"LETTING GO OF FEAR"

Good Evening to All!

And another of his disciples said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
(22) But Jesus said unto him, Follow Me; and let the dead bury their dead.
(23) And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed him.
(24) And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep.
(25) And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
(26) And He said unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
(27) But the men marvelled, saying, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds
and the sea obey Him?" Matthew 8:21-27

Before I get into the "commentary" of this passage, I have a question or two. Have you ever noticed that it is possible to "think things into being"? I have literally worried about something so much that it happened. I have also worried myself into being sick. The Bible tells us to have a positive attitude and think on positive things. God must have had a reason for telling us to do that.

Have you ever known people who worried and worried about something, and then when it happened they blamed God? It seems to me if we would pray about our situation, and abide by what God tells us and let Him handle it, There would be nothing to "blame Him for". Not that it would be His fault anyway, as God does not cause bad things to happen. We need to reach up to God and let Him take us by the hand and help us through our problems and circumstances, just as parent would help their child.

Now, with that said, on with my passage commentary.

Many of us "have good intentions." We want to do right. We want to have a serious relationship with God, but that would require actually doing something. That would actually require us to be committed to something, so we shy away from it.

I used to be that same way. I walked around and when asked, I would "say" I am a Christian. I didn't read my Bible, I didn't go to church, I knew about God from when I was a little girl in Sunday school, but I never "had a relationship with Him". When I got older, I quit going to church because I always had "something more important to do". In other words, I talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk. I knew what I needed to do, but I kept making excuses, because I worked 2-10 shift and I didn't want to get up early to go to church. Yes, that was my "reason". I worked on Sundays even if I could have gotten out of church at noon and still had time to go home change clothes, eat lunch and still had time to spare before time for work, I used work as an excuse. Bible reading-- I used to say I didn't like to read the Bible because I didn't understand it. Come on now, I know I'm not the only one who has used that excuse. Even when I was a little girl they gave us the "Revised Standard Version" as a promotion gift in Sunday School, and I could understand that when I was 8 years old, and that was 51 years ago, so that excuse shouldn't fly either. Back in 2000, I quit making excuses, (pretty much). I still catch myself every now and then but try to correct it.

We are in the latter days. Christ's return is drawing closer and closer. Now is not the time to be making excuses. We need to be more serious than ever about our relationship with God. I definitely don't want to be one of the ones who says "Lord! Lord! and to whom Christ says, "depart from me for I never knew you".
We can make excuses, or we can be faithful. Just because we go to church, or even get "saved", does not mean that we will never react with either fear or worry. We are human and will continue to have human responses to whatever our circumstances are. We will get scared or nervous when things happen beyond our control. There are just times when we respond out of reflex. Whenever I hear strange noises at night and my hubby isn't home, I pull the covers up over my head. Now what good that will do, I have no idea, but it makes me feel better.

Now according to the book I'm reading, the Sea of Galilee is thirteen miles long, seven miles wide, and 150 feet deep. Storms can come up very quickly. Twenty-foot waves crashing against a boat can cause even experienced sailors to panic.

Jesus used this specific storm referred to in this passage to show his disciples his miraculous power.

This passage got to me. I got to thinking. The disciples had been with Jesus a while. They had followed Him, watched Him heal the sick, make the blind see, and make the lame to walk. All of this, yet they marvelled when Jesus calmed the winds and the sea.

Our fears are opportunities to trust God and see his power at work, just as the trials and tribulations that we go through are opportunities to build our faith in God. To show Him that we Know He is capable of helping us. These are opportunities to let God take control of our situations and guide our lives for the better. When we depend on Him for all things our lives are so much richer and more fulfilled.

I don't think there is a worse feeling than being afraid, and feeling alone at the same time. If we will remember first, that we are NEVER ALONE, and that God can help us through anything and everything, we will lead much more confident and happy lives.

Instead of being fearful of what can go wrong, we must be positive and trust in God to keep things right.

Good night to All and May God bless!

"FAITH VERSUS FEAR"

Good Evening to All!

Withoutfaith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
(Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)

Satan works overtime attempting to fill our lives with fear. Since we hear from God by faith, we must resist fear aggressively. The Bible says that God's Word reveals a righteousness that leads us from faith to faith Romans 1:17 The Message Numbered Edition Bible says, " God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: "The person in right standing before God by trusting Him really lives." If we know who we are in Christ, and understand how much He loves us, then we should be able to develop our faith not in our "own" abilities, but in Him. We must continually remind ourselves, "I can do all things through Christ Jesus which strengthens me".

Once we believe this statement with our whole heart and realize that we can do nothing on our own, the more our faith in Him will grow. The key is giving him the reins and control to do it. That is when the true faith comes out. We can all do lip service and say "I have faith", but when it comes down to it, taking precautions "just in case it doesn't work out", is not showing faith. Satan is constantly trying to put doubts in our minds, which in turn will push the faith out of our hearts. Our minds can be our worst enemy. That is Satan's stronghold. He can cause all kinds of havoc with our minds.

We must approach everything with an attitude of faith. Remember that Fear is not of God. Confusion is not of God. God promised us a sound mind and fear and confusion are the opposite. We must keep a prayer of faith in our hearts.

Philippians 4:8 says; Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble (honorable), what ever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy --meditate on these things.

We must keep faith in our hearts and Godly thoughts in our heads. If we can implement this verse in our lives at least the majority of the time, I dare say Satan will have a hard time creating doubt or fear in us. Did you know that you can will things upon yourself? Think about it. Have you ever worried about something a whole lot and it came to pass? Have you ever worried yourself to the point of being sick? Job 3:25 says, "For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes." We should start each day asking God to direct our steps, because the steps of a good man is ordered by the Lord, according to Psalms 37:23. If you are wondering about the reference to "good man" the reference pointed back to 1 Samuel 2:9 which states He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness.

The reference from the NKJV to that verse states that this verse in line with the pattern of ancient wisdom literature, Hannah contrasted the righteous and the wicked. The Lord would keep His saints from stumbling, but the adversaries of the Lord would face certain calamity. We should also come to God with a heart full of faith when we pray. We must go to Him KNOWING that He is able to do all things. I will not sit here and tell you if you pray He'll give you everything you want. Some things we ask for are not good for us and are against His will. If what we ask is in His will, then it will happen. Some times He'll give us our petition, but in His time. We may not be ready for it at the time we ask for it. This is where the faith comes in.

We must have faith in Him to do what is in our BEST INTEREST, because He knows us better than we know ourselves. Faith opens the windows of heaven and allows God rain down His power in our lives and circumstances.

Do not allow doubt and fear to enter in your prayers, because they will hinder you from receiving what God wants for you. If you are having a problem with fear or doubt, then begin your prays by saying, "I approach God in faith today and I resist all fear and doubt." At that point start your prayers boldly and expect Him to answer them, remembering to stop every once in a while and listen to your spirit. Let Him speak to you. Also, remember this is a process. I still sometimes forget and allow doubt to take over, but when I realize it, I shake it off, ask God to forgive me and continue praying. None of us are perfect, no not one EXCEPT for Jesus Christ.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!