Focused by Fear

Many years ago, we cared for John (not his real name), who was a foster child in our home. That little boy was fearless. Because he could not, or would not recognize dangers, big or small, we had to constantly monitor him. Despite our best efforts, he was constantly injuring himself, with falls, scrapes, and burns. Fear serves a very useful purpose in our lives, helping us to avoid harm and/or to respond to potentially dangerous situations with strength. When we perceive a threat, our muscles tense; perspiration flows, as a rush of adrenalin prepares the body for fight or flight. It can happen in a moment. Then, too, there is the kind of 'fear,' more of a stress response actually, that helps us to focus our efforts. After years of preaching, I still experience tension on Sunday mornings. Both physically and emotionally I become focused before I stand up to speak to the congregation. I tune out most distractions, forget about aches or pains, and prepare to do what is important for that moment.

Take a look at what David wrote about those who lose their fear of God. "Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good." (Psalm 36:1-3, NLT) Like little John who did not perceive the danger of a hot dish or an open stairway, those who lose their fear of God do not grasp that their choices are bringing destruction and death their way. Proverbs reminds us that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." (1:7, NIV)

Some of you are thinking, "But isn't God a loving Father?" Yes, God is gracious,loving, and "patient ... not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, NIV) But He is still God, always just, and perfectly holy. Those who abuse His grace and refuse His mercy, will be disciplined and, if they persist in disobedience, destroyed. A high view of God's attributes is important to building a deep love, faith, and trust in Him that creates a desire to live a holy life before Him.

Have you ever watched a weak, ineffective father try to provide guidance to his children? In that situation, even a little child quickly realizes that his Dad is all talk, no action. That two year-old will throw a tantrum, slap, kick, and be generally obnoxious for he has no fear of parental authority. Watching a parent who has lost the respect of his children saddens me for inevitably the results are not good! Am I making a case for child abuse, for a father's roaring rage? Of course not! A father gains respect by being fair, firm consistent, and willing to take action. In the long run, children who live in a home where there is that kind of discipline need less correction, for their 'fear' of the parent is a deterrent to disobedience. There is less nagging, less stress, less yelling where loving parental authority has created deep respect. A good parent projects wisdom that invites their child to submit to their guidance. Early, the wise parent teaches their little one to trust and obey, because that is the best way to avoid danger and harm.

The parallels to the Christian life are many. If we Believers are taught only the grace of God, if we only learn of Jesus, as our Friend,but not as our Lord; we will lose the awe and respect that motivates us to subjugate our will to God's will. We will see no need to let God own us (a definition of being holy) because we will trivialize His demands. Passages like Isaiah 6 need to be read often to help us to understand the majestic 'otherness' of God, that He is not a man! The prophet wrote: "I had a vision of the Lord. He was on his throne high above, and his robe filled the temple. Flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They covered their faces with two of their wings and their bodies with two more. They used the other two wings for flying, as they shouted, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord All-Powerful! The earth is filled with your glory." . . . Then I cried out, "I’m doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful." (Isaiah 6:5, CEV) The LORD did not abandon Isaiah to that despair. He cleansed him of his sinfulness and commissioned to go out powerfully under the Spirit's anointing with a message of hope and restoration to the people.

Is your God big enough to fear? Is He worthy of awe? Is He able to guide and keep you?
The God of the Scripture is all that and more, much more! The better question is, do you know Him in His fullness, or have you only glimpsed a part of Who He is?
Recover a true fear of the Lord based on the full revelation of His nature and character in the Word. No, that will not be a terror that makes you cringe and hide. Rather, you will feel a deep sense of awe that causes you to tremble, to love Him, to serve Him in holiness.

Here's a word from the Word. Meditate on this truth today.
"Have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, "My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child." As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness." (Hebrews 12:5-10, NLT)

Who owns you?

