What To Do With Anxiety

Philippians 4:6–9

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

We all struggle with worry and anxiety. Yet Paul gives us a command here to not be anxious. This is not a new command; Jesus gave the same imperative in Matthew 6:25: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Yes, this is an imperative. To worry is to lack trust in God and to not believe His promises. Romans 8:28 tells us that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

If we believe that God is sovereign—which the Bible fully teaches—then we can trust that what He says, He not only can do, but He will do. He promises that all things are being worked out for good for His people.

Yet we all wrestle with anxiety and worry. So Paul gives us the solution: “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Pray to God and tell Him your worries and concerns—and then believe His promises. Once we give it to God, we must let Him have it. We cannot hold on to what we just gave to Him.

When we do this, His peace—which is incomprehensible—will guard our hearts and minds.

There is one more thing that Paul adds to this equation: this is all conditional.

Philippians 4:8–9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

The conditions for the God of peace to be with us are that we think about the things that are true, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. This is a pretty good description of Jesus.

Paul commands us to practice the things that we have learned, received, heard, and seen in him. In other words, read your Bible and do what it says. Then the God of peace will be with you. Then your faith will grow. Then you will believe God.

This is the disconnect many of us have: we believe in God, but we don’t believe God. We don’t read His Word, and we don’t make it what drives our thoughts. Instead, we fill our minds with the things of the world, and we let the world dictate how and what we think.

We do not need to be anxious or worried. But we must saturate ourselves with His Word and spend our time in prayer, always thinking of Christ. We must surround ourselves with other believers who will encourage us in this. We must sit under sound, biblical teaching. We must be in Christian community more than we are in worldly community.

There is peace to be found—but only in Christ.

Trusting God In the Midst of a Pandemic

Satan wants you to be afraid and to doubt God. He uses the systems of the world such as the media to attack our minds by instilling fear and doubt. Every day for month upon month, we have been bombarded with the news of Covid. While I am in no way saying we should not walk cautiously in these days of the raging virus, but to the Christian, that should never be fueled by the fear of death, suffering, or sickness. 

God is in control.

Yet this barrage of fearful news wears on us. We are tempted to be afraid. 

I feel that. But when I open up God's Word I am reminded that it is only Him I must fear. 1 John 4:18 reminds us though that perfect love casts out fear. Jesus is the perfect love it speaks of us. When we place our faith in Christ and in Him alone, we can rest in Him. 

God is sovereign people. I was reminded of that tonight as I, once again, took notice of Psalm 139, particularly verse 16. Listen to the psalmist explain who God is.

"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them."

Nothing can nor will change the days that God ordained has for you. He wrote them in His book before you were even formed in the womb.

Nothing. Not even Covid-19. So, take your rest in Christ. Live for Him, by Him, and in Him.

Pray this and then follow His lead.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. - Psalm 139:23-24

Comfort From the Psalms

In the midst of all that is going on around us in these times, I believe we can simply trust God. Here are some words from the psalms, probably written by David when his life was in extreme peril as King Saul sought to take his life. They should comfort us and remind us that God is sovereign and if we place all our faith in Him alone, He will provide for us as He did David. Pray through these, ask God to embed them into your heart and you will find that the peace of God, will remove all your fears and anxieties. 

Psalm 56:1-4 

Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me.  My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me.   When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.   In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? 

Psalm 56:8-11 

Thou hast taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Thy bottle; Are they not in Thy book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, In the LORD, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? 

Psalm 34:4-10  

I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.  They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces shall never be ashamed.  This poor man cried and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.  The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.  O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!  O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him, there is no want.  The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing. 

Psalm 34:15-22  

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.  The face of the LORD is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth.  The righteous cry and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, And saves those who are crushed in spirit.   Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the LORD delivers him out of them all.  He keeps all his bones; Not one of them is broken.   Evil shall slay the wicked; And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.  The LORD redeems the soul of His servants; And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned. 

