The Two Fears - Part One: Fear Not

 

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I Am with you; Be not dismayed, for I Am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.' 

    The first time we see God saying to one of His chosen servants to not fear is in Genesis 15:1, when God tells Abram, "After these things The Word of The LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I Am thy Shield, and thy Exceeding Great Reward." 

    The last time The Lord speaks these words, "Fear Not", is in Revelation 1:17, when The First and The Last speaks to John in his vision: "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I Am The First and The Last." 

    In this day and age, we who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that The Word of God is Truth, are daily bombarded with unChristlike behaviors and attitudes. We are attacked on every side and must be able to hold onto the cross (the place of saving grace) and the empty tomb (the place of eternal life revealed), when we go about our day to day lives. 

    Everybody has a story, and in our stories are chapters: the situations we find ourselves in, whether through our own decisions or the result of someone else's decision(s) which impacted us in some way. But in every chapter God is there. Sometimes we see Him working in our lives, sometimes we are completely unaware that He is there. 

    I say all this to remind you (and myself) that God Is Present: He is The Omnipresent God -- everywhere at the same time. If you are a born again Christian, then God is with you: leading us, guiding us: revealing to us His purpose for our lives. If we would just listen to Him and follow His lead, He will work everything out for our good. He said so. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." His purpose, His will, for our lives. We just have to wake up and pay attention. 

    There may or may not be 365 verses pertaining to not being afraid. I don't know, I've only just started this study. But I'm expressly searching out the two-word phrase "fear not". The rest can wait for another day. 

    When God gives the instruction to "fear not", He is preparing each person He speaks this to for a mighty move of God. God spoke to Abram and promised him that his seed, his heirs, would be in the multitudes, just as the stars that covered the night sky. God also informed Abram that his heirs would be enslaved by a people whom God was to judge at a later time (four hundred years). In all this Abram is to "fear not", for God is his Shield (his protector, his defense) and his exceeding great reward (not just Abram's Rewarder, but Abram's Reward). 

    Because of what took place in Genesis 14, God found favor with Abram and chose to visit him, speak with him, promise him many things and form a covenant with him. This great honor may be given to each of God's people when they obey God and believe His Word, as Abram did. Following God faithfully, we, too, may find ourselves in situations He places us in. Not for our comfort, but for our spiritual growth. God wants to speak to us. Are we listening for His voice? Are we in a place where we can hear Him clearly? and know which decision is the right decision? Only you and I and God know the answer to these questions. For He knows our hearts and our thoughts. 

    Let us "fear not" as we prepare to take the next step in our journey on The Way of Holiness in which we walk. 

 

PSALM 119:105

Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a Light unto my path. 

    John 1:1-4

In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God. The Same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was Life; and the Life was The Light of men.  

    John 8:12

Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, "I Am The Light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but will have The Light of Life." 

    Have you seen The Light? Are you a sinner saved by grace, or do you still walk in the darkness of your own ways, your own self-centeredness? To walk in The Light is to live out our daily lives in the full assurance and knowledge that we belong to Jesus Christ, Who purchased us with His blood on the cross and gave us new life in Him when He walked out of the grave. 

    The Word of God is Jesus Christ. There is no other word that can reveal the will of God to us but Jesus Christ. There is no other name that can save our souls from eternal damnation but Jesus Christ.

     To have The Light of Life--Jesus Christ--as one's personal Savior is to recognize sin for what it is: disobedience to God's Word, God's laws, God's precepts, God's Way and God's will. This is the first part of a repentant heart. 

    To have The Light of Life is to acknowledge with humble hearts our wrongdoings and confess them aloud to God, whether we are at the altar in our churches, sitting in our cars, kneeling at our bedsides: wherever we are when The Spirit tugs at our heartstrings revealing The Light of The Word to us, that's when and where we pray to The God who loves us and sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us.

    To have The Light of Life is to stop committing the sinful things and do the obedient things which God has prepared for us to do as our way of life. When He says to do a certain act or think a certain way and we don't, then that is sin. When He says not to do a certain thing or not say or think ungodly words or thoughts, then that, too, is sin. 

    To have The Light of Life is to forgive anyone who has wronged us and to go to anyone we have wronged and forgive them. For without forgiveness to each other and one another, we cannot be forgiven by God. 

    To have The Light of Life is know godly sorrow for our sins. It is seeking out God in His Word personally, if we are able to attain any part of The Bible for ourselves. It is to hear God's Word being preached, taking into our hearts and applying it to our lives through the power of God's Holy Spirit, Whom we all desperately need within us, leading us through God's Holy Word and growing us in God's kingdom.

    To have The Light of Life is to walk in newness of life. For our souls have been redeemed by God's grace: we are new creations, we have been born again: we are made new. And because we are new, we need to learn how to walk God's paths in God's Light: seeing clearly and understanding with clarity of thought; developing a heart that follows The Word of God with love and joy. 

    To have The Light of Life is to be a Philippians 4:8 thinker. It is learning to live Philippians 4:12, as well as many other verses which will guide us into living a changed heart and mind lifestyle. 

    No more do we have to walk in the darkness of this world. No more must we live like the rest of this old world lives. We have The Light of The World living in us through the power of God's Holy Spirit. And now we are the light of the world, because we bring The Light of Life to all who will hear us, when we speak the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

JESUS IS THE LIGHT - Carman

LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHT - TobyMac 

    

Joy In The Lord is Strength

 

NEHEMIAH 8:10

Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of The LORD is your strength.”

    Why were the people sorrowful after hearing the words of the law that was read to them? Because it convicted their hearts of the sins they had committed. The law of The Lord reveals what is sin and sin's consequences: death. For this they began to weep and to mourn, but Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levite priests reminded them that that day on which they heard the words of the law was a holy day, a day of rejoicing and a day of sharing what we have with those who had less. 

     In Nehemiah 8:8 the words of the Law of God were explained clearly and to their understanding. The Spirit of The Law fell on their hearts and caused them to grieve, as it does still, when people hear The Word read and explained to our understanding. The letter of The Law wounds and kills. The Love of The Law of The Lord heals and gives life to those who believe it and receive it into their hearts. 

    Psalm 19:7-11 describes The Law of The Lord very well:

1. The Law of The Lord is Perfect, it revives the soul.

2. The Testimony of The Lord is trustworthy, making the simple wise.

3. The Precepts of The Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.

4. The Commandments of The Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

5. The Fear of The Lord is pure, enduring forever.

6. The Judgments of The Lord are true and righteous:

    a. They are more precious than gold.

    b. They are sweeter than honey.

    c. By these Judgments the servant of The Lord is warned. 

     This knowledge of The Law of The Lord brings joy to the repentant heart and causes a body to rejoice and have an overflowing joy such as cannot be contained. It must overflow into our families and onto our neighbors and friends, strangers and foreigners among us. Why would we ever want to try and contain such as we have received of The Lord our God? We are compelled to go out and share the blessings of The Lord with each other. 

    The Law of The Lord having been read on a feast day, a holy day unto The Lord God, meant that it was not a time for weeping and grieving: it was a time of fellowship, of joy and rejoicing. It was The Feast of Tabernacles, the year of Jubilee, when all debts are forgiven and The Law of The Lord is to be read to all the people gathered in the courtyard of the temple: men, women, children, foreigners. (Deuteronomy 31:9-13).

    The Joy of The Lord is the knowledge of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, Who took our sins upon Himself and died in our place. For sin requires a death, and the most perfect lamb in all of Israel was Jesus Christ (John 1:29), Son of David (Matthew 9:27), Lord of David (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44). 

    This is my Joy. And my Strength.