Monday Morning Memo: F-E-A-R Part 2

Last week we began our “study” of the word F-E-A-R.  Why did I think this was important and very timely?  Because I am noticing a common theme among many people these days…yes, even Christians…and that theme revolves around living in “fear”.  

 

We are living in a world which seems off its hinges.  Things are happening which we never would have guessed would take place and, as a result, people are consumed with fear.  Is this how we should be living?  I don’t think so.

 

Last week we looked at the fact that when we allow fear to overwhelm us, it shows our lack of Faith in God (if you missed that post…please go back and read it before continuing).    We spent these past seven days asking the question “How big is my God?”  We asked that because we have realized that when we allow our fears to rule us, we make fear more powerful than our God.

  

Today, we are going to look at the “E” and the “A” in the word fear, because they go together.  First of all, when we allow fear to overtake us, we lose our Effectiveness for God.  Let me ask you something.  When you are filled with fear, how good are you at getting anything else done?  What is your level of concentration?  I don’t know about you, but when I am afraid, I’m not able to do much else.  Instead of being productive…I become paralyzed.  My focus is on me and not on Christ and at that point the letter “A” comes into play because through my fear, Satan can then Attack.

 

Did you know that fear and worry are not just emotions, they are expressions of what we hold dear.  They reveal the loyalties of our heart.  So, if we know Christ and profess to serve Him, but are still consumed with fear, we are trying to have it both ways and, unfortunately, Satan is no dummy.  He knows where our weak spots are.  If he can get me so wrapped up and paralyzed by my fears, he doesn’t have to worry that I’m going to be very effective for God.   Satan is sneaky and he knows that usually the best way to control me is by small inconspicuous ways.  Anytime he can lure me into being fearful, he knows that I am taking my eyes off God, because I am saying I don’t trust God to handle my circumstances.  Fear and worry are signs that I am trying to have it both ways, with one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom and the Bible tells us we can’t serve 2 masters.  We must make a choice.

 

Next week I will share with you something that happened to me some years ago…when my eyes were taken off Christ and Satan immediately stepped in to make sure I was paralyzed in fear.  Honestly, you may read my story and think “Why did that cause her so much fear?”…but it did…and I want us to look at what can occur in our day to day happenings to throw us off track.  In the end, I obeyed…but trust me, I wasn’t a willing servant.

 

See you next week!

Monday Morning Memo: F-E-A-R Part 1

A couple weeks ago, I wrote on having peace by keeping our focus on Christ.  While we know this to be true…it is often so hard to live out.  As a result, I am noticing a common theme among many people these days…yes, even Christians…and that theme revolves around “fear”.  

 

I have spoken quite a few times on the subject of fear, so I recently pulled up all my notes on this subject.  Normally, I am standing up front and those who are listening are sitting in front of me.  But with me still in recovery and spending most of my time in a recliner…that scenario just ain’t happening!  So, I’ve decided to do a several week “study” on fear and I’m inviting you to join me.  Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with all my notes…I’ll just give a synopsis.  

 

If you’re willing to join me, just imagine you are sitting in my family room, I’m in my recliner…while we delve into this thing called “fear”…

 

(Imagine this being said in a hillbilly accent…). Fred and his wife Edna went to the state fair every year.  Every year Fred would say, “Edna, I’d like to ride in that there airplane.”  And every year Edna would say, “I know Fred, but that airplane ride costs ten dollars, and ten dollars is ten dollars.”

 

One year Fred and Edna went to the fair and Fred said, “Edna, I’m 71 years old.  If I don’t ride that airplane this year I may never get another chance.”

Edna replied, “Fred that there airplane ride costs ten dollars, and ten dollars is ten dollars.”

 

The pilot overheard them and said, “Folks, I’ll make you a deal.  I’ll take you both up for a ride.  If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say one word, I won’t charge you, but if you say one word it’s ten dollars.”

 

Fred and Edna agreed and up they go.  The pilot does all kinds of twists and turns, rolls and dives, but not a word is heard.  He does all his tricks over again, but still not a word.

 

They land and the pilot turns to Fred, “By golly, I did everything I could think of to get you to yell out, but you didn’t.”

 

Fred replied, “Well, I was going to say something when Edna fell out, but ten dollars is ten dollars.”

