Really?




Today I came across this text (above) and it really spoke to me.  So many times in the bible we are told 'fear not' or 'do not be afraid', but it would be totally unreasonable and unfair of God to tell us not to do something, if it wasn't possible.  Many people think that emotions are what they are, and you can't help them,  but if God says FEAR NOT then it will be possible for us to action that in our lives.
There are some things that are dangerous and we are right to avoid them, but fear itself is not based on reality; it is the result of imaginations.

In the New Testament, we are told that:

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1 Peter 1:13 (NKJV)

Let's break that down a little bit.

Gird up:     This expression originates in the bible and refers to tucking up ones garment into                          your belt so as not to be hindered in activity.

Loins:        The region of the sexual organs regarded as the source of procreative power

Sober:       This has nothing to do with not being drunk. To be calm and collected in spirit; to be                      temperate, dispassionate, It's about not letting our imaginations and emotions dictate                   to us
                  (Dispassionate: not influenced by strong emotion, and so able to be rational and                           impartial.)

If I were to re-word that part of this verse I would say:
"Let's get our imagination (the place where ideas are birthed) under control, and be calm and un-emotive, so that we are unhindered in our activity..."

Fear is built upon what-ifs.  But the solid and unchanging love of God is perfect and it casts out fear.  Why? How?

In scripture, 'perfect' refers to maturity and completeness.  The love of God is complete, it lacks nothing.  That means it never fails, always wants the best for us, never behaves in a bad way (check out 1 Corinthians 13).  If we focus on God's love for us, why would we fear? If we understand God's love and we put that together with the fact in Romans 8 Paul tells us that absolutely nothing can separate us from that love, what is left to fear!  A love so perfect from a Creator so powerful and awesome, able to perform that which he promises!  
That's a WOW moment!!!! 

We have the choice to allow fear to fill our hearts and minds, or we can focus on the love of God and see that fear off, but don't be deceived - it's your choice

REALLY!  You can chose to trust God's word, meditate on his love and allow it to permeate ever fibre of your being, or you can chose to meditate on what brings you fear, imagining all the worst cases.  It's totally up to you.  So what do you chose today?

Happy Saturday!










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teabags and Popcorn!

Image
So, I was eating popcorn yesterday and drinking a fruit tea and I started wondering what makes a popcorn pop! (As you do). With a little help from Google, I found out that inside the kernel, the hard shell, there is a little bit of moisture and when it heats up inside, it turns to steam and as you keep heating it up, the pressure from the steam builds and builds until it cracks open the hard exterior and makes a yummy snack. And then I thought about my teabag (I do promise there will be a spiritual application to this, not just information on my food and drink habits).  The label had come off the teabag, so I didn't know exactly what flavour it was, until I poured on the boiling water and tasted it! As promised... the spiritual bit!  We are like teabags and popcorn!  This is a deep spiritual truth!  Really it is!  Read on and I'll explain why! Firstly we are like popcorn because when heated up, whatever we stir up inside us will burst out.  We're also like teabags too.  We
Read more

Looking back

Image
This week I was listening to a message and I was reading the verse in Luke 17:32 which simply says " Remember Lot's wife ."   This is a really interesting statement. When Jesus tells us to consider something or remember something we should pay attention. So what do we know about Lot's wife?  Not a lot really.  But what we do know is that an angel of the Lord took her by the hand to lead her out of the city before God destroyed it.  She was told to run for her life and not look back.  According to Genesis 19, she ran but she turned and look back and as a result, turned to a pillar of salt.  This short verse really spoke to me for a number of reasons.    The Apostle Paul tells us " I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. "  (Phil 3:13 TPT) Since 2020, it's like we have a new category in history BC now stands for BEFORE COVID! People a
Read more

See for yourself!

Image
The New Year is often a point in time where we consider new beginnings. We make new year's resolutions and wipe the slate clean and start over, and while goal-setting and change isn't bad, in spiritual terms, will-power alone isn't enough to effect change.   Real and lasting change begins on the inside of us. It begins with seeing on the inside with the eyes of faith before we ever see something with our natural eyes on the outside.  What do I mean by that?  Well, think about Joseph.   Joseph had a dream that he would one day see his family bowing before him.  He had to walk through rejection from his family, slavery, false accusations and prison before he saw that with his physical eyes!  He had a dream and I believe he held on to that dream every single day. If Joseph had seen himself to be helpless, forsaken and lost he would have had the opportunity to fall into despair and do nothing.  The chances are, that would have kept him a slave or a prisoner until he died.  What
Read more