Don't Be Afraid

It is sometimes difficult to picture the real message of some scriptures. One of the best known scriptures is what is called "The Sermon on the Mount" found in Matthew 5-6-7.  In these chapters Jesus gives many insights in to our daily Christian living and our relationship to one another as well as with God.

Jesus also spends a lot of time dealing with our relationship with God the Father and how we learn to trust him. How much do you really trust God? In Matthew 6:25-27 Jesus says:  “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"

My wife and I have been struggling with a rather mundane decision, yet one that affects our daily lives. We both believe very deeply that God loves us and helps guide our decisions "IF" we invite him to do so and really make him part of our lives. Some folks really don't know God that well. They really don't want to ask him to make the decision for them or trust him enough to live with whatever comes your way. Many really don't see God (either around them or in their mind's eye) and therefore really can't trust him to take care of them.

Our oldest son shared what trust really is about through the comments of our 5 year old granddaughter, Allison. They have been on a trip to Washington, DC, perhaps noticing all of the pigeons she said, "Daddy, Birds are afraid of us, but they're not afraid of God. They can just fly up and see him!"

How about that for faith and understanding? Don't you wish you had thought of that? Of what or who are you afraid. What is it that you are wanting? What are you wanting to change or perhaps needing direction for? There is an interesting thought in James 3:2-3 that relates to these questions. Notice what James says there (in part): "… you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong …"

There is a powerful hymn that we often sing. Some of the words speak to our trust and faith in God. The hymn says, "Some Glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away;
to a home on God's celestial shores I'll fly away."

Yes, just like the birds, some day we will be able to "just fly up and see him!" Won't that be great!

9/11, A date that changed some…

There are very few dates in our American History that are as well known as 9/11. How many dates come to your minds that have special meanings? July 4, our Independence Day; then there is December 7^th, Pearly Harbor Day. Sure there are other special days; Christmas; Easter; Birthdays; Anniversaries and such. But no one day has so touched our now living generations as September Eleventh.

That day on which we were brutally attacked and thousands killed left an indelible mark on our nation and on the hearts of those who were alive to witness this exhibition of savagery.

At that time our nation was drawn together! People, who did not make it a practice to worship God, flocked to our churches. Strangers came together for comfort; people asked “How could anyone do such a thing?” People cried, people prayed, people gave of themselves and their money; people searched their souls, maybe some for the first time and considered their relationship to God and eternal life.

What has changed over the passing of a few years? What has happened to the overwhelming need to reconnect to God? Why are our churches not still overflowing with people searching for something outside of themselves?

You know the answer as well as I, because you experience it and fight against it just as I do. Satan, the one who twists men and women’s hearts has told folks, “Don’t worry about it, it will never happen to you.” And they believe him! Now he doesn’t tell them in those words, but he has drawn off their attentions from God, from their souls, from what might happen in eternity.

If you think about it, not much has changed in 2000 years. Our Lord and Savior was subjected to savagery and brutality and murdered. The response was fairly quick, within months there were literally thousands of people who responded to the message of what has happened. They learned how much their God could love them through the death of Jesus of Nazareth. The churches grew, they dealt with more savage attacks and stood firm because they were the generation which had experience it. But Satan used the same methods then that he does now and many forgot, many quit attending, nothing has changed.

However there are always a faithful few, the hope of the world, the apple of God’s eye, the ones with hope and faith in their hearts that reject Satan’s lies. Which group are you in?

Do you remember what Jesus said in Revelation  2:5, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works ... " Jesus warned he would spit folks (who were not keeping their promise to him), out of his mouth…"! Rev 3:16

Russ Lawson