and it is to be lived as the living image of God 24/7, not just from 9 to noon on Sunday.

God Understands that Even His Children Must Work

God understands that even His children must work. Peter, James, and John fished to support themselves. Paul was a tentmaker, even while he was a missionary. Even Jesus worked as a carpenter. God knows that we must work for it was part of His divine plan from creation. Adam’s job was to tend the garden and have dominion over the earth.

From the minute we wake up in the morning until the last thought in our sleepy nighttime brains, our mission is to live out Christ’s life, even at work. Do you see work as a necessary evil or an opportunity to spread the Good News? You understand, don’t you, that this is not just true of work; Everywhere we go and everything do is an opportunity to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. And it is our mission to do just that.

How do we spread the Good News of Christ? Through our love. Every one of us have the capacity to love. Allowing the love of Christ to flow out of us and reach others is how we win others to the Kingdom of God. Most of us love ourselves. Most of us love our families. Many of us love our neighbors. Few of us love our enemies. Yet, Christ commands us to love, just as He loves us. How did He love us? While we were His enemies, while we were living in the filth and shame of sin, while we hated Him, while we were denying His deity, His very existence, or hoping in our sin that He did not exist, He loved us, and died for us. In that same way, we are to love others. “A new command I give you. Love one another as I have loved you.” While we were stuck in sin, God said, “I love you, man.” In that way, through His love, you can be a missionary wherever God has placed you.

You may not think that your part in the Kingdom or God is important. You may not believe that your prayers matter, that your testimony at your workplace is significant, but it is. Is the missionary who preaches the Gospel in the tribal villages of Papua New Guinea any less important to the work of God than the doctor who treats and heals the sick in the name of Jesus in India? Is the doctor in India more important to the Kingdom of God than the volunteer who feeds the hungry in the name of Jesus in Somalia? Is the volunteer in Somalia more important to the Kingdom of God than the usher at the theater who greets people with the love of Christ? Is the Christian usher more important than the widow who faithfully prays for her church, friends, and family? We all have a job to do, and it is all the same job: wherever God has put us to work, we are to work for the glory of God. 1 Corinthian 10:31

CONCLUSION –

What does it take to live out the Mission of the Church? Let’s take a look at the Great Commission and see exactly what it says:

1. Believe in the Lordship, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus – “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
2. Repent of your sins and ask forgiveness – and repentance for the forgiveness of sins
3. Share the Good News of Jesus Christ wherever you go, whatever you do – will be preached in his name to all nations,
4. Starting at Home – beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.  I am going to send you what my Father has promised;
5. Camp Out at this altar until you are filled with the Holy Spirit – but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

_________________________

Christian Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

Source

The Mission Field begins 2’ outside the church door.

Just as we compartmentalize our lives into the sacred and the secular, we have relegated missions to missionaries. Maybe we entertain one missionary a year. Maybe we talk about missions in our Sunday service twice a year. Maybe we have a WMS program three times a year. Some of us might actually read a mission book. But do you see the problem? We think of missions as a department, for people who are called to that duty. And, those of us who have a burden for missions, we may even spend our vacation on a work and witness trip. But we forget that the mission field begins two feet outside the church door.

The Mission of the Church is not just missions. Missions is only part of the mission of the Church.

We are the Messengers of Jesus Christ

Chris Wright, in his book, The Mission of God’s People, asks this question: What kind of person is your mail carrier? Is he a good man? Or is he a bad man? Does he go to church? Does he cheat on his wife? Does he rob his favorite magazines from the mail? Does he follow children through the park? You don’t know because it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters to you about your mail carrier is what should matter: does he or she deliver the mail safely, faithfully, and on time. He is simply a messenger and can be replaced easily by a mail server and two computers. The same cannot be said about you and me. We are the messenger who delivers the Good News of Jesus Christ. For us to be most effective, we must surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and allow Him to make us Holy and Pure.

How many people do you know that are pure and holy? How many Nazarenes do you know that are pure and holy? How many people do know in the Nazarene Church that even believe they can live a holy life? That believe in Entire Sanctification? That even believe in REPENTANCE?

Source

I once went on a job interview and one of the questions asked me was if I had ever read the company’s mission statement. As a matter of fact, I had, for I had just researched that company, soaking up everything I could learn. When asked what I thought of it, I did not want to tell him that I frankly thought it was gobbly-gook because it had little to do with the company’s true mission. Here is that mission statement: see if you can figure out what type of company it is:

Collectively, we are proud and passionate about providing the world’s best customer experience. This vision aligns with our mission — that we are earnest about achieving superior results. Our associates are inspired by their belief in the motivating principles of the Dynamic Organization and are determined to deliver an outstanding customer experience.  – This is from a cellular phone company.

Here are a few more mission statements from the world’s top companies. See if you can identify the company:

1. “To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” – Facebook
2. “To be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information, using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer products.” – Disney
3. “Dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.” – Southwest Airlines
4. OUR MISSION GREATLY EXCEEDS OUR GUESTS EXPECTATIONS

• We Shine in Everything We Do by exhibiting God’s love in every interaction with guests and team members.
• We Keep our Guests Safe by…
• • Loving one another as we do ourselves.
  • Thoroughly training every member of our team.
  • Thoroughly training each and every guest.
• We Achieve Excellence through…
• • Teamwork.
  • Constantly encouraging and rewarding team members.
  • Recognizing team members who go above and beyond.
  • By doing all things in a manner consistent with the values and morals exhibited by Jesus Christ.
• We Constantly Improve by…
• • Encouraging ideas from our team members and guests.
  • By reading online reviews of our guests and learning from them.
  • By managing safety and cleanliness.
  • By presenting a clean, family-friendly, and safe environment.
  • By setting the example for others both on the job and off.
• The last statement is one I created for a business I manage.

So today, I ask you, “What is the mission statement of the church?” What do you think?

Here is the mission statement from the Nazarene World Headquarters website.

The mission of the Church of the Nazarene is to make Christlike disciples in the nations.

We’re studying the mission of the Church this week

on Christian Holiness Daily.

Source

In an earlier devotion on Christian Holiness Daily, we learned that it is God’s will that we be sanctified, or filled with the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:3). After Paul proclaims this to his readers, he expounds on what is expected out of those whom Christ sanctifies.

• Abstain from sexual immorality
• Love one another
• In verse 11 of that same chapter, he says that we are to live a quiet life. What does Paul mean, though, when he uses the word quiet?
• Paul’s life seemed to be anything but quiet. He traveled from town-to-town preaching first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, bringing a new message – and one that few wanted to accept – and stirred up so much trouble that he found himself often in jail, stoned and left for dead, beaten, and eventually martyred. Ask and the definition of quiet life, I doubt any of the items on that list are mentioned.
• When I think of a quiet life, I think of a cabin in the woods, off grid, and a room full of books.
• Others may think of a sailboat on a calm sea, or a fishing boat on a still lake. Some might picture a horseback ride or a cross-country trip on a Harley. Though peaceful, I doubt any of those images are what Paul had in mind when he wrote of the quiet life. Paul’s idea of quiet can be determined from his other epistles.

• The first clue that we find about Paul’s definition of quiet is Romans 12:18, where he gives similar advise:

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. – ESV

Peace and quiet are synonymous. In this passage Paul ads a qualifying clause, If possible…

In Paul’s life, peace and quiet wasn’t always possible, for it wasn’t always up to him whether he lived at peace.

• Galatians 5:22 tells us the same thing that Paul tells us here in 1 Thessalonians 4, but it is more succinct: the fruit of the Spirit is peace.
• In Philippians 4:7, he urges us to allow our hearts to be guided by the peace that comes through the Holy Spirit.
• In Romans 14:19, he urges us to make every effort to bring peace into our lives.
• As with every aspect of sanctification, living in peace or living a quiet life is only possible if we allow the Holy Spirit to rule (take charge) in our lives daily.
• If He is not the King of our hearts, then the best that we can hope for is brief calm often followed by a ferocious storm.
• If we allow the Holy Spirit to reign, then we too can say (like Paul),

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Source

“Awww… Why do I have to take a bath?” Nancy complained as her dad called her into the house. “Yeah,” agreed her little brother, Billy. “We already washed!”

Their dad tried his best to suppress his grin, but didn’t quite succeed. Mother, on the other hand, was not amused in the least. She gently swatted at Nancy’s bottom as she came in the house. “Take a bath, now, young lady.” Turning to Billy with folded arms, she said, “and you, too, young man.” The children avoided Mom’s eyes and marched into the bathroom.

Billy, four, just could not understand why he needed a bath, for – after all – they had been playing in the rain. The rain is clean, isn’t it? When he climbed up on a step and looked in the mirror, he saw was a clean face and a bright smile. He licked his finger and smoothed his curly black hair. “But, Mom!” he called. “I don’t need a bath!”

“You did it now,” said Nancy, who had already crawled into the waiting bubble bath, and was dutifully scrubbing away mud and grime.

“Get in the tub,” Mom said, grabbing Billy by the ear with just a little less force than a bulldozer. She led him to the tub and made him crawl in. “WASH,” she commanded. She stormed out of the room.

“Now look, you made her angry at us,” said Nancy.

“Did not.”

“Did, too.”‘

“It’s your fault. If you hadn’t already started taking a bath…”

“It’s not my fault,” insisted Nancy.

Dad came in and sat down by the tub. Wash cloth in hand, he checked behind their ears, and rewashed their necks. “Now,” he said. “Good as new. Now, get dressed for bed.”

Billy climbed up to the mirror again. “I don’t look any different than before.”

“You still look like a wild pig,” said Nancy, laughing at her little brother.

“You don’t think the bath did any good?” Dad asked Billy.

“Nope,” replied the boy. “I had already washed outside in the puddles.”

Dad nodded at the slow-draining tub. “Then where did all this dirt come from?”

Billy and Nancy peered into the tub of dirty water. Their jaws dropped.

“It’s all from her, Dad. I was already clean,” said Billy.

Sometimes, even when we think we are clean, our Father knows better.

Source

Those of you who have children will likely know what I mean when I say that raising boys is completely different than raising girls. It is true in many different ways. For example, when my boys misbehaved, they world rarely confess to doing anything wrong, even when caught red-handed. My girl, though, when corrected would always tearfully repent of her wrongdoing – whatever it was – and promise to change. As Christians, we should be more like my girl, ready to repent when we’ve sinned.

Repentance is perhaps the most important aspect of our relationship with God. Without true repentance, there is no salvation. Matthew tells us in chapter 4 that, from the beginning of His ministry, Jesus began to “preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'” (v. 17 NKJV).

On the Day of Pentecost, at the birth of the Church, Peter – filled with the Holy Spirit – preached a moving sermon. Everyone within earshot was cut to the quick. “What do we do?” They asked.

“Repent and be baptized in the name of Christ Jesus for the remission of sins,” Peter answered, “and you will receive the Holy Spirit.”

If repentance was message of Christ, and if repentance was the message of the Apostles, then what role should it play in our lives – me and you, 21st century believers?

Repentance should be central to our relationship with Christ. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31 that he died daily. As for myself, before I get out of bed in the morning, I lay down my life before the Lord, telling Him that I am a weak and lowly sinner who, without the presence of His Holy Spirit, can never change. And I beg Him to fill me anew and provide the power to make it through another day.

And, if I do sin, I immediately confess it repent of it, and pray for more strength so that I don’t do it again. John, in his first epistle (2:1-2 NKJV) tells us that we should not sin, but indicates that he knows we will.

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

And, that’s just it. We are liable to sin; we are only human. But if we fully surrender to God, He will live through us. If He lives through us, then we will find that those same old sins – those ones that always trap us in a snare – we’ll find they no longer tempt us.

Once God deals with the major sins in our life, then He will begin showing us sins that we thought we had kept hidden from Him, or that He didn’t care about. This is how we know that God loves us. He loves us too much to let us continue living in an manner that will rob us of His joy.

God is not a ruthless tyrant who restricts us from all worldly pleasure. On the contrary, He is a loving Father who desires only the best things for His children.

He loves us so much that He carefully watches over us. When we wander, he knows our every step, never letting us out of His sight. He collects all our tears like precious oils (Psalm 56:8).

God is like the dad who takes his child to the playground. He turns loose of the child so she may run and jump and climb and swing (how would she learn to grow, if he didn’t) but he never takes eyes off her, and he’s there to dry her tears if she falls.

I beg of you: confess and repent of your sins, and ask God to fill you with His Spirit, giving you the strength and the love to change, for we are unable to change on our own. He is not an abusive Father; He won’t be angry when you repent. He will try your tears, hold you in His arms, and fill you with the joy of His perfect love. What good father can resist hugging a crying child?

Source

One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

One Minute Bible

Matthew 25:34-46 NIV

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.    All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.    He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?   When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

One Minute Prayer

Father, teach us to love others as you love them.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 37:23-28 NIV

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.

Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.

For the Lord loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 31:8-9 ESV

Open your mouth for the mute,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

defend the rights of the poor and needy.

One Minute Devotion

I was an Adult Student at Mid America Nazarene College, carrying a full load, working two jobs, and raising three children. It was Christmas, and Kathy and I had no idea how we would buy presents for our kids. One thing we did have, however, was food.

We loaded all three kids in the car and delivered bags of groceries to a fellow adult student. He and his wife and kids had no more than we did.

We quietly set the bags of food in front of their door, knocked, and ran away. We felt good; we had helped. When we got home, we thanked God for His goodness. The next day, my adviser called me into his office and gave me boxes of toys for our kids. God is good… All the time.

Source

WEEK ONE

REJOICE ALWAYS, PRAY WITHOUT
CEASING, GIVE THANKS IN ALL
THINGS; FOR THIS IS WILL OF GOD
Paul urges us to pray continuously – pray without
ceasing – yet 21st century society trains us to
concentrate for 140 characters, or short sound
bites. So how do we learn to pray continuously
and grow closer to God?

Types of Christian Growth

• Paul: you are a Paul if you have studied hard and devoted your entire life to Christ without falter.
• John Mark: if you jumped eagerly from the starting blocks, ran hard and fast, but have since been told you were lacking. You may have even been asked to take time away to reflect on your life, then you
  are a John Mark.
• Timothy: if you earnestly follow Christ, but possess doubts or express a certain lack of confidence in your abilities, then you are a Timothy.
• Lydia: if you are a soul-winner, church-builder, or quiet unpresumuous leader you are a Lydia.
• Peter: if your life has been a teeter trotter, up and down up and down, and often falling to the ground… if you only learn the hard way, then you are a Peter.
• Corinthian: If you are Christian in name, but your life is little or no different from those who don’t even claim to be Christian, then you are a Corinthian.
• Judas… If you have betrayed Christ, you are a Judas.

