From 'Be afraid' to 'Don't be afraid' - Wednesday October 22, 2014
Perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19
I pushed a square of red Jell-O onto the umpteenth plate and scooped another, ready for the next person in the conference lunch line. But the next person surprised me by saying, "Uh, could you stop licking your finger after you serve the Jell-O?" What? I wasn't aware that I'd been using my finger to push Jell-O squares onto plates and then absentmindedly licking my sticky finger. Disgusting!
Unfortunately, that's also how my life has gone. Often I've discovered my sins after the fact. In Luke 12:5, Jesus' words were sobering: Fear the One who has authority to cast into hell. My reaction? "OH, NO! That's crazy scary!" There was no way I could be "good enough" to save myself. Half the time I wasn't even aware of my problems!
Yet Jesus went on to speak words of reassurance. After admonishing us to fear the absolute authority of God as our judge, Jesus then said: "Do not fear." Hadn't He just said, "Be afraid of God," and now it's "Don't be afraid"? What gives? God values you and me immensely. "Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Rest assured. You are priceless to Him. This leads to Jesus promising that when we confess Him, He'll stand by us and claim us as His own. Finally, Jesus removes all fear with one more assurance: "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom" (12:32).
Even though your sin was a valid reason for fear, God values you! His Son advocates for you, and the Father gives you a place in the kingdom. Crazy scary is gone.
Submitted by:
Rita Bergen
Cornerstone Community Church
Overland Park, Kansas
One-Year Reading Plan:
Jeremiah 39:1-41:18
2 Timothy 1:1-18
Psalms 90:1-91:16
Proverbs 26:1-2
[Read
Online]
© 2024 Great Commission Association of Churches, Inc All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
Online Bible Services provided by
The Bible Gateway (TM) a service of
Gospel
Communications Network.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.