Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid?

Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid?

Fear can serve us well. A young man I knew died in a car accident, at least in part, because he chose not to wear his seatbelt. His overconfidence contributed to a fatal accident. A friend fell into immorality and was part of the destruction of two marriages because he did not respect the power of his desires, mistakenly believing he could flirt without falling into sin! He boasted of his strength of faith and character. Several months later, he left his family for his lover. There is encouragement and warning in this passage. "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Corinthians 10:12-13, NIV)  Have a healthy respect for the spiritual dangers that lurk just around the corner, but don’t be paralyzed with fear because God has a plan.

One of God’s blessings is allowing difficulties that cause us to realize our dependence on Him. We have a few good days and a subtle deception slips into our mind that we have it all under control, that we are ready to fly solo. But, we are not! I parent three teenage boys who do not understand why I insist on knowing what they are up to. They don’t even know what they do not know about life! Our Abba loves us like that. He cares about us, not because He wants to control us, but because His desire is to guide us to rich, full lives.  A familiar proverb is one we should relearn and keep in mind. "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7, NLT)

God’s kids need not be timid or fearful of life itself. There are plenty of threats around. War, sickness, and financial ruin are very real. In my lifetime, I have never known a time of greater uncertainty about the future.  But, I will not be afraid of those things. If I allow myself to become anxious about tomorrow, the healthy fear of the Lord will be eclipsed by a debilitating kind of fear.  This passage resonates with me today.  "The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said: “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary." (Isaiah 8:11-14, NIV)  

Disciple, are you fearful?
Is it a healthy fear of the Lord or a sickening dread of ‘what if’ in this life?

Meditate on this Psalm for a few moments today. Let the truth reorient you to the fear of the Lord and in it, may you find great peace.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:1-5, NIV)

My Heart Ripped Out

The news hour opened with a picture child killed by artillery shells fired into the heart of a Syrian city. The mother was screaming her anguish at no one in particular. The civil war there has gone from simmer to full boil. The next story was about Iran’s development of nuclear weaponry and the threat Israel was making to use military strikes to stop it. If that happens, thousands will die! A friend wrote about a woman and her newborn baby left to die after a botched C-section delivery in a poor, developing nation. Then there was the report of the despair in American cities where a young black man is much more likely to graduate from prison than from college. And I sat in the comfort of my living room, watching it all on flat screen TV.  Evil flourishes, demons rejoice, people suffer! It is the first day of the Lenten season and I am called to reflection and repentance. To escape into the isolation of my suburban home, to let myself think, “it’s not my problem,” is a sin against humanity and my God.

The prophet Joel was moved by the Spirit. “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”  Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." (Joel 2:12-13, NIV) Who wants to let their heart be ripped out by the suffering of this world? If we allow ourselves to see it and to be moved by it, we are compelled to become active agents in the service of our King.

The first choice in the war on sin is our own transformation! “Return to Me,” He says. How? Not like the Pharisee who proudly prayed his own self-righteousness, thanking God that he was not like the ordinary sinners among whom he had to live. Rather we return to Him our hearts torn up, well aware of our own sins. Humility does not come easy to us. We want to justify our greed, sensuality, and indulgence of ourselves. We want to excuse our failure to serve, to keep our hope centered on Christ and the promise of eternal life. “Rip your heart out,” God roars! “Feel the pain, look at the ugliness.”  Only then does the depth of His grace start to become apparent. When we have tasted forgiveness and been filled with His goodness, we gain a new heart, that of a warrior who defeats evil with love modeled on that which brought Christ Jesus to give Himself.  

Joel reminds us that "Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive. … The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel." (Joel 3:14, 16, NLT) 

Will you rise up to join His army? 

Will you join the divine conspiracy to save the world by costly, sacrificial love? 

Start with your own heart. Let it be conquered by the King, every sin, every rebellious act, confessed and surrendered to Him. Then, make love your aim, starting at home, dying to Self, serving with joy. He’ll lead you from there.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8, NIV)

________

I’m pleading my innocence here
Exposing my arrogance all the while
Hoping that nobody sees
Especially You

I've yielded to all that has cost me
And thrown to the side what is free
And I’m lying if I say that I've figured it out

But maybe this time
The bread and the wine
Will be more than food on my lips

I’m tasting forgiveness
And drinking of mercy
I feast on redemption
Tasting forgiveness

Tasting Forgiveness :

Copyright – Robbie Seay

I will not offer that which costs me nothing

Today is nicknamed “Fat Tuesday” because of the feasting on this day before the beginning of Lent. Some cultures mark the day with “Carnival” literally meaning ‘goodbye to the flesh’- marking the beginning of fasting for Lent;  the 40 day season of spiritual discipline leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection. Spiritual disciplines have been largely abandoned by Christians so the ‘fast’ of Lent for many is ignored or merely symbolic such as giving up chocolate.

Do American Christians of 2011 even understand Paul’s declaration? He said, “I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:27) Our culture of indulgence has convinced us that real life is found in having more of everything. We eat huge portions of food, consume exorbitant amounts of energy coddling ourselves in perfectly controlled climates, think that the meaning of life is sex, and spend vast amounts of time and money entertaining ourselves. Our souls wither, starved for worship, atrophied by neglect. Yet, we boldly lay claim to the Kingdom of God and expect to waddle into Heaven to claim our rich reward.

Recognizing human frailty, the first generations of Christians built regular times of renewal into the annual calendar. Those times were to be a collective time to remember and refocus. But, even then, religion replaced reality. Fasts became mere outward form, conformity to a rule that produced more guilt and more death, instead of a cry for the Spirit to bring life and freedom!  I clearly know the temptation to worship the form that is part of religion. Jesus roundly condemned the Pharisees of His time for their rigid observation of religious law without turning their hearts to God. “You wash the outside of the cup, but leave the inside dirty and polluted,” He told them. “You’re like whitewashed tombs, gleaming on the surface, but full of death!” If our practice of Lenten fasting fails to focus on the Lord and His life, we have nothing but an adventure in missing the point! Knowing that danger, we still must recognize the importance of allowing the Spirit to work in the disciplines to break the stranglehold of pleasure that chokes the Life out of us.

Near the end of the letter in which Paul rails on mere religion, on loving form more than substance, of turning from the Cross to the Law, there is this call: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:24-25, NIV) This Lent I encourage you to recover the fast with meaning. Pray for the Spirit to lead you to some discipline that will allow Him to enlarge your soul’s capacity for the Presence of God. Spontaneity has its place in our adoration of our Lord. So does devotion! Ask the Lord to show you what bids to own you. Then, pray that He will lead you to crucify the flesh, to put it to death, so that the Spirit will own you: body, soul, and spirit.

Here  is the word from the Word, a story from the life of David. May the challenge to offer sacrifice of real cost speak to you today.
"David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”

Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”

But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering." (1 Chronicles 21:22-26, NIV)

_________________

Take my life and let it be

Consecrated Lord to Thee

Take my moments and my days

Let them flow in ceaseless praise

Take my hands and let them move

At the impulse of Thy love

Take my feet and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee

Take my voice and let me sing

Always only for my King

Take my lips and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee

Take my silver and my gold

Not a mite would I withhold

Take my intellect and use

Ev'ry pow'r as Thou shalt choose

Take my will and make it Thine

It shall be no longer mine

Take my heart it is Thine own

It shall be Thy royal throne

Take my love my Lord I pour

At Thy feet its treasure store

Take my self and I will be

Ever only all for Thee

Take My Life And Let It Be

© Public Domain

Frances R. Havergal