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and
disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what
is good for each other and for everyone else.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this
is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.

-1 Thessalonians 5:14-19

Why We Need to Grow

Most of our readers are mature Christians, or so it seems. You read this blog because you wish to continue to grow in Christ.  Some of us, I fear, have reached the point in our walk with Christ where we feel we have “arrived.” We have no more to learn, no growing to do. We await only that moment when we will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye whether through death or rapture. Worse yet, a few of us may believe that, while we may be able to grow more,
there is no point, for there is nothing we can accomplish for God.

Q&A About Growth
1. Do you ever feel that have not grown in your spiritual walk with Christ?

2. Do you ever feel like you have grown as much as possible while on this earth?

3. Have you ever known someone who believes they have “arrived?”

4. Which of these is the biggest obstacle to continued spiritual growth in your walk with Jesus?

A. Lack of time

B. Lack of prayer closet

C. Someone in my life who is an obstacle

D. Lack of motivation

E. I just don’t know how to grow more

F. I don’t need to grow

G. Other:

Brother Lawrence

It is enough for me to pick up a straw from the ground for the love of God.
Crisis and Salvation

A pastor I know is a rare bird. I’ve known him since he was 12. He grew up a Christian and has known since a young man what God would have him do. He has never faltered, never stumbled. Most of us, though, must face a crisis before we are saved. Most must face a second crisis before finding sanctification. We often hit a crisis before major life changes.

A few, like me, must face many crises in our maturing process. We are like Peter, ashamed of our falling away, and, in the end, we are better off for our experiences (although I never wish to repeat many of mine). Brother Lawrence hit a crisis in his life and, in the four hundred years since, generations of people have benefited because of it.

The World to Which Brother Lawrence was Born

Because he was born into an impoverished family, Nicholas Herman (later known as Brother Lawrence) left home younger than he might have. He joined the army where he would be fed and paid, and perhaps earn enough to send money home to his mother. The place was France. The year, about 1625.

1625: John Smyth had only recently begun the movement that would lead to the first Baptists. Virginia had just become a British colony. King James had just passed away.

The Soldier
Not much is known of Brother Lawrence’s service in the army, but given his age and location we can surmise that he served King Louis XIII and likely fought the Huguenots in Southern France. From his writings, we understand that war had a profound affect on his life. He immensely regretted causing harm to others, and that was the crises that eventually drive him to Christ; “it wasn’t, characteristically, a supernatural vision, but a supernatural clarity into a common sight” (Christianity Today. “Brother Lawrence: Practitioner of God’s Presence.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/innertravelers/brother-lawrence.html. 2017. Accessed 23 May 2017).

Gradually Nicholas came to realize that to please God and to properly deal with his regret, he must close himself off from the world and concentrate on growing close to the One who saved his soul. He joined a Carmelite Community as a lay brother and spent the remainder of his long life as a menial laborer, washing dishes and cobbling shoes.

Frank C. Laubach

Prayer at its highest is a two-way conversation-and for me the most important part is listening to God’s replies.

Filling the Need
Many people were more capable than of revolutionizing the world through the  development of the desktop computer, if they had only recognized the need and focused solely on filling that need. Only 4 people did so: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Likewise, Christians cannot see or focus on the needs around them.

Frank Charles Laubach felt called to preach the Gospel and was assigned by his church to be a missionary in the Philippines. From 1915-1930 he allowed God to build His church through him on the island of Mindanao. The mission grew quickly, compelling him to build a Christian college, Union College in Manila. Laubach served as its president. When his term was up in 1930, he was 46 years old and could have left the Philippines and taken a comfortable job as a college president or lecturer in the U.S. He didn’t. God showed him another need.

The Need Seen by Frank Laubach
Laubach could not shake the fact that, despite all the good he had done in the Philippines, his work was not yet complete. Before the end of 1930, he had returned to Mindanao and moved into a Muslim Moros village.

The Teacher
Laubach didn’t try to convert the Muslims with sermons or confrontation. He lived among them, and demonstrated Christ’s love. He soon realized yet another need.

First, Laubach had identified the need of a mission, then, of a college, then he made intimate contact with the Muslim population of 90,000. Now, God revealed the need at the heart of the matter: the Mohammedans could never learn the Gospel because they could not read the Bible. They were illiterate.

At the age of 71, Laubach finally left the Philippines. He had taught half of the 90,000 Muslims in Mindanao how to read (Renovaré. “Living each moment with a sense of God’s Presence: Frank Laubach. 3 Feb 2016. https://renovare.org/articles/livingeach-
moment-with-a-sense-of-gods-presence-frank-laubach Accessed 2 Jun 2017).

Still, he did not retire. In the U.S., there was a significant number of adults who could not read. In 1955, he founded Laubach Literacy which to this day has helped teach 150,000 people a year to read. It now teaches people in 34 nations worldwide.

There is no defeat unless one loses God, and then all is defeat, though it
be housed in castles and buried in fortunes.

What Lessons?

5. One can find, even in this brief introduction into the lives of these two Christian mystics, many lessons to apply to our lives. What lessons can you see already?

6. Have you ever done something, like Brother Lawrence, that you so horribly regretted that your remorse compelled you to alter your entire life?

7. Do you see value and growth from crisis within your own life?

8. The Nazarene Church was birthed in a revival that emphasized a crisis experience in the lives of individual seekers. The embers that caused the fire in which it was forged were the hot coals that remained of a series of national crises stretching back to the Civil War. Are we better off not emphasizing the Crisis Experience?

9. Is one ever too old to stop growing or too old to be of use to God?

10. Can one ever grow so close to God that there is no longer a need to grow closer to Him?

We really seldom do anybody much good excepting as we share the deepest experiences
of our souls… We need to struggle for more richness of soul.” – Frank C. Laubach

General Discussion

What Classic Christian works have you read?

What Christian writers have influenced you most?

Besides Thessalonians, where else does the Bible speak of praying continuously?

How do the words “without ceasing,” “continually,” and “continuously” differ?

What are some of your favorite prayers of the Bible?

Source

Remember, we are but soldiers on the front lines of a cosmic battle. You claim that you have seen no evidence of demons, angels, or of Satan, and no evidence of a spiritual dimension just beyond the veil? Then you have been blinded by the enemy. To deny the spiritual realm is tantamount to denying Christ, for He dealt most certainly with spiritual warfare. 
Many of us refuse to see the battle that rages around us, believing ourselves safe if we steer clear of sin and avoid discussion of Satan and his demons. Yet, Job and Paul, both of whom were considered righteous, were severely oppressed by devils. Christ, who was without sin, was whisked into the desert where he was oppressed by Satan for forty days. Close your eyes and refuse to discuss it if you wish; either way you are a soldier. You are either in the front lines of Christ’s army or in Satan’s reserves. 

– Steve Hager, The Quest for the Mind of Christ.

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The first is the idea that if you don’t pray enough, read your Bible enough, or go to church enough, God will be angry at you or love you less. This is legalism and it is absolutely wrong. You didn’t do a thing to earn God’s love, so how can you lose it? His love is unconditional. He loves us because His Son loves us so much that He laid down His life for us. 

The second obstacle is, as I said, just the opposite. It is the idea that, because Grace is not conditional, we can then do whatever we want… abuse alcohol, indulge in sexual perversion, and abandon Christian ethics, and that none of that matters because we are, after all, simply human and frail. After all, according to this line of thought, we didn’t earn our salvation, so we cannot lose it. This is lawlessness, or Antinomianism. It is wrong because Christ asks us to walk with Him. He expects us to share His yoke. He compels us to pick up our own cross and follow Him. 

Either of these two extremes, lawlessness or legalism, leads to bondage. The one who is truly saved realizes that his (or her) salvation depends on faith alone. The one who has truly been rescued by God from sin does not continue to live in depravity because that one is so full of God’s love (and love for others) that there is no room for debauchery. We love Him so much that we dare not again step away into a life of sin. 

We find freedom only when we first acknowledge that our very breath is dependent upon Him, and then walk beside Him, holding the hand of the one who would guide us. Only then may we find rest.

Steve Hager, The Quest for the Mind of Christ.  

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– C.S. LEWIS, The Four Loves (HARCOURT TRADE: 1971; ORIG. 1960), P. 6.

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R. C. Sproul pinpoints one reason that many Christians nearly die of thirst, spiritually speaking:

“No amount of Christian activity compensates for an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. There is nothing in this universe you need more desperately than Christ.” 
God confirms this in Hebrews 3:7-11, where the author quotes the Holy Spirit…

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,

 “Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me by trial and saw my works for forty years.

“I was angry with this generation, and I said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they do not know my ways.’ As I swore in my anger, ‘⌊They will never enter⌋ into my rest.'”
Please, God, this generation have all gone astray. Do not allow Your anger to burn against us. We need Your rest. Our souls cry out for your living waters. Take our cup. We lift it up. Please make us whole. 

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– Marg Mowczko

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Let us be alert to the season in which we are living. It is the season of the Blessed Hope, calling for us to cut our ties with the world and build ourselves on the One who will soon appear. He is our hope—a Blessed Hope enabling us to rise above our times and fix our gaze upon Him.

– A. W. Tozer. Preparing for Jesus’ Return: Daily Live the Blessed Hope

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– Brother Lawrence, January 22, 1691

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The greatest thing is to be found at one’s post as a child of God, living each day as though it were our last, but planning as though our world might last a hundred years.

– C.S. Lewis 

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“He – namely Jesus – gave His life for me, that He, in turn, might take my life from me. ‘I’ve been crucified with Christ,’ that He, then, may live His life through me.”

– Alistair Begg, “A Call To Service, Part 1” TRUTH FOR LIFE 

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Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”  – John 14:6

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– Steve Hager “The Quest for the Mind of Christ”

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The voice of God indeed daily calls to us; calls to the world to abandon sins and seek the Kingdom of God wholeheartedly. O that we may all hear the call of the Father and, sometime, at last be converted to the Lord…

In silence and in meditation on the eternal truths, I hear the voice of God which excites our hearts to greater love.

– C.S. LEWIS 

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Justine Martyr (First Apology 11)

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He who is Wise in the Holy Spirit does not allow mood or feelings to destroy his faith. Jesus did not die on the cross and destroy sin and death so that you and I could be in a good mood. Our moods will change. His love for us will never change. 

Thomas à Kemp is, The Imitation of Christ. From  “Inconstancy of Heart and Final Intention,” paraphrased. 

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“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

John 17:20-23 NKJV

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I decided to write when I faced one cancer after another. More specifically, I decided to write about spiritual matters, in hopes that it would bring me closer to Jesus Christ. I soon discovered that it was in vain. I was no closer to Christ than I had been before picking up a pen. 

I wrote a book about imitating Christ. It didn’t matter. I was no more like Jesus than before. I wrote a blog, this blog. Still, I worked in vain. I began an intensive Bible study, some of the deepest, most thoroughly researched material I had ever presented to a class of mature Christians. I had become nothing more than a well-educated, struggling sinner. 

I decided, like Solomon, that everything I did was in vain. Nothing matters. Not work. Not play. Not life. Not death. Nothing… Nothing we can do matters. Who He is… That’s what matters. Our relationship with God matters.

Here’s the way King Solomon said it:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 

Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV

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“No, no.” I said. “I mean, how do your prayers get answered.”

She said, “I tell God what I want, and He gives me what I need. I have never been rich, but even when I was destitute, when my husband got sick and died, and I had nothing to eat, and the power was shut off, and didn’t have food for groceries, I lacked for nothing.”

“So, prayer simply changed your attitude about things, but you still lost everything?”

“No,” she said, “I have witnessed many miracles.”

“Tell me about a one,” I urged.

“When my husband was in the hospital, the power company turned off the power at our home. It was cold. The house would have frozen up. I don’t think they can do that anymore, but back then, they would just shut you off. I got a call at the hospital from Jack, who lived next door that and he said that they had come out and shut off the power at our house. So, I prayed about it. Well, that same day, they came back out and turned it back on. A few days after my husband died, I found out that the manager of the power company had paid my bill himself. I don’t know how he found out about it, but he did. The church brought over groceries for weeks after Eric died. That was God.”

“So,” I said, “Prayer works because the people praying for you care enough about you to act, to help you out.”

“I suppose that is part of it,” she said, but I could read the frustration in her voice. I just didn’t get it, she thought. “God laid it on the hearts of those folks to help us, the man at the power company, my church family.”

“But, have you ever seen anything that you were sure, was a divine miracle?”

“Yes,” she said. And this is where my jaw hit the floor. This ninety-something year old woman, whose name I will never tell, said this: “God changed my life. You see, my father ran out on my mother and me when I was a eight. I had two little brothers and a sister. Then, a few years later, my mother died. I was fourteen. She was ran over by a street car. I was forced to sell myself to men so that we could all live. A couple years later, after I was married, and my husband had a good job, I stopped. When he went off to war, though, I began selling myself again. When he came home, I didn’t stop. I sold myself to whoever would have me for… well, for a long time.

“Then, one day a preacher came to a church down the street from our house in Kansas City. People were lined up for blocks to see that man. Hundreds stood outside just to hear him through the open windows. I don’t know why, but I was drawn to him. Drawn to the Holy Spirit in him. It took me most of an hour to make my way inside, but I listened to him the whole time, and the very second he gave an altar call, I fell on my face and wept. I was changed. Everything about me was changed. I was saved and sanctified that night. The next night, I drug my husband to see him and he was saved. I was changed. I never looked back, and I never did that that terrible thing again.”

“God changed you overnight,” I said.

“In the twinkling of an eye,” she said.

“Do you believe God still works miracles, then?”

“Let me tell you about how He healed me of cancer last year,” she said. That’s another story.

Fear Not, for God Still Works Miracles. He still changes lives.

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The Old Testament Book of Joel tells of another time when disaster came upon the Nation of Judah—the invasion of Locusts. A description of a similar event that occurred in 1915 in Jerusalem gives us a glimpse of the disaster:

A loud noise was heard before the locust were seen, produced by the flapping of myriads of locust wings and resembling the distant rumbling of waves.  The sun was suddenly darkened. Showers of their excrements fell thick and fast, resembling those of mice.  Their elevation above the earth was at times hundreds of feet; at other time they flew quite low, detached numbers alighting.  “In Jerusalem, at least,” Mr. Whiting said, “they inevitably came from the northeast going toward the southwest, establishing the accuracy of Joel’s account in chapter 2:20.”  Tons were captured and buried alive; many were thrown into cisterns or into the Mediterranean Sea, and when washed ashore, were collected and dried and used for fuel in Turkish bathes… Mr. Aaronsohn, another witness of the plague in 1915, testifies that in less than two months after their first appearance, not only was every green leaf devoured, but the very bark was peeled from the trees, which stood out white and lifeless, like skeletons.  The fields, he says, were stripped to the ground.  Even Arab babies left by their mothers in the shade of some tree, had their faces devoured before their screams were heard.  The natives accepted the plague as just judgment because of their wickedness.”   (from Beacon Bible Commentary, volume 5, page  90).

