The Fear Industry

 

Are you afraid? Millions of people are genuinely fearful because fear is stoked by politicians and companies to create a ‘need’ for their solutions!  A decade ago Barry Glassner, wrote words that are just as true today as they were then.  "I think there is a fear industrial complex." He is the author of a book with this provocative title: The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things.

He makes a strong case that there really is a fear industry made up of activist groups, politicians, and corporations who want us to give them our money or our vote so that they can eliminate the dangers they trumpet so loudly to us. Fear is a powerful motivator that usually has negative long-term results. Fear makes us reactionary instead of purposeful.

Glassner asks - "Whenever somebody's trying to scare us, the question to ask is 'Are they benefiting from it, and in what way?'" said Glassner. "If they're selling us a product, if they're selling us their political campaign or their cause or whatever it is, we should ask how big is the danger, really? Is it big, is it small, or is it just that they stand to benefit by making us scared?"  (https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2898636&page=1)

Perhaps as you read those opening words you think I am naïve or out of touch with reality.  “Jerry, don’t you know that our economy is fragile, that war drums beat loudly, that …”  Yes, I do! I am concerned about the banking crisis. I pray daily for an end to the death and destruction in Ukraine. I wonder about the growing power of China and the possibility of war. As I age, I sometimes get afraid of what the next decade may bring my way personally.  BUT, I refuse to let the ‘experts’ that predict doom, destruction, and death to own my thoughts and to scare me half to death!

Jesus counsels us this way. “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows." (Matthew 10:28-31, NLT)  Read those words again. They are a radical prescription for gaining peace.

A deep reverence for God (awe, fear) will keep us
from undue anxiety over our present difficulties!

When I was a little boy I would walk anywhere in the dark with my Dad. When he was next to me, I was secure because I trusted him without question. We are children of the Heavenly Father and we walk with Him, therefore we need not be afraid. Simplistic? Not for me. It is truth that keeps me moving forward with faith and purpose each day. This faith does not eliminate every potential threat to my safety.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the Proverb says. He causes me to see clearly, to make the best choices, to give my best efforts to positive change when His peace owns my mind and heart.

Christian, we need not numb ourselves with alcohol, drugs, pleasure, or ‘stuff’ when fear stalks us. The better choice is worship, true humility before God, giving ourselves to His care. Our peace is a gift of God. You CAN choose your thought for you are not a helpless victim. What thoughts lead us to overcome the conspiracies of the fear industry? Paul says this: “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable … things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)

The word from the Word is a declaration. I pray that you will humbly give Him your cares.
"God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NIV)

Be not afraid!

(Video of this blog at this link)

____________________

The Haven Of Rest

My soul in sad exile was out on life's sea
So burdened with  sin and distressed
Till I heard a sweet voice
Saying make Me your choice
And I entered the Haven of Rest

I've anchored my soul
in the Haven of Rest
I'll sail the wide seas no more
The tempest may sweep
o'er the wild stormy deep
In Jesus I'm safe evermore

I yielded myself to His tender embrace
And faith taking hold of the Word
My fetters fell off and I anchored my soul
The Haven of Rest is my Lord

 

George D. Moore | Henry Lake Gilmour

© Words: Public Domain

Us and Them?

 

People love the labels, don’t they? I am not talking about the labels in our clothing but rather the labels we hang on others as a way to differentiate ourselves. Think of all the ways we divide ourselves – race, ethnicity, religion, wealth, politics, gender – just to name a few. There is a kind of pride that comes from being part of ‘the group,’ feeling like an insider even as we exclude those who are ‘other.’  The contemporary American social scene is the most divided that I have known in my entire lifetime.  The strife makes a mockery of the claim to be ‘one nation, under God, indivisible!’

What concerns me even more is the failure of Christ’s Church to be the place where those divisions disappear because of one shared Spirit who makes us alive to God. The reality of is a long way from what Paul teaches us. "But now that faith in Christ has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you." (Galatians 3:25-29, NLT) All the things that divide are secondary to the ONE THING that unites – Christ, our Lord.  Well, that’s the way it should be, but tragically it isn’t.

Our love and worship should make our convictions about politics, secondary doctrinal issues, worship styles, and such matters no reason for division, suspicion, or accusation. Some would say that I am without conviction, but that would be untrue. I am fully convinced that salvation comes by faith, through Christ alone. I am, by persuasion, a Pentecostal who loves the life of the Spirit. I am committed to the truth of Scripture as my guide for faith and conduct. BUT, I have no need to declare myself ‘right,’ to determine that those with whom I disagree on such things are not ‘of Christ.’

The Gospel is a message that invites others in. It is not a word to push others to the outside.

The Good News is that Christ Jesus came to open the Way to know our Father again, to allow us to know the joy of living under His care. Our Lord cannot be pleased with our insistence on dividing ourselves into groups that are ‘us’ and ‘them.’   We should rejoice in this wonderful declaration - "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.