On the ring finger of my left hand is a gold band, set with small diamonds, that is well-worn after 32 years! It makes me a marked man. That little symbol declares that Jerry is married, that his affections belong exclusively to Bev. The ring never comes off for it is a constant reminder of the vows we exchanged - to blend our lives in an interdependent relationship. The integrity of our relationship is one of the aspects that makes our marriage fulfilling and joyful. I am owned by Bev, she is owned by me - but neither of us feels enslaved. Our mutual commitment provides security. Our lives are connected in such a way that "me" is replaced by "we;" every decision made to benefit the "Jerry-Bev" unity that was created when we pledged ourselves in holy matrimony on the evening of January 10, 1975. Our marriage is not a legal contract. It is a sacred covenant. We "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." (Ephesians 5:21, NLT)

I have to confess that there is another that owns me, too. My life is devoted to that One, the highest priority given to the will of the One to whom I belong. Yes, I am owned by God, a man with an obligation to seek, to know, and to do the will of God for I am called to be holy! I once thought that being holy was the observance of a lot of prohibitions. To be holy, so I believed, was to observe a strict moral code: No "R" rated movies, no alcohol, no "questionable entertainment," no use of tobacco, etc. Most of those rules were not necessarily all that bad as they provided me with good guidance for my behavior, but they were not what made me holy for they only defined the way I acted, not the way I thought! I came to understand, as I grew spiritually, that I am holy, not because of what I do not do, but because I belong to God - heart, soul, mind, and body! That is the essence of holiness.

My wedding band makes the statement that I am a married man, but fidelity to my wife comes from thinking of myself as a married man, keeping my eyes and my thoughts, as well as my body faithful to Bev. True holiness is not just an external conformity to a code of conduct, it is a way of life that grows out of the knowledge that I am not my own person any longer, that I was 'bought at a price,' by Christ Jesus who gave His life to own mine. Here's how the Word expresses it: ". . . we are the temple of the living God. As God said: "I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:16-18, NLT)

While some think of holiness as constricting and limiting their self-expression, the Word says that holiness allows us to enjoy God's provisions. As we give ourselves to Him wholly, He accepts as 'sons and daughters.' How amazing is that? When we live in holiness we reap the benefit of "life and peace," and we gain the privilege of addressing God as "Abba," - yes, familiarly as "Dad." More than that, we are included God's covenant, becoming heirs, with full rights and privileges to the wealth of Heaven! (See Romans 8)

The Evil One attempts to convince us that fidelity to God, giving ourselves to a single-minded pursuit of His will, is a sure way to misery. So many Believers buy into the lie that true happiness is found in self-expression. They want Jesus to be their Savior, but not their Husband! But when they try to serve two loves, they are not able to know peace for they are torn and divided. "Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do." (James 1:8, NLT) Is that where you're living today? Are you trying to blend the love of this present world with a love for God? Believe me when I say, you're robbing yourself!

Give yourself - without clause, without reservation - to God! Surrender to Him. You will discover a life you did not know was possible.

"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)

Amen!
_________________________________

I'm calling out to You
There must something more
Some deeper place to find
Some secret place to hide
Where I've not gone before

Where my soul is satisfied
and my sin is put to death
and I can hear Your voice
and Your purpose is my choice
as natural as a breath

The Love I knew before
When You first touched my life
I need You to restore,
I want You to revive

Could You place in my heart,
A passion for Jesus
A hunger that seizes
my passion for You
My one desire,
my greatest possession
My only confession,
my passion for You

Passion for Jesus --Brian Houston
CCLI License No. 810055

Source of Significance

Mary Kay Ash, the founder of the cosmetics company that bears her name, says "Everyone has an invisible sign hanging around their neck saying, 'Make me feel important!'" Is she right? To a degree, yes. We all like to know that we are valued. Are we egotistical? Perhaps. Are we self-centered? Sometimes. Mostly we desire to be connected to others, to have a place in this world. Where Ash goes wrong is in implying that others can provide that sense of place for us. People whose words and actions declare, "It's all about me," quickly offend others. If we insist that others 'make me feel important,' we will become a very difficult, emotionally needy, unpleasant person to be around!

