Tag:

Fear

Be Ready

by TerryLema

I went to Costco last week, list in hand, for my usual bi-monthly order. I did what people often do when they go to Costco – bought lots of stuff not on my list. It was impulse shopping at its best.

When I got to the back of the store (you know where this is going), to buy toilet paper and tissue, the shelves were empty. Nothing but a stack of paper towels. I heard a Costco employee tell someone he had 195 pallets of toilet paper the morning before and they sold out in 24 hours. The coronavirus fear had struck.

I have heard a few conspiracy theories lately about what is going on in the media with this virus outbreak. I, too, am a conspiracy theorist … I believe there is a conspiracy to see fear thriving in our world. The participants in this conspiracy are the world, our flesh, and the devil. They conspire to create fear. They want everyone frozen, afraid to do anything.

When that kind of fear surges up and strikes, it can even invade the church striking believers who should be fearless. Peter wrote to believers, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” [1 Peter 3:14-15a NIV]

And yes, we should be fearless. We serve a great God. He is all-powerful. No matter how many conspire together against Him and His own, they will not prevail. Jesus Christ is LORD, and we sit with Him in heavenly places. Considering that, why are we afraid?

Peter reminded his readers after he told them not to fear that we should “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” [v15b]

FEAR may be a powerful four-letter word, but HOPE is even more powerful.

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Fear & Faith – Part 3

by TerryLema

Let’s end this first month of 2020 with one last thought from Jesus and the disciples in the great storm recorded in Mark 4:35-41. (One of my favorite lessons that you’ve probably heard many times from me. But I remember what a bible college professor always said, “repetition increases remembrance!”)

Jesus had commanded the disciples in the boat with Him to go to the other side and they obeyed. Their obedience put them right in the midst of a very grave storm and they thought they were in danger of going under, all the while Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat, exhausted from that day’s work. Finally, the disciples wake Him and chastise Him for what they regarded as His lack of concern for them. After quieting the storm with a word, Jesus chastises them for their lack of faith.

Jesus understood the most dangerous thing for the disciples was not the storm – no matter how wildly it raged. The most dangerous part for them was their unbelief, their lack of faith in God’s ability to protect them and enable them to reach their goal – the other side.

Our greatest problems are within us, not around us. The true danger isn’t in the storm, it’s in our hearts. Hebrews 3:13 goes so far as to warn us about our “sinful, unbelieving heart” that has the power to turn us away from the Living God.

No storm can drive us to the bottom when Jesus is in the boat … no, we are guaranteed to get to the other side. But, but, our own hearts can turn us away from the Living God, and when that happens, even the mildest of storms may sink us.

Oh Father, keep our hearts of faith set securely in You. Amen.

 

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Fear & Faith – Part 2

by TerryLema

Yesterday we began to look at Mark 4:35-41, one of my favorite lessons in the lives of the disciples – the calming of the storm. In their obedience to follow Jesus’ command to “go over to the other side,” they had ended up in a great storm, one described by Matthew with the word, “seismos,” an earthquake on the sea.

While the disciples were fighting the elements, Jesus, exhausted, was asleep in the stern, resting on a pillow. Finally, when it appeared they were about to sink, they woke Him up, chastising Him for His seeming lack of care. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?“ [v 38 NIV]

I love the people of the Bible, they are so real! Under the same circumstances, I would have done the same thing. And bless our sweet Jesus, He calms the storm. But then He does something else, He asks them where their faith was. They had heard Him teach many times, seen miracle after miracle, and even seen Him raise the dead. Did they think He was now going to let them drown?

Faith will always be tested. It’s not enough to merely hear a teaching, learn it intellectually, or even be able to repeat it. The lessons of God must be put into practical experience. What we hear from God’s Word must govern our daily walk with Him.

Jesus knew the storm was coming that night. It was part of that day’s lesson. The disciples had listened to His teachings, but had they learned them? The storm provided that opportunity.

Tomorrow – the greatest danger was not the storm.

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Fear & Faith – Part 1

by TerryLema

My message at The Way last Sunday was one of my favorite stories in the lives of the disciples – the calming of the storm in Mark 4:35-41. If you have a moment, grab your Bible and read those few short verses. There are so many lessons contained therein for us.

Jesus had been teaching all day. The crowds were so great and pressing upon Him that He had gotten into a boat and had it pushed a small distance from shore. It seems to have been a grueling session since later than night He told His disciples to take the boat to the other side of the lake (the Sea of Galilee). While they sailed, He went to the stern of the boat and fell asleep on a pillow.

He must have been exhausted as he did not awaken even when the storm came and intensified. His disciples were wide awake, however, during what Mark describes as a “squall,” literally a “hurricane of wind.” They were trying to keep their boat afloat and be obedient to what Jesus had commanded them – to go over to the other side.

I have met (and shepherded) some who think that if you are experiencing a trial, it is because you are in disobedience to the LORD. Their “proof” is always the example of Jonah who disobeyed, ended up in a storm and then a fish before finally being obedient.

But these disciples were obedient. Jesus said, “Let us go over to the other side,” and that is exactly what they were trying to do. [vs 35 NIV]

Sometimes we might find ourselves in a storm even though we are in perfect obedience to the will of God. Thankfully, when that happens, Jesus is in the storm with us!

Tomorrow – the fearful disciples awaken Jesus and learn a lesson about fear and faith.

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