Tag Archives: Fear

Fear Has Lost

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I was reading through the text of the resurrection as found in Matthew today, when something pop out at me.

By the way, people will sometimes ask me, how do I know when God is speaking to me in scripture? How do I know what God is trying to say? What should I look for? What should I listen for?

One of the things I tell them is this. When you are reading, pay attention to what pops out at you. What word, through, concepts sticks out to you. What grabs your attention.

Focus on that. Focus on that word, phrase or concept. Listen to what God may want to say to you in that. Ponder that word, phrase, or concept. Let it roll around in your mind for a second.

Listen in that.

For me, that’s one of the ways that God speaks to me in scripture.

Today, in reading Matthew 28: 5-10  that happened to me. Listen to what happens here. See if you noticed what I noticed, or see if you notice something different:

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

do-not-be-afraidWhat popped out at me was this. In this passage, a command is given twice. Do not fear. Do not fear. Do not be afraid.

In the light of the resurrection, this is so important for to hear and to know.

We have nothing to fear.

Death – defeated.

Sin – defeated.

The chains of sin – broken.

The power of the devil – defeated.

All that we can fear has been defeated. All that could stop us is done away with. That was the message of the angels. That was the message of Jesus.

And that’s a message for us today. No matter what you are facing today, do not fear. Do not be afraid. Do not given into that fear.

Jesus Christ is alive! Sin, death, and the grave are defeated! Life has won. Faith has won.

Fear has lost.

Today, don’t be a afraid.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

What Are You Afraid Of?

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What are you afraid of today?  What is it that makes you scared? Worried? Terrified?

We all have something. We all have someone. We all something that take away our joy, our confidence, our hope. We are all afraid of something.

It’s that reason why that one of the most mentioned commands in the Bible is this. Do not be afraid. Do not fear. Over and over again in scripture we are told to do not be afraid.  Do not worry. Do not live in fear.

If God is for us, who can be against us, we are told.  Listen to what we are told today in Jeremiah:

But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. “Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.

urlThe people of Israel were going to be defeated by the foreign army. Their way of life was going to change forever. Nothing would ever be the same again. They were going to lose so much of what they knew, what they expected, what they had hoped for, what was the their foundation.

They were afraid. They were terrified with what was going to happen.

And so, in that moment, God speaks these words – do not be afraid. And then again at the end, no one shall make him afraid.

No one.

Nothing.

He will not be afraid, for I, the Lord, and with him. Do not fear.

And today, no matter where you are in your faith, that is His call to you as well. Do not be afraid. Do not fear. Do not worry. God is with you. God loves you. God is for you.

Do not fear.

Today, you have nothing to be afraid of. For you God is with you. Take confidence in that fact today!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

God is for You

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urlToday, God is for you. God is on your side. God is with you.

God is your biggest fan, your biggest ally, your strongest strength, your greatest hope, your rock and salvation.

God is for you. Today.

No matter what you are going through, God is for you.

Now, this is not an “everything is perfect and easy and smooth” message. There will be tough times. There will be trials. There will be tears.

Listen to Psalm 56:8-11:

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

God keeps a record of our tears. God is aware. God knows our hurts, records them, keeps them.

But, God is for you. God is with us. We shall not be afraid. What can man do to us? What can this world do to us? What can there trials do to us?

For if God is for us, who can be against us?

Today, know, God is for you. No matter what is going on in your life, God is for you. God is with you. God will not leave you.

No matter what.

Today, God is for you.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Whom Shall We Fear?

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Jesus never promises us in the bible that things will always be easy and perfect. He never tells us troubles will not come.

In fact, what He says in scripture is quite the opposite. He does not say that troubles will be absent, but in fact, He goes the complete other way.

He says – you will face troubles.

You will have trials.

There will be tough times. There will be tears and worry and stress and pain.

There will be.

But, that’s not all He promised us.

Look what is says today in Matthew 10: 26-28:

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

We will have these things happen. But do not fear. Do not fear those in life that can “hurt” you. For they can’t. Dont’ fear the one that hurt the body.

Fear the one that will judge the soul.

We should not fear any other human. We should fear (i.e. respect) God.

Why should we not fear any other human? As a great picture on the internet put it, you’ve got an all-powerful, all-knowing, all loving, in control, three in one God on your side.

Now act like it!

