Don't Allow Fear to Paralyze You!

The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25).

  

Fear and faith are both great motivators. One produces freedom and growth, the other produces bondage and lack. Fear can paralyze a human personality.

  

Fear attracts Satan and his kingdom the way faith attracts God and His power. Paul told Timothy that fear is a spirit. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). I resist fear the same way that I resist the devil.

  

I’ve learned to resist fears that come. Fear is like Satan coming with a package for you and asking you to sign for it. Fear comes with all kinds of things attached to it; fear of failure, fear of success, fear of sickness and disease, fear poverty and lack, fear of calamity. Phobias plague humankind.

 

Identify your fears and stand against them. I’ve found it helpful to speak God’s word out loud as an antidote for fear. I then express in clear terms what I believe. Often I pray and stand in faith by speaking out loud.

 

When I was young, I had my palm read at a Methodist church Halloween carnival (how absurd!). I was 12 or 13 years old at the time, and the person told me that my “lifeline” on my hand was short and that I would die young. Immediately fear seized me! Fear of dying young lingered in the back of my mind until I was Spirit Filled years later.  When I learned that God promised long life, I took the Word of God and chased that fear away!

 

Another antidote for fear is action! If a fear tells you not to do a certain thing, do it anyway! I just simply refuse to allow fear to rule me.

  

Back in the 1990’s I took a group from our church on a missions trip to Guatemala. The ministry we worked with had a beautifully refurbished DC-3 aircraft for transportation to hard to reach areas. The short of the story is that during a storm the plane crash on top of a mountain! I was one of those who went to the crash site to try to help survivors. When I reached the site, aircraft parts littered the cornfield where it had crashed. The fuselage had broken into several pieces; the aircraft parts were everywhere. I could hardly believe what I saw.

 

Then I had an unusual experience. A fear grasped me. Suddenly I heard the words, “You better cancel your next missions trip.”  I had another trip scheduled to India a couple of months away. I recognized the enemy’s ploy. I spoke out loud, I would rather die than to be ruled by this fear, I resist that thought in the name of Jesus! I’m going on my next trip. I refuse this fear. God my Father will take care of me. Immediately the fear vanished like ice on hot pavement!

 

Don’t allow fear to remain in your life. Treat it for what it is, the enemy seeking to rule you. A good acronym for FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. Years ago a friend told me, fear is always based on a lie; deal with the lie and the fear will die.

 

Feed your faith on the Word and starve your fears. Refuse to give them place. Act in opposition to them. Speak out loud what you believe and keep it up throughout the day until the fear leaves. Action, faith, and words will defeat fear every time!

We Really Do Need Each Other!

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

 

God never intended that we live our lives in isolation . We are at our best when we live in relationship. We live in a culture that values individual rights and thank God we have those rights. But we take these rights to the extreme when we take them to mean that we can live the way we want without regard for our fellow man. And that is where our culture as a whole is heading. We must resist this tendency.

It’s easy to be alone in a crowd these days, whether it’s in a shopping mall, at a ball game, or in a church service. The easiest thing to do is keep the walls up and hold others away at arm’s length. Let’s face it, relationships are risky. And if you’ve been burned by one a time or two it’s easier to keep the distance from others than to risk emotional pain again.

But we do best when we learn to relate to the family of God and allow others to come close. One of the ingredients in spiritual growth is close relationships. God did not place his love in our hearts for us to spend on ourselves. Love isn’t love until you give it away to someone else. All spiritual growth revolves around learning to love others unconditionally as well as learning to open yourself up to be loved as well.

Most of us are raised in an environment of conditional love, where expressed love from others is dependent on behavior. But the love of God is unconditional and self-sacrificial! And that’s the kind of love we believers have been given by the Father. And that’s the kind of love we’re called to express in our close relationships.

 

The first time I was shown this unconditional love by another believer, I didn’t know how to respond. It was almost too good for me. I felt as though I needed to earn it some way. It was awkward to receive. I went to a Saturday of outdoor games and contests a local Bible college was having after being invited by a new acquaintance. People came up to me and showed genuine interest in me. They seemed caring and real. That was the beginning of my being set free from years of emotional pain that I kept hidden behind a façade of activity.

