Time with Jesus - Friday, 07 June
2013
Hi all,
The word “fear” is found 84
times in the New Testament. In addition the command “fear not” is found 14
times.
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| FEAR |
This being the case, we can assume that God does not want His people to
be afraid. In fact the only “fear” to touch us should be the fear of God. It
seems a contradiction that today, fear is widespread both inside and outside
the Body of Christ, Moreover, fear of God seems to be just about non-existent
in His Body. From this it seems logical that Satan has achieved one of his
objectives; that of being able to control a large number of God’s people. This
being the case how should you and I go about overcoming fear?
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| Fear by Conditioning |
In many cases, fear is
irrational and largely psychological. For example, there is a popular belief
that women are afraid of mice. Almost every cartoon we see in this regard shows
a woman standing on a chair shrieking with fear because of a mouse running
loose on the floor. I suspect that this has come about by ‘conditioning’.
Ladies are “supposed” to be scared of mice. So they go along with the charade
and after a couple of incidents they have talked themselves it this irrational
fear.
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| Fear of Heights |
Fear of heights is, in some
respects, a good thing. To fall from a height is almost always fatal. It
follows that we should be careful when working high in the air. This reminds me
of the story of the group of men who wanted to test the fact that falling is
dangerous. So they went into a 16 floor building. Men were allocated to stand
next to the window on each floor and look out. At the top floor, one of them
was chosen and was thrown off. The man fell past each window. As he fell past them,
they were asked to write down their comments. They did so. The man on the first
floor wrote, “So far so good!” The man on the ground floor wrote! “Oops!”
One of the Scriptures that has
really helped me is a quote from Paul to Timothy. 6 Therefore I remind you to inflame anew the gift of God,
which is in you by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God has not given
us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 8
Therefore you should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His
prisoner. But be partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God, 9 who has saved us
and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the eternal
times. 2Ti 1:6-9 MKJV
The words, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power
and of love and of a sound mind” still ring in my mind at the least
suggestion of a possible fearful situation. These are the words which give me strength
when faced with a fear inducing situation. I thank the Lord for leading the
pair of us through this “silly situation”.
Shalom,
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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| Come Holy Spirit And Cast Out Fear |
Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Friday, 07 June 2013
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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©
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These devotionals are the intellectual property of
Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and
distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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PERFECT
LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR
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Fear is a terrible thing. Primarily it’s an emotion.
But it occurs to me, that it’s much more than that. Oddly enough, it has qualities
we need in order to live a proper balanced life. For instance, we know that
if we touch the hot plate on the stove, we are liable to get burned. Such
fears are or become instinctive. When we look over the edge of a precipice,
we tend to recoil from it. If we see a child running across the motorway, we
become fearful for the child’s safety. Our eyes are protected from dust or
similar objects. We blink as a form of protection. Such fears are good and
normal; instinctive in some instances.
There is another fear which is utterly debilitating.
Shell shock is an example of what happens to soldiers who are constantly
under attack. Men and women under such conditions sometimes go into a
“trance” of some sort. Some have “gone mad”. Some have turned and run away
and accused of being cowards.
Parents “fear” for what might happen to their
children. If the child is a few moments late home, they are frantic with
worry for the safety of the child. Cell phones have helped alleviate this but
not completely. In South Africa, most of us are concerned with the
possibility of rape and HIV
Fear is not the opposite of faith. But the fact
remains that they are closely related. I remember Lester Sumrall saying,
“Faith is knowing God”. He used a valuable illustration. A little girl was
standing on a stage. Her father came close to the stage and shouted, “come on
darling, jump!” The little girl turned round, saw her daddy. She ran to the
edge and threw herself into her father’s arms. Obviously she had faith in her
father’s ability to catch her. A few minutes later the little girl was back
on the stage. Lester held out his arms and shouted, “come on darling, jump!”
She turned round, saw Lester. She shook her head. “Why not?” Lester tried to
reason. “I’m just as able to catch her as her father.” Then he realised the
problem. She didn’t know him! Put simply, if you know God you will trust Him.
If you know Him, you have confidence in Him.