Psalm 52:8-9  

But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.  I will give Thee thanks forever, because Thou hast done it, And I will wait on Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy godly ones. 

This is just a small bite of the wonderful food of God that we find in His Word. My prayer this morning is that we stand faithful in believing the Word of God and we feed on it so that we will be strengthened by it and we stay faithful in trusting in Him for all we need. 

The Battle Against Fear and Anxiety in the Midst of Death

Fear, worry, anxiety, and a plethora of other emotions are knocking at each of our doors as we begin another week that looks to be even scarier than the last. I’m not anymore immune to this than anyone else is. Though I’ve continually preached against panic and overreaction, the temptation to do so is attempting to rise up in my own mind. Adding to the fears are the government’s response to lock us all down, through the orders to close restaurants, bars, and prohibit public gatherings. I can get by without going to Cracker Barrel and Bandanas to eat. I don’t drink alcohol, so the ability to go to a bar won’t matter one bit to me. But the straw that threatens to break the camel’s back in my life, is the closing of parks and fishing venues. I need the outdoors. I need to be in my kayak away from the problems of normal life, much less the newest issues we all face in the midst of this craziness. Even worse, my ability to gather with fellow brothers and sisters to worship and pray is most likely going to be taken from us.

All of this contributes to the temptation to let the fear and anxiety win.

But I will not go down without a fight. As a matter of fact, I won’t lose the war. I might get my rear end kicked in a few battles, but the war has already been won by my King, King Jesus. Every day I put on the spiritual armor as we read of in Ephesians 6. In case you forgot what that says or aren’t familiar with it, here it is. We need to do what this says.

Ephesians 6:10-20  

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,  and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

The Sword of the Spirit and prayer are the only two offensive weapons we see in this. And as I stand against the enemy’s attack on my peace, I will yield these weapons with the full force of the Holy Spirit’s power.

The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. I will live and I will pray through it and by it. In the midst of this battle, I am reminded of the story of three men who stood firm against the threat of death. They refused to submit to a king who demanded they worship him instead of God. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their story is found in Daniel 3:8-30. Take a few minutes, open your Bible and read the story. But it can quickly be summed up as this.

They were ordered to worship the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. If they still refused, they were to be cast into a burning fiery furnace.

Listen to their response, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”

I love it. Pure, unadulterated rebellion against the king, who not only wanted to stop them from worshipping God, but also wanted them to worship his man-made god.  These are my kind of guys.

But what they said next is of even more importance.

“But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

We must understand something here. God has the power to deliver us from every and any danger this world might throw at us. Scripture tells us that nothing is too hard for God. Look at Jeremiah 32:26-27. This is God speaking. “The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” Matthew 19:26 says that “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed God would save them from the fiery furnace. They knew with 100% certainty, He could.  But even if God did not save them, they were still going to worship the one and only true God, not the false image of the king.

That, my friends, is faith. Faith in God. The kind of faith that says, God, whatever it is you allow to happen today, is okay with us, because we trust you.

The story ends well. More than well, it ends in a preincarnate appearance of Christ, who performs a miracle that changes everything.

Daniel 3:24-25

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!"

Daniel 3:24-25  

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king."  He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!"

It gets even better.

Daniel 3:28-30  

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king's command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.  "Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way."  Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.

Our faith will be tested today. The stock market will most likely crash even more. Some of us will catch the corona virus. Some people will die today. Fear will continue to grow. And our government will continue to ask us to trust them. In a sense, they are like Nebuchadnezzar, they want us to cower in fear and place our faith in them. That is a form of worship.

I am tempted to be afraid.

But I shall stand against the enemy and I will refuse to bow to the world and its false offer of protection.

My God whom I serve is able to deliver me from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver me out of their hand. But even if He doesn’t, if by the end of the week my entire pension fund is gone, if this virus has invaded my body and takes my very breath away, and even if the National Guard sets up a perimeter around my house and tells me I cannot go to church Sunday, I will not worship the king. Instead I will worship THE KING, my Lord, my Savior, Jesus Christ.