The strength of my life as a new believer was in relating to new found friends weekly. The world, the flesh, and the devil would gang up on me daily. But as I spent time with my buddies, I found that I was not alone in my struggles to leave the old man behind. I found the strength of friendships refreshing. I found that the enemy was seeking to isolate me and make me think that I was alone in my difficulties. I also gained a sense of fulfillment as the Father used me to encourage others as a related how I dealt with my daily challenges.

Iron sharpens iron. We need each other. When I was in the sixth grade I sang in a school choir. The lyrics of one of the songs we sang was, No man is an island. No man stands alone. Each man’s joy is joy to me. Each man’s grief is my own. We need one another, so I will defend each man as my brother, each man as my friend.

When I was born again, that song came back to me in a fresh was. Now, years later, I can see that I am what I am by the grace of God, and by the help of loving friends. Open yourself up to close relationships, and you’ll find a dimension of freedom mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

The Purifying Presence of God

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

 

Our God is a consuming fire! Fire is a cleansing agent and produces purity. God revealed Himself to Moses in a burning bush. He revealed Himself to Ezekiel as a fire from the loins up and the loins down. Jesus revealed Himself to John on the Isle of Patmos as glowing brass and with eyes that were flames of fire. Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John and His countenance began to glow pure white.

God revealed himself to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai with thunder and lightning in Exodus 19. The presence of God is so perfect that no impurity can come near Him without immediately disintegrating.

Uzza reached out to steady the Ark of the Covenant when it reeled and was struck dead! Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire on the altar of sacrifice and fell dead.

God is Holy. The word holy means set apart. The Father is absolute purity and anything that is impure is consumed by His presence.

When the Holiness of God comes down and touches the sinfulness of man the results of that union is called wrath. Wrath is God’s holiness completely consuming impurity. God’s wrath is mentioned in the Bible more than His love!

We’ll soon be entering a time of unprecedented upheaval on earth that is predicted to happen during what is commonly called the tribulation, a time of judgment that precedes the second coming of Christ. This is a time of great wrath displayed and of God’s enemies being judged for their rebellion to His purposes. As God’s presence increases in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ, wrath will be displayed as God’s Holy presence touches sin and rebellion.

Thank God that as Christians we are not appointed to wrath, but to obtain mercy through the Lord Jesus! Jesus incurred the wrath of God on behalf of our sin. Now we can fellowship with God as though we never did wrong!

 

The Father wants us to walk in holiness so that He can draw near to us with His manifest presence. The blood of Jesus has made a way for us to come boldly to the throne of grace so we can obtain mercy and find grace to help our need!

That awesome Presence that caused Moses’ face to shine with the Glory is now abiding in us. We have become bearers of the Presence because of Jesus! And the fire of His presence working within us will draw impurity out of us! He is a Refiners Fire and a Fuller’s Soap (Malachi 3:2).

  

The Past Tense of Faith

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24).

The tenses must be right to receive from God. Faith believes that God has or God is presently working on your behalf. Faith is never future tense. 

If you’re waiting on some point in the future for God to do something for you, then you’re hoping and not believing. You’re in the future where hope is, and you’re not in the past and present where faith is. Don’t just hope and pray! Pray and believe God has answered your prayer!

 

Jesus is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). God told Joshua that he had already given Jericho into his hands while the walls still stood high. Before raising Lazarus from the dead Jesus looked to heaven and prayed, Lord, I thank you that you have heard me. He put his prayer in the past tense. 

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham while he was yet childless. Jesus told the ten lepers to go offer the sacrifice that Moses said for lepers to offer after they were healed. The ten were healed as they went.

Make sure today that you believe that you receive what you need from the Lord. His grace and mercy are available to help you and you reach out in present tense or past tense faith!

What Does God Think About Military Combat?

Today is Memorial Day and we as a nation are honoring those who have served our country in the military and have given the ultimate sacrifice. As we take a day to relax from work and spend time with family and friends, let’s also take some time today to pray for the families of those who have had family members killed while serving in the armed services. Let’s also take some time to pray for our President and national and local leaders. Their decisions largely determine our continued freedom as a nation.

