Category: Salvation

Thinkin’ about stuff…


300px-Pooh_and_Piglet,_Thinking

I really like Pooh Bear. His philosophy of life is profound and simple. Eat, enjoy life with your friends, think about…stuff. Like, how clouds look and how they get around, why is the Sun so bright, could I fly to the moon? All important questions, especially when you don’t want to think about the REAL world and its problems. Life is a question from the time that we can talk and make sentences until the day that we, in the words of Commander Data “go offline”. How can we really enjoy life when there are so many questions? Do we have to answer them all? I am only adding to the number of questions by asking all of these.

The point is that we are beings who think. Our minds work all of the time, except while we are asleep and some say that we actually solve many of our problems while we are asleep we just don’t realize it at the time. Unconscious thoughts, words, meanings and emotions cloud our thinking and crowd out the really weird stuff, but only while we sleep. When we are awake, we have news and Facebook and Instagram and conversations over our phones and computers as well as with other human beings. Not to mention the things which we really have to do, like go to work, drive the car, watch for the other people on the highway around us, then do our job (whatever that might be) and then drive home and either fix something to eat for our family or get it as take-out from a restaurant.

Your life and mine are constantly in motion. Our minds rarely have a chance to catch up with everything that we are doing, and yet I haven’t even mentioned giving time to God or Bible study and meditation, prayer, etc. It is possible to do all of these things but when you write them down…they look so overwhelming! God gave us the ability to do this but we take it for granted, because from the time we first start going to school, more things are added to our daily menu of things to do every day! It seems that we are never really caught up or that we ever will catch up. Why?

More questions. Think…think…think..what can we do that doesn’t require so much energy, so much brainpower? I don’t have the answer to that, unless you might want to play some games on a console or on the computer, that is a mostly brain-less activity in my opinion. So, without being brain-less, how about getting into God’s Word? The wisdom contained in it doesn’t require us to really think, just believe in Him and His wisdom, as well as in His Son Who made it possible for us to come to God at any time that we need Him, regardless of the circumstance.

Once Jesus took care of the atonement or payment for our sins, all that we have to do is to believe in Him and what He did and ask Him to forgive us and to help us be more like Him in our daily lives. So that we can bring His message to others and, if the Holy Spirit draws them, maybe they will want to give their lives to Him as well. Christians don’t go on jihad (except for the ones that were deceived by their church in the Middle ages), Christianity cannot be forced on anyone and neither can any other religion!

Please consider your eternal soul and really think…think this through before deciding to follow Jesus or not. The decision can be the most valuable in your lifetime, because then your true, eternal life won’t end at all! 

Does God care?


If God did not care, you wouldn’t be reading this. Whether you believe in Him or not isn’t the point and whether you want to believe in Him isn’t the point either. God is, period. He cares, He loves each of us and He knows when and where you will die and how. He is omnipotent and outside of time, so He can see the beginning and the end and everything in between.

Your lack of belief will not change any of these facts and you will believe when He comes again, there is no denying that. Just like voting against gravity or sunshine will not make them go away, not believing in God is your choice but even Satan knows better! YES, God cares about you and every person on this Earth because He had a hand in your life at one point.

Choosing to disbelieve this will not change anything. God is eternal and He has a plan for us all. We can’t find out that plan until we seek Him and come to know Him though. Walking around or sitting around watching TV, fishing, hunting, or whatever you do that qualifies as ‘recreation and relaxation” doesn’t get you any closer to God. You are experiencing His creation and all the wonders of it, but until you decide to repent and allow Him to come into your life, the experience of it won’t mean much.

God is as near to you as your heartbeat and your breathing. He allowed you to get up this morning and begin a new day so don’t waste it! Use it for Him, decide to come before the Creator and humble yourself asking for His forgiveness that it took so long for you to find out that you need Him. Yes, God cares. He cared enough to send His Son to take the sins of the entire world on Himself, so that when you realized that you need Him, all that you have to do is believe in Jesus and ask Him to come into your life and make you His. That’s it.

It is not hard and there is nothing that you can do to make it better or easier. Actually, it couldn’t be much easier than: Father, I have been a sinner all of my life. I ask that you forgive me of all that I have done and cleanse me. Make me into a new creation through the power of your Son, Jesus. Thank you for your love and mercy, God. In Jesus’ name I ask this today and look forward to a new life with Him. Amen.

