fear

Obey the Spirit’s Promptings

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 One of the things I love most about children is their purity of heart and the way it manifests in a lack of fear. Because they haven’t been beaten up by the world, their outlook is simple and they are willing to do things for others that you and I might not. When my daughter Haven was seven years old, our then-children’s pastor asked her and the other Sunday school students to invite their friends to church to see a Christmas program they were putting on. Taking his request quite seriously, Haven printed invitations for every student in her first grade class and hand-delivered them to each classmate along with a verbal invitation to come and hear about Jesus. Though I wasn’t totally surprised, it delighted me to

February 21, 2023 No Comments

When You Conquer Fear

“…in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?” – Psalm 56:11 We have a great destiny in God, but fear is one element that will try to come between you and your destiny. When I was ten years old, the kids in my neighborhood were all into BMX bikes. We called them dirt bikes, and we would ride them to school. There was a shortcut home, but it had a hill that was extremely steep and challenging, especially for a 10-year-old. After many rides home, one of the three boys in our group finally rode down the hill. Then the second one did, but I didn’t do it. I felt like such a coward. I would take the long way, but I felt horrible, especially when my friends had already been successful. So the big day came; I decided to take the hill! Yes,

November 6, 2022 1 Comment

Brave People

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6 Today I want to talk about an unusual revelation I had last week as I was working through the scriptures. For brave people, fear is actually a gift. You’ll hear many sermons about how fear corrupts, and it does, or how fear can paralyze us and yes, it can. But if you’re brave, and I think you are, there’s also a gift in it. When you’re courageous and receive a dream in your heart from God, that dream may cause you to feel overwhelmed and unsure of yourself. But take note that God’s plan for you may seem massive, but it’s good. At times, insecurity may keep even a brave person up at night. You may be afraid

November 3, 2022 2 Comments

Be Tender-Hearted

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” – Philippians 2:1-3 Yesterday, I talked about faith and used the analogy that we are soft clay in God’s hands, ready for him to mold us into tender-hearted people. Faith allows us to be full of compassion! It makes it possible to be soft to God’s word and will, and guess what? This is a great place to be! Can we unashamedly state that tough-minded faith always comes from tender-hearted people? We will ask the Lord to shape us in whatever way He wills because we trust that the future He can shape is better than any future we can shape.

September 24, 2022 2 Comments

The Matthew Effect

“For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” – Matthew 25:29 Do you live by faith or live out of fear? Jesus tells us a story about a great businessman in Matthew Chapter 25 that will shine some light on this question. A man gives money to his servants and instructs them to build and multiply the investment while he is out of town on business. Upon his return, he is expecting to receive an increase. He gave the first servant (in present-day value) $5 million, and this investment became $10 million or a 100 percent return. He gave the second servant $2 million and received $4 million in return. In sociology, this is called the Matthew Effect, taken from the parable of Jesus which paraphrased states, “For those who have much

September 9, 2022 No Comments

Called to Take a Risk

“ ‘So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ ” – Exodus 3:10,11 As we look at the call of Moses, it appears very dramatic. As God summons Moses, he encounters the burning bush which was on fire but not consumed. In this exchange, God instructs Moses to go and speak to Pharoah and set His people free. Moses says, “Who am I to do that?” And then God says, “You can do it.“ Moses then expresses his doubts about his ability to fulfill the assignment: “Who will I say sent me? What if they don’t believe me? And oh, by the way, I stutter!” Out of fear, Moses pleads with God to send someone else. When we feel

September 7, 2022 No Comments

Why Did You Doubt?

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ “ – Matthew 14:31 I want to remind you that in Jesus’ day, the disciples were not just students; they were instructed to do everything the Rabbi did. For instance, Jesus teaches the disciples by demonstrating the miracle of healing the sick. He then instructs them to go out to pray for the sick and watch them be healed. These assignments can be found in Luke Chapters Nine and Ten. Remember the famous story of Jesus walking on water? Peter thinks to himself that he’s a disciple, which means he’s supposed to do it too, so he begins to walk on water. But as he looks around and sees the waves and becomes scared, he starts to sink slowly. I still think this is an amazing feat. Jesus then takes Peter’s

August 5, 2022 No Comments

Taking a Risk

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6 Our journey in life includes taking chances and risking the unknown. It’s doing things you didn’t think you could do before, and courageously taking risks, because even if you fall, you know the Lord will catch you. His arms are very strong. His will for you is good. His eyes are full of favor, life and love for you, right now. I saw an example of taking a risk when walking to church one day from my house. I noticed a little girl who was maybe four or five, on the monkey bars. Just behind her with hovering hands just a few inches from her waist, was a young dad. This parent knew if she was going to

July 25, 2022 1 Comment

The Power to Face Our Problems

“He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.” – Deuteronomy 8:15 There’s a story about Moses, who is called to lead God’s people out of the tyranny of Egypt. A clinical therapist I follow, who is not a theologian, had an insightful viewpoint on this story that I’d like to share with you. He said the conditions in Egypt were slavery and tyranny, but free of the risks of the journey ahead. As Moses moves them to freedom through the wilderness, they’re brought into a harsh reality. This new challenging life away from their previous comfort zone, even in slavery, caused them to start worshiping idols, other than God. The therapist noted this gave them a sense of purpose and enabled them to forget they were in an intense period

June 9, 2022 No Comments

Do Things That Require Courage

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 I remember as a teenager the necessity to walk in courage and boldness. I also recall how hard it was when I started attending a new high school because it felt like everyone already established their friend groups. To top it off, going up to someone and saying, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” doesn’t make you very popular. Regardless, I still practiced telling my peers about Jesus many times, even though socially it made me nervous. I recall not knowing anybody, yet being so excited to be invited to a party. However, this was one of those parties that included drugs, drinking, and people sleeping in rooms together, so I was super uncomfortable. As a Christian, I felt I had to pray

June 4, 2022 2 Comments

Obey the Spirit’s Promptings

When You Conquer Fear

Brave People

Be Tender-Hearted

The Matthew Effect

Called to Take a Risk

Why Did You Doubt?

Taking a Risk

The Power to Face Our Problems

Do Things That Require Courage

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