"But, Jerry," you object, "doesn't everybody love getting an award?" Sure, we do. That is why Mary Kay Ash provides those famous pink Cadillacs to those women in her sales organization that are high producers! People will work hard to win praise. Even my wife's first-graders strive to get a certificate that officially declares they are the best crayon artist in the class. But, there is a big flaw in making recognition and awards the source of significance in our lives. Someone will come along, sooner rather than later, who does it better and they will get the prize. What then? Are we worthless because we are not 'number one?' Awards do not prove our personal worth. In fact, they say nothing about whether we are a good, honest, loving, faithful, or godly human being - factors that are much more important in the larger scheme of life.

The paradox is this - in true self-effacing service we find the deepest significance. When we stop calculating the benefits that might accrue to ourselves and begin to serve others lovingly; our lives take on a spiritual and emotional health that makes us really attractive people! That person who ascends the hill of success by climbing on the backs of others, who turns every situation into a "I win, you lose" competition, who is always writing news releases to announce his accomplishments reveals the shallowness of his soul. His insecurity locks him into a defensive posture that blocks the very kind of affirmation he is so desperately desiring. The person who creates mutually beneficial networks, who helps other succeed by mentoring and empowering, who liberally praises the achievements of those around him, and who does his work without fanfare becomes a person with a strong safety net of soul-affirming connections.

Jesus taught this lesson again and again in different ways. One time the men he was preparing to lead the Church were fighting about their relative importance. When Jesus realized how much this mattered to them, he brought a child to his side. "Whoever accepts this child as if the child were me, accepts me," he said. "And whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your spirit, not your size, makes the difference." (Luke 9:47-48, The Message) On another occasion when the mother of James and John came to Jesus asking for a place of high position for her sons in the Kingdom, Jesus surprised them. "You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28, NLT) Why do we love Jesus so much? Because He loved us so selflessly!

He points the way to a life that wins the only approval that matters - that which God gives. "He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:38-39, NKJV)

Does your life send mixed messages? Are you saying, "love me, affirm me," while standing there with your fists clenched, daring anybody to try to take away your stuff? Are you building fences around yourself trying to hang onto a little place of importance and then wondering, "why do I feel so isolated from others?"

Let Jesus love you! Open your arms to embrace others. Tear down the fences and give your stuff away, trusting God to take care for your needs.

Amazingly, the less you care for yourself, the more deeply you will find yourself cared for!
_____________________________

Make me a servant,
Humble and meek.
Lord, let me lift up
Those who are weak;
And may the pray'r
Of my heart always be.
Make me a servant.
Make me a servant.
Make me a servant today.

Make Me A Servant - Kelly Willard
© 1982 Maranatha! Music (Admin. by The Copyright Company) / Willing Heart Music (Maranatha! Music [Admin. by The Copyright Company])
CCLI License No. 810055

The Family Name

More than a few times in my life, particularly in my teens, one of the reasons I did not give in to peer pressure to do some stupid thing, was that I heard the echo of my Dad's voice in my mind, "You're a Scott. Take care of that name." Somehow he imbued me with a sense of family honor. It was not that we were some kind of royals, or that I was aware of long-standing family traditions, or even that I had emotional connections with a long line of ancestors. Family honor was a powerful factor to me because my family defined my place in this world. I was loved and accepted, nurtured, and taught by parents who, in the middle of their own challenges, made sure that our family was a solid base. Home was inviting. My successes were celebrated, my bruises healed there. Our table was the center of our social life as we shared much more than food when we sat down together most every night for dinner. We worshipped together always and so it became a matter of importance to me to honor those who formed my sense of identity.

Today, I feel that same sense of love for and honor of the family of God! Many times when temptation comes my way, one of the deterrents to giving in, is the sense of dishonor that my sin would bring to my Lord and to His family, the Church. God has adopted me as His son, given me a name, and included me in His family. His love is shaping me into a person I could not otherwise be and He gives me an identity in this world. My response should not be any less than to love and honor Him. Peter, in his first letter to the churches, talks about our place in God's great family. He says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, . . .you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God." (1 Peter 1:3-4; 2:9-10, NIV)

Believer, you and I are given the family name. Other people will judge God based on the way we live. If we are loving, good, and kind; they will conclude that our Father has given us a noble heritage. If we are miserable, ungrateful, and full of insecurities, they may well conclude that God is not worthy of trust, for it will appear that He has cared for our basic needs in life! Peter's conclusion is "Always let others see you behaving properly, even though they may still accuse you of doing wrong. Then on the day of judgment, they will honor God by telling the good things they saw you do." (1 Peter 2:12, CEV)

We honor God by living holy lives.