That is it. That simple prayer is all that you have to…no, need to do if you have never asked Him into your life before. Believe in Jesus, trust in Him and the Creator, God, because when you do everything changes and becomes new. Then, get a Bible, read it, study it, pray about it while you study it because He will help you to understand it and how it applies to your life. Then, tell someone about what Jesus has done for you. They will see it and know it whether you tell them or not because the change will be evident.

God’s children


Who were the first children of God? Many people think that Jesus was the first, but He wasn’t. Adam was the first human son of God and Eve was His daughter. Have you ever considered that? When God told the creation story to Moses, we aren’t told how long they existed in the Garden. The best part about it is that God came down and walked with them in the cool of the evening. We aren’t told what they were discussing, but I am sure that they had plenty of questions just as we do when we are young. We all ask “why is this the way it is?”, and I am sure that Adam and Eve did the same.

What can we learn from their story, their lives? One very important lesson is to experience God’s presence every day, not just on Sunday morning! God wants us to talk to Him about what is going on in our lives. He loves you because He is LOVE, perfect and holy. It doesn’t matter about your faults or failures, God knows about those but He loves you anyway. So, will you give Him some time in your schedule every day? You know, we don’t really grow up until we graduate from this life to our eternal home, right now we are just practicing.

Can you see the beauty of the creation around you? The strength of a horse or a cow and how wonderfully they are made. The strength of an oak tree and how it bends and sways with the wind, yet it remains strong as long as its roots are planted in God’s earth. That is where we draw our strength from, only when we are planted in the Word of God and cling to Him every day do we draw strength from Him and His wisdom. Our wisdom is foolish and futile because it is finite, God’s is infinite. He knows what you said last night and what you said or even thought this morning. Going fishing instead of going to church is not a worship experience. You are in the world that He made, but you are not worshipping Him. Hunting instead of coming to church is the same, you see the majesty of His handiwork all around you in the trees and the animals but unless you are there to worship God you are just hunting.

We all tend to hunt for things and stuff that satisfy for a while, but will that trophy or that ribbon be with you when you appear before God? No, everything that you have now, will be left when you stand before Him. None of your things will accompany you unless maybe your family is there, because showing them the way to Jesus will allow them to be there too. The fruit of your salvation, those who you have shown Jesus to, will follow you to paradise with Jesus. That is the only reward that will be worth having in Heaven. Those that have heard about Jesus from you or from someone who you might have told about Him, that is the fruit which will follow you or arrive before you into Heaven.

Think about how wonderfully you are made. We all have something about us that maybe we don’t like, but God put it there for a reason. It doesn’t matter what it is, God put it there to make you unique and special because you are. Each person on this Earth is unique, no two are alike exactly, not even twins. They may be similar but as any mother of twins can tell you, they are different too. Personality and differences in temperament are evident regardless of how much they look like each other.

Think about this today and ask God to show you what is special about you. It might surprise you.

Consider the names of God


He is El Shaddai (The Almighty)
He is El Olam (The Everlasting God)
He is El Ohiym (The Strong One)
He is Adonai (Master)
He is Yahweh Shalom (The Lord is Peace)
He is Jehovah-Rapha (The Lord Who Heals)
He is Jehovah-Hoseenu (The Lord our Maker)

God is all of these. He has been for eternity and will be for eternity. We do not have to wonder if He is because…He is. God is able. God is the Holy Spirit. God is Adonai…our Master and Lord. All of these are true, but do we accept them when we become Christians? Do we truly realize exactly Who we are dealing with or even praying to?

In our daily lives, whether we are Christians or not, do we ever come to grasp that it is this Presence, this Person Who came and died for each of our sins and then rose from the grave to conquer death and prove that we will also? If we allow Him into our lives and into our hearts so that He can cleanse us from our previous Earthly selves and change us…each one of us into a new Creature in Christ. This is the message that Jesus wants us to take to the world. This is the testimony that we have to let others know about by telling them in some way, because if we don’t tell them…who will?

Sure, there are books and Bibles and tapes. There are DVD’s and CD’s that people can listen to, but did you listen to them? Did you hear or see those messages before your heart was broken into thousands of pieces? Did you want to know God prior to His touch…His call on your life? I doubt it. You did just like the rest of us hypocrites, you went about your life doing the same things day in and day out with no more thought about eternity than your thoughts about the economy or even what you would eat for lunch!

