Fear?

It always boggles my mind how people love to scare themselves.  They watch the most horrorific movies.  They ride the most adrenlin rushing amusement park rides they can ride.  They jump out from behind walls to scare people as they pass by.  They play scary practical jokes on one another.  They tour haunted mansions.  They eat the creepiest food or jump from high bridges on shows like “Fear Factor”.  This all seems to be just the opposite of what we really should be doing.  Many of us have faced very real scary ordeals and did not enjoy the fear sensations that we experienced during them.  Ask some one who really was threatened by a bad person if they think those types of scenes in a movie are really fun.  Or someone that has just experienced a near death experience in a car accident if they think those stunts on TV look so fantastic now.  Fear is a very real thing and not something we should be trying to experience for the fun of it.  In actuality God expects us to be fear free.  In God’s Word we learn that if fear is involved than it is probably coming from the devil.  As Christians, why would we want to be tangled up in the devil’s web of deception and fear.

In the Bible we read some real life examples of people who were placed in some very scary situations.  David is a prime example of someone who had to deal with fear of enemies all of his life.  He started out with the battle against Goliath the giant.  Next King Saul tried to kill him on several occassions.  His own son was after his throne.  The Philistines and many other enemies fought against him.  He had much to fear all of his life.  Yet look what he wrote in Psalm 27:1-

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom should I be afraid?

This same thought is carried over by Paul in Romans 8:31-

³¹ What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

Paul too had many reasons to fear for his life.  Once he had received Christ in to his heart, he had the Pharisees and Sadducees constantly trying to kill him. When you read his list of trials that he faced, you see many were very fearful situations.  Things like a terrible storm and shipwreck at sea.  Arrests, trials, beatings, ambushes, etc.  Yet he, too, knew if God was on his side.  He had no reason to fear. 

There is great encouragement to know that no matter what scary thing we face in life, there is no need to fear, because God is on our side.  Don’t let the devil implant fear in to your heart and mind.  Don’t let the devil steal your joy and peace.  Trust in God and do not fear!

Who You Gonna Call?

I think whether you have watched the movie or not you remember the theme song from Ghostbusters “Who You Gonna Call?”.  Seem to be one of those catchy sayings that everybody still is saying 27 years later.  The beginning of the song goes, “If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS. If there’s something weird and it don’t look good, Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS.”  We have something better than 3 weird Ghostbuster guys to take care of protecting us when things look strange, weird or scary in our lives.  We have Jesus.  Sometimes we seem to forget He is right there in our lives waiting to help.  We start to panic and worry and try to figure things out on our own.  God doesn’t want us independent and trying to take care of everything ourselves.  He wants us to remember who He is and call on Him.  Read Luke 8: 22-25.

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

The disciples entered a storm that scared them so much they began to panic and fear for their lives.  Some of them were experienced fisherman and knew what a storm could do at sea.  They probably had good reason to fear.  Can you imagine how the tax collector felt out there in the boat?  Talk about unsure territory for him.  Jesus was asleep and why shouldn’t He be.  After all He is God.  He knows about everything and has control of everything.  Nothing is a problem for Him.  Thankfully the disciples had enough belief in who Jesus was to call on Him and wake Him up and let Him know about their fears.  Maybe they shouldn’t have been afraid in the first place with Jesus in the boat, but they seem to instinctively know He was the answer to their problem.

For us we too should have enough common sense is to call on the Master when we are in the storm.  Wait for Him to take care of it.  Remember who He is and that He will protect us.  If Jesus should choose not to answer the way we would like Him to, we still shouldn’t be afraid and unhappy.  After all He is going to do what is best for us, even if it means physically dying.  What could be better than to go to Heaven anyway?  What are we afraid of?  So who you gonna call?

Just Get in the Boat!

Have you ever wondered why God asks you to do some things in your life?  They don’t always seem to make sense or seem to have a purpose.  They may seem out of place or not at the right time.  They may cost you time or money.  They may cause you to make major life adjustments.  They may come at a bad time.  The action God asks you to do may actually bring on hardship, yet for some unknown reason God wants you to do as He asks.  After reading a couple different versions of this particular Bible story, I wonder if the disciples wondered what Jesus was up to, when He asked them to go across the lake.  Neither story seemed to say why Jesus asked the disciples to get in the boat and go.  Read Luke 8:22-25.

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Even though the disciples don’t appear to know why they were asked to go to the other side of the lake, they seem to just cooperate and do it.  As you can see by the story, things got a bit rough and scary, but ended safely.  You have to ask yourself “What made them get in the boat?” If you were friends with Jesus would you just get in the boat because He asked?  It was probably their relationship with Jesus that allowed them to just trust and get in the boat.  They didn’t stop to worry about the future.  They didn’t have to know what lay ahead of them in the lake or on the other side.  They simply heard the request and started out after the goal of reaching the other side.

Wisdom is to hear God speaking to you and to respond without question.  Wisdom is just to get in the boat.  What we learn and experience along the way is secondary.  What is on the other side is secondary.  What is primary and foremost in God’s eyes is that we just get in the boat and obey.