Holy? Yes! Holiness is not a bad word. It goes far beyond our moral choices, much deeper than what we eat or drink, or how we dress! It means that we understand that we belong to God, that we have no higher purpose in life than to discover and obey His will. True holiness - the sense that we belong to God as members of His family - is a beautiful thing, a powerful motivator to good works that honor the One who called us 'out of darkness and into His glorious Light.' Let God write His Name on your heart. Receive the adoption of the Spirit and with His Presence, a new identity. Then, live to honor the Name.

". . . make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people." (1 Samuel 12:20-22, NLT)

God rules!

People greet me with that common question - "How are you?" I often reply, "Marvill-ious!" The silly, made up word catches them off guard and, after a couple of seconds of trying to figure out what I said, they smile. Even when I am inwardly struggling with some situation in life, I attempt to be 'up,' encouraging, and optimistic. By nature, I am a melancholy individual, and sometimes I excuse my negativity by labeling myself a 'realist.' But I know the value of choosing to be optimistic, of focusing on hope in every situation. Emotions are infectious and I want to 'infect' those around me with hope, with God's help.

Harold Myra writes; "Optimism is not living in a fantasy world where nothing tragic ever happens. Vital optimism is a confidence that tragedy is not the last word, that the best is yet to be. Optimism is being able to acknowledge brutal realities and to point to an even greater reality - that our experiences are not in vain, our responses are not futile, and our efforts are worthwhile. For Christians this kind of optimism is linked to an abiding trust that history is going somewhere and that God... is powerfully directing it."

Those of us who love and follow Christ have great reason to live with optimism. Yes, we live in a world where terrible things happen. I read the newspaper and watch the news, too. I work with people who, from time to time, deeply disappoint me. Sometimes I miss my goals, and I fail God and others. But disappointment, failure, - yes, even death - are not the last words for the Believer. God's amazing promise is that He is the Restorer of the broken, the Healer of the bruised, the Lifter of my head!

Romans 8 is a wonderful passage where Paul speaks of the glorious hope of the Believer. He says that sometimes we groan under the pressures of this present world, but that even then the Spirit shares the load, praying for us. He reminds us that God has called us to His purposes and that nothing can ultimately frustrate God's will! His conclusion is a resounding shout of hopeful faith, a reason for optimism that has no equal. Take a look. "None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." (Romans 8:37-39, The Message) Those who love Jesus can sing in the darkness, not because of bravado, but because of promise. They are not just 'trying to look on the bright side,' they actually know that behind the cloud, the Son shines!


The story is told of a man walking along the shore where starfish lay scattered, washed in by the tide. He was picking them up and tossing them back into the ocean, when someone questioned the rationality of his actions. "What do you hope to accomplish? There are so many, you could never throw them all back." His reply, as he prepared to toss another back into the sea was, "But, this one will live!" That is exactly the attitude we need to sustain our faith in the face of challenges that appear overwhelming. Sometimes we just need to trust God just for this day. We need to let the smallest achievement become a reason for celebration.

As you begin a new week, purpose to live optimistically, drawing on a deep reservoir of faith that is inspired by the promise of God and the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Grasp hold of the hope to which you were called in Christ Jesus. Lay claim to His promise that He is greater than anything in your life today. Choose to be 'marvillious!'
"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:6, NIV)
____________________

How firm a foundation,
Ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith
In His excellent word!
What more can He say
Than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge
To Jesus have fled?

Fear not; I am with thee.
O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God,
I will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
And cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious,
Omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters
I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow
Shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee
Thy trials to bless,
And sanctify to thee
Thy deepest distress.

The soul that on Jesus
Hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not
Desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell
Should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never,
No never forsake.

How Firm A Foundation-
Keith, George / Steele, Anne / Rippon John / Funk, Joseph© Public Domain