But, you know, when your heart got a crack in it….when something got your attention to come around to see that there was more to life than hunting and football, then you began to look for a meaning, for a purpose. You felt that things wouldn’t be enough, stuff wasn’t important any more just because you had more expensive stuff than someone else! This life…this time that we have only has meaning and purpose when you give it to the One that Created it, so that He can make you into what you were…what you ARE supposed to be. You can’t do it alone. You can’t be “the one” in your life or anyone else’s life until you allow the One into yours!

Yes, today is today and tomorrow is still yet to come but if you give your heart, your life to God and ask Him to make you into His idea of what or who you should be then your tomorrows will never end. Even if your life here does, the effect that your words, your actions, your character had on even one person may go farther than you ever could to make an impact on more people than you will ever know on this side of Heaven. Consider that and think about His Names.

It really doesn’t matter


In our world…in our culture today, your faith in something, your belief in something or some One really doesn’t matter much. Most people who you meet don’t care what you think and especially what you believe in.

It is a cynical way of looking at life in general and especially regarding your personal salvation, but it is true! Some don’t believe that we have an existence beyond this life at all. Some people think that we do and that it matters what you believe and Who you believe in. So what is it that separates us on religious issues as well as cultural issues?

Mainly our beliefs. Our God or our unbelief in one is what truly separates us from each other as well as our cultures. We all have different cultures that we have grown up in with their own beliefs and customs and traditions. Those have separated us for many years and in many ways, because of that we have a hard time understanding each other’s culture or the belief systems that each of us follows. But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t understand each other…if we will suspend our cultural prejudices and attempt to find common ground.

Many times, the beliefs that we have built up over time are truly what separates us. Sometimes we blame it on our skin color or the texture of our hair, but in reality it is our cultures which divide us. The divisions fall along lines which have built up over centuries and then get blamed on small details, which don’t really separate us at all. The norms which we grow up with, whether they are religious or not, are the lines which come between many countries today.

We tend to look at skin color more often than we should, but in reality it actually boils down to culture, which is something that can’t be changed because if you did then you would be in a different culture altogether one which is different. Those differences are what defines each of us in the world that we live in, whether it is in Israel or Argentina or Turkey or even Siberia. The culture that is there in each of those places, along with the languages, separates us into respective people, even though we are still part of the human race.

Does it matter whether you came from Argentina or Siberia? No, if you were taken as an orphan and raised in South Chicago or even Brooklyn, then your racial features would be there but you would develop the mannerisms of the area where you grow up. We take on the mantle of the culture in which we are brought up, no matter where we may come from originally. The point that I am trying to make is that our differences are not genetic nor are our appetites. We are the product of nurturing in the culture where we develop as children, and we carry that with us through our lives.

Just as God commanded the Israelites not to mingle with the cultures in the land where He was leading them to, we must stay separate too. This is what causes separation and racism….separateness in culture, religion, art, music! The point of this post is not to emphasize our differences but our similarities! Yes, we are different in all of these areas, but we are, at the most basic cellular level, the same. Beliefs, religions, and culture all conspire to change us, to mold us into the individuals that we are…that we can be.

Do you believe in God? So do the demons and Satan, and they tremble at His presence. God is not a punisher of those who don’t do His will, He is the Creator and nurturing Spirit behind all that is good in this world. All that we should do is to seek Him, to acknowledge Him as Who He is, to get to know Him and to love Him. Regardless of the culture that you were brought up in or your own beliefs, seek out the knowledge of Jesus and God. Learn from them and learn why you are loved by them. Then the culture and racial differences will not be so apparent and glaring, but they will be lower than your love for God and when you put Him first in your life, everything else falls into place as it should.

Reasoning out God’s existence


Is it possible to “reason” out God’s existence? Can we prove beyond a shadow of doubt that He exists so that those who aren’t believers will come to believe? Using the scientific method can we prove that God exists?

The answer to all of the above questions is NO! There is no particle that is God. There are no cells that can be found in the fossil record that belong to Him. You cannot command God to show Himself and prove that He is or that He exists! It is utter foolishness and pride that prompt people to even attempt this, but it is an argument that has been used for hundreds of years. Some people have had experiences where God did “prove Himself”, but they can’t be repeated and to a scientific mind it wasn’t proof of anything.

There have been cases of people arrogantly challenging God to “strike me dead” if such and such is not done or “strike the one who is causing the problem dead”. In such instances, the one challenging God did indeed die soon after such a statement, but it wasn’t with a bolt of lightning but some unusual natural cause that caused their demise. Just as in the time of the early church, when the couple that sold some land decided to keep some of the profit for themselves but told Peter that they were giving everything that they received for their land. Both the husband and the wife were in agreement in the deception and both died because of it, immediately.

