Over It (Fear)

I love a good battle scene.   It is both horrible and beautiful when opposing forces clash in the interest of defending their beliefs, their will, and their honor.  I think I am taken in by the spirit of a fighter because I understand that life requires that we all be warriors sometimes.   There is a particular battle scene that is my favorite.  In the movie Troy, Brad Pitt plays the character Achilles.  Achilles is called upon to fight an opponent who is no less than giant. This giant was treacherous.  This battle was ominous.    This Achilles, small as he was in comparison to what he was up against, was victorious. The battle itself wasn't spectacular.  No, it ended as quickly as it started.  It was the fight in the fighter that was fabulous.  Walk with me through the scene.  The giant glares at Achilles with disdain. He thinks Achilles is no match for him. The giant sends up his war cry, makes up a bunch of noise, and the battle begins.  The giant's supporters roar and cheer him on.  Achilles supporters show no support.   They don't believe he can win.  Nonetheless, Achilles moves forward to fight.  The giant hurls a spear and it pounds against Achilles shield.  Achilles moves on forward.  The giant hurls a second spear and it just misses Achilles.  Achilles runs on, now moving at full speed, toward this beast of an opponent: never stopping, never looking back. Before anything could be said or done, Achilles' challenger is laid down.  Achilles was up against insurmountable odds, but he overcame them.  How did he do it? He used a very potent weapon.  No, his weapon was not a sword.  No, his weapon was not a spear.  His weapon was fearlessness.

In the course of life, we too, come up against some very threatening opponents.  You may be facing one now.  Whatever you do, don't run the other way.   Avoidance and cowardice are more of  a threat than what you are up against could ever be.  Understand that fear will come. Know that you must never bow down to it.  Bowing down to fear makes fear your God. You have in essence said that your fear is greater than your God.  That is a lie.   What's true is: 1.) There is nothing too hard for God.  2.) God never fails.   3.) God doesn't give us  a spirit of fear.  4.) God gives us power. 

Walk in that power or fear will rob you of what's yours.  The Bible says that you cannot serve two masters.  And its true.  You will either act based on what God says can be done or you will not act based on what fear says can't be done.  You won't be able to do both. 

Trusting anything more than you trust God always leads to some level of death.  So when you avoid stepping out or stepping up in faith, you will lose something every time.  So then what do you do when fear shows up?  (We already said it surely will).  You do it afraid.  Whatever it is.  Be afraid.  Do it anyway.  The Bible has shown us this principle works.  In Genesis we are told about the family of Joseph.  His brothers had gone to Egypt in search of food because there was a famine going on in their land.  The brother's were directed to return home and to bring their brother Benjamin back to Egypt with them.  The brothers'  father, Israel, was afraid he would lose his sons if he sent them back.  He had already lost his favored son Joseph.  It was painful to face such a challenge.  It was a fear he didn't want to face.  He sent his son anyway.  Following that, Israel was called to Egypt as well.  He was afraid to go. Israel sought God and God told him to go on to Egypt. Israel obeyed and went, afraid.  Israel chose to operate over fear rather than in fear. It was a life-changing, life-saving decision.  Israel was reunited with his long-lost son, Joseph.  All his kindred was saved from the famine and God multiplied his possessions and family exceedingly.  The Bible tells many stories of people operating over fear (study Esther, Gideon, Moses...the list goes on).  Even Jesus prayed to not have to face the challenge of sacrificing himself for our sins.  Thank God Jesus operated over fear.

 

We must take fear for what it is.  It is an indicator.  Fear only serves the purpose of letting us know that we need to pray and prepare.  We are warriors. We are built for victory.  If we fight honorably under the leading of God, we can't lose. Fear is not our master. Move beyond it. Live above it. Get over it. 

Scripture:
II Timothy 1:7
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Psalm 34:4
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered from all my fears.


Prayer:
Lord, bless us to be strong and courageous. Bless us to operate over all fear knowing that you go with us wherever we go.  Thank you Lord, because you never leave us nor forsake us. You love us. We are more than conquerors.  Amen.
 

