To Fear Or Not To Fear

What do you fear? What brings you anxiety? What causes you to worry? What troubles you when you hear that type of news? Could it be medical issues? Is it the loss of a job? Do you fear being alone? Are you afraid of something else?

The majority of us will wrestle with the fear of something during our lives. Many of us will wrestle with multiple fears. One of the biggest during current times is the fear of being diagnosed with cancer. That diagnosis results in a long, hard road of treatment and can be incurable.

Some of us wrestle with day-to-day fears. Some are very common, such as the fear of the dark or the fear of being alone or the fear of some type of animal or the fear certain types of plants. Others have less common fears and those may be considered to be irrational fears.

Yet Jesus tells us not to be afraid. He says that our Father has given us the kingdom. Jesus is telling us to rely on God in those situations when we feel fear welling up inside us. We know when it starts. We can feel it coming on. At that point we should pray and reach out to God’s power to remove the fear from us.

We should remember at all times that we have inherited a kingdom—the Kingdom of God. The kingdom and its Owner, God, is always available to us. He will get us through those fearful times. He will not allow us to be in a situation we cannot handle. No, we can’t always handle it on our own. But we can handle it with God’s help.

So, when we feel that fear coming to us, pray to God, asking Him to bring us peace during that time and remove the fear. Even before we feel that fear coming, we should ask God to remove the fear from us, so that we don’t have that fear at all when put in those situations. God can permanently remove our fears.

I pray that we all rely on God to remove our fears. I pray each of us will ask God every day to remove the fears we know we have. I pray we also ask God to keep from putting us in those situations until He has removed those fears. Pray to God to remove your fears. Pray that He removes them permanently. Trust God. He keeps His promises.

Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

Loving God and Neighbor

Whom do you love? Do you love your parents and grandparents? Do you love your siblings? Do you love your spouse? Do you love your friends? Do you love your neighbor? Do you show your love? Do you love God? Do you show your love for Him?

We often say we love people. We also say we love God. But what does that love look like? Are we doing things that demonstrates that love to others? It is easy for us to say words. Sometimes our words hurt and at other times our words heal or lift others up.

To love God as Jesus wants us to love Him is to lift God up and show Him to others. This takes on many different forms. One of those forms is to love our neighbors, or those around us. In loving those around us and showing that love, we show we love God as well.

Does this mean we always have to agree? No. However, we are to disagree in love, which means without the anger, hatred, disrespect, and jealousy that often comes with disagreement and selfishness. Yes, selfishness is involved due to our desire to view ourselves as better than someone else or being in the right that is often the genesis of the disagreement.

How can we correct our behavior? First, we need to love God with all that we are. As we see in today’s passage, it means loving God with our heart, soul, strength, and mind. How can we do that? It is summed up in one word—submission. Submitting to God in everything we do, including our actions, thoughts, and words.

When we submit to God in love for Him, He changes us from the inside out. He changes our view of this world by changing our heart. He fills our soul with His Spirit. He gives us the strength, both physical and spiritual, to stay the course and show His love to others. God’s Spirit will fill our minds with His desire, His will.

So, if we truly love God with all we are, we will be changed. We need to be willing to change, change for the better. When we are willing to change, God goes work and we see our lives improve in diverse ways.

I pray we all decide to love God with our whole being. I pray we all submit to God and allow Him to change us into the person He wants us to be. Submit to God. Love God. Love your neighbor. Be changed.

Luke 10:27-28 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Honor

Who do you honor? Do you give honor to celebrities? Do you give honor to sports players? Do you honor your parents? Do you honor your children? Do you honor God? Who should you honor?

We honor so many people in this world. We often seek honor for ourselves. Don’t think so? Don’t we want people to notice us, notice something good we’ve done? We sometimes talk about people getting their “10 minutes of fame.”

We see a wide variety of people becoming famous for a multitude of reasons. Some for being on the TV, with some of them being caught on video doing some really crazy or dangerous things. Some become famous for their brilliant discoveries in science or medicine. Some fame is granted based on an achievement in music. And many of us bow down to honor those people with everyone else in this world. We hold them in high esteem.