An interesting fact about the Prophet Joel is that scholars cannot pin down the exact time when he lived and prophesied.  Most of the other prophets make reference to an historic event or a reign of a king that helps us determine the approximate time they lived, but Joel does not make any such reference.  It was sometime after the kingdom divided, but that is as definitive as we can get. While there are arguments that he was one of the earlier prophets, there are also arguments that he was much later in Judah’s history.  This timelessness factor reinforces to me the relevance of his message to our day and our time.

This little prophetic Book seeks to put the disaster from the Locust invasion into a spiritual context and in so doing helps us to come to grips with the disasters that invade our lives.

1. THE MEANING BEHIND THE CALAMITY.
   1. Those who think Joel was one of the earlier prophets also think that he is the one who coined the Phrase “The Day of the Lord” that is repeated so many times as the prophets point to the climatic time when this present Age ends and God ushers in a new Age. The devastation caused by the locusts must have brought the phrase to Joel’s mind: “The Day of the Lord.” Joel pointed out that Judah and Israel had not kept the terms of the Covenant they had made with God. God had promised to bless and prosper the nation if it would stay true to Him. But that promise was conditional and the nation had not stayed true to the terms. The Covenant agreement had very clearly warned the nation that if they broke the terms of the covenant there would be severe consequences.
   2. The question we ask is, “Did the locust come because of God’s Judgment?” “Or did the locust infiltration simply awaken the nation to their own sins?”              Someone this past week made this statement about all the flooding, “God must really be angry with us!”   How should we respond to that?                                              Here are some of my thoughts:  Yes, God does punish people who are disobedient to Him. When He does, though, it is a way that He uses to help people make the decision to get right with Him.      But just because we are experiencing disasters it does not necessarily mean that God is punishing us. It may mean that God is allowing us to be tested. That is what happened to Job in the Old Testament. His friends tried to blame Job with being sinful, but the Bible is very clear that Job was a righteous person that Satan was attacking.                                                            But there is another possibility for the fact of disaster: We live in a fallen world and bad things just happen.  When that occurs, instead of seeking to place blame, we need to just seek God’s mercy and grace.                                             I’m sure there are other possible explanations. And sometimes there just not a good answer to the problems we face. Volumes have been written on the subject of “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.”   It was happening to Judah during Joel’s lifetime. Natural Disasters happen to someone somewhere almost every day. That is the world in which we live!
2. THE SOLUTION TO THE TRAGEDY
   1. Joel called for the people to go through a time of mourning and repentance. Joel 1:13-14 says, “Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the Lord.”
   2. Regardless of the reason for the disaster—whether it because of personal or national sin, whether it is a time of oppression and testing by Satan, or whether it is just  a random act that is the result of living in a fallen world, THE BEST SOLUTION  ALWAYS  IN EVERY SITUATION IS TO SEEK GOD!.                   If there is sin involved—even if it is not the cause for the disaster—the correct solution is to Confess and Repent and seek God’s forgiveness!                                                           If the problem is caused by spiritual oppression from satanic forces, call upon the Lord. He is our strength. 1 John 4:4 reminds us that “The One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.”     Paul in Philippians 4:6 wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.”                    Peter in 1 Peter 5:7 wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
   3. Chuck Swindoll, in his book, Hand Me Another Brick, (Thomas Nelson, 1978, pp. 82-3, andBits & Pieces, November, 1989, p. 12.) wrote this about Thomas Edison: Thomas Edison invented the microphone, the phonograph, the incandescent light, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than 1000 other things. December 1914 he had worked for 10 years on a storage battery. This had greatly strained his finances. This particular evening spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room. Within minutes all the packing compounds, celluloid for records and film, and other flammable goods were in flames. Fire companies from eight surrounding towns arrived, but the heat was so intense and the water pressure so low that the attempt to douse the flames was futile. Everything was destroyed. Edison was 67. With all his assets going up in a whoosh (although the damage exceeded two million dollars, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof), would his spirit be broken?                                                The inventor’s 24-year old son, Charles, searched frantically for his father. He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind. “My heart ached for him,” said Charles. “He was 67–no longer a young man–and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, ‘Charles, where’s your mother?’ When I told him I didn’t know, he said, ‘Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.'” The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.” Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph.” 
   4. Rather than allowing disasters and tragedies to cause us to blame God, we should be running to Him for help. He has His arms wide open as he welcomes you into His care. Here the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30—“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

• THE PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE
  1. It is in this context of national disaster and a call to seek God that Joel, inspired by God, delivers a promise for the future. It is the scripture we read earlier. Let me read it again from Joel 2: 28-32:

“And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
²⁹ Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
³⁰ I will show wonders in the heavens
    and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
³¹ The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
³² And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
    whom the Lord calls.

1. Bible Commentaries connect this powerful promise with the words of Moses after God had directed him to call for 70 elders to come before the Tent of Meeting so he could take some of the Spirit that was upon Moses and place it on the 70 so they could help carry the responsibilities that Moses had tried to carry by himself. When 2 of the elders stayed in their tent we are told that the Holy Spirit came upon them as well as those who had gathered together. Joshua complained and asked Moses to stop these 2 who had been disobedient. Moses responded in Numbers 11:29 saying “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”                                         Now Joel is saying that God is promising to do just that: Put His Spirit on all His people!
2. This passage from Joel may sound familiar to you. It is the very passage the Peter quoted on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. God’s plan  that is revealed in the Old Testament Book of Joel as well as in other places is to Put His Spirit on all of us—Or, as Jesus said in John 14:17, “…for he lives with you and will be in you.”
3. The Holy Spirit of God, the same Spirit that hovered over the waters in Creation and that came upon individuals in the Old Testament when God wanted that person to do extra-ordinary things for His glory, that is the same Spirit that has been released in this New Age—the Church Age—in which we are living. He wants to live in each of our hearts, empowering, teaching, guiding, blessing, energizing as we allow Him to be in control!

Conclusion:

            Yes, we live in a fallen world. Yes, tragedies and disasters occur. Yes, the trials of this life can be very severe at times.  But take heart! God has delivered on the promise that he gave through Joel. The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost and He is still moving upon us today.

Paul asked some believers in Ephesus an important question –one that we should answer as well:  “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?”  (Acts 19:2).

            Surrender you life completely to Jesus and Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you! Would you like to do that right now?

Fear Not, for He will live with you and will be with you..

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Text: Acts 4: 20 “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

The change that the Disciples of Christ experienced after the Resurrection and Pentecost was amazing. Contrast this passage with the passage telling about how Peter, when questioned by a servant girl in the courtyard of the High Priest, denied that he even knew Jesus. It is like he is two different people! What was the reason for such a drastic change? What motivated the Apostles to face hostile crowds who persecuted them and eventually even put them to death? Where did they gain their courage? 
Let’s review the information we have about Peter and John in particular and see what the Holy Spirit can teach us. 
I. PETER AND JOHN BEFORE THEY MET CHRIST. 
a. From the information we have in the Gospels we know that Peter and John and John’s brother James were fishermen. Speculation from historians suggests that they were more than likely involved in a highly successful commercial fishing business on the Sea of Galilee. They probably marketed their catch to the wealthy in Judea as well as to those in Galilee. We are told at the time of Jesus’ arrest that John was known by the house of the High Priest (See John 18: 15), lending speculation that his family was well-off financially and that they probably had business contacts among the wealthy Judeans and especially with the Jewish Religious Leaders. And we know that Peter and John definitely had different personalities. Peter was the obvious leader—and probably in his younger days, the instigator. He tended to speak before he thought. And you always knew where you stood with Peter—he would tell you. And, while we sometimes tend to think that John was a little more passive in temperament, it was he and his brother James who wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy the Samaritan village that rejected Jesus. I would suspect that both Peter & John were muscular from having labored with the fishing nets. And they probably could tell some pretty good fish stories. These were men’s men, strong, boisterous, with a good sense of business in their heads. They were destined to continue their families’ commercial fishing business. And we know also that Peter and John were religious Jews. They had no doubt been schooled in the local synagogue in their hometown of Capernaum by the local Rabbi—that was the custom of that day. And, because of their religious training they were aware of the Promise of a Messiah King who would someday restore Israel to its former glory days. Simon Peter’s brother Andrew had become a disciple of John the Baptist, so it is very likely that Peter and the other fishermen were aware of this unusual prophet who was spreading the news that the Messiah would soon arrive. So, we assume from the knowledge and the probabilities in accordance with the culture of that time and place, Peter and John were good men, good Jews, and inclined to lean towards the Religion of their people. 
b. As I think about these men prior to them becoming disciples of Jesus, I realize they were much like our children. Raised in a Religious setting, exposed to the secular world, developing their own opinions of politics and refining values of their own—Good people who stood at the cross roads of their life purpose. I think of my own experience. When I was a young boy, church was not the priority of my family’s life. My dad had been raised a Methodist and my mother had attended a Pentecostal church out in the country where she was raised. We went to church occasionally, but I really don’t remember us being regular attendees up until I was about 10 years old. My folks were honest, hard workers, and well respected. People often came to Dad to get his opinions about situations they were facing. While Dad wasn’t the oldest son in his family, he really filled the role of an older brother. By outward appearances we were solid folks—Religion was accepted as a part of the culture, but was not to the extent that anyone would have thought us as being religious. And in our present world there are a lot of people who live very similar lives. I have heard so many times people say they moved to Branson because they felt God was directing them here. And many of those people are good people, but they really are not connected with any particular church. It is more a cultural relationship with Christianity than anything else.

II. BUT THEN THEY MET CHRIST. 
a. Jesus was raised in Nazareth, a little village not far from the Sea of Galilee and not far from Capernaum which was the hometown of Peter and John. There is even some speculation (by me mostly) that Jesus may have been a cousin of James & John, but that is not really provable. We really don’t know when Jesus first met these men, but it does seem likely that he was acquainted with them prior to their leaving their fishing nets to follow him. From John’s Gospel we are told that Andrew was one of John the Baptist’s disciples who had witnessed the baptism of Jesus and had followed him afterwards and had decided that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. He had then gone and found his brother Simon Peter and brought him to Jesus, telling him, “We have found the Messiah.” (See John 1:35-42). It was sometime after that that Jesus had invited Peter to leave his fishing boat and follow him “to become a fisher of men.” (See Matthew 4: 18-23). Immediately after that, Jesus had invited James & John to become his disciples and they too left their fishing boats and followed Him. Their schooling under Jesus went on for the next three years as Jesus mentored them and taught them about the Kingdom of God. He had trained them to minister to others. They had witnessed miracle after miracle performed by Jesus—miracles of healing, miracles over winds and waves, miraculous catches of fish, miraculous supplies of food for vast multitudes. They had seen the love of Christ as He ministered to those who were “like sheep with a shepherd.” They had even seen Jesus bring the dead back to life. And as they followed Jesus he gradually released them to minister to others as they had been sent out 2 by 2 to go to various towns and villages to prepare them for Jesus’ arrival. 
b. “Were they truly saved? “ I have heard people ask. And I have to say, “Yes, they were.” They were new followers. They had much to learn. They were being mentored to become leaders, but they were works in progress. They were “walking in all the light they had” at that time in their lives. 
c. And I have to say similar things of all who first come to Jesus. We experience His love, His forgiveness, His peace, His Joy. But we are mere infants with so much to learn. We may not yet be mature, but we should be moving towards maturity. Our progress may involve unlearning some of our pre-conceived notions about what it means to be a Christian. We will make some mistakes and have to seek God’s forgiveness. As we mature, those mistakes should become less and less frequent, but reality is that we will always be “In progress” even when we are much more mature as Christians. Remember how Peter thought he was being so mature when he asked how often he should forgive a person, suggesting maybe up to 7 times? And Jesus set him on his heels when He told Peter, “70 times 7,” indicating that we should reach a place where we freely forgive and have compassion and mercy towards others. We should always be learning. 
d. The disciples were definitely different after becoming followers of Christ. They indeed were learning how to become fishers of men! Have you allowed Jesus to teach you how to become a “fisher of men?” 
III. AND THEN THERE WAS THE CROSS AND ALL THAT FOLLOWED. 
a. We are told that all his disciples forsook Jesus and fled that night when Jesus was arrested. Only Peter followed, but when push came to shove, he lost his nerve and denied that he even knew Jesus. But the Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection certainly had a profound effect on Peter and John and all the other followers of Jesus. They had seen his torture and death. They had witnessed the Roman soldier ramming the spear into his side and penetrating His heart so that blood and water poured out. They had seen His dead body placed in the tomb. And then, they had met Jesus face to face, the Risen Lord. He had taught them for 40 days until one day when Jesus suddenly was taken up into heaven. They had tarried in Jerusalem until the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit had suddenly come upon them and empowered them to be His Holy Witnesses. And now, in the streets of Jerusalem and in the Courtyard of the Temple, they had told everyone what they had seen and heard. This is the same Peter who had cowered before a servant girl. And he and John and the others had hidden behind locked doors fearful that someone would be coming to arrest them after Jesus was crucified. But now, faced with the threats of the very same people who had arrested Jesus, their response: “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4: 20). The threats of beatings and imprisonment and even death, did not deter them—they HAD to tell what they had seen and heard. 
b. And that brings me to us: What will it take for us to be so compelled that we are willing to risk rejection and even ridicule and still be willing to tell others what we have seen and heard in Jesus! 
c. Leighton Ford, an evangelist similar to Billy Graham, in his book “Good News is for Sharing, copyright 1977, published by David C. Cook Publishing), wrote this: In preparing for this book, I have talked to a lot of people, and the fear issue comes up front again and again. What makes people hesitate to share their faith? Here are some of the fears that have been mentioned to me: 

– “I am afraid I might do more harm than good.”
– “I don’t know what to say.”
– “I may not be able to give snappy answers to tricky questions.”
– “I may seem bigoted.”
– “I may invade someone’s privacy.”
– “I am afraid I might fail.”
– “I am afraid I might be a hypocrite.”