If faith is confidence in God, there is a sense in
which fear is confidence in Satan. John, in his first epistle wrote: 18
There is no fear in love. Instead, perfect love drives fear away. Fear has to do with being punished. The one who fears does not have perfect love. 1 John 4:18 NIrV
Today’s meditation is an imaginary story about a
fearful man trying to escape from God. He knows very well that he cannot do
it. But, just like you and me, he tries anyway. Then, Jesus arrives on the
scene. It could be the story of just about any of us. It’s not exactly my
testimony. It easily could be. The man goes from incredulity to trust as
Jesus ministers to him. In a way it is a journey from fear to faith. Faith in
Jesus is the key. I can confirm from personal experience. At times, I’ve been
terrified. Then Jesus has arrived on the scene. The outcome is transformation!
Jim
& Phyllida
Strickland
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18 Feel
my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.
Psalms 25:18 NLT
18
"Come now, let us reason together, says the
LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Isaiah 1:18 ESV
2 Some
people brought him a paralyzed man on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their
faith, he said to the man, "Cheer up, friend!
Your sins are forgiven."
Matthew 9:2 GW
25
"But I, yes I, am the one who takes care of your
sins--that's what I do. I don't keep a list of your sins.
Isaiah 43:25 MSG
6 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on
earth to forgive sins." Then he spoke to the man who could not
walk. "Get up," he said. "Take your mat and go home."
Matthew 9:6 NIrV
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
Ephesians 1:7 ESV
5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had
done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new
birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus
Christ our Saviour.
Titus 3:5-6 NLT
13 And
you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
God made alive together with him, having forgiven us
all our trespasses, 14 by cancelling
the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set
aside, nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14 ESV
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases.
Psalms 103:2-3 ESV
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He huddled in a corner. His mind was filled with
fear.
His every thought and action was, “Somehow I must keep clear.
I mustn’t let Him near me. He’ll crush me like a bug;
Or treat me like a piece of slime that trails behind a slug.
I have to find a hiding place. I’m feeling so
exposed.
And every time I hear a noise my body’s stopped and froze.
I know He is omnipotent; omniscient as well.
I can’t remain in hiding. But nobody must tell
Him all about my hiding place. I’ve got to get away.
Won’t somebody please help me? I dare not even pray!
He’ll get to me much quicker if I talk to Him first.
And after all that I have done, I’m sure I will be cursed.
How can I be forgiven? My sins are crimson red!
I haven’t ever served Him and soon I will be dead!
I know I used to know him when I was just a child.
I tried to give my life to Him. I think He turned and smiled.
And then a few weeks later, I turned around and
quit.
And now to start and serve Him, I don’t think that I fit!
He trembled with his sobbing. I’ve seldom seen such
pain.
The very thought he could be lost was beating in my brain.
There’s surely something I can do. Then suddenly a
light,
Drove away the darkness and Jesus was in sight.
The man froze in his terror. He couldn’t speak or
budge.
I wanted to assure Him Jesus didn’t bear a grudge.
No matter what the man had done, the Lord had been
there too.
There had to be a way to cleanse this frightened “witches brew”.
The Lord stood there in silence; an expression so
serene,
Adorned His very being. He knew where he had been.
He reached out very gently and gripped him by the
hand.
He helped him get back on his feet, to look up and to stand.
The calmness of expression and love in Jesus’ eyes,
Seemed to settle on the man and ease his wretched sighs.
Come now; let us reason. Your sins are crimson red.
Its sins like yours that took my life; precisely why I bled.
But I am here to tell you, I’ll wash you white as
snow.
And I will always be with you no matter where you go.
“Cheer up, you are forgiven: I want to set you free,
To be the sort of man I know that you would like to be.
So straighten up my soldier. Your now are white as
wool.
The life I have in front of you, please know it will be full.
Filled with My Holy Spirit with righteousness and
joy.
The sort which you experienced when you were still a boy.
I took that list of wickedness. Upon My cross it’s nailed.
I’ve cancelled out the record. I say you haven’t failed.
Just know that from this moment you’re pure as
driven snow.
So go into the future. My love, you’ll always know.
Jim
Strickland
Written
7th June 2012.
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