I remember when I was young, playing on a grade school basketball team. We were going to play against a much larger school and the boys we were going to play against were taller than we were. Our coach saw that we were defeated, in our minds, before we stepped onto the court. He gave us a little pep talk. He said, “They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you do.” I don’t think I fully grasped his meaning at that time, but I do now. You see, we are all people and we all have the same needs and wants. Sure, there are some variations, but they are minor when you really think about it.

Where does that leave us? I believe it means we should certainly acknowledge accomplishments, but not to the degree that we put someone so high on a pedestal that we forget they are still human. They still have their needs and wants. We all live and die. We all eat and drink. We all sleep and wake. Who allows all of this to happen?

God is the One who deserves our true honor. He is our Creator. He is the one that puts the very breath in us. He is the One who can take that breath away at any moment. He is the One who provides us with jobs, homes, cars, talents, and everything we have. He provides us with children, parents, and grandparents. He sets our lives in motion and can stop them when He wishes. Shouldn’t we honor the One who has this power over us and who is our Creator?

I pray each of us honor God. I pray we show Him the respect and deference that He deserves. I pray we are in awe of His mighty works. Honor God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Be in awe of Him. Be appreciative of His works. Give Him thanks.

Matthew 15:8-9

“ ‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain;

their teachings are merely human rules.’ ” 

There is Only One

How many gods are there? Can you count them all? Do you recognize all the gods? Are you aware of them? Do you fall for all those other gods or do you follow the One God? Are you aware that you fall into the trap of chasing after these other gods?

Our world is full of gods. The god of money. The god of fame. The god of power. And many more. Virtually all of us chase after one of these gods at some point in our lives. It’s a constant struggle to put them back into perspective and realize they are false gods.

We also hear people refer to God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We hear other names such as Immanuel, Jesus Christ, Yahweh, Lord, Almighty God, Son of Man, Prince of Peace, and others. Are they all referencing the same God? Yes!

In general, we are taught there is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are taught they are one, but often don’t understand how that works. I must confess, I can’t fully explain it either. What I can state is that our faith allows us to believe what we are told in Scripture. There is One God. He is represented by three different persons or personalities.

You see, we don’t have to understand every detail about God to believe in Him, to believe His Word, and to follow Him. In fact, if our justification for not believing and following Him is that we don’t understand it all, using the same paradigm, why would we believe or follow anyone or anything?

We don’t understand everything about our favorite sports team. We are not in all the management meetings, scouting meetings, coaches’ meetings, and player meetings. Yet we follow our team and cheer them on. We hear a press conference and trust the management is doing the right thing to make the team better. Even the most fervent fan can’t know everything about their team.

We know a lot about God and we have a lot written in the Bible about Him. We can read about Him and gain a good understanding. There is more than enough to convince us that God is who He says He is. There is enough to believe in Him, believe Him, and follow Him. Once we start following Him and trusting Him, our faith will grow through experience.

I pray each of us recognize there is One God and we can’t know everything about Him. I pray each of us will realize we know enough or can know enough to choose to follow Him. Read God’s Word and know Him. Trust God with all you do. Rely on God to build your faith through your experiences with Him.

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Arrogant or Humble?

Are you arrogant? Are you humble? Are you a little of both? Sometimes arrogant and sometimes humble? Do you know that being humble doesn’t mean allowing people to walk all over you?

We see a lot of arrogance in the world today. We see people who will take the smallest bit of being good at something and turn it into arrogance. Not only that, they will usually show arrogance toward someone who they know doesn’t have the skill they have. These people don’t account for the fact the other person likely has skills they don’t. It’s all about “one uping” the other person.

All of us have some skill that we can do better than others. Do we all have a world class skill? No. Yet we all have skills we have been blessed with. We know what they are. We know we are better at some things than we are others. We also know there are others who have skills we don’t have. So why do we need to be arrogant toward someone else?

It goes back to wanting to feel important. We want others to tell us we are good at something. We have a desire to fit in. We are looking for appreciation, acceptance, and worthiness. Yet we all look for that in the wrong places.

Jesus is our model of being humble. He had the very power of God in Him, yet He didn’t hold that over everyone else’s heads. He associated with the sinners of the world, often the worst of sinners. He healed the sick and forgave the prostitutes. He taught fishermen and tax collectors. He tolerated a thief to further the will of God. He also destroyed the arguments of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

If we truly want to find appreciation, acceptance, and worthiness, we need to be more like Jesus. We are told that when we humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up. We will be honored by God because we have humbled ourselves.

