An unwelcome guest climbed into bed with me last night. No, it wasn’t our spoiled dog (I lost that battle a long time ago) or one of our kids nursing a nightmare. It was something more sinister. Something dark. Something ancient.

                     It was fear.

Have you noticed that fear is a night owl? It seems to awaken as we’re trying to fall asleep. Dancing on the bed. Ripping off the covers. Screaming all our unknowns, regrets, and worries at such volumes that the sheep we’re trying to count get scared away.

What am I afraid of? Well, you see, that’s the funny thing. I’m not really sure. Last night it was a parade of random things:

The weight of my new job.

The guilt that seems to come with parenting.

The thought of the Democrats winning the election.

The thought of the Republicans winning the election.

The fact that I’m the father of a teenage daughter.

The unrest in the Middle East (and my pending trip to Israel next month).

The skyrocketing national debt and what that means for the future.

What if I mess this up?

What if my kids struggle?

What if the economy collapses?

What if Andrew Luck is never as good as Peyton Manning? (This is serious, folks).

Fear has a loud voice. And no matter how beautiful your circumstances or how deeply you’re rooted in the truth, it has an uncanny way of grabbing your attention. Focusing you on potential mistakes and future unknowns.

And a little healthy fear is a good thing. It keeps us focused, alert, on task, thinking about the future and wisely adjusting course for the inevitable contingencies that will come. But most of us serve our fears, we don’t harness them. We allow our imagination to project the worst possible outcomes and then we bow down in worship.

And frankly, I’m tired of doing that.

We’re going to face plenty of hardships and trials in this life. We’ll make some bad decisions, things will happen beyond our control, and outcomes won’t turned out like we planned. But there’s no sense in facing the fears we’ve fabricated. What a waste of energy! It’s time to expose those voices in your head as the liars that they are.

I’m told the Bible commands us to “fear not” 365 times. One for every day of the year. Here’s one of my favorite:

“I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

Take that one to heart today. And then sleep well tonight.

What are you afraid of? Are your fears night owls like mine?

This post was written by Erik Cooper.  You can find the original post with comments, here:  http://beyondtherisk.com/2012/09/19/dealing-with-fear/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

"I'm only gonna throw seed where it's gonna grow.  I don't want to waste my time on those who aren't gonna grow..." was the conclusion the pastor came to when he finished his sermon on the parable of the sower. 

This pastor was an amazing man. I had served on the church board with him and supported him to the church body.   The church had grown tremendously under his care.

Having just returned from the mission field after a year of service, things were noticeably different now in my church.  He seemed focused on the building project and being selective about his time.  Before, he was generous with the gospel and one could easily get in contact with him.   But now, he seemed secluded and sequestered.   He seemed unapproachable.

In my quandary, I sent a short letter to the missions board with whom I was just serving under asking for advice on how to deal with this pastor and church that I loved.  The next thing I know, that letter had been passed to the bishop, then to the superintendent, then to the pastor.  

The pastor called me into his office for a discussion.  

Unfortunately, this discussion did not go well and my loyalty was questioned and I was placed on "probation."  The next Sunday, the fellowship time before church was very arduous.  I recall a group of my friends standing in a circle and I came up to the circle to talk with them and the group dissipated.  I went to other friends and they were very short with me and discussions seemed strained.  I believed that it was my own paranoia and my perceptions so I gave it time and prayer.  

The following week a letter to the church from the board came out and my signature (as a board member) was on the bottom with other board members.  I knew I had neither approved of nor signed it and I asked the pastor about it.  He said, "oh, we have your signature digitized on the computer so we put it on there."  I told him that I was very uncomfortable with my signature being used without my actually signing it or approving of it.  Again, I was accused of not being a team player.

For the next few Sundays, it became increasingly difficult to attend.  Other board members would hardly speak with me, friends that I had in the church no longer acted like friends.    As this was a church in a denomination in which I was raised, this was difficult and I needed a firm answer from God if I was to stay or leave. 

It was agonizing.

I was waiting and praying for God to tell me what to do.  I attempted conversations but was repeatedly rebuffed.  The pastor would not meet with me.  I loved this church, this pastor and the people who attended there.

