Sunday Mornin' Hope : Fear not

1Jo 4:18 - There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection].

Lately there has been a lot of people troubled by fear. They are afraid of losing their income or family or some other giant catastrophe. This kind of fear can paralyze a person to the point where they are afraid of getting out of bed. Fear begins to feed fear and it grows out of control. Someone said FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. That's a pretty good definition. Fear is full of lies based on truth. For example, you're riding your bike and come across an area of sand or gravel. Suddenly you begin to imagine the bike spinning out of control and bouncing down the edge of a cliff. No one will ever find you and you're going to die in thirty seconds. But here's the truth, you hit some gravel and the rear tire spun a little. No, there's no cliff for another ten miles and people are walking near the road all the time.

I heard a speaker at a RRJ (Road Riders For Jesus) bike rally talking about his hypochondriac step mom. Every time someone mentioned something they were feeling, she would too. Finally a guy mentioned he was having a problem with an enlarged prostate, she said "Me too!" She just knew that she must've had the same thing.

How do you recognize fear? Usually it doesn't make sense and the outcome will be worse than junior high acne. Does everyone battle fear? Yes. It's what you do with it that makes you successful or not. I believe God brings us to challenges all the time. Sometimes He repeats it just to let us know He's in control. God wants us to call upon Him when we feel fearful.

2Ti 1:7 -For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Take out the trash (fear) and fill your home with those good things. It's your choice what you choose to live in or with. Can you live in fear? Sure! But you won't be happy You will always wonder 'What if..' So decide today what you're going to live in. Choose life in Jesus and conquer all fears. You're worth it. Set a course to do some big things. I choose to live like I have the strength of an eighteen year old. Do my muscles and bones hurt? Only when I'm breathing. But I press on and trust Jesus with the rest.

Php 3:12 -Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

Php 3:14 -I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

Have a great week and do the impossible. Get out of bed and make some noise. I'm praying for you.

Thanks Dino.

thanks dino