Skip to main content

Fear

Fear is an emotion that is happening now about the future. It is a future that is negative and it is always false. It is a lie from the enemy.
It is a temptation.

Hope is also an emotion that is happening now about the future. It is a future that is positive and sure to happen. It is true. It is based on the promise of God. Hope is not “iffy” as in “I hope I pass the exam.” Hope is a glad anticipation of something that is sure to happen. “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul firm, and secure.”

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” (Hebrews 6:19)

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)


God made woman to need love, provision, protection, and security. God provides them but he also made men to provide them for the women.

All fear is a subset of the great fear of death. And God has delivered us from the great fear.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

To summarize:

1. Fear is not from God
2. Fear is from the enemy
3. It is based upon a lie
4. God has given us love, power, and discipline
5. Perfect love casts out fear
6. God has given us hope

Immerse yourself in:

1. The promises of God
2. The love of God
3. Marriage (Philippians 4:4 and 4:6, 7)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Meditate on them.
An order of events:

1. Rejoice
2. Thank God
3. Peace of God will guard your heart

When the Lord Jesus said, “Your will be done” He was surrendering to the known will of God, not to the unknown. In James 4:15, “Instead you ought to say ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” This is positive planning conditioned on the Lord’s will. We do not have a negative future in the Bible except when a prophet is pronouncing future judgment because of sin.

There are many passages on the fear of the Lord. They are much different from your fear. Your fear is not the fear of the Lord. Your fear is sin and should be confessed. The fear of the Lord adds length to life, it is pure, it teaches wisdom, it includes love for God, it avoids evil, it is a fountain of life, it is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, it delivers us from the terror by night, from evil, it delivers me from all my fears.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a

Lifted Up

In the first thirteen verses of John 3, Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was talking about. It was nonsense to him. When Jesus said verse fourteen to him, Nicodemus finally understood Jesus. Here it is: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…” (John 3:14). The reason it made sense to Nicodemus was because he knew of the event that Jesus spoke of. People who had been bitten by a serpent could look at the bronze snake and did not die. Nicodemus knew the Bible story.   Here it is: “Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyo

Getting Old

This is a post for those who are getting old or considering themselves old, from 65-100. Right now, I am 91.* I will be 92 in October. I have my own house, but I cannot live in it alone because of my physical inability to move around. One of my sons lives with me. All of us will have to make some adjustments. That includes money, relatives, your own ability and willpower to stay independent, etc. My advice is if physically and financially you can live independently, you should certainly do that. If you do, you will still need to have visits from your family frequently. You need your family. Even if you don’t need them to take care of you, you need them for the fellowship. The more fellowship you have, the longer you’ll live. If you can stay independent do it, but only if friends and relatives can see you often. In my case, I can’t walk, and I can’t do much physically. So, whether I like it or not, someone else has to get me up, get me showered, and get me dressed. I am blessed to have