I will pray. I will worship. I will read His Holy Word. I will do more than believe in God, I will believe God. And I will not be alone, for Jesus has promised me this.

Matthew 28:20  

“I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Deuteronomy 31:6  

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."

3 Things To Do When Waiting On God

So much as occurred in the metropolitan areas of where I live lately, that it’s easy to get into a state of despair over where our culture is headed. Murder just seems to be a regular occurrence right now. Last week, a brother in Christ and a good friend lost his son while serving in his duties as a state trooper. The news in St. Louis continues to report children being shot and killed. Often it is mere children doing the killing. Nationally there is a continuous battle of those who support our president and those who don’t. Life right now just seems wrong. I pray day and night for God to change this world or for Jesus to just come back and usher in the new heaven and new earth. But until He does, I, we must wait.

At my church we are studying the Book of Acts, which is the story of the church and how it came into being. Its author is Luke, the physician who also wrote the Gospel that bears his name. While Luke’s Gospel records the story of Jesus and his life before and up to His ascension back into heaven, Acts begins at the ascension of Jesus and then tells the story of the church and its work to take the Gospel out into the world.

Chapter one of Luke finds the disciples in a very difficult place. They have just watched their leader, not just any leader, but the Son of God, the great Immanuel, God himself, ascend into the sky. They are left leaderless. But before He left Jesus gave them instructions.

Acts 1:4-5
Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

They were told to wait. They were told to wait for what the Father has promised them. They were told they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Wait? How do like waiting? If you are anything like me, waiting has never been an easy thing. Waiting is hard. Remember when you were a child and there were presents under the Christmas tree with your name on them? But the response from mom and dad when you asked if you could open them was, no, you can’t open them until Christmas morning. So, you had to wait. But now as adults, as parents, grandparents, as employees, and even as citizens of a society that appears to be falling apart, we are often waiting on God to do what He promised. It’s hard. Especially when what we are waiting for involves those we love.

So, what do we do as we wait upon God?

In Acts 1:12-26, we see what the disciples of Jesus did.

They obeyed Jesus. He told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait. So, they did. But they didn’t just brood and worry as they waited.

Acts 1:14
These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

They devoted themselves to prayer. But they prayed together as they unified themselves with each other. The church had yet to be born. Yet, they did what church does. They gathered together and prayed.

Then they did something else.

Acts 1:15-16
At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,  "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

They looked at the scriptures to see what God had commanded them to do and by properly interpreting and applying God’s Word, they also obeyed scripture and followed through on replacing Judas, who had left the twelve to betray Christ.

Acts 1:20
 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

As they waited, they turned to the scriptures and did what it had prophesied them to do. This is what church is about. Properly interpreting and then understanding how to apply the Word of God so that we know what God wants us to do. And then doing it.

Acts 1:24-26
And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen  to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”  And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

They also prayed about the scriptures and sought God’s sovereign leading in accomplishing what they were to do. That they cast lots to decide who replaced Judas does not mean we do that now. This is the last time we ever see that method of hearing from God again, for we have received the Holy Spirit, which is what they were waiting for and we have the full revelation of scripture to test what the Spirit leads us to and to insure it lines up with God’s Word.

But don’t miss the application we find here in the response of the disciples in Acts, chapter one.

When God has us in a period of waiting on Him to move, we need to do three things.

1.      We need to gather together with other believers in a spirit of prayer that is united and dependent with each other.

2.      Our prayers need to be scripture dependent. We need to pray through God’s Word.

3.      We need to pray in the Holy Spirit, meaning we are dependent on Him to guide our prayers.

It’s so tempting when things get hard and we are struggling to wait on God, to either sit and do nothing or to act impulsively in our own perceived strength and wisdom. Bad idea.

