Archive for February, 2022
How to Face Fear Faithfully
Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
Eighty times in the Bible God says to His people, “Fear not.” To this day some seem not to have received the message. Or having received it, they appear to argue with it with such lines as, “But God, you don’t understand how bad things are.” Or, “God, things are worse than they have ever been!” We often inventory the difficulties for God. Reality would snatch us up by the nape of the neck and remind us of the line, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11: 6).
Now our text, Isaiah 41:10 – – –
* The Rational
When this was written Cyrus had enjoyed an unprecedented victory over God’s people and precipitated turbulence over the land by imposing his laws which were contrary to the laws of God. Sound familiar?
Isaiah records the Lord as having said . . .
* Do not be afraid.
Fear paralyzes reason. Bible knowledge is the antidote to fear.
Faith works against such obstacles as:
1) past failures, 2) present difficulties, 3) the silence of God.
Three times “fear not” appears in our brief text. Great honor belongs to all to whom God spoke these words. If you are one of His children, that means you.
The expression “fear not” indicates God wants you to live on terms of personal intimacy with Him.
* Don’t be dismayed.
The word dismayed refers to a sudden complete loss of courage, to become utterly disheartened. When the text says, “Don’t be dismayed” it simply means, “Don’t give up and quit.” Does that sound like your current address? Are you living at the corner of “Give Up” and “ I Quit” streets?
The resources:
* I am with you.
It is exciting to think God never takes His mind off you.
* I am your God.
Let God be God. If He is the loving God scripture asserts Him to be, and which the experience of many of us confirms Him to be, then He has a purpose in what He is allowing in our life. Faith is confidence in His character.
* I will strengthen you.
This is not a reference simply to natural strength, but to Supernatural. He enhances our ability and increases our capacity.
* I will help you.
After strengthening us, He additionally comes to help us.
Now it is up to you to apply these resources and move to “I Believe” street.
Faith Overcomes the Fear Factor
Read Hebrews 11:1 & 6
Jesus has inspired faith and incited holy boldness in the lives of countless heroes of the faith. Today He invites you to join their ranks.
His invitation to “Take up your cross and follow Me” is an invitation to enter on the path of exciting service and walk it by faith and not by sight.
If you want exemption from boredom and immunity for a mundane life, then unreservedly accept His invitation. The Bible is replete with examples of individuals who took God at His word and obeyed. You see, whatever else faith is, it is obedience to the Word of God.
Perhaps the late Dean W. R. Inge put his finger of indictment on us when he wrote: “Christianity is a creed for heroes and we are harmless, good-natured little people who want everybody to have a good time.”
Are you ready, spiritually prepared that is, that if we were to be entering a time more difficult than ever now in America you have spiritual resources to sustain you? Hopefully that will never happen, but what if? Do two things to bolster your life. One, practice not feeling sorry for yourself and don’t complain about little hangnail problems. Develop a positive vocabulary. Learn how to find the good amid the bad.
Second, study, memorize, and apply scriptural principles in interpreting the events of life. “Study, show yourself approved….” This takes time.
Doubt is an attack on God’s character.
Faith is mere confidence in God’s character. It is simply belief that God means what He says and will do what He promises.
Belief and trust are two words used frequently in Scripture to identify how we should respond to the Lord.
One Hebrew word for believe is AMEN. It means “to use God as a foundation; to lean on Him.”
The word for “trust” is BATAK. It was originally a wrestling term meaning to “body-slam” an opponent. Applied to our faith life, it means to pick up your problems and body-slam them before the Lord.
Who have you been pleasing? Yourself? A peer group? I invite you to come on a venture with me and resolve no longer to be a marginal, rootless person.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for…” Only when we respond to this creed like our heroes before us with faith does Christianity become for us, and those who observe us, a mighty force which gives dynamic radiance to life.
Hebrews 11: 1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Then this theme is continued in verse 6, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him…”
I am including in this post with the following poem I learned while in college with the prayer it might be helpful to you, and worthy of your memorization.
“God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain, rocky and steep,
Never a river, turbid and deep.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.”
What and How to Hate…to Hate?
