Tag: FearNot

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Oh My!

Last night we had one of those rain storms with lightning that take your breath away! Oh my goodness.

For years when the lightning has seemed close, I judge it with the count-to-eight method to determine just how close it is. If you hear the thunder eight seconds after the lightning flash then the lightning was approximately one mile away, if it’s four seconds then the lightning is about one-half mile. You get the point…last night there was a strike and I didn’t even get to the count of one.

Oh my! It was beautiful but so loud and close. Praise God there was no damage and all in the campground are safe.

It’s easy to become fearful when things catch us off guard. That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves daily, sometimes hourly, that the Lord is our constant companion and that He has promised to never leave us or abandon us.

Right here, in the mountains in the midst of this amazing thunder storm the Lord was with me. Right there, in the midst of a hurricane or tornado the Lord is with you!

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you; don’t be distressed, for I am your God. I give you strength, I give you help, I support you with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 CEV

We don’t need to be afraid on a busy freeway or flying from place to place. We can be at peace in the doctor’s office or in an operating room. There is no circumstance or situation that we face that God is not there and when we trust in Him we can have perfect peace.

“God, you give true peace to people who depend on you, to those who trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3 ERV

Practice peace and fear not. Live a life of trusting our heavenly Father. The result will be a fearless and peace filled life.

Oh my!

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Silence Is Golden

It’s very hard to sit quietly, wrapped in silence, when there are things to be done. My morning quiet times used to be short lived because I couldn’t quiet my mind and I would feel the need to get up and get things done. But sometimes, God just wants us to sit quietly – rest in the peace of the moment and be still.

What do you do when God seems silent? I’ve been sitting here this morning listening to the silence. With Easter just a few days away I’ve tried to image what it was like for the disciples in the days that followed the crucifixion.

Jesus is dead!

Each one must be feeling alone; their doors are locked, fear that they will be arrested next and the possibility of their death is forefront. After all, they were Jesus’ closest friends. There is nothing to do but sit and be taken over by the silence.

The One they followed, the One they loved, the One they thought was going to deliver them from the evil Roman rule is dead!

He died so late in the day that they didn’t really have time to prepare his body properly for burial. Joseph of Arimathea wrapped his body in linen and buried him in a tomb hewn out of rock and covered it with a stone but there was more that should have been done. Now it’s the Sabbath and work is forbidden so they have to wait…wait…wait.

“Nicodemus also came with about seventy-five pounds of spices made from myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. 40 The two men wrapped the body in a linen cloth, together with the spices, which was how the Jewish people buried their dead. 41 In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. 42 The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there.” John 19:39-42 CEV

Nothing is really written in the Bible about what the disciples were doing or how they were coping. Matthew is silent, Mark is silent, Luke and John write nothing of the devastation that the disciples must have been feeling. Is that because there are no words to express that kind of deep hurt and desperation?

Silence!

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” Psalm 46:10-11

I hope this verse came to their minds. I hope they remembered the words Jesus spoke just hours before when He said “Don’t let your heart be troubled, don’t let it be afraid”. I hope they found comfort in being alone with God’s words.

In those times when it feels as if my world has come crashing in and no one cares, no one sees what I am going through – when I’m silent, I find hope in knowing that He IS God and I’m not alone.

Silence can either be dark and deafening or golden and filled with light. If we let the Lord’s presence fill our silence with hope it will be golden.

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Peace Like A River

With Easter just a few days away I felt it was appropriate to remind us of some of Jesus’ final words to His disciples.

Jesus knew the crucifixion is just hours away.

Jesus knows the spiritual, physical and mental state of his disciples – He knows they are hoping He will overturn the government and set up an earthly kingdom. He knows that they are moved by fear, He knows that one of his disciples will betray him for money and the others will leave Him in His darkest hour.

He also knows our weaknesses and strengths. He knows our fears – the things we haven’t voiced to anyone. He knows our spiritual condition.

Maybe we’ve just been playing church and wonder if it’s really worth it to continue living this “Christian life”. Jesus knew that without His leadership and direction His disciples were likely to abandon their faith and scatter. He knows our hearts.

This is what Jesus is saying to all of us. If you want to get the full impact of these verses read them out loud. Hear Jesus saying these things to you personally…

“Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Don’t be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. 3 After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together…’ 16 Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. 17 The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you. 18 I won’t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the people of this world won’t be able to see me, but you will see me. And because I live, you will live. 20 Then you will know that I am one with the Father. You will know that you are one with me, and I am one with you. 21 If you love me, you will do what I have said, and my Father will love you. I will also love you and show you what I am like…25 I have told you these things while I am still with you. 26 But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you. 27 I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid. 28 You have already heard me say that I am going and that I will also come back to you. If you really love me, you should be glad that I am going back to the Father, because he is greater than I am. 29 I am telling you this before I leave, so that when it does happen, you will have faith in me.” John 14 CEV

“I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.”

Have peace today – don’t be worried or afraid but trust in the One who loves us enough that He died for us!

He loves us enough that He lives for us and intercedes for us from His throne in heaven!

We can have His peace, peace like a river.

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