Church is important. But church is more than going to a building on a Sunday morning and just sitting through its program. Church, as we see in the Book of Acts, is God’s people uniting together in prayer and worship, and helping each other grow into obedience to God.

If you are not entrenched within a body of believers committed to Jesus and to being in one accord to unite in prayer and worship, then you must find that today. Go to church and become part of the body. Get into a small group that gathers weekly to encourage and exhort you. Find someone to be your accountability partner who will push you to be more than you are and to grow more like Jesus every day.

Waiting on God is hard. But He hasn’t left us alone. He lives within us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. He gave us His Word to know who He is and what He promises to do for and to do with us. He gave us the church to put it all together in. Don’t try and isolate yourself from what God has provided for you. Become the church.

God bless all of you.

 

 

 

 

 

The Answer to Worry and Anxiety

When one takes the name of Christian, he ought to be careful how he lives. I have noticed in my own life that I have a propensity to worry and be anxious, yet clearly there is a Biblical command to not do so. The phrase “Do not worry” can be found twenty-three times in scripture and there are countless other teachings in which we are called to live without worry as the very opposite of faith is the idea of worry. Jesus specifically tells us not to worry and made this a salient point in His great sermon we call The Sermon on the Mount.

Yet, worry and anxiety seem to knock on our doors daily. And many of us, I know I do, keeping opening that door and letting worry in. As God’s children, this is unnecessary. He has promised to be with us through whatever we face. The problem is though, He never promises to remove all the things in life that we don’t want to face. He only promises us to be with us in the storms of life, not to always stop them. We remember Jesus stopping the storm in Matthew 8:23-27. So, we expect Him to do the same whenever the waves get a little high.

But the truth is, God allows storms into our lives. They are for our own good. Yet, we struggle not to be worried that we might drown. The fact is, this is a lack of faith on our part.

There are many beautiful verses in the Scriptures that offer us comfort in our times of fear and uncertainty. But there is one verse, that if we will commit to memory and to believing, that is the foundation of our faith. I share this verse often. Listen to what God says in Romans 8:28 which says,

 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Do you believe that verse? Do you believe that God causes all things to work together for good? Do you believe that it is all things? All of them? Cancer, death, accidents, and every other event that happens in your life?

You see, for those who have received Christ, been born again to new life, God is working out everything for good. Everything. Not just the things that we enjoy and like, but every bad thing we can barely stomach, is going to have a good result when God has finished working in it. That, my friends, is a fact. It is not arguable. You cannot interpret this passage any other way.

So, do you believe this? If you do not believe it, then you have a problem. To deny this truth as found in Romans 8:28, is to call God a liar.

I believe this verse. Yet, I still struggle with anxiety and worry. The problem lies in my faith. It just hasn’t yet reached its full potential. But I need to keep moving forward in growing my faith. How do I do that?

Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.

We must be in His Word. Not just by going to church on Sunday, though we are to do that. But everyday we must be intentional about reading, studying, and memorizing His Word. This is how we build our faith. We must have fellowship with other believers, who will remind us and encourage us in the promises of Jesus.

Whatever you face today, if you are in Christ, you need not worry or be anxious. Instead you can trust God in the situation. It’s okay to pray about it. It’s okay to ask God to remove it or change it. But at the end of your prayer, let it go to Him. If after praying and praying and seeking His intervention, He still allows it to happen, you can trust that He is causing it to work out for good. We know this. Commit to memory this verse and then rest in faith the God who is with you always. Rest in Jesus. Believe Him. Let Him be God. We know God is working it all out for good. We know this. Why? How? Because He told us.

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

How to Deal With Fear

Most of us have, at times, experienced those places in our lives when we just struggle to get a grip on our fears. There is no end to the things of this life that can paralyze us with fear or anxiety. Loss of jobs, health, relationships, and even sometimes simply serving God are all just a small list of the things we get anxious about. We remember the famous words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Those are nice words. They fit well sometimes in the moments of our lives when our fears are completely without merit. But truth be said, there are things to fear. There are things in this life that are very difficult to deal with and we should never brush off people who are facing trials of life that have serious possibilities and conclusions.

