FEAR NOT

If you must, allow yourself a few seconds just to remember what fear does--paralyzes you, cripples you and ruins you day if you allow it to linger, so kick it to the curb before it takes hold of you. Help is on the way.

Actually, Help is right beside you--you do have your Bible at your side, right? Think again--Look inward. That's where your Savior resides, right? I hope you're not one of those out of sight, out of mind folks, because fear is lurking just around the next corner you pass, but keep on walking right by. Your Companion, the Holy Spirit, is undefeated by fear, adversity, hatred, threats of every kind and Hell itself. So, like I said, kick it to the curb and its author Satan with it! Help is with you--you never leave Home without it, right? 

Just in case you left home in a hurry, stick these verses in your go-pack (and be more careful tomorrow so you're not caught up short again! Your enemy is strong and will not give up this world, or you, without a long, bloody battle)

 ... But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell.   Luke 12:5   

... Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. Psalm 34:9

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you  will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. Psalm 54:4

But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.   Psalm 53:5

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthiew 10:28

will be Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God with you to keep you from sinning.”  Exodus 20:20

Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”  Isaiah 35:4

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.    Isaiah 54:4

Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” Isaiah 44:8

Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, ... Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, .Ecclesiastes 8:13..

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

He mocks at fear, and is not frightened; Nor does he turn back from the sword. Job 39:22

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

    note: I'm sure you are aware that God repeats an important message 2-3 times. Looking at the references above, you think this must be a VERY important thing to carry with you?

The Bride's Cookbook

 Amongst the pile of shower gifts was a cookbook from Mom--a very thick book. "I'll save it for a rainy day when I'm stuck at home alone ", she promised herself.  "For now, there's a stack of thank you cards I've got to write, and he's taking me somewhere special tonight."

                                                 fast forward

"He says he loves me but he's tired of burned toast and instant coffee for breakfast. Lately he hints that he's growing tired of holding my soft, delicate hands across a restaurant table and perhaps we should start saving a little money for our future. Well, I can take a hint," she said, thumbing through Mom's precious pristine cookbook, vowing to wow her beloved with something exotic to impress him--how hard could it be?

Apparently, pretty hard, as it turned out, she decided--as she watched him bravely choking down the casserole dish she had thought would impress him. Oh, well, tomorrow's another day--his birthday, in fact, and she had found a yummy cake recipe, but perhaps she should go back to the first chapter "Basic Rules for Brides or Idiots".  

 Alas, her fluffy 3-layer special cake clearly looked more like a stack of pancakes, and deserved a dollop of syrup instead of the thin icing, dripping across the table. Oh, well, tomorrow's another day! And another, unlike the others, except for the growing lack of smiles and excuses of: "I had a late lunch" or "I had to take a customer out."

                                                fast forward

"My poor Sweetheart seems to be losing weight--I wonder if he's coming down with something," she wondered, removing his barely-touched dinner plate from the table. " She followed him to the living room couch where he sat quietly, thumbing through a book--her cookbook? Meekly, she waited to find out what was on his mind. 

"You know I love you and try to give you anything you need to be happy and healthy, but I can't be sure you love me, though you keep telling me. Love is not something you feel--it's something you do" Shocked and hurt, she assured him she wanted nothing more than being his wife and someday mother to his children. "Then why won't you put more effort into the stuff you put on the dinner table? You have a great cookbook that covers beginner to gourmet recipes, which you refuse to use."  Shocked, she defended herself. He didn't see that there was so little time before he came home to do dinner and make herself beautiful, so he would see her at her best. 

He took her hand and led her to the kitchen where the dreaded cookbook lay waiting. "Many brides are lousy cooks," he said, " but they resolve to change. Most spend hours learning to offer their husbands a nourishing, tasty meal for his health and appreciation. They invest their time working to please their husbands.  Practice makes perfect, and you have an excellent reference book to guide you in learning a little each day as you become more skilled. I guarantee, before you know it, you will become proud of your effort. You have an expert to guide you--trying to ad lib can't compare"

Many of us are like the inexperienced or misguided bride, drinking in the new experience of being loved totally, yet forgetting that great love deserves love in return to please our God. He gave us His personal instruction book, which does not belong gathering dust in the bookshelf, but instead should become worn and wrinkled from daily use, as we become ever closer to our God's ideal.  Remember, after all, He calls us the Bride of Christ!

 9For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,     10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;    11strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously    12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. Colossians 1:9-12