I love that. It’s actually my phone background right now. God is on our side. God is for us. God is with us. Whom shall we fear?

No one. We can have NO FEAR today.  For God is with us! Rejoice. Be strong. Do not fear.

For God is with us. Whom shall we fear?

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Do Not Be Afraid

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Paul in his ministry did a lot of pretty scary things. He went to some pretty rough places. He faced down some pretty tough dudes.

He was willing to do all of this, because He had a passion, a calling a desire to take the good news of Jesus’ love, mercy, and salvation to as many people as He could and as far away as He could.

Yesterday, we talked about what we are here for. What our purpose is. Paul knew what his was.

But, here’s the thing. Just because you know what God’s called you to, just because you are aware of what He wants you to do, just because you may be confident in this, it doesn’t mean you won’t be scared.

In our lives, we will be scared of something. We will be worried about something. We will be afraid.

Of life. Of challenges. Of circumstances. Of, whatever.

Listen to what Jesus tells Paul today in Acts 18:9-11 , as he goes about his calling:

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Do not be afraid. No one will harm you. I have more on my side than just you.

Remember, God has more up His sleeve than just me and you. God’s plan is bigger than us. We are part of it. But, the entire fate of the free world doesn’t rest upon your shoulders.

Today, don’t be afraid. Don’t fear. No matter what you are facing. No matter what you are up against. God is with you.

He loves you. He will not forsake you.

He will not forget you.

He is with you. He is for you. He loves you.

Today, no matter what is going on, here the words of Jesus to Paul – Do not be afraid.

Today, and each day, He is with you.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Do Not Be Afraid

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I’ve read the story of Jesus calling the first disciples many times in my life. I’ve preached on it a good many times in my ministry. It’s a story that I feel like I know pretty well.  It reads in Luke 5: 8-11 like this:

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

So, when I started reading today’s passage, I thought, well, I wonder what’s there. I’ve read it so many times, I just don’t know what’s there this morning to reflect on and share. And then I read verse 10 again.

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

And when I read it, I noticed something that I had never noticed before (it’s funny how God has a way of doing that!).

Peter realizes who Jesus is, and his immediate response it to say – I am sinful and not worthy of being in presence. Just like Isaiah in Isaiah 6, when Peter has an encounter with the Holy, he realizes how unworthy he is.

Jesus then calls the disciples to follow Him. But before He calls them to go and catch men, He says this – do no be afraid.

Do not be afraid. What a message we need to hear. These disciples were beginning to head out on a journey that would take them far from home. They would see things that they never thought they would have ever seen. They would experience things that many of them would have never through possible. They were literally going to do the impossible.

And I’m sure if they realized on the front end all they were going to do, they’d have been terrified.

So, Jesus says, don’t be afraid.

I don’t know what your day holds. I don’t know what your life holds. I don’t know what challenges await you. I don’t know what all callings Jesus has on your life. I don’t know what the future will be.

I know that there will be joy and pain, laughter and tears, challenges and triumphs. And I know in all things, today, tomorrow, and always this message we hear today rings true.

Do not be afraid. God is with Jesus. He never leaves us. He is with us. He calls us, He loves us, He cares for us.

Do not be afraid. You are His beloved child. He will neve leave your side. You have nothing to fear. Today, or any day.

Do no be afraid.

The Unbaptized Mind Podcast

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The sermon podcast for Sunday, October 16, 2011 is up on Asbury Church’s website.  This is the third sermon in our series “The Unbaptized Arm.”  This sermon deals with “The Unbaptized Mind.”  It deals with the fears that we all face, the fears of our head, and the fears of our heart.  The texts for this sermon are 2 Corinthians 10: 3-6 and 1 John 4:18.  Also by clicking on these verses you can see my notes from the sermon as a note in the YouVersion online Bible.   You can listen to it by clicking here, or you can listen to it here on this blog by clicking below. And, as always, you can subscribe to my sermon podcasts through iTunes.

Fear Not

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One of the things that we preachers try to do is share, present, and interpret scripture in a way that helps you. I want this daily reflection of scripture to a be a help to your day, an encouragement, a challenge.  I want it to be something that will enable you to know God’s love for you and to feel the challenge to go out and live in His grace.

So, sometimes I tell I story. Sometimes I try to relate it to your (or my) life. Sometimes I just talk about what it means to me.

