Do not be afraid… in His Word - 6-24-2024-
Do not be
afraid for I bring you tidings of great joy… quoted Linus from Luke 2:10
Do not be
afraid is what the angels spoke to the shepherds, God spoke to many people in
the Word of God and today, I speak it to you. Do not be afraid; only believe!
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.
If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not
fully experienced his perfect love. 1 John 4:18
Many people are
afraid to believe that there is a God who loves them enough to die for
them. It may be because they live in a
world that is full of hateful and harmful people who are untrustworthy. It may
be because they are afraid to believe.
Joshua was
about to step into his promised land adventure and God told him not to be
afraid or discouraged He would be with him wherever he went. In the same way
Jesus is with us.
“Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men.
“Be strong and courageous, for
the Lord is going to do this to all of your
enemies.” Joshua 10:25
God does not
want us to look ahead in fear for our lives, He wants us to live with hope and
peace and direction for tomorrow, next week or next year. He wants us to put
our trust in Him! Proverbs 3:5-6 He wants us to be strong knowing that yes He
is real and yes He will never leave us nor forsake us.
He wants us to
know that He is a personal God. We no longer have to have someone else to pray
for us, we can go directly to God Himself and request, cry out in pain and
sorry and become comforted, and give thanks for all He has done. We can
continually do this if we believe in the Lord, but we have to keep moving
forward and not going back to where we were.
“Pray
to the Lord your God for us, or we will
die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now, we have added to our sins by asking
for a king.”
“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done
wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and
don’t turn your back on him. Don’t go back to worshiping
worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! 1
Sam 12: 19-21
Today, do not
be afraid of a God that will punish you but be afraid of not believing in God
and finding out you are wrong. I mean
think of it this way; if we live our lives as if there is no God and find out
we were wrong it would be fearful to die.
But if we choose to believe in Jesus as a
savior to us all who killed death’s sting and gave us something to look forward
to at deaths edge then we can live a life rejoicing, fellowshipping with other
like minded people. We can have peace that passes understanding and hope for
tomorrow to be better than today trusting that our God will provide all our
needs according to His riches in glory. We can live a life of loving one
another and doing good to one another, forgiving as He forgives us; then who
cares if we are wrong? We had a blessed life in the meantime! So why are you afraid?
I say let go of
the fear of believing!
Put away the
things that bind you to unbelief, give over to God and start the new year ahead
with Him on your side!
So, get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with
all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so
that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. 1 Peter
2 1-3
Once we decide to believe we find the people we
used to think were judging us are not really, instead they have been praying
for us and are ready to help us in a time of need!
It’s amazing the things God shows us when we
choose to believe in Him.
This year when you walk through this week think
of the true things of God. His love, peace, joy, hope and direction will always
be there we just need to accept it and follow after Him.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your
thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and
admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that your perfect love casting
out fear. Help us to share your love this season, this coming year and every
day as we walk through life with you In Jesus name, amen.
Suggested reading: 1 Peter 2:1-25, Philippians 4: 1-23, 1
John 4:1-21 and Luke 2: 1-52