You cannot reason out God’s existence any more than you can prove the existence of love or darkness. Neither one of those can be bottled and shown to anyone, yet we know that they exist. Although, darkness is not real in the sense of it being a state of matter, it is just the absence of light. The point is that God cannot be proved as a person as we are, because He is a Spirit. Yet, He is and always has been. Minds blinded by the world’s thinking and reasoning cannot comprehend subjects which exist outside of time and can only be experienced by faith.

Light can be seen and measured in a number of ways, but darkness is something which cannot be measured except as the absence of light. The more complete that the absence is, the more complete the darkness is, but you cannot touch it or feel it and there is no measurement for it except for a lumen measurement of the lack of light. God’s presence can only be felt by those who believe that He exists and is the Creator, because without faith in Him and the knowledge of His love you cannot comprehend His existence.

Satan is also a being which cannot be proven to exist as are the angels and demons, but they are all mentioned in the Bible as real. Not believing in them or their existence doesn’t remove them from the universe, it just continues the blindness that we have toward them until we either are changed in our hearts or until we have died to this existence and wake up to life on another plane. Standing before God’s throne to be judged for not believing in Jesus’ atonement for your sinful life will bring total clarity but by then it will be forever too late.

“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all of these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33  Seek the Lord while He can be found because after this life is over, there are no second chances.

Are you the prodigal son or the one serving at home?


The parable of the prodigal son is a moving one which teaches us about God’s love and His willingness to forgive us no matter what we have done. The word “prodigal” is a word not used much in God’s Word. It’s basic meaning is wasteful, wanton, especially regarding money. It indicates the type of person who wastes their money on things that aren’t worth much, just plain reckless spending.

In Luke chapter fifteen, Jesus is teaching and there were tax collectors and sinners listening. There were also scribes and teachers of the Law in the crowd too. They were judging Jesus by the company that He was keeping: “This man eats with sinners and tax collectors!” It was for them that He told this parable.

Luke 15: 11-32:

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to[a] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[b] 22 But the father said to his servants,[c] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

In these passages and in this parable we see the son who essentially has declared his father dead. He wanted what was to come to him even before his father had died. Kind of sounds like our society today, “I want it NOW!” Not many days pass before he takes off into the world (the far country) where he spent his inheritance on women and drink and parties. While doing this, he had many “friends”.  Running away from God’s authority to do whatever we wish to do, like many of us have done or maybe are doing now?

But when the money ran out and it was gone, those “friends” disappeared and a famine came to the land where he was. He had no money left and couldn’t afford to eat and began to feel in want, so he hired himself to a citizen there in order to be able to survive. He was sent into the field to feed pigs, which to a Jew is at the very bottom of the barrel. Pigs are not even given a name in the Hebrew language, they are just called “the other thing or animal”.

At this point he was so hungry, that even the pods that he was feeding the pigs with were looking very appetizing  because no one gave him anything to eat. When he came to his senses, he decided that he would go home and ask his father if he could just be a servant, because even his father’s servants had enough to eat. His father was looking, hoping that his son would come home and when he saw him, he ran to greet him.

In the Middle East, this was a very undignified way for a father to act because a man over thirty years of age doesn’t “run” anywhere. This one did. He listened to his son’s repentance and the question of being a slave or a servant and said “Nonsense, bring a robe and put shoes on his feet and a ring on his finger”. His father did not take him back as a servant, he was fully restored to his previous place. Of course the older brother was offended and the sibling rivalry came roaring back, as you can read in the story.

The point of the story is this, God will forgive you regardless of the insult or the sin, no matter how bad you may think that you have been. God’s grace covers every sin, no matter the size. He loves us with a love that we can’t comprehend, all that we have to do is repent and ask Him to forgive us. Turn away from what you were doing, and follow Jesus from that point on. Even if you only have a few days or hours to live, God will take you just as you are.

God has not forgotten you!


The question is truly yours, not God’s. Are you interested in Him? He cares because you are alive, but do you care about what He wants in your life?GodisInterestedinYou Have you ever been close to God in your life and then walked away? Many people have done this and then wonder what happened to their relationship with God. Facebook and Twitter are some wonderful social networking sites to keep in touch with family and friends who may be scattered all over the country and I am thankful for my friends there. Have you ever considered that going to church on Sunday morning is a way to re-connect with God if you don’t feel particularly close to Him right now? It doesn’t matter if some of the people at the church don’t like you or if you think that they are hypocrites, God never stopped loving you and He will meet you wherever you wish.