Today, through, this reading is one of my favorites, and one of the most powerful in scripture.  So, I ask you right now to stop and listen.  Stop what you are doing (unless you are driving) and listen. Listen to what Isaiah 43 says:

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

God created you.  He formed you.  You are His.  He loves you.

Today, no matter where you are in your faith, whether you are where you need to be, whether you are walking daily with Him, or whether you have drifted.  Maybe you are just starting to come back to faith. Maybe you’ve never had faith before at any point in your life.

No matter where you are – know this. God formed you.  You are made in His image. And He loves you. He sent His son to redeem you.  And if wants to know you.  He wants a relationship with you. He wants to carry you.

He formed you.

And He wants you to trust in His strength and provision today. So that when you pass through the fire and the water, you will be ok.

Not if you pass through them. When you pass through them. There will be fire. There will be water. We will go through trials in this life.

When we cling to the one that formed us we know we will be ok. He will be with us.  He will uphold us.  He will strength us.

Today, know that God has formed you.  You are His.

Today, trust in Him.  Trust in His strength.  His might.  His power.  His comfort. His grace.

Fear not.  He has redeemed you.  You are His. Today, may we trust in Him, in all things.

Don’t You Care If We Drown?

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If there is one thing we know about Jesus, it’s that He loves people.  That’s one of the main points of the entire Gospel.

His loves His disciples.  He loves the crowds that follow Him.  He loves the sinners and tax collectors He meets along His journey.  He even loves the Pharisees.  He loves His family.  He loves the entire world.

That’s kind of the point of John 3:16 – God loves the world.  Through Jesus, we see God’s love for the entire world.

We can argue about a lot in faith. But, we all agree on this.  Jesus loves people.  There is no doubt about that.

Watch what happens today, through in Mark 4:

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

There’s a lot in this passage. But, one of the things that always sticks out to me is this. The disciples asked Jesus, don’t you care that we are going to drown?

They are afraid. This huge storm has blown up all around them. It doesn’t look good.  The boat could sink. They could drown. They could die. That’s a scary, scary thing.

So, out of their fear, they ask Jesus, don’t you care that we are going to drown!  Don’t you care that we are going to die!

In short they are asking, aren’t you going to save us? Don’t you love us?

Each one of the disciples knew that Jesus loved them.  They had seen His love. They knew His love.  They had felt His love.

But now they were scared. They were worried. They didn’t know what was going to happen. And so they questioned. They questioned His love. They questioned His help. They questioned Him.

Do you not care if we drown?

Of course He did. But, in their fear, they lost sight of that. In their fear, they lost sight of God’s love.

Today, no matter what you are going through, God loves you.  God loves you in your storm. God loves you in your life. God loves you no matter what. God loves you.

Don’t let the storm you are going through take your eyes off of God’s love. Don’t let fear cause you to doubt God’s love.  God loves you more than you’ll ever know.

Don’t let the storm of today take your eyes off the love of God.

 

Don’t Stay Locked Up in Fear

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Fear is a great motivator.  Some of the greatest athletes in history were motivated by a fear of failure and of letting people down.

Fear, when channeled, can be something that pushes us and drives us and causes us to achieve a goal or do something great. Fear, when channeled and used for good, can be a great motivator.

But, for many of us, that is not the role that fear plays in our lives.  Instead of motivating us, fear can cripple us.  Instead of driving us, fear can break us.  Instead of pushing us down the road, fear can stop us from moving.

For many of us today, we live our lives out of fear. And we don’t like the results. We live in fear of the past.

Of the future.

Of the present.

Of the known.

Of the unknown.

Of what we can control.

Of what we can’t.

For many of us today, we live a life that is dominated by fear.  Listen to what happens to the disciples in John 20 today:

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.

They were hiding behind these locked doors because they were afraid. They were hiding away from people because they were fearful.

And Jesus comes to them and says – Don’t hide. Go. Don’t stay locked up here. Go.  Go out. Be faithful.  Preach, teach, love. Don’t stay locked up in fear.

Go.

How can they go when they are afraid?  He is with them. And He will give peace.  No matter what. No matter what they face. He will give peace.

Today, don’t stay locked up in fear.  Don’t stay afraid.  No matter what you are facing God is with you.  No matter what you are up against, God is with you.  No matter what fear wells up in your soul, God is with you.

Today, do not be afraid. God is with you.

You have nothing to fear.