Perhaps the most common fear, however, is that of being rejected. A survey was given to those attending training sessions for the Billy Graham crusade in Detroit. One question asked, “What is your greatest hindrance to witnessing?” Nine percent said they were too busy to remember to do it. Twenty-eight percent felt the lack of real information to share. None said they didn’t really care. Twelve percent said their own lives were not speaking as they should. But by far the largest group was the 51 percent whose biggest problem was the fear of how the other person would react! None of us likes to be rejected, ridiculed, or regarded as an oddball.  
I think the biggest reason we have so many bench warmers in the church is that too many have not really focused on the Cross. If we really get our eyes focused on the love displayed on Calvary, if we really encounter the living Lord, if we really are filled with His Holy Spirit, if we are really fully yielded to His Control—How can we help but tell others the Good News about Christ! 
We should never have to beg for Sunday School Teachers and Vacation Bible School Workers, and other workers around the Church. We should never be hung up on what style of music the church is singing—we should be so excited about the Living Lord that our number one desire should be to tell others about Jesus and do all we can to see others coming to know our Savor and Lord! 
Fear Not “for we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

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I love my kids. And, I love my grandkids. I wish I had spoiled my kids as much as I do my grandkids. I wish I had more time and money to spoil the grandchildren. 

How many of you can tell your children or grandchildren NO? I don’t mean when they throw a tantrum. I mean when they earnestly approach you and tearfully beg for something they want with all their heart. Are you able to tell them NO then? I’ll bet not.

That act of earnest begging…. of tearfully pleaing… that is supplication. 

Look how that word is used in Philippians 4:6 –

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Earnestly beg God. Plea with Him. Go to Him as the Good Father Who needs no instruction book. He will care for you. 

Fear Not for we have a good Father. 

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I can’t stand talking on the phone. I absolutely hate it. My wife and kids think it’s them. My wife especially tries to make me feel bad any time I cut her phone calls short. On the other hand, cutting my phone calls short must make her – and my kids -feel bad. I don’t mean to. 

The Bible describes our relationship with Christ as a marriage. No marriage could last if the husband and wife never talk. Few marriages could survive if the participants talk only when necessary. Yet, how often do we speak with our Savior?

The Bible tells us to pray continuously, but I would venture to say that the majority of Christians pray only when they are in desperate straits. I used to be like that. 

Yet, there is a distinct benefit to prayer. I mean, sure there are several obvious benefits. Prayer builds your relationship with the Savior. Soon one finds He is no longer just your Savior, but also your Lord. God answers the prayers of the righteous.  There is one more benefit, one that Paul points out here. 

Prayer relieves fear and anxiety. 

Are you afraid? Pray. Are you anxious? Pray. Pick up the metaphorical phone and talk to Jesus. 

Fear Not. Pray!

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American generals knew that their involvement in that part of the world would make the nation of Israel vulnerable.  Indeed, they became a target. By the next year, Iraqi missle attacks on the Holy Land seemed like a daily occurrence.

One attack sent a series of 39 missles into Israel. Witnesses describe that day as a miraculous one. US Patriot missles knocked some out of the sky. Others that looked like they were on track, suddenly went off course, and fell in the sea. Still others were thrown off course by wind shears. Some hit their target but failed to detonate. A few detonated in areas where they could do no harm. 

39 missles. 39 miracles. 

God protects His children. He fights for them. As far back as Moses, Joshua, and Gideon God fought for His children. Today, God continue to fight for us. 

Us? By us, I don’t mean just the Nation of Israel. I don’t mean America. I mean those who have been adopted into the family of God. I mean you and I. 

Fear Not… If we allow Him, God will fight our battles. 

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​And I know that the Resurrection was the beginning, not the end, of what Jesus wants in our lives. So, today, let’s look beyond Easter and the Empty Tomb and consider what else Jesus intended.

I. JESUS APPEARED TO AND TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES.

a. Paul’s description of the message he preached—and the message that was preached by the Apostles and Preachers in the early church—is called the Kerygma. The basic outline is simple: Jesus died, was buried, and then rose again on the 3rd day. This passage in 1 Corinthians 15 1-7 is the clearest summary of this message that we have in the New Testament. And it is the best summary we have of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus before His Ascension in to Heaven.

b. It is extremely significant that Jesus appeared to and taught His disciples. Had he not appeared to them, they would never have been able to believe anything but that His body had been stolen from the tomb. His appearance verified that He was indeed alive.

c. But we are told in Acts 1:3 that he did more than just appear to them. We read, “…He appeared to them over a period or forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”​​​​​​ Now, I’m sure Jesus had talked to them about the Kingdom of God before He was crucified. The Gospels indicate that was the primary Message that Jesus preached and taught during his public ministry. In Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 13, Jesus has a series of Parables explaining what the Kingdom of God is like. But the disciples had been somewhat blinded by the common belief that the Messiah was to be a political leader, a King, who would overthrow their enemies and restore Israel to its former glory. And though Jesus had time and again taught them about the Kingdom they just did not grasp what he was saying—at least, not to the extent that they needed to grasp it in order to lead the church after He left them. ​​​ But His Death and Resurrection lifted the blinders from the eyes of their understanding. And then, in His Post-Resurrection Appearance, they were able to hear without the prejudices of their faulty assumptions. As he had told Pilate, His kingdom is not of this world, but, rather is in our hearts.

d. And just as Jesus appeared and taught those early disciples, He is still seeking us out and revealing Himself to us and teaching us about how to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. He does it through His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who teaches us of things to come. He does it through the Bible, His Special Revelation, that contains the account of God’s provision for our salvation and instructions of life. He does it through the witness of His followers, and through the teaching and preaching of God’s teachers and ministers. He does it through the trials and tests of life as we continue to seek after Him. And through His Spirit He teaches us in a myriad of different ways as He enables to grow and mature as His followers.

e. I can tell you that He kept on teaching His followers even after He ascended into Heaven. ​​ In John 16:12- 13 Jesus said, “I have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. 13However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.” Read the Book of Acts and the writings of Paul and John and Peter and the other writers of the New Testament. So much in these writings reveal an understanding that had matured over a generation after the Resurrection. ​And I can tell you that no matter how long you have served the Lord, there is still more to learn about Kingdom Living and the Kingdom of Heaven and about the King of Glory. I was saved in 1968, and now, some 49 years later after earning college degrees and studying and searching the scriptures and preaching and teaching some 44 years, I can tell you there is so much more to learn. And Jesus is faithful to keep teaching me—and He is wanting each of us to continue learning more and more. God is infinite—there is no end to His mysteries!​So Jesus Appeared to and taught His followers!
II. JESUS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN.

a. Paul lists many of the appearances of Jesus to individuals and groups of people and even the encounter he had with Jesus on the Damascus Road after Jesus had ascended into heaven. But in the Book of Acts we see how while He was meeting with a group of his disciples something miraculous happened. In Acts 1: 9 says, “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” The next verse begins by saying, “They were looking intently up into the sky…” I believe that means they were starring up with their mouths gapped open and a look of shock and bewilderment on their faces.

b. In John 14:12 Jesus had said to His disciples, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” ​​​​​And the Good News was that because He was going to the Father He would give them the Holy Spirit. In John 14:15-18 Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

c. His Ascension did not mean that He was through with us. But it did mean that He was assuming another Role. We are told in several places that after Jesus ascended to the Father, He took His place at the Right Hand of the Father where He is ever interceding on our behalf (see Romans 8:34).

d. To me that means that right this minute, Jesus, the Lord of Glory, has His eyes on each of us, and is pleading our cause to the Father. When I stumble or fall, Jesus pleads for mercy and compassion and sends Help through His Spirit so that I can get back up and keep on living a victorious Christian Life. ​​​​Remember: Jesus is for us, not against us. He is not looking for ways to keep us out of heaven—He is doing all He can to see that we make it into His heaven!

III. JESUS IS COMING BACK AGAIN!

a. While Jesus was ascending into heaven we read in Acts 1:10-11, “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’”
b. In the Old Testament the prophets on several occasions mention the approaching “Day of the Lord.” By this they were referring to a day in the future when God steps on the scene and the earth as we know suddenly reaches a climax, faces a Judgment, and a new Age begins. The New Testament adds to our understanding that this “Day of the Lord” will begin with the Return of Jesus to claim His Bride, the Church. 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 describes it this way: 
 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Peter adds to this description in 2 Peter 3: 10-14—

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 
12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 
13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”
c. When the disciples asked Jesus when these things would happen, Jesus told them in Acts 1: 7, “…It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” ​​​​So we do not know when He is coming again, but we know that He is coming again. And since we know He is coming but do not know when He is coming, we should live every day on alert because this could be the day!
Conclusion:

​Jesus was crucified and died on the Cross—the Atoning Sacrifice for our sins. He was buried in a tomb, but on the 3rd Day He rose again, defeating Death, Hell and the Grave. ​​​​​​​He appeared to and taught His followers about the Kingdom of God—and through His Spirit He still confronts us and teachings us His Truth. ​​​​​​​He Ascended into Heaven where He sits at the Right Hand of God the Father, interceding on our behalf.

Fear Not for He Intercede for Us. 

And He is coming again to claim His followers and to usher in the Day of Judgment as this Age ends and Eternity begins.
​And right now it is up to each one of us to be prepared—to surrender to Him, Confessing and forsaking our sins, and to be ready for His return. ARE YOU PREPARED?

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Mephibosheth was born into the royal family of King Saul in ancient Israel. To be precise, he was Saul’s grandson. His father was Jonathan. He was only five years old when his grandfather gravely sinned and fell from power. During the transition of power from King Saul to King David, nearly every one in Saul’s family was killed,  including Mephibosheth’s father. The boy had been hidden away by his nanny, but he was injured when they fled – the nanny fell with him – and Mephibosheth spent the rest of his life unable to walk. 

Jonathan and King David had been close friends, and, while it was out of David’s control, the death of his friend greatly disturbed him. 

Years later, in God’s perfect timing, David approached a man who had been one of King Saul’s aids. He asked the man if Saul had any descendents remaining. 

The man told King David about Mephibosheth, who was now grown, and still unable to walk. 

David asked the man to bring Mephibosheth to see him. 

When he came before David, Mephibosheth fell on his face. 

David called him by name. 

“Here am I,” said Mephibosheth, “your servant.”

David adopted him into his own family. He welcomed him to his table, the king’s table.

Like Mephibosheth, you and I were hurt by a fall. In our case, it was not the fall of our nanny, rather the fall of all mankind through Adam. Mephibosheth could never walk again, while you and I are unable by our own strength to walk in righteousness.

Like he, we were exiled, unworthy to sit at the King’s table. 

Because of the covenant that David had made with Jonathan, David went looking for even just one descendent who remain alive and found Mephibosheth. Because of the Covenant of Christ, God went looking for and found you and I.

When Mephibosheth entered the presence of King David, he bowed before Him, knowing that he was worthy of Death because he was in the line of Saul. He felt that he did not to deserve to be in David’s house because he could not walk. He knew that he had no standing in the court.  You and I, of our own merits, are unworthy to be in God’s presence and humbly bowed before Him.

God called Mephibosheth by name. He calls us by name. He calls us to repentance. 

Because of David’s love for Jonathan, Mephibosheth was adopted into the family of David. He was given a place at the King’s table for a long as he should live. We, too, have been adopted into the Family of the King. We have a place at His table.

So David said to [Mephibosheth], “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake…” 2 Samuel 9:7

Fear Not, for God will surely show us kindness for Christ’s sake.

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1. Fear Not what tomorrow holds –

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.             Matthew 6:34

2. Fear Not for Christ is our Redeemer –

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.            Isaiah 43:1c

3. Fear Not, but seek the Lord –

I sought the Lord, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.            Psalm 34:4

4. Fear Not, for God’s comfort brings joy –

In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.            Psalm 94:19

5. Fear Not, for nothing can separate you from God’s love –

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.            Romans 8:38-39

6. Fear Not, for He cares for us  –

…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.             1 Peter 5:7

7. Fear Not, for the Spirit gives us a sound mind  –

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.   2 Timothy 1:7

8. Fear Not, for He will never leave you –

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”            Deuteronomy 31:6

9. Fear Not, for we are His children –

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”              Romans  8:15

10. Fear Not, for perfect love drives out fear –

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.              1 John 4:18-19

11. Fear Not, for Christ is the Beginning and the End –

But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.            Revelation  1:17b

12. Fear Not, for He walks with us wherever we go –

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

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His story is worth retelling. A few years ago he suffered a heart attack, a severe one. It was the kind that ultimately kills 95 percent  of its victims. He went by helicopter to the hospital while technicians repeatedly shocked him with a defibrillator. He remembered much of it.

He said he was in and out of consciousnes. They zapped him. He prayed. He slipped away. They zapped him again. He prayed again. Again, he slipped away. They shocked him repeatedly for the duration of the flight. 

What did he pray?

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.

Job 13:15 was his prayer as death knocked on his door.

This man no longer fears death. He no longer fears suffering. He has a peace that  surpasses all understanding. 

Fear Not for though He slay us, we can trust Him. 

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These are scary times. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you. I suppose, though, that every generation feels that there’s is just a little closer to doom than the last. 

To King David, the scariest scene that he could imagine was likely an invading army led by chariots. Then as now, a nation must have adequate defenses to survive. King David’s united Israel was no different. The Bible doesn’t tell us how many chariots were counted in his army, but the Bible tells us in one spot that King Solomon possessed 1400 (1 Kings 10:26). 

David knew that his strength was not in his armies. He knew the size of his enemies’ armies was of no matter. His strength lied in the Lord. 

Fear not. Our God is mightier than any army. 

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On Sunday mornings, I watched Italian mobsters bow before the image of Mother Mary and beg forgiveness while Father David delivered mass. Later, Lloyd and Nita, volunteers for over thirty years, would lead singing in the Protestant service, led by either a Baptist or Pentecostal chaplain. 

On Wednesday evenings, a simple Bible study was led by sincere and loving volunteers. On Thursdays nights, Lloyd and Nita were back, with half a dozen other volunteers, in a simple testimony and prayer service. The volunteers gave the inmates a sense of love and normalcy. Those folks cared. They prayed. They loved. 

On Tuesday nights, though, that’s when the Spirit moved. Volunteers from a small holiness church came on Tuesday nights and delivered fire. They never failed to preach a sermon about repentance and forgiveness. They minced no words. Their message was, “You and your filthy sin put yourself into prison. You only have yourself to blame. And, only God can deliver your soul and give you freedom.”

Of course, the freedom of which they spoke was freedom from sin, not physical release from prison. Every week, the altars would fill up with gang members and drug dealers, angry young men and watery-eyed old men, who would fall to their knees and cry out to their Father for love, understanding, and forgiveness. 

And they would find it. 

God is the God of Hope. He has a soft spot in His heart for sinners. He reaches out to those in prison.  He loves them and forgives them when they repent. 

Oh. By the way… Most of us are in prison. A prison of sin. 

God will free us from sin if we cry out to Him. 

Fear not, for in our God is Hope. 