 

Doesn’t it feel good to laugh?  Unfortunately, I’m afraid some of us have forgotten how to laugh.  Fear seems to have taken a hold on many of us in these times which seem so uncertain, and our laughter has been replaced with our fears.  There is the fear of our unsettled economy, the fear of our impending election of a new president; many have the fear of losing their job or their spouse either through death or divorce, or the fear of illness.  Some of us may have the fear of sending our kids off to school this fall…wondering if they will be kept safe.

 

Now fear is an emotion and it is normal and all of us will experience some fear in our lifetime.  Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”  These words tell us that the issue isn’t so much whether or not we will have fear and worry.  We learn by this Scripture that it assumes we will be afraid and anxious at times.  What is important is where we turn and to whom we turn when we are afraid.  

 

I want us to look at the letters in the word fear, F-E-A-R, and see what allowing fear to consume us says about our relationship with Christ. 

 

First of all, when we allow fear to overwhelm us, it shows our lack of Faith in God.    Let me ask you a question.  How big is your God?  Do you know that when we allow our fears to rule us, we make fear more powerful than our God?  We’re saying, “God, I know you have parted the Red Sea, and raised people from the dead and created the entire universe, but I’m afraid that this particular situation I’m in is out of your jurisdiction.  I think it is more than you can handle God.  You are powerful, but this is probably more than even you can cope with.”  And I think we have this picture in mind of God watching our life go on, rubbing his hands together, sweat dripping from his forehead and saying, “Oh boy, I never expected that to happen to LuAnn.  What is she ever going to do now?”

 

When we open God’s precious Word…we find these reminders:

 

“You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!”  Psalm 68:35

 

“You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the people.”   Psalm 77:14

 

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”    Jeremiah 32:17

 
You see, faith is a mindset that expects God to act.  When we act on this expectation – knowing that God can handle everything that comes along – we can begin to overcome our fears.

 

There is a statement which I have attached to all my emails which I send out and it says, “Real faith is not just receiving from God the things we want. Real faith is accepting from God the things He gives us. It is that acceptance that makes the difference.”

 

We need to ask ourselves how we are doing in this area.  Is our faith in our all-powerful God…or is our faith in ourselves? Are we living our life in expectation…expecting God to handle everything in His perfect will and timing?  If we aren’t…then we can expect fear to control us.  

 

When fear begins to rear its ugly head this coming week, let’s stop and ask the question, “How big is my God?”   If He is truly the Creator of the universe…the one who knit us together while we were in the womb…I’m guessing He can handle anything that comes our way.

 

See you next week.  Don’t be late!

Monday Morning Memo: Holy Ground

Well, I had planned to begin a several part “study” today on my blog…but then yesterday morning happened.  Since then, I haven’t been able to shake those moments…so I will share them with you.

 

They are moments which, if I’m honest, I’m not proud of.  Let me give you a little background.  As most of you know I’ve been doing a lot of “recovering” this year due to two surgeries.  The first surgery at the end of February caused me to miss ten Sundays of going to church because the pain was just too high.  For someone who looks forward to Sunday all week long…missing those Sundays was pure torture.

 

Then at the end of June, surgery number two happened and the need to stay home returned again.  I was so determined to return to worshipping with my brothers and sisters in Christ much sooner this time…but due to some “hiccups” in my recovery…yesterday was week seven of spending Sundays at home.

 

So there I was yesterday morning…in my bathroom…sitting on my knee cart (pain keeps me from standing while I get ready)…feeling sorry for myself.  Truthfully, I was sulking.  “Why me Lord?  Why in the world am I still home on a Sunday when I so desperately want to be in church?  Lord, there are lots of people who could go to church but make the choice not to go…and here I am…begging to be able to go and I can’t.  Lord, this isn’t fair!”  It wasn’t a pretty sight.

 

Then, I felt Christ whisper, “Holy Ground”.  I thought it was a strange thing to hear, especially since I was sitting in my bathroom, but once again, “Holy Ground”.  At that point, I began to sing the song, Holy Ground, and as I did…tears began to fall, and it wasn’t long until I was sobbing (possibly because my singing was so bad!).  I then grabbed my phone and went to YouTube to find this song to listen to and somehow, on my screen, the words, “Holy Ground Devotional” popped up.  I clicked on it, and I felt like Christ was speaking right to me.  It said, “Holy Ground is no longer a place, it’s the Person of Christ living in and through us and He changes everything.”  Then, at the end of the devotional was this prayer, “Thank you that holy ground is not a place but a position – being found in you, Jesus, and you in me through the Spirit.  Let my heart be one in awe of you, burning for you, and changed by you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.”  And the tears flowed once again.