Humbleness is an attitude. It causes us to serve others. It prompts us to love others. It allows us to work with the less fortunate in our world. It helps us to be patient when teaching someone who is a bit slower at grasping the point. Being humble is an awesome way to show Jesus to those around us.

I pray each of us will be humble, truly humble and not simply acting humble. I pray each of us will submit to God in our humbleness and allow Him to lift us up as He sees fit. Be the humble servant of God. Trust He will lift you up at the right time. Know that God will keep His promises. Love God, love others.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Got Pets?

Do you have pets? I’m guessing many, if not most, of you have a pet of some kind. How much do you love and care for your pets? Do you ensure they have water and food? Do you take them out to get some exercise? Do you train them not to potty in the house?

We treat our pets pretty well. We love them and take care of them. We ensure they are vaccinated and take them to the vet if they get sick. We play with them and get them out to exercise. In general, they become part of our families.

If we do this for our pets, how much more do we think God does this for us? Particularly, how much more does God love us than we love our pets? Can’t imagine that? Well, He does. He loves us more than anything we can fathom. God takes care of us in more ways than we can count.

Oh, I’m sure someone out there is saying God doesn’t take care of them. They have run across a bad patch of luck and think God has abandoned them. Sorry, but you are wrong in that assumption. God has not abandoned anyone. He is right there in the thick of it, right beside each and every one of us.

Too often, we don’t reach out to God unless we are in way over our head. Unfortunately, because we have not reached out to God and developed a right relationship with Him, we will feel as though He has abandoned us in our time of need. Yet, He has not. He often will allow us to flounder for a while until we come to the ultimate conclusion that we cannot get out of our mess without Him.

This may seem harsh to some of us but stop for just a minute and think about it. If someone is so unwilling to spend a little time with God to build a right relationship, why would God not decide to let them flounder until they realize they need Him? As parents, we do that with our children at times. Since we are created in the image of God, we can make a reasonable assumption that God will do the same with us.

I pray each of us will take time to build a right relationship with God. I pray that we never forget that God is always with us. I pray we understand that we are His most valuable possession. I also pray that none of us gets in so deep due to our own mistakes that we think God has abandoned us. Spend time with God. Build your relationship with Him. Trust Him in all you do. Trust Him with all you are. God is always there and always faithful.

Matthew 12:11-12 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Convicted

Are you convicted? Have you been accused of being a believer is Jesus Christ? Can others clearly see you are a follower of Jesus? Do they see Him in your actions and behavior? Or, are you convicted of sinful behavior? There really is no in between.

In today’s world we see so many people who want to believe they can do whatever they want. They want to believe they can set their own truth. We hear people saying that, “Perception is truth.” Perhaps in some very specific situations, but not in the vast majority and certainly not in all.

It is true that our perception can make us think that something is true—for a while. Yet, if we were to dig into the details, do a little investigation, there is a very high likelihood that we will find our initial perception was false and the truth is something different. Let’s take one example.

Let’s assume I see a husband and wife in a very animated discussion from afar. I can’t hear what they are saying, but their heads are jerking around, and they are making hand gestures as though they are trying to prove a point. My initial perception is they are having an argument. But what if I go ask them what’s going on to get to the truth? I might find that they were in complete agreement about how a teacher was treating one of their children. They might tell me they were rehearsing for a play. Then again, they may state they were, in fact, arguing.

You see, I don’t know all the information and therefore it’s very likely I don’t know the truth. I made an assumption based on limited information, which means I could be incorrect. Even if my initial assumption that they were arguing is correct, I don’t know what they were arguing about. There are numerous things a husband and wife could disagree about.

However, there is a truth we can know. When we dig into this truth, it will convict us. We will be cut to the quick and our hearts will have no recourse but to make a choice. For most people, once they learn the truth about Jesus Christ, especially when they’ve never known Him before, we see a deep conviction take place in their heart and a very strong commitment to following Him. It is those who have grown up hearing about Jesus that often take Him for granted. So, I encourage each one of you to dig into the Scriptures and really, really discover the truth.