But, He would like for you to come to His house, where the church meets. The church is not a building or a tabernacle or a shrine, it is the people who gather together to worship God in the same spirit that the early church did. You can have a personal meeting with God and Jesus regardless of who may be there or what they think about you. Who cares what they think, it is Jesus that you came to worship and it is Him and the Father that you need in your life!

The trouble with all of the divisions in our church congregations is that we tend to split over things which shouldn’t be issues at all. At least to believers, IMO. We have been placed in the places where we are for a purpose and until we accomplish that purpose, there will always be a part of our lives which feels uneasy and empty. You might ask, “How can I find the purpose for my life?”. I know that the answer to this question is going to upset some, but your purpose in life can be found in the Bible.

God’s Kingdom is going to manifest itself in this world soon. Everyone will see it and it will split the world in ways that nobody ever considered. The prophecies in the book of Revelation will come to pass whether we like it or not. It will not be a good time to be a believer but it won’t be a time when those who follow the side that has food and a place to stay will enjoy either. Oh, they will for a short time, but those who refuse to give their lives to Jesus and face persecution because of it will be the victors in the end.

How can you or I know this? Because it is in God’s Word! God cannot lie and the prophecies contained in it have all come true up to the point of the eventual “ruler” of the world being revealed and the other seals being broken. Is God interested in you? Yes, He knows the number of hairs on your head and what you are doing during every minute of the day. He knows this about every person on Earth, not just Christians. Because He could be calling you to be His child, His disciple so that you can have a purpose in His Kingdom now and in the future.

Don’t you realize that God is always near you, whether you feel that closeness or not. He is there. He shows His love to us, all of us, because of the life that you have. We have this planet to live on, we have air to breathe and a place to call home. Many of us have families and jobs, those are blessings from God. We are loved by the Creator of everything, isn’t that awesome!! He created the entire universe, worlds and galaxies that we can’t see with our natural eyes and that are far bigger and so vast that the limits of it we can’t comprehend, yet He pays attention to every bird that falls to the ground on Earth. If He cares that much about them, don’t you think that He cares much more about each of us that are created in His Image?

If you are loved that much by the Creator and you are, then don’t you think that you should return His love by giving your life to Him? Think about it.

Independence or dependence, it’s your choice


We celebrate Independence Day tomorrow in America and for us it is usually a big day, but I wonder what is happening elsewhere? I know, watch the news to find out or get on the ‘net and look it up. But, what else is going on besides that which I can find out from those sources? Have we finally achieved peace all over the world? No. Is it possible that I can go to sleep and not lock my doors? No, not yet. When will lasting peace and living without fear be achieved on our world and in the places where we live? Can we, as our flawed human selves, achieve this by mutual cooperation?

Only in television shows and in Utopian novels about a future like that envisioned by Gene Roddenberry does this come about. Humanity can’t agree on which team to bet on or even which type of coffee that we like or if we could get along with those people who live in another country with a different culture than our own! We live in compartmentalized worlds, some of which are so separate we can’t even trust the people on the next street, let alone those living in a different country!

On top of this, we have forgotten the One Who brought all of this about in the first place. We have pushed Him and the morality that past generations relied upon completely out of our schools, our government and in many cases even our families. We have declared our independence from God!

Consider this….what if He was to take His hand off of our lives and our world entirely? Let nature and all of the processes of weather and earthquakes and other natural phenomena happen without His control and protection! I know that many people would think that He doesn’t care about us anyway so what would be the difference? When it happens, you will know.

That sounds as if I am saying that God will take His hand and His influence off of our world doesn’t it? Not exactly. During the time that is prophesied in the book of Revelation, God will allow Satan free rein to vent his wrath for a time, then the wrath of God will fall on those who still refuse to acknowledge Him. It is during this period that many people will think that God has truly abandoned them, but He has not and will not completely abandon anyone. God’s love still is expressed today toward each of us, whether we exercise our independence from Him or not. If you have decided that your life is better spent while in service to Him as a teacher or preacher or in some other way, then you are dependent upon Him for the words that you have or those that you speak as well as your life and livelihood.