One Sunday, after church, as we were driving away, I looked back at the church and I saw a hand with a branding iron emblazoning the word "Ichabod" above the doorway.  I thought about Ichabod Crane from The  Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  I had no idea what the vision meant.  I had no idea that Ichabod was a biblical name, especially a name with a specific meaning.

Interestingly, that week, in my personal Bible study, I came upon this verse: "She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"..."
Well, the verse hit me hard.  It was clear what God was saying.  Reluctantly, we started to attend another church.  About a month later, the pastor sent me a letter saying that he was sorry that I had left but understood why and wanted to reassure me that people wouldn't be bothering me about attending.  So, he tipped his hand.  He inadvertently let me know that he had told people about me.

 That hurt.  I had no idea what he told people about me.

As I write this, and the experience is well over 20 years ago, I still feel a loss.  

Interestingly, I heard that the pastor and this church left that denomination and became an independent church.   

The church is very large and appears to be helping a lot of people.  So, I don't know what it all means.  

I do know, however, that God was very clear with me about leaving.  I'm not saying that the church is bad or the pastor is bad.  I'm just saying that particular church was not for me.  There are a lot of good people in that church, people who earnestly want to do what God desires.

I still pray for God's direction in that church.  

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

I was discouraged to say the least. Resting on a rock in the coolness of the night, I began to pray and look at the vast ocean of stars above my head. What was my purpose? Why was I here? I knew that God had more for me to do and experience but I was getting old. Much of my discouragement came from the fact that I knew I was getting old, and I had no sons to take care of my estate after my death. Call me old fashioned, but I just really thought it was important to pass on my possessions to the next generation.

As I rested and prayed, God revealed to me that I would be the father of many. I immediately thought of my age and my energy level. Even if this was true….how? My wife was past the age in which she could conceive a child (not to mention the lack of desire to take part in the “creative process”). I laugh about it now, because God has always been faithful to his word and I tend to listen to my fears. I was scared, confused and thought God was having a mental breakdown and needed a vacation. He promised me that day with a blood covenant of various animals. I suppose God knew something I didn’t know….like always.

Fast forward: God did what he said he would do. I found out, not only was God referring to my own blood line, but the promise He made also extended to people who embraced His son (very clever). Now, I have the opportunity to watch this story play out and I have made a couple observations about my “children”.

The one observation I can personally relate to has to do with God’s provision. Generation after generation has made the same mistake. No matter how many time God provides, we think that it was all a coincidence and God couldn’t possible do it again. We all know not to take God for granted, but this sentiment is taken so far to the extreme to the point where we don’t grant God the opportunity to show His power.

Finally, my children fail to remember that God can make future impossibilities a current reality. In the process our lives are changed and our capacity for deeper faith is increased. It is a difficult process to embrace, but pays infinite dividends if we choose to allow God to work.

Children, sometime soon, look into the sky and notice all the stars and realize something very important.  God’s blessings are not limited and He hasn’t even scratched the surface with you.

-Abraham

This is a post written by Rev. DeCrastos.  To see the original post go here:  http://otherwordsdotnet.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/abrahams-journal/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

Yesterday, we discussed four things that represent a real man, a Christian man.  Today, we conclude our discussion:

5.  The Christian man is free to be tender.  He no longer has to analyze everything objectively and express himself without feeling.  He is now strong enough to be gentle.  He will touch and hold and kiss his children & grandchildren as Jesus held the children of his day and loved them.  He will affirm others with words of truth and love and be generous with hugs and other physical expressions of encouragement.  He will let others affirm and love him.  He can laugh and cry with others like Jesus did.  

6.  The Christian man is free to forgive.  He will forgive others quickly and with a generous spirit as he has been forgiven by God.  A redeemed sinner, and in process himself, he can sympathize and empathize with the struggles of others.

7.  The Christian man is free to stand for righteousness.  He will influence the world by courageous speaking  the truth and acting on the truth he knows.  Once he was too insecure to stand up for what he believed, but now he is secure in Christ's love.  He has the courage to expose the fruitless behaviors of darkness and to model the fruitful lifestyle of light, love and truth.

8.  The Christian man is free to be concerned for the world around him.  No longer driven by a need to build external evidences of his worth, he can give himself and his money away.  He can work less to build his personal empire, and more to alleviate suffering, hunger and the conditions that lead to distress, disease and death.

The Christian man is free to live in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

The information from this post is taken from Temptations Men Face.

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.