I pray each one of us will be convicted in the truth of Jesus Christ. I pray each of us will encourage one another to seek Him out each day. I pray that we all stop making incomplete assumptions and pursue the truth. Study God’s Word. Seek God every day. Investigate to find the truth. Trust God to reveal His truth to you.

Hebrews 3:12-14 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.

Perfect in Love

How well do you love? Do you love only the “right” people? Are you only willing to love those people who will love you back? Do you not know that God has called us to love everyone, not just the ones we like?

We may have heard that God has called us to love everyone before. If so, we have likely said, “Oh, that doesn’t really apply to me. God didn’t make me so that I could love everyone. I can’t.” If you have said or thought this, you are sadly mistaken.

True, it is not easy to love everyone. In fact, it can be extremely difficult. Yet, Jesus gave us explicit instructions to love everyone, including our enemy. He has told us that if we love only those who love us, there is no reward.

How do we go about loving our enemies? How can we get to a point of looking beyond their evil ways and actions to love them? There is only one who can do such a thing and that is God. We must rely on God’s Spirit living inside us to help us get to the point of being able to love our enemy.

This is no easy proposition, mind you. We are bombarded by the media, co-workers, friends, and family to hold that grudge, give payback, return evil for evil. Much of this world will do exactly that and the cycle continues endlessly. At what point do you get tired of riding on the merry-go-round? When is enough, enough? When will you jump off and plant your feet on solid ground again?

Jesus tells us to love our neighbor and our enemy. He lets us know that even the worst of the worst in this world will love those who love them back. We are called to live by a higher standard. We are to love as God loves. We are to be perfect as God is perfect. Perfect in love. Perfect in seeing each person as a child of God that God cares deeply for and provides for, despite what we may think.

I pray each of us will reach out to God and ask Him to lead us in loving unconditionally. I pray that we take on the hard work of loving all people as God loves them. I pray God moves mightily in our lives. Love all God’s children. Show your love for them in your actions. Pursue being perfect as God is perfect. Perfect in love.

Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor  and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Thought of the Day

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Today’s reading is included below with the link to the Amazon Kindle format of Thought of the Day below it.

Word vs Action

Who are you representing today? Are you representing God? Are you showing Jesus to others? Are you spreading the gospel the world needs to hear and see? Are you doing as Jesus Christ commanded you to do?

We all speak of many things throughout each day. We talk about our work. We discuss family decisions. We likely talk about what so-so should do. You know, observing what everyone else is doing wrong and how they can fix it, even though they aren’t in the room to hear our “advice.”

Our churches have workgroups, councils, or action teams that discuss ministry and outreach plans. Often those discussions will go through several iterations with some of the ideas shelved and others (maybe) put into action.

Folks, if all we do is sit around and talk about what should be done, but do nothing, we’ve lost the point of what Jesus told us to do. Sure, we are to put our faith in Him. Yes, our first step is to accept Him as our Lord and Savior. However, once we’ve taken that step, He has given us a command to go and do for Him.

I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Great! Now he’s going to tell us how we are all to be ministers and preach the Word.” Yup. That’s exactly what I’m going to do. However, I’m not going to tell you that you should become what we call a pastor, minister, or preacher.

All of us are called to spread the gospel. As one old saying goes, “Preach Jesus Christ and when necessary use words.” Paul explains to us in Ephesians 4:4-16 that some are called to be pastors, ministers, or preachers. They are called to prepare the rest of the body to perform service. Notice Paul did not say that these pastors were called to do all the gospel spreading that needs to be done. That is the service the rest of the body is to do.

Each member of the body is to spread the gospel. And, yes, use words when necessary. I have had people I’ve worked with and clients of mine that have come to me and ask how I can remain so calm amidst all the chaos. My answer is always my faith and my trust in God. You see, the actions we take speak far louder than any words we can shout. Our actions allow us to use fewer words to spread the gospel. Now, doesn’t that make spreading the gospel a little easier?

I pray we all spread the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, through our actions. I pray we answer the questions people will pose to us with a faith filled responses. Be the positive force in actions the world needs. Speak when needed to spread the gospel. Trust God to provide you with faith, actions, and words.

James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.