I will not be Afraid

God did not give us a spirit of fear,
but one of love, power and a sound mind

2 Timothy 1:7

Fear....  There are times I wonder:  am I the only one who has it; am I the only one who can be paralyzed by it? 

When Paul wrote his last letter to Timothy, he was in jail and alone.  The emperor Nero was in power, and was notorious in his hatred and persecution of Christians.  Paul was telling his friend Timothy not to be paralyzed by fear.  Paul was telling Timothy to use everything God placed within him to share the gospel:  love:  we are called to love God & love people; power:  it comes directly from God and is something we don't have by ourselves; a sound mind:  it says we are clear headed and focused on what God has called us to do.

I am willing to bet that we all have fears.  What do you do when  you are afraid?

True story:
A few weeks ago my daughter was learning to do a back flip off of the high board for a dive meet.  The high board is 3 meters or 10 feet off the water.  From the pool deck it doesn't look that high, but when you're the one standing on the board, 10 feet is pretty high.  She was afraid.  Her legs were shaking, teeth chattering, tears running down her face.  "I'm afraid" she kept saying.  "I don't want to splat I know it will hurt". 

I told her to push through her fear & to be courageous.  We shouted out 2 Timothy 1:7 and claimed it over her fear.  I'm happy to say she learned her back flip, and now has no fear of doing it.

When Elizabeth was standing on the board she was focused on her fear, and couldn't see past it.  It paralyzed her so she couldn't move forward.  Fear stops us where we are.  It takes courage to push through our fears.  God tells us to be strong and courageous. (Deuteronomy 31:6)  When you find yourself in the grips of fear and need courage, look up and fall into the loving hands of God.  You fall into Him by:  prayer; reading your bible; using resources like biblegateway.com;  talking to your parents, pastors, and other adults you trust.  You don't have to face your fears alone!  Jesus has already made a way for you to live free in His name!  Amen!

Raging against the captor

As I think about my time in prayer yesterday there is one prayer request that keeps coming to the forefront of my mind today:  O church arise and rage against the captor.

Rage against the captor. I love that, but in real life how do we do this? As with everything, Jesus provides the perfect example. There's no guess work; no wondering WWJD.  Jesus didn't start spouting his Christian credentials or lengthy doctrine with big words.  He didn't even use His own words.  He used the words God the father provided Him. 

Today is Ash Wednesday.  It is the beginning of the time Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying.  When Jesus came out of the wilderness he was confronted by satan.  Matthew 4:1-11 gives the account.  Three times satan offers something to Jesus, and three times Jesus rebukes him with the word.  Have you ever noticed that satan offers him only things of this world:  food, safety, earthly kingdoms.  Things of this world are all he has to offer. 

When I think of the things satan offers, I remember how the risen Christ fills every one of the three things:   Jesus is the bread of life and living water.  (John 6:35; John 4:10)  The Lord is our strength and refuge.  (Psalm 16-17)  Jesus has prepared a place for us in heaven and has made a way for us to store up our treasures in heaven.  (John 14:2; Matthew 6:19-21; 1 Timothy 6:17-19)  All of these are just the tip of the iceberg of what Jesus does for us.  The things of this world are nothing compared to Him.

Through His death the chains of sin are broken.  He sets the captives free.  (notice it's present tense & not past!)  We rage against the captor.  We rage against him through Christ and Christ alone. 

Satan knows the end of his story.  You can read about it in Revelation 19:11-21.  You know that sharp sword that is coming out of Christ's mouth in verse 15 is the Word of God.  (Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 2:12-13; Revelation 1:12-18; Ephesians 6:7; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)  God also gives us a warning in 1 Peter 5:8-9:  "Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."  So we rage on, not in our own power, but through Christ.

Rage on brothers and sisters in Christ, rage on!

In the One who sets His people free,
~ashley