His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord." (Ephesians 2:12-3:1, NIV)

Let’s pray to know HIM, to love HIM, to be focused on HIS LOVE and ACCEPTANCE. This is the Gospel of Christ, not what we believe about baptism, Communion, or church organization. Even issues of personal conduct can be left to His judgment if we are secured by the love of Christ, our Lord.

Meditate on the word from the Word today. "Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.

God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now:

Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. "
(2 Corinthians 5:16-20, The Message)   Can I get an ‘amen?’

 

(Video of this blog at this link)

____________________

 

Who You Say I Am

 

Who am I that the highest King
Would welcome me
I was lost but He brought me in
Oh His love for me
Oh His love for me

 

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I'm a child of God
Yes I am

 

Free at last
He has ransomed me
His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin
Jesus died for me
Yes He died for me

 

In my Father's house
There's a place for me
I'm a child of God
Yes I am

 

I am chosen not forsaken
I am who You say I am
You are for me not against me
I am who You say I am

(Oh) (Yes) I am who You say I am

Ben Fielding | Reuben Morgan

© 2017 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

 

When blessings turn to a curse

 

We love our ‘blessings,’ don’t we?  I spent the weekend with friends and family and saw the many ways that their lives are overflowing with good things. I rejoiced that God has given them such favor, so many opportunities in life to enjoy the ‘fatness’ of the land, so to speak. I, too, am beyond blessed, with more than enough in every way.  My comfortable car sits outside of my house where I sit in climate-controlled rooms furnished with all that I need and so much more. For all of this I am truly grateful. However, there is a hidden temptation in the abundance!

In my reading of the Word last night, I came to this passage which spoke directly to my heart and I pray it will to yours as well.  Moses was preparing the nation of Israel for their entry into the Promised Land which was ‘overflowing with milk and honey,’  a place of abundance. "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (Deuteronomy 8:10-14, NIV)

Before you jump to the conclusion that blessings are bad or that poverty is somehow more ‘spiritual’ than prosperity, let’s be clear about the key point of this passage. It is our attitudes about the blessings that matter most!  Gain that is not ill gotten is no cause for guilt. However, there are important choices to be made in our times of blessing. God desires our gratefulness and He invites us to ongoing choices of worship and obedience.  When life is good, when our bank account is full, we may be tempted to think that life is within our control. Perhaps worse, we can start to think that we have done things to deserve the blessings we enjoy. Both attitudes are spiritually toxic, growing out of an unholy pride.

We may look at those in distress and wonder, what did they do to get themselves in such a mess?  The not so subtle temptation in our good times is to think we are smarter or better in some way than those who are suffering.  Jesus disciples fell into this all too human trap.  When they saw a blind man along the road, look at their response. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2, NIV)  There is pride hidden in that question, implying their own superiority.  We so quickly succumb to a similar temptation thinking that surely it must be stupid choices, irresponsibility, or laziness that causes the difficulties in another’s life.  While it is true that our choices have consequences, in our blessings we make the wrong choices in concluding that we are somehow better than another or when we blame others entirely for their plight.

Here is a corollary truth – when you are in a time of difficulty, let God do His work in your life.

I don’t like to admit it, but I know that I pray most earnestly when I am driven to my knees by things beyond my control.
I trust God more implicitly when I have no other apparent way to turn.

This prayer written 3000 years ago is so very contemporary and applicable to our lives:

“Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:7-9, NIV)   Jesus taught us about the deception that can arrive with prosperity - “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24, NIV) The more wealth a person has, the greater the temptation to try to buy satisfaction, solutions, and solace. The very blessings that enrich us in one way, may will impoverish in another.

If you are blessed today, take the counsel of Moses – give thanks and continue in humble devotion. An old phrase I have repeated counsels me – ’We are blessed to be a blessing!’  Conversely, if you are being led along steep, narrow path invite the Spirit of God to grow in you a greater love for Him, a purer faith. By faith, see those trials as teaching wisdom and as the soil in which a greater faith can take root. Also, thank God for compassion for others, something that often comes to us when we are ourselves broken.

The word from the Word is a simple and direct set of commands to the first generation of Believers. May God give us the faith to live in obedience in good times and bad times, equally.
"Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy.
Encourage those who are timid.
Take tender care of those who are weak.
Be patient with everyone.
See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to everyone else.
Always be joyful. Keep on praying.
No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:14-18, NLT)

(Video of this blog at this link)

____________________

Goodness Of God

I love You Lord
Oh Your mercy never fails me
All my days
I've been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
I will sing of the goodness of God

All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night
You are close like no other
I've known You as a father
I've known You as a friend
I have lived in the goodness of God

Your goodness is running after
It’s running after me
Your goodness is running after
It’s running after me
With my life laid down
I’m surrendered now
I give You everything
Your goodness is running after
It's running after me

 

Ben Fielding | Brian Johnson | Ed Cash | Jason Ingram | Jenn Johnson

© 2018 Capitol CMG Paragon (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

SHOUT! Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055