As many of you have come to know, this stuff’s real, precious ones. Let’s follow Christ. Let’s make every attempt to live in the faith He died to give us. Let’s enter His sweet rest…
39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
John 11:39-45
God knew I needed to come to the point where I was so sick of fear that I would do whatever it took to be freed from it.
Mark, why do you talk about the same things over and over again? Well, it’s because I know we need to get the basics of our faith down if we’re (and our children) going to live in the victory Jesus can give us. To consistently experience His peace and joy, we need to get these types of truths deep in our souls where the Holy Spirit can help us to be overcomers, day in and day out.
In the following, please understand it’s not my purpose to judge anyone or to make fun of them. I’m just trying to get us to see that religion (and the “fear of man” religion can contain and perpetuate), in itself, will not make us truly free in Jesus.
Lately, I’ve had a number of people try to share their fear with me. I could tell they didn’t really want to be set free from their fear. They merely wanted to get me to enter into their fear. These are folks who don’t know Jesus and what His love could do for them. They’re reacting to the fear in their own lives the way they’ve seen others react to fear – the herd mentality. They make fearful comments, they play fearful thoughts over and over again in their minds – I was like that at one time. They look at you as if they expect you to join in with the fear they’re experiencing and trying to pass onto you. They look stressed, worried and weighed down with responsibility (after all, that’s what being an adult is all about, right?). Fear was actually telling them what actions to take and how to live their lives which is never a good thing.
How do I know this “fear” look? Because my parents and relatives (and most of their church friends), who were merely acting out what they saw other worldly and religious people doing, reacted to situations this way. Being around them as much as I was, I learned to deal with potentially intimidating circumstances in the same, fearful manner. Doing so nearly wiped me out physically and emotionally, especially when a lot of fearful situations began to gang up on me. In fact, letting fear control my life this way came close to causing me to give up on having any kind of a meaningful relationship with Jesus. These people didn’t know Christ and neither did I even though we all called ourselves Christians. Isn’t that strange?
The really sad thing is that when I (and my precious wife) made any attempt to come away from the fear we were all letting control us, to take a stand and start believing in and living the Word, I was beginning to be labeled as “holier than thou” and “self-righteous.” I didn’t feel like I was either. I just desperately needed to find out if the Bible was true because I was drowning in fear, anxiety and panic. I wanted so much to find out if Jesus could really put an end to the turmoil in me, that He could actually bring trusting peace and rest to my life.
Dejectedly, I (and my family) finally had to cut ties with folks who were holding us back from taking a leap of faith to find out if Christ really was trustworthy, if His peace really could take control of my troubled soul, if He really could work all things for my good, even my very scary past. (Reminds me, again, of the powerful little book, “Hinds Feet On High Places” by Hannah Hurnard)
Precious people, Jesus is the way to deal with all of the fearful thoughts (whether they come from religious people or others) around us that attempt to rob us of our right to our faith in the Prince of Peace.
The thief (satan and his band of fearful demons) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I (Jesus, on the other hand) am come that they (anyone who will truly get to know Jesus) might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (living with the kind of peace and joy only Christ can impart).
John 10:10 My Edits
When you get hit with doubts, and we all do, don’t panic. Instead, take action against those thoughts even if it means doing so in your mind or speaking it to yourself under your breath. Take fear-inducing thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Others may drown in fear. Jesus has called us to faith, to rely on and relax in Him, in His care.
Quote scriptures that remind you to not give into fear, scriptures that tell you that God can be trusted to take care of you no matter what – tape them up in your home. Play Christian music all day long in your home. Memorize verses that remind you to cast all your cares on Christ, and that you don’t ever have to be frightened by sudden fear, the type of fear that catches you off-guard. Remember, Christ is guarding your heart. Please, let Him be your Prince of Peace.
Call Jesus’ Presence into the situation…His dear Presence makes us whole.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:
1 John 4:18a
When fear comes, remember to let the peace of God rule in your heart. And, maybe most importantly, remember that God’s really working all things for your good. Knowing that will let God’s perfect love build a wall of protection around your heart, and knowing that will cast any fear where it belongs, out of your life.
I love you all. It’s my joy and strong desire to see each one of us set free so we can fully rest in Jesus.
“Said I (Jesus) not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”
God bless,
Mark