Pain is real and there are countless types of pain. There are illnesses, such as cancer, that have a very scary prognosis. People face real issues every day that are life-altering and bring very heavy burdens to their lives. We need to have something in our lives that does more than write off our fears.

Enter Jesus. Jesus was a realist. He walked this earth as a man and was tempted in all ways just as we are according to Hebrews 4:15. He knew fear. He knew it was real and He knew what it felt like to be facing something terrible, so terrible that it brought Him agony beyond any.

Luke 22:44
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Jesus knew fear. Notice though where He is in this time of agony. He is in prayer. He is in the presence of His Father, Almighty God.

There is a temptation to think God doesn’t care about your situation. That was Jesus, you say. Of course, God was watching over Him and was listening to His prayers, but I’m not Jesus. I’m not important. Baloney, that is the devil trying to drag you down.

Jesus knew we would have weak faith at times. On more than one occasion he even rebuked His disciples for that, but only because they needed to be reminded of the truth of how solid the object of their faith is. We serve a God who is so much bigger, so much stronger, so much more caring, so fuller of grace and mercy, than we can ever imagine. God is infinite. You must learn what that means.

Jesus tells us just exactly what infinite means in terms of how ell God knows us and is watching over us. Read.

Matthew 10:26-33
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not one single sparrow falls to the ground that God doesn’t know about. Even the hairs on your head are numbered. God knows every little thing going on in your life. He knows the beginning, the middle, and the end. Despite what some false teachers may say, he has not left us to our own. He is sovereign and He is in control. Nothing happens without His knowledge and if it happens, he allowed it. He is God.

I hope this encourages you this morning in whatever fears you face. Don’t feel foolish if your fear today seems silly and ridiculous. Take it to Him in prayer.

There are things to fear, Jesus made that clear. He said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Fear God. But if you will humble yourself before Him and confess that you do fear Him, He will give you new life and adopt you into His family. He will call you sons and daughters. He is the perfect father, a father who will allow only what is necessary in your life to purify you and at the end make you like His son, Jesus. He will turn your sorrows into joy.

Open His Word today and you will find the promises of the new life in Christ. It is a life of love. I leave you with this scripture truth.

1 John 4:15-18
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

How do you deal with your fear? Be perfected in love.

 

 

 

Sitting In God's Good Grace

Sitting here this morning in the dark looking out the window. It’s raining, kinda foggy, and every now and then a little thunder breaks the silence. I don’t know if I’ve ever known a more peaceful moment. I read my Bible, studied it with my Holman NT Bible Commentary, and simply have been sitting in the presence of God, sometimes praying to Him, sometimes just listening. This is the verse He gives me to share.

Psalms 145:9
The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

My lesson spoke about the “common grace” of God. This is the grace He has shown to all of us, whether we believe in Him or not. This is the grace that keeps us fed, safe, and watches over all of us, even when we are living in direct rebellion to Him.

Yet, for reasons that make no sense to my earthly mind, He chose to call me out of the life that only exists in His common grace and has brought me into the grace of salvation that comes only through faith in His Son, Jesus.

This morning I am resting in the peace of His uncommon grace. You can as well. If you are reading this, He is calling you to come to Him. Read this verse. It’s for you.

Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

What To Do When Fear and Anxiety Try and Overcome You

Saying we have faith in God, and actually living it out, are two different things. The truth is that sometimes it is quite difficult to not be anxious and not to fear the worst. Countless times in my Christian life I have seen God answer prayers and do things that far exceeded my petitions. Yet, just this past week as I faced surgery to remove my gallbladder, I wrestled with anxiety. I barely slept Tuesday night as I just couldn’t get a grip on my fear. I hate medical procedures and this particular surgery played right into my fear. I prayed and I prayed, and I remembered all the times God has brought me through the storms and trials of my life. Yet, I couldn’t let go of the fear.