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Christ, though, was hated without cause. He discusses this with His apostles in John 15. He tells them that they will be hated. It applies to us, also. If we follow Him, we will be hated, as well. After all, the world hated  – hates – Him.

If they hate Him and we follow Him, then they will naturally hate us, too. 

Our job… My job… For  I am speaking to myself… My job is to be sure they hate me because I am living like Christ, and not because I wronged them. In fact, my job is much greater. I must love them who hate me. 

That’s hard to do, yet I must. 

Fear not, for if the world hates you because you are following Jesus, it is okay; they hated Him first. Reach out to those who hate you and demonstrate His love. 

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First, when Christ rose from the dead, it was a victory for all who believe in Him. It means that we, too, will be resurrected. We, too, shall live again. We, too, shall have eternal life. 

Second, Christ’s death and resurrection is a victory over sin. As believers, we are united  with Christ. We died with Him. We were buried with Him. We were resurrected with Him. Our lives are new. Old things have past away and all things have become new. We are no longer bound by the chains of sin. We are bound by the love of Christ.

Last, because of His death and resurrection, we are healed; 

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities; 

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

Praise God. He does heal.  

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Many of our worship services turn our backs on God, and instead we worship ourselves. We sing about Jesus, we talk about Jesus, but because we pick and choose only the attributes of God that appeal to our egos, we create a God whose name is shared with the real God but which is of human construct. 

We create our own version of the Jefferson Bible. We don’t call it the Fred Bible or the Ethel Bible, but we may as well. It contains far fewer than 66 books, and only those that feel good. It contains all the beattitudes but only no commandments. As for its authority, well we admit it is inspiring but many of us are not sure it is inspired. Seldom do we admit it is the true Word of God. We may carry the entire book, if we carry anything at all, but we have committed to memory only a few verses that makes us feel good. 

Because so few of us still worship the True God in Spirit and in Truth, the world is growing dark and scary. Lasciviousness and hatred rule. Selfishness trumps lovingkindness. Injustice has become law. Lies parade as truth. 

Yet, there is hope. It takes one. Only one. One person who will fall to her knees and weep and pray, and worship God. One person who will set his heart to God. One in each church. One in every town. One in every state. Just one who will pray and burn for Christ. Then, we will have revival. 

Fear Not, for God will bring revival. 

What is true worship?

I will declare Your name to My brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

You who fear the Lord, praise Him!

All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,

And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!

For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;

Nor has He hidden His face from Him;

But when He cried to Him, He heard.

My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;

I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied;

Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.

Psalm 22:22-26a

This Easter, let’s worship the True God. Center our worship on Him, not ourselves. 

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…here is this thoroughly gut-wrenching psalm (22), and on the same page is one of the most inspiring psalms ever written (23). Same Bible. Same book. Same page. Same writer. Same God. 

How is it that a good, all-knowing, all-powerful God can allow something so tragic to occur that His child begs Him not to be forsaken?

How can the same God that inspired the words, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” also inspire the writer to pen the following plea? “The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet… But you, O Lord, do not be far from me.”

The answer is that we live in a fallen world. To put it another way, we live in a world where sin runs rampant. David eventually learned not to fear what man could do to him in this life, and learned to only fear God. 

That begs the question, “Why doesn’t God simply get rid of all the sin in the world? To do that, He would have to get rid of all the sinners. He could simply wipe them off the face of the earth. In that case, you and I should say, “So long,” for you and I are sinners. We would be gone. 

Well, then, why can’t He just get rid of the sin? He has made provision to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse our hearts of all unrighteousness. However, to fully get rid of all the sin in this world, He would have to remove our free-will, which would make us something like a robot, and not human. He can, however, sanctify believers, and strengthen us with the power of His love, giving us the means by which to resist the temptation of sin. That, though, is up to each and every individual. 

The world will not be made new until the end of days. And until God creates a new heaven and a new earth, there will be tragedy, disasters, and sin and death. This is part of the human experience, the course which mankind has chosen and to which we are bound until Christ returns. 

In the meanwhile, know this: every evil deed will, in the end, be punished, and every evil-doer will be brought to justice. Jesus will return someday to judge the sins of quick and the dead; He will judge those who do not repent of their sins. 

Judgment, though, is at Christ’s second coming. Right now, He offers mercy.  

• “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” – John 12:47

Yes, we serve a just God, One Who is righteous, and Who will someday judge all who hear His Word and do not believe. 

But, He is a loving God, Who offers mercy to those who believe. 

• Yes, we find every human emotion in God’s Word, for it is a letter inspired by God written by humans for humans. The same writers who record their fear, also write about the God-given courage. They write about their joy and their disappointment. They write about tragedy and reward. They write so that we, who are made lower than the angels, can relate to the stories, I and grasp the eternal truth. 

Ultimately, we learn to

Fear Not, For the same Bible that tells us that Christ will judge the world, also assures us that God sent His Son to rescue those whom believe. 

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That little annoyance – that lonely voice on the internet – is nothing but an itch, unworthy of mention compared to the pain and death that Jesus suffered. 

Jesus was stripped of His garments, beaten about the head with a rod, and had a crown of thorns embedded in His scalp. 

He was beaten so severely with a cat o’ nine tails that His bones were exposed. He was so weak that when forced to carry the cross bar to which He would be nailed, He fell to the ground. 

Three nails – spikes, really – secured him to the Roman cross, one in each wrist and one through His feet, which were placed atop one another. 

He watched as His clothes were given as award in a game of chance. 

It was a brutal scene. Yet, this rather obscure and peculiar incident is mentioned both in Psalms 22, which prophetically looks forward to the cross, and in three of the Gospels, Matthew, Luke, and John, each of which record the crucifixion from their own perspective. It is a minor thing, compared to other brutal acts on that sad day, yet it was important enough to include four times in the Bible. 

That it is such an oddity is what makes it a memorable prophesy. David was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this psalm 1000 years before the crucifixion and five hundred years before the founding of the Roman Republic. Yet, he describes the final hours of Jesus in some detail. 

This odd little prophecy was just one of many that inspired Matthew, Luke, and John in the days following the death of Jesus. 

For weeks Jesus had warned those closest to Him that His “time is at hand.” Now, as He die on the cross, His disciples understood that His predictions of a violent death were literal, and they were beginning to understand that the His Kingdom is spiritual. They trembled with fear. 

As they watched from a distance Jesus dying on the cross, they noticed the Romans casring lots to determine which of them would go home with the clothes of the Messiah. The spirit reminded them of this passage in the 22nd Psalm. What they already knew, was confirmed; this is not the death of an ordinary man. Surely, He is the Son of God. 

Fear Not, For His Was No Ordinary Death.

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Whenever I think of the passion week, I am emotionally drawn to the night spent in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was, for Jesus, something of a quiet retreat in the midst of conflict. A walled compound, a working olive press, a beautiful orchard, it sat at the foot of a mountain, only a stone’s throw from the Temple, opposite Golgotha. 

As Jesus prayed that night, I wonder if He asked Himself why He created such a beautiful garden so close to such an ugly Hill as Golgotha. Did He ever consider calling a legion of angels to rescue him? Did He regret creating mankind? Did He think of the 22nd Psalm, which He had inspired David to write, and wonder, is there another way?

Did He fell abandoned? Did He pray those words?

O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;

And in the night season, and am not silent.

But You are holy,

Enthroned in the praises of Israel…

But I am a worm, and no man;

A reproach of men, and despised by the people…

But You are He who took Me out of the womb;

You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.

I was cast upon You from birth.

From My mother’s womb

You have been My God.

Be not far from Me,

For trouble is near;

For there is none to help.

We learn at least thee important lessons from that night in Gethsemane. 

• First, since even the Son of God spent hours in prayer, it is of utmost importance that we spend considerable time in prayer. 

• Secondly, it is not a sin to question God’s plan for our lives, so long as we ultimately submit to His plan. We should be frank with God in our prayers, for He knows us better than we know ourselves. 

• Thirdly, Jesus endured such agony so that we don’t have to; He died in our place. 

I’m forgiven cause You were forsaken

I’m accepted, You were condemned

I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me

‘Cause You died and rose again

– Amazing Love, Billy James Foote 

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My mother took us to the Sammy Lane Boat Line, where a few dozen of us boarded for a pirate adventure on Lake Taneycomo. During the adventure, I was chosen to “pilot the boat.” 

The ship’s captain told me to steer to the right of the buoy. 

Simple enough, but at six, I had never heard the word buoy. I should have asked what he meant, but I was too embarrassed. I wanted to be captain, and I figured every good captain should know the meaning of the word buoy. 

“Point towards that white thing,” he said. 

The only white things I saw were the reflections of sunlight off the lapping waters. So, I steered toward them. Straight towards the left bank. 

“No. No. Not that way,” he said. Within seconds, the captain had taken the wheel and spun it to the right, taking us into deeper waters. 

When I read this verse in Isaiah 30:21, I think of that boat captain, sitting behind me, talking in my ear, giving me directions. 

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

“This is the way, walk in it,”

Whenever you turn to the right hand

Or whenever you turn to the left.

Then I think of a passage in Job 23:8-9, where Job is desperate to hear God’s voice guide him. 

“Look, I go forward, but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;

When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.

How can we expect to walk in the footsteps of God during those times when God tests us, or we cannot hear His voice. Should we turn left or right? We cry, “Please God, tell us what to do!”

Job answers his own question: stay on the path that we know is right. Walk in His Word. 

He continues, 

But He knows the way that I take;

When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

My foot has held fast to His steps;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

Just steer a straight course. Stay in the channel of deep waters. And if you are a mere babe in Christ, like the six year old boy steering the boat, don’t worry. He will take the wheel I’d you go to far astray. 

Fear Not, for even when we cannot perceive the voice of God, His Word is Our Guide. 

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Prophet Elijah was exhausted, burned out. His life was threatened at every turn. He felt all alone. He was ready to lay down and die.

Just when Elijah thought things could not be worse, he cried out to God. God sent a ministering angel who strengthened Elijah and prepared him for another task, one that would last another forty days. This was not exactly the answer Elijah had hoped for.
As if Elijah wasn’t frightened enough, God led the prophet to a mountain where a strong wind crumbled the rocks. A violent earthquake shook the mountain, spawning a fire. God was not found in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire. But, when the din died down, Elijah found God.

God does not create tragedies. The human condition – that of the fallen nature – creates disaster. Even when we follow God, we must sometimes endure more than we believe we are capable. In the end, though, we find God still holds our hand, and speaks to us in a still, small voice, just as he did Elijah.

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At once, I felt both proud and exhausted. Sometimes, we simple work ourselves into a frazzle. 

In 1 Kings 19, we join Prophet Elijah when he is frazzled. In fact, in verse 4, he has lied down, declared that he has reached his end, and asked the Lord to take his life. 

Instead, the Lord twice sends an angel to strengthen him with food and water on which he can go strong for another 40 days and nights. 

Never think that you are not up to the task, for the Lord will never ask you to do a job without providing you the means of accomplishing it. 

Fear Not, for the Lord is not finished with you. 

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I will praise You,

For You have answered me,

And have become my salvation.

The stone which the

builders rejected

Has become the chief

Cornerstone.

Think of the cornerstone not as the ceremonial stone with an inscription, a date, or a dedication. That is not what is meant in the Bible. Rather, think of a builder attempting to layout his work level and true. The first stone set in place must be perfectly cut and perfectly placed, else subsequent stones will stray far off course. 

Paul, in Ephesians 2, calls Christ our cornerstone, but couldn’t the same be said about Mohammed, Buddha, or any such person?

What makes this stone so perfect that it acts as a guide for every part of the house? Are there not, in fact, many stones that can be a guide?
Dropping the analogy, let’s look at that question in a practical sense. Jesus was a good man, a great teacher, an advocate of the poor, a philosopher, and one who exemplified faith in His death… But, the same might be said of the founders of other world religions? What makes Christ different than they?

What makes Jesus the one true Way, the Truth, and the Life… What makes Him the only door into God’s Kingdom… Is this:

Jesus is the only one who lived a perfect life, thus overcoming sin, and He is the only one who rose from the dead, and conquered death. 

The stones used to build the House of God may be all shapes and sizes, all different qualities, and even different colors. All are imperfect. The Cornerstone is alone perfect.

Fear Not, for Jesus is the Cornerstone. 

Jesus is the Cornerstone,

He came for sinners to atone;

Tho’ rejected by His own,

He became the Cornerstone.

O Jesus is the Cornerstone.

When I am by trial oppressed,

On the Stone I am at rest;

When the seeds of truth are sown,

He remains the Cornerstone.

Jesus is the Cornerstone.

Lari Goss, 1976. (copyright 1976 Bridge Building Music, Inc.). 

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The Apostle Paul never found himself worthy to serve God. And, for good reason. None of us are worthy, for we are full of sin and darkness. 

Yet, because of His great love for us, God sent His Son to die as a sacrifice, so that we do not have to die. He was raised from the dead, and now sits beside God, in heaven. 

What love, what wondrous love, He has for us. That God should love a sinner such as you or I. 

Because He first loved me, I commit my life to Him, promising to serve Him. Yet, even in that promise, I fail Him, for I know that if it is left up to me, I will fail Him. 

It is not up to me, though. I rely fully on the power of His Holy Spirit Who lives within me. I have faith that He shall never fail me. I commit fully to Him and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until the day that I meet Him face-to-face. For, I know in Whom I have believed. 

I am not ashamed… And I fear not, for I know in Whom I have believed. 

###

I know not why God’s wondrous grace

To me He hath made known,

Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love

Redeemed me for His own.
But “I know Whom I have believed,

And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto Him against that day.”

– I Know Whom I Have Believed, David W. Whittle, 1883.

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When the guards came to apprehend him, he begged them for one hour to pray. They allowed it. His prayers were so fervent that the guards repented of their sins. 

Still, he was condemned to be burnt at the stake in the marketplace. His calm demeanor persuaded the guards to tie Polycarp to the stake, and not nail him. When the fire was lit, he stood unmoveable. The fires, though, burnt around him, and not even his hair was singed. 

Seeing this, his executioner drove a spear through him. The blood was so great that it extinguished the fires. The body of Polycarp was thrown onto a pyre. His bones were later gathered for a secret Christian funeral. 

It is said that many of those who witnessed the loving and forgiving nature of Polycarp during his execution humbled themselves and also followed Christ. 

Fear Not, for God has given us a spirit of love. 

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Within minutes the two lane country road upon which we drove turned into a skating rink. With no warning our car lost traction and spun completely around three or four times before going into a ditch. 

I prayed silently while trying to control the car. 

God answered those prayers immediately.  My wife and kids were unhurt, and I had only bruised my forearms on the steering wheel. Before the car had cooled off, a farmer pulled us out of the ditch with a chain. 