  

Many Christians do not understand how to balance what the Ten Commandments say about murder with serving in the military and facing the need to kill an enemy endangering national security. As a result, many are pacifists and believe that national peace can be secured by diplomacy alone.

Let’s first of all look at some fundamental facts. Thou shalt not kill should actually be translated Thou shalt do no murder. The prohibition is against premeditated murder. Understand that the same God that said Thou shalt not murder also told the Israelites to go to battle and kill their enemy during the conquests of Canaan their promised land. And God told them that He would empower them in battle and help them defeat their enemy. This is the killing of an enemy to spare a nation from annihilation by an enemy set on their destruction and this kind of killing for the defense of a nation is allowed by God.

A strong national defense is a deterrent to an enemy that is set on a nation’s downfall. A strong national defense actually encourages peace because it sends a strong message to those seeking to undermine a nation’s security. Because of the wicked fallen human condition, a nation must defend itself against attack. As Paul said in Romans 12 we should seek, as much as lies within us, to live peaceably with all men. That’s not always the easiest thing to do in the light of the depravity and wickedness of man.

As you enjoy your peaceful holiday today, please pray for our nation. Our international enemies would love for our nation to fall into ruin. Many are seeking to steal the liberties that we as a people enjoy. We are hated by extremist that are actively seeking ways to destroy America. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray that our nation would continue to be a friend of Israel. Our national survival hinges on how we as a nation deal with Israel.

And remember the sacrifices made for your freedom. Peace through military strength will be necessary until the millennial reign of Christ when the nations will beat their swords into plowshares!

Your Faith is Directly Connected to What You are Hearing

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure[of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure[of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you — and more [besides] will be given to you who hear (Mark 4:24 – Amplified). So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).

Faith comes by hearing! Faith in God comes by hearing the Word. Faith in recession, inflation, high prices, the latest health challenge, etc., also come by hearing words. What are you hearing more of, man’s opinions and the latest newsbyte or the Word?

Whatever you hear the most of is what you’ll have the most faith for! We’re overrun with technology and information availability is at an all time high. Make a choice to be selective in what you hear. Listen to CD’s in your car instead of news. Take “Word” breaks throughout the date to keep yourself filled with faith to meet the challenges ahead.

Spiritual catch-up is a hard game to play. That’s what you play when crisis time comes and you’ve not been spending regular time in the Word. And in some situations you may not be able to catch up if you’ve not been feeding your faith! As Smith Wigglesworth said, If you wait until you need to get faith, you’ll be at a disadvantage.

 

Keep the spiritual fire ablaze in your heart by spending time daily feeding on the Word. What you give the most of your time hearing is what you’ll have faith for!

Persistent Prayer is Powerful!

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1 – NIV). Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18). The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working] (James 5:16 – Amplified).

 

Prayer brings the power of the kingdom of God into the earth where you live! The key is persistence and tenacity. Just as Jacob who wrestled with the angel and would not let go of him until he blessed him, so we must press through for prayer to be effective.

The powers of darkness resent any intrusion into their kingdom. That’s why persistence is such a necessary ingredient. Notice that James tells us that the continual, heartfelt prayer of the believer makes tremendous power available.

 

Make sure that you pray in faith when praying for circumstances of some kind to change or when you’re praying for another person. But be persistent and remind the Lord daily of what you believe. Thank Him for what you believe He is doing in the circumstance or individual. Remind the devil that according to the Word of God he is bound from hindering the situation. Like a taunting, barking dog, he will not leave unless you persist and demand that he does. If you pray and then ignore the situation, he won’t budge.

Remember that it isn’t the Father that is withholding answered prayer, but it is the enemy refusing to let go of the situation. You must enforce his defeat with your faith and prayers. In Daniel 10, God sent Daniel’s answer the first day that he prayed but the demonic forces tried the keep the angels from getting the message to Daniel. His persistent prayer paid off.

God answers the first day that you pray. Stand your ground in faith and persistent prayer and demonstrate Satan’s defeat!

What Does the Word of God Do For You?

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

  

All scripture is God breathed. It’s as much the Word of God as if you could feel His breath on your face as He spoke! The Word was given to me by my Father to introduce me to Him; to impart faith to me; to work as a seed in my life that grows into a tree of righteousness. All that I know about my Father comes through the Word. Jesus’ Lordship in my life is the Lordship of the Word.