Proverbs 30:11-16
Jesus saw a crippled man in the midst of a group of religious leaders and watched their reaction which Mark described as “hardness of their hearts.” Then it is said of Jesus that He “looked around at them with anger.” (Mark 3:5) Jesus, angry? Yes! The Greek word translated “anger” is “orge.” It speaks of a controlled displeasure, resentment, and indignation. The New Testament urges all believers to “be angry and sin not.” (Ephesians 4:26) But at WHAT and HOW?
The wisdom book of Proverbs gives us four characteristics that should arouse the anger of a believer and cause hate. Remember the Bible says about HOW to hate. In Proverbs 30 the expression “There is a generation,” literally means, there is a class of people. In every generation there have been classes of people who meet these standards. Four behaviors are abhorrent to God and should be hated by us.
A SPIRIT OF ANARCHY – Vs. 11 (Rebellion)
Anarchy means rebellion. It can happen on a national scale or within a family. Where there are children who curse their father and do not bless their mother, a spirit of anarchy, that is, rebellion prevails.
A SHOW OF ACCEPTABILITY – Vs. 12 (Hypocrisy)
Self-righteousness and hypocrisy are unacceptable to God.
No person does worse things than those who are right in their own eyes. None are further from righteousness than those who are righteous in their own eyes.
A STATE OF ARROGANCE – Vs. 13 (Pride)
“These persons are characterized as having uplifted eyes and raised eyebrows.” This speaks of false pride and arrogance. They are self-centered egotists.
A SENSE OF AVARICE – Vs. 14 (Greed)
This verse describes the viciousness of those who are preoccupied with money. They will destroy others and themselves to get it.
God is said to “Hate all the workers of iniquity.” (Psalm 5:5)
The Psalmist aligned himself with God in hate: “Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with a perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.” (Psalms 139: 21, 22)
“Perfect hate” involves resistance to all who hate that which is good by God’s standard. Just as it is our duty to love all people, so it is our duty to hate all opposition to God and His will. To hate a person for his own sake is wrong, but to hate all forms of opposition to God’s will and Word is “perfect hate.”
Now, go back and read the above definition of how to hate.
The Result of Trusting the Lord
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge, and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3: 5, 6)
Jesus Christ wants to meet you right where you are in your life’s pilgrimage and give you supernatural guidance. He who has experienced life wants to be your divine Guide.
Let’s explore our text and at the same time let it explore us. It calls for – – –
A positive and a negative aspect of commitment is noted. First the positive.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”
When you realize that any step may be a step into heaven, you want it guided by the Lord. Proverbs 30:5: “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.”
The word translated “trust” had an interesting secondary usage in the day in which this Proverb was written. It was used in wrestling to describe a person holding on to another firmly. It meant to grab and hold onto. In describing our trust of the Lord, it means to grab on and hold on to Him.
The Bible is at all times trustworthy as well as realistic.
Now the negative, “Lean not on your own understanding.”
Guards on sentry duty stood at attention holding their long spears. Occasionally one would grow weary and lean on his spear. If he fell asleep he was dependent upon something to hold him up which he was holding up. When we lean on our own understanding we are likewise engaged in a circle of inadequacy. If we are to survive and have peace, we must admit our frailties and trust in the Lord.
Our trust of the Lord calls for us to… “In all thy ways acknowledge Him.”
We are to acknowledge Him in all our ways. The Bible says “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
We are to acknowledge Him with all our heart. This means to give Him total allegiance. A half-hearted Christian has divided allegiance and is always unstable.
Often scientists, in conducting an experiment, know it is supposed to work in a certain way. According to their theories they are able to postulate how it will work. When it doesn’t, they know what they call “intervening variables” have come into play. Or to use a less scientific term, something has “gummed up the works.” Some other undesirable factor has come into play.
The “intervening variable” that gums up the works for most Christians is known as self-will. Better defined, it is an area of their life where Christ is not Lord, an area of disobedience.
When we wholeheartedly trust Him, – – – “He shall direct your paths.”
There is an emphatic here: “He shall direct…” No doubt about it, He will. Life is like a maze. You have seen and perhaps toyed with the sketches that show a series of corridors and you are supposed to work your way through the maze to the goal. Perhaps you have been to an amusement park where there is an area of hallways designed in this manner. The problem is most of the corridors you try to go down result in a dead end. It is as though from His vantage point God can see the entire maze. He knows the dead ends and the right route. He is in the position to guide us and spare us the frustration of trial and error. Trust Him.