The rest of the trip home was uneventful. Some would say that it just wasn’t our time… I believe God answered our prayers. 

Psalm 46:2-3

Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

And, though the rain freeze on the road…

Fear Not, for God answers prayers. 

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Many Christians like to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 as a source for national inspiration. I have heard many sermons preached on this passage. It sounds simple… Humble oneself… Call on His name… Seek His face…

I mean, who can’t pray? Who can’t call out in desperation to Almighty God?

But, what does it mean to seek the face of God? Do we have it within ourselves to humbly admit that our entire worth comes from our relationship with God? Do we have what it takes to submit ourselves to Him. To seek the face of God means to learn AND emulate His ways. To put it simply, seeking the Face of God means to become intimate with Him, heart-to-heart, mind-to-mind, and OBEY Him. 

1 SAMUEL 12:13-14 is similar in tone to the passage in 2 Chronicles, yet I have never heard a sermon preached on it. 

of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God.

Here is the part that thrills me… Did you catch it?

If We The People serve and obey God without rebelling against His Word, then even those who reign over us will follow God. 

Did you catch that? The fate of our nation depends upon our obedience to God. As Christians, we have always prayed for our national leaders, but God tells us here that it is not just our prayers but also our actions that set the course of this land. 

Isn’t that awesome?

Isn’t that… Somewhat frightening?

Fear Not the leaders of our land, for you control or nation’s destiny. 

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She was meticulous with her hair even after it had turned white. Every last strand was held in its proper place with gallons of Aqua Net hairspray. Her makeup was pancaked on, and her lipstick was bright. He jewelry was costume, but it was priceless in her mind. She was thirty years out of fashion, but she didn’t care. When she looked in the mirror, it was her thirty-year-old self who looked back. 

To us children, Grandma seemed a little nuts, a fact of which Grandpa was certain. One particular summer day proved to me that nuts or not, she loved me. 

I had found that one of our outdoor cats had had kittens under a pile of rubbish just beyond the back fence. By the time I found them, their eyes were already open, so I determined to carry them into the yard where I could play with them. 

Grandma, of course, knew that they were too little to separate from their mother, but, being a bratty kid, I argued with her. Her only way of handling me when I had made up my mind about something was to promise me that she was going to tell my mom when she got home. 

“I don’t care,” I said, knowing that my mom wouldn’t be home for hours. 

She continued to scold me until I put the kittens away, But I was so angry I told her I was running away. 

I took off walking towards the barn, turning around every few steps to see if she would stop me. She waited until I was nearly out of earshot, crossing into the fields at the cattle gate. 

“Stevie Joe,” she called. I ran back to the yard. 

“What’s the matter, Grandma?” 

“Where are you going?” 

“I’m running away.”

“Ok, but stay close, so I can hear you.”

“Okay. I guess.” I was at once frustrated and happy. I was frustrated because I had wanted to prove a point. And, I wanted to go to my favorite hiding place, a mountain spring on the back side of the farm. I was happy because I knew Grandma loved me enough that she wanted me close. 

For as many are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. We have been given the Spirit of adoption, by which we call out “Abba,” or Father (see Roman 8:14-16).

Stay close enough to your Heavenly Father that He can hear you when you call. 

Fear Not, we are the Children of God. 

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I’ll be honest; I was nearly scared to death. The room filled with shadows, and noises, and lights like I’ve never seen before or since. A scary movie. A ouija board. Seven very active imaginations. Perhaps the devil himself. I left, and began walking home-based frightened the entire way.

It was after midnight, and I walked nearly eight miles before I caught a ride home.Still, I think I did the right thing. A wise man fears evil and departs from it, according to the Bible. That’s exactly what I did. The thing is, I never should have put myself in a situation where I had to walk home in the middle of the night. 

If we walk hand-in-hand with Christ, we will be better able to identify evil, and avoid it altogether. 

Fear Not. Flee from evil… or, better yet, avoid it altogether. 

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How else can we conceive of such a concept. Considering the Trinity is like considering a new color. That is impossible. The best we can do is come up with variations using mixtures of existing colors. 

In this single passage of John 14:25-28, Jesus ties Himself, the Holy Spirit, and God into the concept of overcoming fear. Because the Holy Spirit is to arrive… and because Jesus is returning to the Father, who is greater, we are not to fear. 

So, it is the person of the Holy Spirit who lives within our hearts, teaching us, speaking to us, helping us to pray. It is Jesus who sits beside the Father, acting as our advocate. It is the Father who sits upon the throne. Yet, all three are one. Got it. Sort of. 

Best I can. 

I understand it…

… Like I understand a new color. 

Let me go back to the clover: three leafs, one clover. 

Oh boy. 

I may not understand, but I will not fear, for Christ returns to the Father, who is greater, and has sent us the Holy Spirit.

###

 Holy, holy, holy

Though the darkness hide Thee

Though the eyes of sinful man Thy glory may not see

Lord, only Thou art holy and there is none beside Thee

Perfect in power, in love and purity

– Holy, Holy, Holy

Reginald Heber and John Bacchus Dykes, 1861

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I’m sure the answer will be that it only seems like God doesn’t like mobile homes… that mobile homes are more easily destroyed. 

For a couple years while growing up, my brother, David, and I lived with our mother in a mobile home. One summer day, we were home alone when a tornado set its sights on our mobile home park. I was frightened, for we could see the funnel cloud coming straight forward us. 

The smart thing to do, would have been to take shelter. Instead, David and I stood out in the front yard watching it dance toward us. It was not alone. A smaller funnel formed on either side of the tornado. To me, they looked like cloud fingers, taunting us; three fingers, set to flick us into oblivion. Only the center funnel cloud fully formed, and it grew larger as it moves towards us. 

The winds grew wild. Hailstones the size of marbles fell around us. I was convinced that we would be sucked up into the clouds. I whined to go inside, but my brother told me we would be fine to stay on our patio and watch it. When I saw that he wasn’t scared, then I was no longer afraid. Let the winds blow. I wasn’t frightened so long as my big brother wasn’t. 

At the last minute, David and I ducked inside. Good thing, too, because the tornado ripped the roof right off our patio. We watched it from inside the mobile home. As impressed as I was with that storm, what I remember most all these years later was how reassuring it was to watch my brother stay calm. It was almost as if he was in charge, not only of me, but the storm, too. 

Christ, the only begotten Son of God, really does stand beside us through life’s storms, reassuring us, the adopted sons and daughters of God. “It’s okay,” He says…

My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

– John 14:27b 

Fear Not, and let not your heart be troubled. 

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True faith in God also produces obedience. If you have faith… I mean, if you truly have faith in God, you will obey Him. 

The story is told that, during a D. L. Moody revival meeting, a young man stood up and said, “I don’t rightly know if God will save me or not, but I will trust that He will, and I will obey Him.”
Inspired by the testimony, the song leader at that meeting, Daniel Towner, repeated that testimony to his friend John Sammis. Sammis, a preacher, poet, and song writer, then penned the words to the hymn, Trust and Obey. Towner set those words to music. 
Few churches today sing hymns, but I grew up singing them. I remember that one, and I don’t think I ever realized the connection between faith, trust, and obedience. I just never got it. 
Towner and Sammis got it. They understood that it takes remarkable faith to trust God enough to obey Him, especially when you are afraid that He may not save you. 
King David got it, too. His life moved from one crisis to another. He was constantly pursued by enemies. He rarely went to sleep without fear. He composed hundreds of prayerful songs, many of which are preserved in our Bibles in the Book of Psalms. In most, he speaks of his fears. In spite of his fears, David trusted God and obeyed Him. 
Do you possess the faith to trust God? Yes? If so, then you will obey Him. 
Fear Not, just trust and obey. 
###

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.—

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
– Trust and Obey,  John H. Sammis and Daniel B. Towner, 1887

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Have you ever stood alone again such overwhelming odds? Everywhere you turn, the enemy attacks. You’re surrounded. 

Not only are you outnumbered, but outsized. This is no ordinary enemy; they are giants. 

In this psalm, David, facing his enemies, prays for God to intervene. Specifically, he prays that God would strike his enemies in the jaw and break their teeth. 

The image I conjure in my head is that of a boxer who has knocked his opponent out cold. The enemy is down for the count and God is declared the winner. 

Remember this. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, then you never face your enemies alone. God fights for you. He knocks out the enemy with a single blow to the jaw. He is always the clear winner. He brings victory to us. He is the Victor. Our deliverer. Our king. 

Fear Not, for God strikes our enemies. 

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This is called a Life Debt. Someone saves a life, and that person becomes their slave. The slave can only feel free only if the debt can is repaid saving his benefactor’s life. Otherwise, he is bound to the savior for life. 

Jesus is indeed our Savior, as we learned yesterday, but more than that, He is our Salvation. What’s the difference? A savior may rescue someone, for instance, a lifeguard pulling a drowning swimmer from the water, and performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The rescuer restarts the heart and breathes air into the lungs. Jesus, our Savior, saved us by pulling us from the brink of hell.

As our Salvation, Jesus not only restarts our hearts and fills us with the breath of new life, He gives us His blood. He gives us His breath. He gives us His heart. He gives us His mind. Continually.  Repeatedly. He sustains us. 

He is the air we breath. He is The Life. His very Spirit lives in us. It is to Him that we pledge our lives as slaves, for we can never repay such a Life Debt. He resuscitates us every minute of every day.

Fear Not, for Jesus is indeed our Savior and our Salvation. 

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life;

Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1  NKJV

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Leading his platoon through a vineyard in southern France, Audie fended off a German attack and killed two enemy soldiers. Two other German soldiers exited a house to surrender. Audie’s best friend, Lattie Tipton, approached the two to accept their surrender and was promptly shot dead.

Enraged, Murphy charged. He killed killed those who had shot his friend. Using the German’s machine gun and grenades, he killed all inside the house, saving the lives of the other men in his platoon.

Audie Murphy was the perfect picture ofan American hero. By the time the war was over, he had singlehandedly killed an estimated 240 enemy soldiers. He was awarded 33 military medals, including three people hearts, the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and the Bronze Star. He was, in his own way, the picture of a savior.

Our Savior… The Savior… Is son of God, the Father who never abandons us. Our Savior fights our battles. He defeats our enemies. He reeks vengeance on those He deems necessary. To say he is a hero is a tragic understatement. He is The Hero, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus, Our Savior, defeated the ultimate enemy: death. Along the way, He defeated sin. He defeated Satan. You are a part of His platoon. All you have to do is follow Him through the war zone.

Don’t be afraid. Follow Him. Fear Not, for the Lord is Our Savior. He is our salvation…

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The prophet, Daniel, was given a vision that frightened him. He, too, felt fear. Then he heard words from the Lord that should be a comfort to us all. 

Do fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard… Daniel 10:12 NKJV

Because God is no respect of persons, this promise also applies to you and I. From the minute we set our heart to understand God’s Word, and humbled ourselves before God, He has heard us. 

Fear not, for God hears us. 

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In 1 Samuel 20, the prophet and judge Samuel mourns for what he believes is the death of the spiritual life of the nation of Israel. They are God’s chosen people, with a system of government unlike any other. Mighty men and women of God traditionally rise up as called by God to judge the nation, guide the nation, or rescue the nation from her enemies. 

The problem is that the more victories and prosperous the nation becomes, the more Israel rebels against God. Now, the people call for a king to replace the judges. They want a strong man to rule over them instead of a man of God to guide them. They want to be like other nations. They tire of being held accountable by the Law of God. 

Samuel, the last judge, mourns. 

God concedes to Israel’s demands and reveals to Samuel the chosen king. Samuel anoints the king, but is frustrated at the people’s rebellion against God. 

Before retiring from the office of judge, Samuel pronounces the sins of the people and calls down lightning from heaven to emphasize his point. 

The demonstration is a reminder to the people of the power of God. The people of Israel become fearful of the lightning and of Samuel, but they do not repent. Sadly, they ignore the demonstration of God’s power, and ignore the call to repentance, and decide to rule over their own lives instead of allowing God to rule over them. They welcome their new king. 

They make excuses in their own mind. They justify their sin by reminding themselves that they will be just like other nations. They resist repentance. They believe their own lies. They settle for less than God’s perfect plan. 

Samuel’s final plea to them as judge included these words:

Fear Not, but do not turn aside…

They turn aside, nonetheless. 

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The third way to live out the your life as a Christian is Spirit-led. Grow so close to Christ that people see Christ in you. Walk so close to Christ that you are are never afraid to tell others about Him. Know Christ so well that your are never lost for words because His words are hidden in your heart. 

When you develop such an intimate relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit will direct your path and direct your voice. You will realize that souls are saved through the power of the Holy Spirit in spite of me and you. People are brought to Christ not by might, not by power, but by His Spirit. 

When you live a Spirit-filled life, you realize that people are won to the Lord through labors of love, not through vain preaching, and not through uncaring passiveness. 

Let Christ live through you. Live a Spirit-led life. Fear Not; speak out, love others, and show people our God.

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Sometimes, we can do nothing else but praise God. We awaken in the morning with a hymn or a chorus coursing through our head. All day long, we are singing it to ourselves. It just won’t go away. Have you ever had a day like that? For me, they occur quite frequently. 

I find, on those particular days, I am more inclined to speak out about Jesus, about what God has done in my life, about the Good News (the Gospel of Jesus Christ), about miracles I’ve witnessed, about healings, and finding the right job at the right moment, and groceries from nowhere when we’re hungry. 

Other times, I am too frightened to speak, for I fear becoming a target. I will be mocked or worse. Sometimes, it seems I just don’t have it in me, or, if it is in me, it’s certainly not bubbling up. 

The thing I have learned from years of studying is that I don’t have to always “feel it.” I am human, with human emotions, human moods, and human biorhythms. And sin. I am flawed. I don’t always feel strong. I don’t always feel close to God.

That’s okay. God is above humanity. He is always within us, always holding our hands, guiding us, and reassuring us. Whether we feel strong or weak, God is near. Brave or afraid, God is near. Good mood or bad mood, God is with us. He never leaves. He never forsakes us. We cannot fully comprehend that, because we depend so much on circumstances, but God is not driven by circumstances or emotions. 

Afraid to speak out about your Lord and Savior? Fear Not. Lift up your voice with strength. God is with us!

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God appears to the young King Solomon and says, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

God is no magic genie that we should ask anything of Him, but, in this case, He does exactly that: He offers Solomon his heart’s desire. 

You and I could probably not be trusted with such a wish, but Solomon had learned well from watching the failures of his father. He does not ask for wealth, or power, or love. He knows that riches may lead to evil, and excessive power could lead to abuse. Lust leads to infidelity, and sometimes to death. Instead, he asks for wisdom. 