 

Without the Word, I know nothing of my redemption in Christ; I know nothing about how the Father sees me now; I know nothing of my being seated with Him in the heavenlies; I know nothing of my authority over the adversary; I know nothing about faith and what it does; I know nothing of my authority in prayer; I know nothing about the healing and health He has provided for me. Without the Word, I am unaware of the love that He planted in my bosom at the New Birth and of how that love is to rule me, to dominate me.

 

To live in the consciousness of His presence, I must elevate the Word above my own reasoning, above the loud voice of circumstance, and above the voice of the senses and of the enemy that taunts me daily.

  

The Word is to my spirit what food is to my body. It builds me up in faith. It connects me to the Father and His will for me today. The Father and His Word are one!

  

I must be sure that I elevate nothing above the Word in my life. My attitude towards the Word determines the place that God holds in my daily life.

  

Put God’s Word first place in your life, give the Holy Spirit second place, and give your thoughts and feelings last place, and you’ll walk with the Father victoriously today.

He's Looking For Your Faith!

When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!" And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you (Matthew 9:27-29).

 

Faith is the hand that receives from God. Jesus’ response to these blind men is also His response to us today. We receive exactly what we believe. Everything that the Father does in our lives is in response to our faith and confidence in Him.

You may ask, why does he look for faith before He acts? Everything that we need for our natural and spiritual life has already been provided by the Father. His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19), every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3), all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-4) are already laid up for us in heaven by Jesus.

Since God shows no favoritism and treat everyone equally, He has made faith the pipeline, the conduit that His blessings flow down from heaven to our needs. Faith is the connection to the spiritual realm where the Father’s supply for our needs already exists. Healing, financial provision, answered prayer, and whatever you need has already been provided by Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary.

Don’t just hope things get better. Don’t just wander aimlessly through life. Exercise your faith today by asking for the things you need, and then expecting the Father to answer your request. Act on the Word. Believe you receive. And then live in expectation.

It pleases the Father for you to walk by faith. It pleases Him for you to believe you receive when you pray. It pleases Him for you to call those things that be not as though they were. It pleases Him today for you to act like His Word is true even when all the circumstances say that it isn’t working! It pleases Him for you to walk in praise and thanksgiving when the easier thing to do would be to gripe and complain and wonder why nothing is going the way you prayed!

Jesus is looking at your faith today, and is saying to you, According to your faith let it be to you!

A Self-Centered or a God-Centered Life

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your member as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 6:12-13).

After Adam sinned, mankind turned selfish and self-centered. Before the fall, Adam lived for the glory of God, but after he sinned, he lived to please himself without considering God and His plans for him.

The new birth transforms our spiritual lives. The nature of sin is replaced by the nature of God. But the residue of sin remains buried within the soul and must be rooted out! Paul made the appeal to the believers in Rome to dedicate their bodies to God, and to renovate their minds so they wouldn’t be pressured by the world to conform to its ways.

The soul is composed of the mind, the emotions, and the will. The spirit wants to interact with the soul for the glory of God. The body wants to interact with the soul to fulfill its cravings. The soul is in the middle of a battle, and is the deciding factor between spirituality and carnality. If the mind is set on fleshly things, then the flesh dominates. If the mind is set on spiritual things, then the spirit rules through the soul.

  

The battle of your life every day is to continually make the choice to walk in the spirit. To do this, you must guard the ears and the eyes from exposure to the lusts of the flesh. A decision for the flesh gives the residue of the old man in the soul permission to conquer the spirit! A decision to act on the Word gives the Holy Spirit through your human spirit control.

The will is the king of the soul. Your will determines what you think about and what emotions you allow to run free. Your will determines whether you yield to the Spirit of God in your spirit by yielding to the Word, or whether you yield to the lusts of the flesh by allowing thoughts from past or from the outside world through the eye and ear gate to rule your life. Again, your will is the deciding factor!

