Fear

Are you fearful? Of what? Why? Should you be?

Jesus had a lot to say about anxiety and fear. (Matthew 6:25-34 and Luke 12:4-7) Some of the things He said not to worry about included; your life and those that kill the body; food, drink, and clothes. He said, ”but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” You were also given dominion over the beasts of field, the fowl of air and the fish of sea (Psalms 8:4-8).

Moses said, “Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, not forsake thee.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

We’re told that approximately 6.3 million people have some type of specific phobia; Hydrophobia=fear of water; Nyctophobia=fear of darkness; Acrophobia=fear of heights; Claustrophobia=fear of confined places, etc. That’s a large number of people living in fear. With God, there is no need for us to lead a life of fear; He’s the one who created the heavens and earth and told the wind and waves to be still. God tells us that He “hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2Timothy 1:7) If you feel fearful you can be assured it’s not of God. You can also be assured that God will help you overcome your fear. John said, “And this is the confidence that we have in him that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him.” (I John 5:14-15)

Jesus said. “…..if ye have faith, and doubt not…..whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:21-22); “Therefore I say unto you; What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24)

I recently read this somewhere, and it’s worth repeating here; “If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy. And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 700 million people in the world. If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world. If your parents are still alive and still married, you are very rare. If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.”


God is out front, He’s already in tomorrow. Its tomorrow and what it may bring that often causes fear, and God is already there. All the tomorrows of our life have to pass Him before they can get to us. “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”(Psalms 34:4).

To go through life fearful is casting doubt upon the truthfulness and trustworthiness of the Lord. God is good and no promise of His has ever failed, or can ever fail; “For the Lord thy God is a merciful God; he will not forsake thee…..” (Deuteronomy 4:31)

Book Review- "Monday Night Jihad"

“Monday Night Jihad” by Jason Elam and Steve Yohn (Tyndale House Publishers) is the first of what I hope will be many novels by these authors. The story evolves around Riley Covington, a Second Lieutenant in the USAF Special Ops who, after his tour of duty, returns to his dream career as a professional football linebacker. When a radical group brings terrorism to his home stadium, Riley reverts to his secondary profession with Special Ops to help track and stop them. It’s a great suspense story with some strange twists that will keep you on edge, and then adds some “on target” comments about current sportscasters/commentators that will make you giggle. Elam is a veteran NFL Pro-Bowler who was recently traded by the Denver Broncos to the Atlanta Falcons. Yohn is the director of adult ministries with the Fellowship Community Church. They have combined to paint a very scary and realistic scenario which will make you realize how vulnerable we all are to acts of terrorism. I look forward to their second novel which is due out early next year.

Do we know when our time has come?

I had been to Bulldog ballgames with Jim Stone many, many times and we always stopped at Poss’ BBQ to eat on the way into Athens. Jim would spend money on something he really wanted, but by and large was very tight with a buck. At Poss’ he always, without exception, ordered the cheapest thing on the menu which was, as I remember, a hash sandwich. This Monday night we were headed for a basketball game against Kentucky, and Jim ordered a filet steak. I didn’t think much about it until later that night. We were sitting in Jim’s living room talking with Virginia, his widow; Jim had died of a massive heart attack on the way home from the game. One of the first questions Virginia asked was about his last meal; it was strange she would ask, strange also that Jim changed that night.

Aaron knew when his time had come: (Numbers 20:26) “And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.”

In the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:20), Jesus said. “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee”; obviously this rich man did not know his time had come.

Moses knew when his time had come: (Deuteronomy 32:48-50) “And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this mountain…..and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:”

Joshua knew when his time had come: (Joshua 23:14) “And behold, this day I Am going the way of all the earth”.

King Hezekiah knew when his time had come: (II Kings 20:1) “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the Prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” Hezekiah subsequently pleaded with God and was granted 15 more years, see verses 2-6

God says because we forsake Him and go backwards, He will stretch out his hand and destroy us; for He is weary of our repenting (Jeremiah 15:16). For Christians, I believe this is the destruction of our physical bodies. In answer to the original question, “Do we know when our time has come”; the answer is a definite “sometimes”, and I think also that sometimes we may know why.