If we look back to 1 Chronicles 22:12, we read that David had prayed that God would grant Solomon wisdom and understanding. In chapter 1 of 2 Chronicles, God answers David’s prayer and grants great wisdom to King Solomon. 

Much of Solomon’s wisdom was eventually recorded in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs. One proverb that catches my attention is 15:29, which reads, 

The Lord is far from the wicked,

But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

– NKJV

I wonder what Solomon thinking when he wrote that proverb? Did he think of that prayer, the prayer of his father, asking God to give Solomon wisdom? Was David perhaps the righteous man Solomon thought of when sharing that piece of wisdom?

If you’ve stayed with me to this point, you may see a paradox here. In one paragraph I suggest that Solomon learned from his father’s failures, and in another I propose that David was the model for the righteous man praying. 

This is really no paradox. Both may be true. You see, there exists no truly righteous man but Jesus Christ. Not David, not Solomon, not Peter, not Paul; none are righteous. With a broken heart and true repentance, David sought forgiveness for his sins. By faith, he learned to trust in God, and by faith, through the sacrifice of the Son of God, he was found righteous in God’s sight. In the same way, you and I, through faith in Jesus Christ, can be counted righteous in God’s eyes. 

It took David most of his life to develop the faith necessary to live a holy life. I can relate. I’m not there yet, but I am finally headed that direction. 

By the way, James refers to Solomon’s proverb, and his thoughts contain sound advice for the Christian journey:

…confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

– James 5:16 NIV

FEAR NOT, for God hears the prayers of the righteous. 

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The Lord is on my side;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

Because the writer of Hebrews quotes the Septuagint, the Greek Bible used by Jews of that time, the quote reads a little differently, and puts that verse in a little different light. 

The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?”

I do not claim that one is more accurate than the other, nor do I prefer one over the other. They do paint totally different pictures in my mind. 

I read that “the Lord is on my side,” and I imagine that I’m lined up on a dusty frontier street, my hand at the ready next to my sixshooter. I’m facing off against a gang of bad guys who smirk with confidence. I hear nothing but my heart pounding. I know I cannot take them all out. My hope is to take at least one with me before they gun me down. 

As if with one mind, the entire gang of outlaws look dismayed  They cannot believe their eyes. The whole lot of them turn tail and run. I look beside me and there stands John Wayne. He says, “Looks to me like there’s no one left to fight.”

When I read that “the Lord is my helper,” I cannot help but imagine that I am sitting at a computer, trying to hack into an account belonging to a mad scientist. If I cannot discover the password, the world will end. Next to me, with a paperclip, a piece chewing gum wrapped in foil, and a Swiss army knife in hand, is McGyver. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head at me. “I got this,” he says. 

I know. I know. I just compared God to John Wayne and McGyver. Not really. You and I both know that those are just silly illustrations. Whether God is protecting you from evil, or easing life’s most difficult tasks, He is a good God. 

Fear Not, for the Lord is our Helper. 

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A few days later the roads were clear enough to drive on, but power would not be restored everywhere for a few more weeks. My sons and I drove to a convenient store that sold kerosene. 

Only then did I see the beauty of the ice. Blue skies turned every tree branch and every blade of grass into sparkling diamonds. The bright sun melted the ice just enough to drip down roadside rock faces, whether it refroze into countless frozen waterfalls.  The ice was just as pretty the previous day and the next, but it is that day I remember. The fear was gone. The worst was over. I was no longer blinded by fear. 

In this passages in Joshua (chapter 10), the men of Gibeon are afraid of their enemies, and beg Joshua for help. The Lord tells Joshua to fear not, Not a man of them shall stand before you.” 

God protected His people. The men of Gibeon could not see what God had in store; they were were so blinded by fear. 

On another note, when Joshua and Caleb first spied in the Promised Land, they reported it to be “flowing with milk and honey,” and with clusters of grapes so large that it took two men to carry them. Yet, throughout the history of its conquest – the books of Joshua and Judges – there is no further mention of its beauty and abundance (except in recalling the earlier reports of the spies).

Fear does indeed blind us to God’s wonders. 

Fear Not – For God is Working wonders all around us. 

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The sad thing is, we really don’t have many family reunions. The only time we see family is at a funeral. Everyone is too busy, too distant, or too angry about the past to bother. 

I love my brothers and sister and they love me.  We are, though, human, with human faults and frailties. We let each other down. We disappoint each other. We don’t always come tough for each other. We are not as close as we could be, or should be. 

There is someone, though, who sticks closer than a brother. He will never leave us nor disappoint us. He has no faults or frailties, for He is spirit, not flesh. He understands us, though, because He has suffered every temptation and trial that we will go through. He is by our side in life. He will be by our side in death. 

I would give up everything to go back to those days of my childhood when I had no worry and no fear, to just play with my siblings, roll down grassy hills, and stare at clouds in the sky. Since that is impossible, it is comforting to know that Jesus is there for me, with me, like a brother… more than a brother. 

Fear Not, for Jesus is closer than a brother. 

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– Charles H. Spurgeon

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What are the first things that God wills for our lives? To walk daily with Jesus. To love Him with all our heart, all our mind, and all our strength. To love one another in the same way as we love ourselves. To obey His commandments. To pray continuously. To take care of the poor, widowed, and orphaned. To give generously. 

If we fail to do God’s will in those foundational things, we cannot expect to know God’s will in the more personal things. 

If you are seized with fear about the direction of your life, then be faithful to that which is foundational. Fear Not, but desire just one thing: “that I might not offend Him.”

—-

Brother Lawrence said the greatest pains or pleasures of this world were not to be compared with what he had experienced of both kinds in a spiritual state. As a result he feared nothing, desiring only one thing of God – that he might not offend Him. He said he carried no guilt. “When I fail in my duty, I readily acknowledge it, saying, I am used to do so. I shall never do otherwise if I am left to myself. If I fail not, then I give God thanks acknowledging that it comes from Him.” 

– from The Practice of the Presence of God. 

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“In the world you are frightened. But be comforted; I have conquered the world!” Christ is in the boat! 

And this place, where this kind of talk is heard – and should be heard –  is the pulpit of the church. From this pulpit the living Christ himself wants to speak, so that wherever he reaches somebody, that person will feel the fear sinking away, will feel Christ overcoming his or her fear…

Let the most depressed and despairing people speak, those who ask: “Isn’t our time up?” “Aren’t the years of catastrophe, of utter decline and breakdown, the chaos of our lives in both great and small things, which no one can ignore, the sign that God has let us go?” “God doesn’t want us anymore.” “There’s no more mercy coming our way from God.” “God is against us, and we have to accept it.” “It won’t do to keep clinging if we aren’t wanted.”

 This is the cry out of the very depths of despair. There is only one thing that helps, and it is what the church does with any of us who thinks and feels this way. It takes the cross and places it before our eyes and asks: Did God abandon him? And since God did not abandon Jesus, we will not be abandoned by God, either.

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer,

“Overcoming Fear,” Sermon, Berlin. January 15, 1933.

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The divorce rate in America has remained around fifty percent for generations. Fewer and fewer people even bother with marriage. 

It is not entirely the fault of those involved… not entirely. Satan hates marriage. 

Marriage was the first institution created by God. Before He created cities, states, nations, and the Church, God created marriage, and subsequently, the family. It is the only one of those institutions that He created personally (see Genesis 2:24); all others He created by extension through man. It is, also, the institution attacked first and foremost by Satan, for he knows that if he can destroy the marriage and the family that all of society will be destroyed as well. 

How can we defend marriage and family? Build both on a foundation of prayer and obedience to God. Had I done this years ago, I would have saved much grief. You see marriage actually involves three people, not two: man, woman, and God. When the husband and wife have a deep relationship with God and continue to develop that relationship jointly, they perfect their love. Then they need not fear a failed marriage. 

Sure, they will still have problems. Temptations and trials will still trouble their marriage, but because of the persistent guidance of God, they will overcome them. The same thing is true of the children. 

Love perfected by God creates perfect marriages… well, as perfect as they will ever be in a fallen world. 

Fear Not, for “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18a

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Two years later, Anna and their four girls were crossing the Atlantic on the iron steamship Ville du Havre when it collided with an iron clipper named Loch Earn. Horatio, detained by business, was to follow them to Paris a few days later. Within 12 minutes of the collision, the steamship had sunk. 

Anna was rescued from the debris of steamship but there was no sign of their four daughters. They had drowned. “God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why,” said Anna.

On his journey to meet Anna, Horatio found comfort in prayer when God hid the grieving father away in His presence. It was then that he penned the following poem, later set to music:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul,

It is well, it is well with my soul. 
Fear Not, for, though the world may not understand, You hide is in Your presence and lavish us with Your love. 

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During the Battle of Monongahela, he repeatedly rode back and forth between the frontlines and headquarters, presenting an irresistible target for the enemy. Of the 86 officers in the field that day, 63 were casualties. Washington was the only mounted officer not shot that day. 

He wrote in a letter that four bullets had passed through his coat and that his horse had been shot out from under him twice. He praised God for His divine protection. 

Years later, the chief of one of the opposing Indian tribes recounted how he had ordered his young braves to level their weapons at Washington. They were expert shots; their guns “knew not how to miss.” But miss they did. 

He was, the chief said, shielded by a “power mighter far than we.” Washington was protected by the hand of God.

“Today you are going into battle with your enemies.”

Fear Not. Do not panic. Do not be terrified. For the Lord your God goes with you to fight.

———

This story is found in…

Barton, David. The Bulletproof George Washington: An Account of God’s Providential Care. Aledo, TX, Wallbuilders Press, 1990.

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Yet, there are times when Christians will face storms in life. Even those who surrender fully to God and follow in the footsteps of Jesus and pray continuously will face storms. Every Christian will at times face persecution, illness, death of loved ones, financial worries, temptation, and trials. How do I know this? Because Christ faced temptation, trials, and persecution. He lost loved ones to death (Lazarus). He faced death, and death He conquered. 

In Mark 4, after a long day of teaching, Jesus falls asleep in a nearby boat, probably one belonging to his disciples. The disciples, also exhausted, decide to launch the boats and escape the massive crowds. They retreat towards the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 

Somewhere on their journey, the weather takes a turn, and the waves nearly sink the boats. Jesus sleeps through it… or, more accurately, He sleeps until the disciples shake Him awake. 

“Master, does it mean nothing to you that we are drowning?”

To say that the disciples were scared that day is an understatement. These are men who grew up in a fishing culture, who cross the Sea as easily as we cross the street. At least four are professional fishermen who, undoubtedly, have faced many storms on the Sea of Galilee. This storm, however, frightens them, chills them. The winds are as great as one can imagine, and the waves burst onto the deck. They are certain they are going to die. 

Why was it necessary that the disciples face this storm? I mean, to look at them, they had done everything right. They had given up everything to follow Jesus. They had left their jobs, their families, and their possessions behind to study at the feet of the Master. Yet, if one believes that Jesus is fully God, and that God can bring even storms into submission (and I do believe that), then why would He find it necessary that the disciples, whose sole desire is to follow in His footsteps, face a life-threatening storm? And, why would Jesus sleep through it. 

Jesus knew the trials that the disciples would someday face. He knew that the Big Fisherman, Peter, and his brother Andrew were to be vilified by the Roman government. Jesus knew that Peter would be crucified upside down and Andrew staked to an X-shaped cross, because they felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus died. 

Jesus knew there, in that boat, that Philip, too, would be crucified, as would Simon the Zealot and Thaddeus. Jesus knew that James would be beheaded. Thomas would be ran through with a spear. Matthew would be stabbed in the back with a sword. James the Lesser, would be stoned at the age of 94. John, Jesus knew, would die a natural death after spending years in prison. 

That day in the boat, Jesus knew that the disciples lacked the necessary faith to face such persecution and death. He also knew that without such persecution, the Church would not grow. Persecution scattered the Church from Jerusalem to India, to Africa, and to Europe. Everywhere the disciples went, they made more disciples. 

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 

And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Mark 4:39-41 KJV 

All said and done, the fear that the disciples had felt for the storm is instead given to the man who calms the storm. They begin to see that their Master is no ordinary teacher. He is the Son of God. 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  –Matthew 28:18b-20 NIV 

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You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?

No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Before I began elementary school, my sister (15 years older than me) and her husband had their lives planned out. They were in students at Pasadena College, a Nazarene college, where they were studying to be missionaries. They planned to go to Africa, or the Far East, or some other exotic location and build the Church. Like all of us in our younger twenties, in spite of their youth, they had their lives all figured out. 

God had indeed called them to be His witness around the world, but He hadn’t revealed how He planned to send them. Their college days were interrupted by the Vietnam War when my brother-in-law was drafted. 

While my brother-in-law served as a medic in Southeast Asia, ministering to innumerable other young men, my sister suffered massive heart failure and nearly died. In fact, she did die – I think, a couple of times – and was brought back by the hand of God through His instruments, skilled attendantsand physicians. She recovered, with  God’s help, though she was told that she would never live a normal life and that she should never have children. She received a pacemaker that day and has had one imbedded in her chest now for fifty years. 

When my brother-in-law returned after a his tour in Vietnam, he went to work at a factory. His call to be a missionary was set aside for the moment. Now here is where God once again intervened. My sister’s ongoing medical expenses were too great for a man on hourly wages to pay, and my brother-in-law was compelled to reenlist. He made a career of the army. 

Together, my sister and her husband, and the two wonderful children that God gave them (in spite of the doctor’s warnings) took the Gospel of Christ to every army post that God sent them, blessing people and churches all over the US and Europe. 

To this day my sister and brother-in-law are active in church (in San Antonio) ministering to others through their love, generosity, and hard work. 

Were they afraid when my sister’s heart failed while her husband was half way around the world? Undoubtedly, they were both terrified. Were they dismayed when it looked like they were mistaken about God’s call to the mission field? I imagine so. When God sent them halfway around the world, did they tremble? Perhaps. 

But God had forordained the plan for their lives; even before He laid the foundations of the earth, He knew the path that Nancy and Him should travel. There is no other God, no other Rock. 

Fear Not. Be my witnesses. 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Maybe 28:18b-20

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The Bible is full of promises, most of which are taken out of context. The most common example of this is Romans 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I hear this quoted – rather misquoted – almost daily. Christians, non-Christians, atheists; I think everyone misquotes this verse. “All things work out” has become “It’s meant to be.” It has become, “There’s no such thing as coincidences.” Few consider the second part of that verse, “of those who love the Lord.” Almost no one remembers the caveat, “Called according to his purpose.”