He did it again yesterday. Things couldn’t have gone better than they did. I am home recovering and yet, even though God brought me comfort and even some joy in the midst of that surgery, I find the temptation to fear the recovery. Me, the guy who does nothing but preach how we must trust God, struggles to overcome his fears.

The good news in all this is that even when we waver in our faith, God the Father, though Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, understands us and never let’s go of us. I love what the psalmist tells us about God in Psalm 103:13-14, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” God knows we are frail, we are weak, and we struggle in our humanity. Yet, He has compassion for us in our weakness.

This is no excuse for our sins, of course. It doesn’t mean we should just give up trying to trust Him. The Gospel is good news because Jesus died for us, which demonstrates the compassion we read of in Psalm 103. And when Jesus ascended back to Heaven to be with the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit back to dwell within each and every believer. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us, guides us, and comforts us in our times of need. He even helps us to pray when we don’t even know what to pray as Romans 8:26 declares to us that “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”  

We are in good hands, when we are in the hands of God.

This does not mean things are always going to go our way. This morning my Bible chapter was Acts, chapter twelve and in this lesson, we are reminded that God is sovereign. This means He is in control. Which means we are not. Take time to open your Bible and read this chapter. A lot happens in the twenty-five verses.

King Herod arrests some of the church men and severe persecution begins. James, the brother of John, is put to death. Then Herod has Peter arrested. Things look really bad at this point. Certainly, fear would be a normal reaction for Peter and the others in light of James’ execution. The first lesson we can find here is an important one. Sometimes God allows physical harm and even death to come to His children at the hands of evil men. Sometimes, He protects them. James dies, apparently without any type of trial. Peter is spared, at least pending a public trial. There is a temptation to ask why James, why not Peter? The answer is simply that God’s ways are higher than ours, and there isn’t always an answer that satisfies us. One of God’s greatest attributes is that He is sovereign. He knows what He is doing, He sees a much bigger picture than we. We are called to walk in faith.

Walking in faith, as we know, can be difficult. The next lesson in this story is to see how they responded.

Acts 12:5
So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church..

The importance of prayer cannot be overstated. The church not only prayed, they earnestly prayed. The NASB uses the term fervent. This wasn’t just some words spoken out loud with little emotion, it means they were talking to the living God in heart-felt devotion and faith in God.

There is another important aspect to this prayer. It was the church that prayed, not just individuals. When I went to the hospital for my surgery yesterday, I had already a multitude of Christians praying for me. People were praying for me who go to many different churches. It doesn’t matter which building you go to or what denomination is written on their sign, the Bible teaches us that the church in its purest form, is made of every single believer who is saved by their faith in Christ. The Book of Acts talks a lot about the unity that exists within the world-wide church and when it uses the term that is its meaning. It honors God when we unify as the church.

God answers these prayers for Peter in a miraculous way. We see an angel show up, we have a bright light in the cell, and then Peter’s chains simply fall off him. The gates open on their own and Peter walks out following the angel. A true miracle.

Not good news for the guards, who Herod quickly executes. Herod’s anger continues to grow and in another display of God’s sovereign power, because Herod refused to glorify Him, an Angel of the Lord appears, and Herod is eaten by worms and dies.

Is that a wild chapter, or what?

Take some time and read this chapter over. Meditate on it. The truth we come to is simply this; God is sovereign, and He is in control. We will not always understand what He ordains and allows, but no matter what, we must walk by faith, not by sight.

The battles of life are hard. There will be some things we simply won’t understand, but we cannot fall into the trap of why this and why not that. We must build our faith and we do that through reading our Bibles, being part of God’s church, fervently praying without ceasing, and letting the Holy Spirit be our guide, our teacher, and being the power in us to do

How To Live 2019 Without Worry, Anxiety, and Fear

Isn’t it amazing that we Christians say that we trust God with our eternal destination? We say we believe in the Jesus of the Bible. We say that we trust that that the Bible is the very word of God, though written by the hand of men, we believe they were supernaturally inspired by the Holy Spirit to write it. We say we trust in the story of Jesus as the Bible records it, that He was born of a virgin, healed the sick, raised the dead, was crucified on the cross, died, was buried only to be raised from the dead three days later, to then finally ascend back to heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of God, having made the way for us to enter into the very presence of God upon our death, where we will live for eternity.