 

Later in the afternoon, I was listening to music online and in the middle of this time…guess what song was played.  Holy Ground.  When God has a message to give you…He always wants to make sure you get the point ;-) 

 

Friend, I needed to be reminded that if Christ lives in me…it doesn’t matter where I am…I am on holy ground.  Christ’s presence is with me, and I can worship Him, hear from Him, learn from Him and I can bask in His glory …even in my bathroom or laying in my recliner.

 

Are you feeling left out today?  Maybe you are in the same situation that I am and for physical reasons you are unable to attend church or do much of anything else because of your restrictions.  Maybe you are okay physically, but your spouse has forbidden you to attend church on Sundays and your heart aches to be there.  Maybe you could attend church, but the last time you went someone hurt you and you are still dealing with the pain of damaging words.  I want you to know that I am so sorry.  The people of a church don’t always behave the way they should.  They are sinners, saved by grace, just like me and you…and we all can do and say things at times which hurt others to their core.  Again…I am sorry.

 

No matter what your circumstances and feelings are today…remember that wherever you are…you are on holy ground.  If Christ is living in and through you…that changes everything!  That makes where you are standing or sitting right now…holy ground.  You can worship and hear and learn from Him right where you are at this very moment.  

 

I just want to say one more thing.  If you can attend church…but aren’t because of past hurts…please remember that the church is not a building.  The church is made up of non-perfect people who unfortunately, don’t always do a good job of representing Christ.  We are all a work in progress, and I don’t say that to excuse the hurts you have felt because I know those feelings are real and they run deep.  Trust me…I’ve been there.  But please…don’t give up on the body of Christ.  Keep searching for a group of believers whom you can do life with, worship with and serve with.  Believe me…it’s worth the search :-). 

 

“Father, thank you for loving me, with all my faults and failures.  Thank you for holding me in your arms during those times when I am discouraged and feel the need to sulk.  And Father, thank you for not leaving me to dwell in those moments, but lifting me up and reminding me that I am on holy ground with You.  Let my heart be one in awe of you, burning for you, and changed by you.  Amen.”

 

HOLY GROUND CHORUS    

We are standing on holy ground
For I know that there are angels all around
Let us praise Jesus now
For we are standing in His presence on holy ground

Monday Morning Memo: We Should Have Peace?

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting to the place where I hate to turn on the news anymore. Pushing the “on” button on the remote, fills my mind with reports of atrocious, hate filled murders, unimaginable abuse of children, politicians all shouting they have the answers for our country but, unfortunately, most of those “answers” aren’t based on Biblical principles…and I could go on and on. Add to that our day-to-day stresses of living such as job issues, family difficulties and health issues and it is no wonder that many people are suffering from depression.

 

The surprising thing is that none of this is new news.  Just pick up the Bible and start reading the Old Testament.  I don’t know if you have noticed, but there aren’t a lot of fun, good-feeling stories there either.  There were many wars, multiple murders, people sacrificing their children, plagues (just to name a few) and none of these events leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling.   In fact, sometimes reading these Biblical accounts makes a person feel worse when they’re done than when they started.

 

But then, come across Isaiah 2:22 and it says, “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils.  Why hold them in esteem?”   Read and reread that verse, and you may come to the same conclusion that I did that this verse summarizes the main reason we can feel “down-in-the dumps”.  Many times, we become discouraged because we have put our eyes on man and man has let us down.  As Christians we need to remember that our focus is not to be on a human, but on the One who created us and will never let us down.

 

Humans can be unreliable, selfish, shortsighted, cruel…yet we often seek after them instead of putting our trust in our all-knowing God.  Psalm 100:5 tells us, “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”  HE is good…HE is faithful…HIS love never fails.  

 

If we believe this to be true, then it is important that we ask ourselves: Where is my focus?  On whom do I put my trust?  If Christ is the answer to these questions, then even when the world is in turmoil around us, we can have peace that passes all understanding.   And it is that peace which the world is looking for, but may never experience, unless they see it in us first.