Jesus addresses the will in every gospel. If any man desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me (Matt. 16:24). Jesus emphasizes this truth. It’s mentioned in every gospel. To deny yourself, you must be willing to lay every thought, every emotion, and every desire at His feet by comparing each of these to the Word. Does some thought, action, or emotion violate the Word? If it does, then you must choose to say NO to it.

We must die daily. That is, we must choose daily to yield our will to the Father through the Word. And then carefully choose what we give attention to in our minds and emotions. To do this, our wills must be wholly recommitted to the Father through the Word every day!

Perhaps we should make David’s prayer in Psalm 19 ours each day: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer!

Our Gracious, Loving God

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works (Psalm 145:8-9). The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing (Psalm 145:14-16).

 

Years ago the Lord used these verses to renew my mind to His true disposition towards me. Being raised in a denominational church, I had the idea that God was harsh, vindictive, angry, and demanding. Who wants to have an intimate relationship with someone who doesn’t like them?

  

This word gracious means ready to show favors. Instead of being angry and harsh I found that the Father wants to help me in life. He’s not looking for a way to harm me, He’s actively looking for ways to bless. God is our refuge and fortress; s very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

 

He is full of compassion. According to Webster’s Dictionary, compassion is sympathetic consciousness of others' distress, together with a desire to alleviate it. The Father understands what I’m dealing with in life, and has a desire to alleviate that which produces pain in me. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus comes to bring us life to the fullest.

  

The Father is slow to anger. He wants us to make it! He does not want us to be judged, so He allows us to take advantage of opportunities to repent and reconcile when we sin. When judgment does come, it is only after much delay.

 

The Lord is great in mercy. Webster says that mercy is compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power. Mercy is when I don’t get what I do deserve. The Father’s mercy is great!

 

The Father’s disposition towards you today is that He desire to help you, favor you, forgive you when you sin, and to act in forbearance when you slip up and sin.

 

Getting to know the Father is the greatest privilege anyone could have. Don’t allow you personal bias to keep you away from Him. He loves you and is right now reaching out in benevolence and love to be a very present help in time of trouble!

 

The Balance Between Grace and Works

I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain (Galatians 2:21). For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:17).For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26).

  

We’re not saved by what we do, but by what we believe! And we’ve not been saved by grace to live by works. We’re saved by the grace of God. We stand righteous, able to please the Father by faith. We’re not right with God because of what we do; we’re right with God because of who Jesus is!

 

Bible reading, church attendance, prayer, and helping others are wonderful things to do as long as they are not done to make us right with God! With the right motive, they bless us. With the wrong motive, they hinder the grace of God and make life a religious set of rules void of joy and peace.

 

A person working to please God is never at peace and finds no inward rest. A person who comes to understand grace has ceased from his owns works, is comfortable in his own skin, and has settled down into a love relationship with the Father that produces supernatural peace and joy. It’s really quite incredible!

 

The other side of the coin is the works that follow grace. If the grace of God is working in me, then my lifestyle will prove it! Works don’t precede salvation, they follow it. James was practical. His statements show that grace through faith produces tangible results in a believer’s life. If I say that I have faith, then that faith will be realized in how I live my life. Works follow grace through faith! If my lifestyle doesn’t change as a result of what I believe, then I really don’t believe!

 

If a person professes to be saved by grace then change is sure to follow. That’s what James emphasizes. The works don’t save us, they merely point to what we already believe and are the byproduct of believing!

 

Rest in the grace of God today. Enjoy your free gift of righteousness. Bask I the peace that grace through faith provides. Then let the byproduct of your faith called works (salt and light) be seen by others so they can join you!

The Boomerang Effect

Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you  (Luke 6:37-38).

 

The law of sowing and reaping is working constantly in our lives. The attitudes I sow in others I reap back from them. The kindness I sow comes back to me. If I condemn others in my heart, then I will find that judgment coming back to me. If I want mercy from God, I must show mercy to others. If I want the benefits of forgiveness then I must forgive those who offend me.  It’s just like a boomerang.

See every act today as a seed that you’re sowing. See every thought you think as a mirror of what you will have in your future. This reciprocal effect works 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Remember that seeds you plant take time to grow. And once they grow, the harvest is assured. Make sure that the seeds you sow are the ones you don’t mind living with in the future!

Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and  that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. (Galatians 6:7-9).