We say we believe all that. That takes faith, a lot of faith. By faith we trust God has saved us unto eternal life, yet we worry and get anxious over the physical elements of life on earth.

Cancer scares the daylights out us. The possibility of losing our jobs petrifies us. The stock market, the price of gas, and the rising cost of medical insurance weighs heavily upon our minds. The crime, violence, drugs, and the possibility of our children becoming kidnapped into the hands of child pornographers, has created a culture that is afraid to even let their children play outside or walk the dog, unless we are within reach of them. The list of things that bring fear and anxiety has no end.

Yet, the message of the same Bible that tells us that we have a sure hope of eternal life, rails against worry, anxiety, and fear. It makes no sense to live in the belief that our eternal life is secure, but our earthly one is in such constant peril that we worry and get anxious.

2018 is over. If you are reading this, you survived another one. If you are a Christian and you died in 2018, you are in the presence of Jesus. Either way, the Bible spoke the truth. As we begin a new year, what if we made it our life’s passion to make one change? What if we followed through with the faith we are called to have and actually believed God?

Let’s take a quick look at the Word of God and see what He has to say about worry, anxiety, and fear.

Matthew 6:25-34
 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?  "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?  "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!  "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'  "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

In case you don’t remember, that was a quote from Jesus. Let’s sum up what He said. Don’t worry. God will feed you. He will clothe you. It makes no sense to worry, it won’t change anything anyway. Oh, and one more important thing; each day will have trouble. That’s just simply life. Instead of making money, getting healthier, trying to stock up food, or making anything else your goal in 2019, simply seek first His kingdom. Make God and His kingdom the most important thing in your life. Do that and trust in Him to get you through the troubles of the day. As Christy Lane sang so well, take it one day at a time.

Here is another reminder form God’s Word.

1 Peter 5:6-7
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Are you anxious? Give that to God., because He cares for you. But to do that we see we must humble ourselves before Him. This means simply admit to Him that you just cannot handle all this. But take note here, it says He will exalt you at the proper time. Giving our anxiety to Him and living by faith means we need patience.

Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.

The secret here is to stay in His Word, for that is the good word that we can believe.

And then what about fear?

Luke 12:4-7
 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.  Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Again, Jesus speaks. He tells us there is only one person to fear. It’s not any man or woman on the face of this earth. They can do nothing to you that our sovereign God doesn’t allow. And if they do happen to kill you, you go straight into the arms of Jesus if you are a Christian. If you are not a Christian, then you need to fear God, for He can and will use His power to throw you into hell. God is the only one with that power, so He is the only one to fear. And the Bible also tells us that perfect love casts out fear. Jesus is that perfect love.

The real question we need to ask ourselves this very day, as we start this new year, is do we really believe God? If we do, then we can know that even though we serve a powerful God, who has the power to cast us into hell, He has sent us His son, whose perfect love will cast out our fear of death.

Will there be times in 2019 in which we face difficult and trying times? Probably. But we can know with certainty that Jesus will be with us through it all if we humble ourselves before Him. We do have an enemy that fights against us. So, do as 1 Peter 5:8 commands us, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” But remember what God has told us from 1 John 4:4

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

2019 is upon us and we have no idea what we will face. But Jesus was clear on what this life will be.

John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

In this world we will face troubles and tribulations. But we do not need to worry, be anxious, or be afraid. In the midst of it all, is the truth that Jesus has overcome the world, God is sovereign and still in control, and in Him we can have peace.