If you have declared in some way that you can live your life without God’s influence and that you will do exactly what you want regardless of His influence, felt in your heart or not, then you are working in the way of the world and Satan’s rebellion as well. You may not worship Satan, you might not claim to be religious at all, but when you are at enmity with God then you are in the same camp as Satan is and in rebellion against everything that God represents.

Life itself is a miracle brought about by God. Whether you believe it or not doesn’t make it any less true. The world around us is special in that it is just as perfect as it could be to support all of the forms of life which exist here. Nowhere else, that we know of, has all of the combinations of gases to make the correct atmosphere or the water which abounds on our Earth. The minerals and salts which are present in all living things here in the correct proportion so that pH and viscosity and all other requirements for life are met and are present here because God made it that way. None of this was a cosmic accident!

Consider this small excerpt from a document at the Institute for Creation Research: “Elementary statistical theory shows that the probability of 200 successive mutations being successful is then (1⁄2) 200 , or one chance out of 10 60 . The number 10 60 , if written out, would be “one” followed by sixty “zeros.” In other words, the chance that a 200-component organism could be formed by mutation and natural selection is less than one chance out of a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion! Lest anyone think that a 200-part system is unreasonably complex, it should be noted that even a one-celled plant or animal may have millions of molecular “parts.” “

The very idea that a molecule of an amino acid might organize itself, on its own, into a single-celled organism and then proceed to grow ever more complex into all manner of plant and animal life until you have all of the life on planet Earth is patently absurd! Without God, this is impossible and every reasonable scientist knows it they are just too full of pride in their “theory” to admit it to themselves or to anyone else. Life is not and cannot be completely independent from God. Think about it.

Fear….how can we overcome it?


Many people today have fears of all kinds. Some are afraid of flying, some are afraid of enclosed spaces, some are afraid of bugs or snakes or anything which crawls on the ground. These are natural fears, the kind that we learn while growing up and some are just fears which are genetic. Now, that is not to say that there is anything wrong with fear. A little fear can keep you from getting killed in certain situations, fear can give you a bit more speed at times when you really need it (Feet, don’t fail me now!!) 🙂

The point that I came here to make is that fear of things that we, as humans, can’t do anything about is not healthy. Fear of dying for example. Death and dying come to every person on this planet and there are none who can escape it…it is a fact and inevitable so get over it. The manner in which you die is what many people actually fear, such as drowning or having an automobile accident. Nobody wants to experience either of those because we fear the  pain which will likely come as a result.

In the book of Judges, Gideon is getting ready to fight with thirty thousand men and God tells him that he has too many men, let those who are fearful go home, and he lost twenty-two thousand men right off the bat! There was a lot of fear in that group don’ t you think? God’s reason for thinning out the number was not to get rid of those who were afraid, but to show His glory and His ability to fight for Israel. Gideon did not need that many men to fight the Amalekites, and even after the first bunch left he still had over ten thousand and God told him that there were still too many.

God knew that with such a large force, Israel would think that it was their power that had defeated their enemies and He wanted to show them that He would fight for them if they would let Him. To continue the story, God tells Gideon to watch them as they drink from the stream. Those who lapped the water like a dog would be the ones that he would use as his army, so Gideon was left with only three hundred out of ten thousand.

Why am I telling you this story from the Bible? Simply to point out that God can overcome any obstacle, no matter how big it seems to us but only if we let Him do it. He won’t take over your life, you still have a choice to make every day. If you ask Him to come into your day and help you with your everyday problems, He will, but He won’t fix them for you. You have to learn to listen to Him and then use what He has told you to fix them yourself. It is the obedience that we have always had a problem with. Adam couldn’t do it and many others in the course of time had problems with obeying the words and the prophecies given by God and we do too.

You can call it “being stubborn or hard-headed” if you wish, but the point is that humanity is that way and Satan uses it against us. We think that we are doing it, that it is our idea or our solution when the solution has come from Satan if it goes against God’s will for your life. “But, how can I know what God’s will is for my life?” you may ask. The answer to this is easy and hard too. You have to sit down and read a book….the Bible, God’s Word and wisdom for us. Pray about His will for you while you read it and you will find it, He will reveal it to you, but you have to put some effort into it. Reading a few verses here and some over there won’t help and in fact will confuse you even more. Begin at the beginning and read through, then pray about it and read it again. The fear of God will leave and the love of God will show up in your life and in your heart. Learn about Him because He already knows everything about you!