The verse in the photo above tells us we should not fear bad news. That’s tough. I hate bad news… late night phone calls; medical tests; you know, the sort of paralyzing fear that one feels when life spins out of control. Like Romans 8:28, Psalm 112:7 tells us not to fear, for God is in control. 

Here is the rub; this verse, too, includes a caveat. This promise is to those who trust in the Lord, those who are steadfast. 

There is no promise to non-believers. There is no destiny for those who do not follow Christ. There is no plan in the works for those who do not rely on the plan book. The only promise for the lost is the voice of the Father calling, “Come to me, child, and I will take away your fears.”

Fear Not Bad News, if your trust God. 

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There is something appealing, though, about this image of a fisherman, especially in terms of building the Church, or evangelism. 

I know from spending a chunk of my childhood on the Finley River in the Ozark Mountains that there are many ways to fish. 

My great grandfather would spend hours on end waiting for perch and bluegill to swallow a worm on his hook. I suspect this was relaxing for him. 

Others would use a fly, constantly casting and reeling. It was hard work. 

I have a picture of my great grandfather and his brother using a seine, stretching a net across a river and walking upstream. This method usually yields large catches. 

I’ve never had much luck spear fishing, but I have speared a few frogs with a gig, which is similar. 

My brother was a pretty good “noodler” when he was a boy. To noodle, he stuck his hands underwater, usually near a rock, around which fish hide, and use his wiggling fingers as bait. When the fish bit he would grab it with his hands. 

All these ways of fishing are effective. The same could be said about evevangelism. There are many ways to reach lost souls. 

There is, however, one condition. Before one can be a Fisher of Men, one must first follow Jesus. Walk in His path. Learn from Him. Listen to His Word. Obey His commandments. Grow close to Him. Love Him. One must follow the Way to lead the Way. 

Trust Him.

Fear Not for I will make you fishers of men. 

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Jesus always relates to people on their own terms. When speaking to Nicodemus, for example, Christ speaks in deep theological and philosophical terms. When speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, he talks about water, her social status (or lack thereof) and politics, the things that concern her most. Jesus does the same when calling his disciples; He speaks their language. 

It is early morning and the four fishermen- Peter, Andrew, James, and John – have worked all night, but they are empty handed. Disappointed, they head back to the dock.
A stone’s throw from shore, Jesus calls out to them, “Turn around and head for the deep waters. Then, let down your nets for a catch.”

Okay. Right. Peter looks at Andrew, bewildered. He is tired. He is irritated. He’s not amused.

Andrew smiles and shrugs and turns the boat around  He takes them to the deeps. James and John look at them confused wondering if they should follow in their boat. 

“Why are we listening to this man?” Peter wonders. “He’s a craftsman. What can He teach us about fishing that we haven’t learned already?” He spits in irritation.

“He’s the Messiah,” Andrew reminds him.

“And, the Messiah is to be a great fisherman? Remind me, brother, is it Isaiah or Jeremiah that prophesies this?” Peter laughs. 

Andrew doesn’t. “He healed your mother-in-law, snatched her out of the hands of death.”

“I don’t hold that against Him.” Peter laughs even louder. 

Andrew picks a spot and Peter eagerly drops the net. He’s ready to turn around and get some shuteye. 

When they try to pull in the net, though, they can’t. It is so full of fish that they cannot take it out of the water. Even if the two men could retrieve it, the net would break. The best they can do is keep it taught until James and John row out to help. 

Once pulled in, the catch fills both boats to the point that they nearly sink. “He is the Messiah,” says Peter, almost under his breath. Peter is in awe of Jesus; He’s a miracle-worker. He does know whereof He speaks. As they head back to the dock, trying not to swap the boats, all the things he has heard and seen of Jesus play out in his mind. 

He sees the big picture. The Holy Spirit falling upon Him, like a dove. The voice of God, calling Jesus His beloved Son. He casts out demons. He heals the dying, even his wife’s mother. Two boatloads of fish! This really is the Messiah. He really is The Holy One. 

“And, I am but a fool.” Peter speaks to himself, “a sinner. A doubter. Tossed about in life like my little boat in a great storm.” In a matter of minutes he finds himself unworthy, ticking off every sin that he remembers committing, and realizing that he is far from righteous. 

When he reaches shore, Peter looks in the eyes of Jesus expecting to find righteous judgment and condemnation, but instead finding mercy and compassion. 

Peter falls at the feet of Jesus. He is exhausted. Defeated. Discouraged. A filthy sinner. Unworthy. “Leave, Master. Just leave. You are holy. I am a sinful man. I have no place in Your presence.”

“Do not be afraid,” says Jesus. “From this day on, you will catch men.”

When confronted with the purity and holiness of God, our sins are revealed. Even what we count as righteous and good in our lives, appear as darkness, shameful in the light of God’s holiness. All we can do is fall at His feet and plea for mercy in fear of God. 

With love in His eyes, He freely extends mercy to poor sinners like us, if we confess our sin and turn away from it. 

Fear Not, for I will make you fishers of men. 

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Of all the daily devotions on the topic of fear, this one has been, perhaps, the most difficult to write. Words hurt. Words hurt me. 

In spite of what they teach us in preschool – “sticks and stones” – words will ever hurt you. That is why someone came up with the old adage in the first place; victims of name-calling and verbal abuse are sometimes harmed for life. 

I was one of those kids who feared words. I was painfully shy and insecure, convinced that I was inferior, or even worthless. I hated when someone called me names, for I was convinced they were right, and I feared the truth. In some ways, I still fear words. 

So, I wondered, how can I write this if I still feared words myself?

How? The answer is right there in the passage. Our enemies are mere mortals, and our God is not. When we fear God more than we fear man, we really have nothing at all to fear. God is our protector. Our defender. 

Fear Not, for we know what is right.  

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No sooner does Peter recognize Jesus walking on the water than he is begging to join Him there. 

One can almost hear Jesus’ voice in the text. He sounds like the father of a stubborn teenager who insists on working on his own, without Dad’s help. Dad knows he’s going to fail, and he also knows that the boy has to learn that for himself. 

It doesn’t read this way, but this is how I hear it. 

“Lord, if that’s really you, then tell me to come out on the water.”

Jesus sighs. What’s he to do? “Okay, then, come on.”

Peter takes but a few steps. His smile is broad. He even giggles. “I. Am. Walking.  On. Water.”

He looks at Jesus, standing a few yards away with His arms outstretched. “Just a few more steps,” thinks Peter. 

A spray of cold water pelts his face. To his right, he sees a swell as tall as he is. To his left, the boat pitches and yaws. He has lost sight of Jesus.

He sinks like a rock. Arms outstretched and legs kicking, he cries, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus reaches out and pulls Peter out of the water. “Ye of little faith,” Jesus says. Four little words that Peter will never forget. 

As Jesus helps his friend into the boat,  the winds calm. He leans over and whispers to Peter, “Why did you doubt?” 

Peter is shivering. Andrew hands him a towel. He meets Jesus’ eyes, and quickly looks away. “I was scared,” he thinks. 

“I should not have taken my eyes off of you.” That, too, is something that he would never forget. 

Phineas Bresee, one of the founders of the Nazarene Church, used to say something like this. “Nothing to my left. Nothing to my right. Jesus only, straight ahead.”

Fear Not, but keep our eyes on Jesus. 

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He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

While the word picture might seem odd or even humorous, it is not. 

The psalmist refers to the the safety that one finds in God’s presence. 

• It is in His presence that we find His care. 
• It is in His presence that He hides us from our enemies. 
• It is in His presence that He shelters us from the storm. 
• It is in His presence that He gives us comfort. 
• It is in His presence that we feel His love. 
• It is in His presence that we find His compassion. 
• It is in His presence that we find warmth. 
• It is in His presence that He speaks to us. 
• It is in His presence that He teaches us. 

Father, may I never leave Your abiding presence. 

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

-Psalm 91:4-5

Fear Not, for He gives us refuge under His wings. 

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In this passage, (Acts 18) Paul has decided not to try to reach the Jews in Corinth because they had violently opposed him. Have you ever been too frightened to speak to others about Christ?

I have never faced true persecution like some of you. No one has ever threatened to put me to death unless I denounce my beliefs. I  have always thought, though, that it might be easier to endure persecution than it to simply talk to friends about Christ. I pray I never find out. For many Christians, “witnessing” to friends and loved ones is especially difficult. 

Yet, Christ commands us to spread the Gospel. “You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Did you catch that? First, in Jerusalem. First, we are to be witnesses where we are, at home. At work. At school. Wherever we are, we are to be witnesses. 

I have several times heard the story – true in spirit, if not in fact – of a young man who went to his pastor and told him that he felt God’s call to the mission field.

When the pastor urged him to begin preparations by witnessing to friends and family, the young man lost interest. 

Why is it that so many of us are afraid to stand up and talk about Christ to those we know and love? 

When I asked one of my friends that very question, he answered that he didn’t want to be a hypocrite. 

I reminded him that it is not hypocritical to explain the truth. As Christians, we are not perfect; we still sin. Sometimes, we still have a great deal of sin in our lives. What we are, is forgiven. God will rid us of our sin, in time. He is changing us. He is changing me. 

Don’t be so afraid of persecution that you give up. And don’t be afraid of being a hypocrite. It is not hypocritical to tell people that God has forgiven you and is changing you. We are sinners saved by grace, being transformed into the likeness of Christ. God’s ways, in God’s time. 

Fear Not. Speak Out. 

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One doesn’t hear much about sacrifice in Evangelical American churches. In my own church, my own denomination, one hears a message on giving two or three times a year… with special emphasis on missions or tithing. Rarely, though, does the message from American pulpits compel us to sacrifice, and it almost never urges us to sell all we have and give the money to the poor. 

In Luke, we find Christ relating such self-sacrifice to the Kingdom of God. He tells us that by so doing, we are “laying up treasures in heaven.” In Acts, we find thousands of Christians selling all they have and sharing it with the poor, and we see it related directly to church growth that has rarely been seen again. 

After that, such self-sacrifice is seen in church history only rarely, and usually during persecution or grave disasters. 

Today, in America, the political pendulum is swinging from the extreme left to the extreme right. A great number of evangelical Christians stand on the right, awaiting its arrival. In its wake, that pendulum will clean up a great many messes that it made in its long journey to the left. Government handouts will end, jobs will return, and the economy will prosper. The poor will realize they are better off standing on their own two feet than being supported by props meant to entrap them. 

Yet, like any economy, there will be a few people left behind. These are the truly disabled, the old and feeble, the widowed and orphaned, the disabled veterans, the addicted, the uneducated, and those whose jobs have disappeared and are too old to learn other skills. Sure, a great number of people have been taught to depend on welfare when they should have been taught to work, but a portion of those truly do need our help, and should not be left behind. 

Sell everything we have and give the money to the poor? That’s a personal decision, something every one of us must work out with God. Show compassion and generosity to those in need? That is not just our social duty. It is our duty as a citizens of His Kingdom. 

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Luke 12:32-34 NKJV

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As anxious as I am for His kingdom, the Father is even more anxious for me to be a part of it. So anxious is He that He gives His flock a foretaste of the Kingdom, for the Kingdom of God is within you and I. 

Many Christians miss this: the Kingdom is within us, or in our souls. One reason they miss it is because modern Bible translations miss it. We find that statement in Luke 17:21 in the King James Version. “The Kingdom of God is within you.” The NIV, though, and many other translations, put it this way “The Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Big difference. 

The Greek word translated either “within you” or “in the midst” is entos, which literally means inside, or “in your soul.”

Is it too much to think that God’s Kingdom begins in our hearts? Maybe it is. Maybe the reason it is so difficult to imagine is because so few Christians actually accept Jesus as king in their lives.

Following Jesus is not simply believing that He exists. It is not just believing in the concept that He is God. Following Jesus is more than saying a prayer, asking Him to come into our hearts. 

Following Jesus is repentance from the ways of man and adherence to the ways of God. It is walking in Christ’s footsteps. It is a day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, breath-by-breath, thought-by-thought relationship with our Creator and Lord. 

Such a relationship can begin only with absolute surrender to Him, and absolutely allowing Him to rid our lives of the filth and fill our lives with His love. Only then may we get a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. 
Fear Not for it’s God’s pleasure to give us His Kingdom. 

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It is difficult to see things from a godly perspective. Whereas God saw their enemies as evil and heartless, the Israelites saw them as mighty giants. God saw their enemies as His enemies, but the Israelites saw them as bigger than God. God saw their enemies as irredeemable. The Israelites saw them as unconquerable. 

Because they were unable to see beyond their own eyes, because they could not see things like God sees them… because of their lack of faith, the Israelites were to spend 40 more years in the wilderness. They were to live as nomads in the hills before the Promised Land, but not to cross into it, and to remain their until that generation – the generation of rebellious, fearful doubters – died off. 

In the end, it was the next generation who took the Promised Land. From the first generation, only Joshua and Caleb were left, and neither of them ever doubted. 

What a picture for us to follow. As a teenager, I was confused, doubted, and frightened. I turned away from God and did things my own way. I wish with all my heart that I had not rebelled, but I did. God let me wander in the wilderness for forty years until all my doubts had died, and until I had no rebellion left in me. Now that my doubts are gone, I once again accept His hand. I have no fear as, together, He and I look ahead toward the Promised Land. 

If you have ever doubted… if you have ever been so fearful that you rebelled against God, then Fear Not. He still offers you His hand, and will lead you into the Promised Land.

… And He takes me by the hand

and leads me to the Promised Land,

what a day, glorious day that will be.

– What a Day That Will Be, by Jim Hill.

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Though the number of people incarcerated in America has dropped, “the total number of inmates [is] still massive compared with 40 years ago” (1).

1.53 million Americans are behind bars in state and federal prisons, according to a recent report from the Department of Justice (2).

Among those incarcerated, approximately 60% are functionally illiterate. 85% of all juveniles caught up in juvenile court systems are functionally illiterate. 70% of inmates who receive no literacy assistance will return to prison, while only 16% of those who receive literacy help will return to prison (3).

Our Christian Literacy Project provides easy-to-read Bibles to inmates in the U.S., either directly or through chaplains. We also provide easy-to-read Christian literature and Christian-based reading lessons.

You can help. Your $5 donation will provide one New International Reader’s Version Bible to an inmate. $100 donation will purchase a case of 24 NIrV Bibles for inmates.

To Help, go to https://www.gofundme.com/christianliteracy

1. Newsweek.com. http://www.newsweek.com/us-prison-population-sees-small-drop-537650, Jan 3, 2017

2. WPTV.com. http://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/water-cooler/us-saw-lowest-number-of-prisoners-in-decades, Dec 30, 2016

3. Begin To Read.com. http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html

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