Good

Outside the sun radiates in such a manner that it sings of Jesus.  Not a cloud is in the sky.  You have friendship and love in your life.  There is harmony and peace in your home,  You, your family, and your friends have strength and good health. Things at the job are going well.  All your bills are current.  You have everything you need and most of what you want.  Life is going your way

God is good.

Outside the rain is pouring.  The sun is nowhere to be seen.  The friendships and love in your life are faulty.  It's like a war zone in your home.  You're worried about the health of someone special to you.  You and your boss at odds on your job.  You have bills that are overdue.  You can't get anything you want and barely what you need.  Nothing seems to be going your way.

God is good.

God is good ALL the time.  God does what he can to keep trouble out of our way.  There are times though that the choices we have made or the choices that others around us have made cause unpleasant things to occur.  The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust.  So the fact of the matter is, there will be trouble in our lives sometimes.  Good or bad, though, no matter what goes on around you maintain your thankfulness to/for and your faith in God.  God's desire is to always be on our side. He wants to celebrate with us when things are going well.  He wants to help us when things are not going so well.  If we allow it, he'll always be there for us.  God is good.

Scripture:
Psalms 31:19  Oh how great is the goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

Psalms 52:1 ...the goodness of God endureth continually


Prayer:  God may we ever be mindful of your goodness.  Amen.

Music To Our Ears

Think back to a time when you did somethng and didn't feel right on the inside.  A little whispering in your spirit gently tried to lead you in a different direction.  Maybe you heard it and maybe not.  Maybe you labeled that voice as your conscience.  Well, it's much more than that.  That voice that you feel rather than hear is not a figment of your imagination.  It is the voice of the Lord.   God is trying to lead you down the path of righteousness and salvation.   Most of us have an innate sense of when something is wrong or right.  It is like the Lord's commandments are written in our spirits and when we do something that dishonors those commandments, we know it.  We feel uncomfortable about it.  We feel so uncomfortable that we make a different decision that doesn't leave our guts churning with guilt.   Not everyone is blessed with the gift of the Lord's direction.  Some walk around giving no thought to wrong things that they've done.  Imagine the destruction that others around that person suffer because that person lacks the leading of God's spirit.  Sensing the difference between wrong and right is a gift of God.  In the Bible, God cursed people with what is called a reprobate mind.  That means that he gave them over to their own thinking.  He no longer would direct them away from poor choices.  That meant they would not be directed away from destruction.  We don't want that.  If God is thoughtful enough of us to offer us the safety net of his guidance, we should listen.  We also should always connect our conscienceness with God.  It is easy to refuse the direction of an abstract guide.  If we think of the feelings that we have when we make decisions as only our conscience, we may or may not follow it.   If we keep in mind that our conscience is the leading of God, it becomes harder to refuse His guidance.  God loves us.  He wants to keep us and others around us out of harms way.  So if you hear in your spirit God telling you to do/or not do something.  Listen and obey.  After all, God's voice should always be music to our ears.

Scripture:
St. John 10:4  And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Exodus 23:20-22 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.  Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him.  But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

Prayer:
Lord, please guide us in all things.  May we ever have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that understand and receive your leading.  Holy Spirit we invite you to live in us and reign over us as God sees fit. Amen.

Them Bones, Them Bones

One of my favorite chapters of scriptures is Ezekiel 37.  In this passage, the Lord God took Ezekiel, the prophet, by spirit into an open valley.  In that valley, bones were scattered everywhere.  There were a great number of bones and they were said to be very dry.  The Lord asked Ezekiel, "Son of man, Can these bones live?" Ezekiel answered, "God, you know." From there God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones and to tell the bones, "Thus saith the Lord, I will put you back together. I will lay sinews, flesh, and skin on you and put breath in you and you will live and you will know that I am the Lord." Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded. In the midst of Ezekiel prophesying the bones started coming together. Then the sinews and flesh came upon them and skin, but they didn't breath.  God then tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind and to tell the wind to come from the four winds and blow upon the bones that they may live.  So again, Ezekiel obediently prophesied.  And it was so.  The bones lived and stood upon their feet.  They were an exceedingly great army.  Oh, does that minister!