Make 2019 the year you believe God. Do that and it doesn’t matter what comes to be, you will have peace. It won’t even make sense, but when the people around you see it in you, they will want to know Jesus too.

Here is the plan for us Christians in 2019.

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Do that and it will be a happy, peace filled, worry free 2019.

Dealing With Anxiety and Worry

Most have of us have probably told someone to calm down. As someone once asked, has anyone ever calmed down in response to being told to calm down? Usually the reaction to this statement, is a violent response, such as, “Don’t tell me to calm down!”  And most of us have been on that side as well, in the midst of a catastrophe, one just does not simply calm down. Yet in the Bible, we find Jesus essentially telling us the same thing.

Matthew 6:25
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

 That is the Biblical version of “Calm down.”

 If we search the scriptures we will find that we are commanded to not be anxious, some translations use the word “worry” in lieu of anxious, in several places. Listen to what scripture has to say about anxiety and worry.

 Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down

 Isaiah 35:4
Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Mark 13:11
 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

Luke 12:25
 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

1 Corinthians 7:32
 I want you to be free from anxieties.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Clearly God does not want us to be anxious or worry. The flip side of this is that scripture is filled with the admonition to not fear or to be afraid.

But in truth, we all struggle with this, especially in the middle of the storms of life. Telling us to calm down and not to worry or be anxious just isn’t that simple. What are we to do?

The answer lies in faith. Because the hard truth of this is, for the Christian, worry and anxiety is a sin. It might be the worst sin of all, because what worry says to God is that I really don’t trust you.

I don’t write these things to make us feel condemnation because we all lack faith. If we turn to the Book of Romans, we can find the comfort we need even in the honest admission of our faults.

Romans 8:1-2
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

If we are in Christ, then we are not condemned, but we rest in the righteousness of Christ. Yet, we must strive to grow in obedience and this can only come if we grow our faith. How do we grow in faith? We look again at Romans.

Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

We simply must immerse ourselves into our Bibles. We must know the Word of God, for in it are the promises and when we read His Word and we ask through prayer for the Holy Spirit to help and teach us, then we grow our faith. We also need to be in fellowship with other believers by attending church, going to Bible studies through being in a small group or Sunday school classes. God’s design for His people is that they encourage each other. All believers have the Holy Spirit indwelling their hearts and this is where we derive the strength and the wisdom to counsel each other. We also need close fellowship. Jesus had twelve men that He spent most of His time with and within that group, He was even more intimate with three of them. We need someone we can speak openly with. The term used most often is accountability partner.

Ephesians, chapter six, teaches us that we also have an enemy and we are at war spiritually with this enemy. Listen to the equipment God has provided us with to stand in this battle until Jesus returns.

Ephesians 6:10-18
 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

Notice that we have been given a shield to deflect the arrows of the enemy. If we are prone to anxiety and worry, then these are the arrows Satan will fire at us. We must use the shield of faith. I ask you this question; How big is your shield? The bigger the shield the more effective you will be at not letting the arrows of worry hit you. We simply must be strong enough to wield a huge shield. As this verse begins, it is in the Lord we must be strong in. Not ourselves. We are not strong. So, stop trying to be. Let Jesus be your strength.

We must get in deeply in faith through God’s Word. We must encourage each other to believe God’s Word, for it is true. This is the answer to the command to calm down and to not be anxious.

I have one more suggestion that I am convinced is an oft missed idea of God. He is sovereign. When you read the history of Israel, take careful note of how He protects them by His sovereign control over man and kings. Stop worrying about this argument that you have free will. Yes, we do have free will, but in a mystery of God we can simply not understand, God is still controlling the events of our world by His sovereign will. Romans 8:28 is a good place to start. But the facts of His sovereignty are all over the pages of the Bible. God is in control and He has the complete power and authority to make true, all His promises. The key to faith is believing God really is sovereign. And if one is sovereign over something, this means complete control.

So, this very day calm down. Do not be anxious. Do not worry.

Instead, believe God.