Let's look into this scripture together.  The Lord saw fit to set this scripture in the valley.  Well, what is a valley?  A valley is a place of division.  What once was together has been breached, rended, ripped up, or torn.   The valley is the bottom of what once was a pinnacle. It's stuck in the middle.  Behind it is a heart wrenching reminder of what once was and in front is a painful picture of what  should be.  We've all been in the valley.   Valley moments are moments in which we are at our lowest.  Situations we are in have us stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Getting out seems nearly impossible.  Keep reading.  

In the valley, there were bones.  There were lots of them.  They were very dry.  The bones represent our state of being.   The fact that there were so many represents the fact that so many people are in the valley.  The hardships that they have experienced in the valley, sickness-financial hardship-torn relationships-etc.- have the people hopeless...very hopeless...in essence, dead.  

God knows just how to revive his people, though.  God finds a person who has faith in Him to declare His word over his people. He tells Ezekiel to speak over them that God has declared their restoration.   Immediately at the declaration of the word of the Lord things begin to come together.  This indicates that when we are vexed and downtrodden, we have to stand on God's word, even when we are at our driest point having been stuck in our hopelessness for years.  Speak his word.  God's word overrides the impact of time and circumstance.  The effectiveness of God's word is instant.  His word is potent.  His word is life.    

God was very systematic in his restoration of his people.  Notice how God set up the bones first. The bones represent a support system.  When we are in the valley of hopelessness, we become dead.  We are not even able to seek help for ourselves. God sends a support system.  He'll lead people to pray and intercede for you, people will witness to you, friends and family or even strangers will come to your aid.

Next, God restored the sinews, which is the muscle.  Muscle indicates strength.  You'll begin to notice that something on the inside is keeping you going.  You begin to operate   on supernatural strength.  You wanted to throw in the towel, but now you are ready for one more round.  Keep fighting.  God is in your corner.

Then God gave them flesh.  Flesh represents humanity.  It is a basic form of existence.  It is the body, in absence of the soul or spirit.

Then came the skin.  Skin serves a couple of purposes.  Our sense of touch occurs through the skin.   We use the term developing thick skin or being calloused in reference to our lack of sensitivity to what should affect us emotionally.  Skin also covers and protects what's inside of us. When God restored their skin, he restored their ability to sense and identify what is going on around them and their ability to hold everything together.

After all this rebuilding, though, there was still no life in them.  God told Ezekiel to prophesy again. He told Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind.  He told the wind to come from the four corners and breathe on the dead that they may live.  This shows us that even if the natural man is built up, we are not yet really alive until we receive the Spirit of God.  We need God working in us, not just around us.  His word says that we can pray to him in faith and ask to receive the Holy Spirit in us.  If you have not invited the Holy Spirit to live in you. Just say a prayer now.  Tell God you want to receive His spirit in you.

Once, the people had been restructured and the Holy Spirit restored, they lived.  Not only did they live again. The Bible says that they stood as an exceedingly great army.  All those restored lives became an awesome testament of the power of our God and they, now, could fight in behalf of others.  That is so awesome! I love it.

God had Ezekiel to prophesy once more.  This time his prophesy was direct.  God declared, "Behold, Oh my people,  I will open your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it."  At the end of it all, God wants us to know that He is the one who restores us and bring us back to life.  He is the one who takes us out of the valley and brings us back from the wrong places that we have taken ourselves.  When we are lifted up, it is by his strength, by his mighty hand, and by his word.  We could never do it on our own.  

I praise God for his willingness to bring us out of our dry, dead places.  If you feel as though you are living in a valley of dry bones, pray to God. Speak his word over your life, literally. Open your mouth and declare his promises.  The word of the Lord is truth.  His words never fail.  They stand forever.

Scripture:
Read Ezekiel 37: 1-14

Isaiah 55:11
So shal My word be that goes forth, out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producting any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Hebrews 4:12

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the brath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

Prayer:
We praise you God. You are the source of our restoration.  You are our strength and our redeemer. Amen.