Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Abandoned. Neglected. Alone.

Many of us share these painful struggles. Unfortunately, many of us have struggled with them from very early in life. People from dysfunctional families often feel that they were never acceptable to their parents. Many struggle with the feeling that they can never be good enough to receive attention. If reinforced by rejection or abandonment from friends, colleagues, or other significant people in our lives, we can easily conclude that we don't really 'belong' at all.

Humans have a deep longing to belong, to be emotionally bonded with others. Social isolation can be very painful to us. But social isolation may have felt like the only option open to us as children. Attempts at closeness may have meant experiencing control, abuse, rejection or loss. We may have pulled away to protect ourselves, even though it left us lonely and afraid.

God comes to our lonely, anxious hearts and whispers our name. God says "I see both the fear you have of closeness and the deep longing you have to belong. I have come to comfort you and to respond to your need. I have been seeking relationship with you. You belong. You belong to me. You are my child."

It may frighten us - this invitation to belong to God - even though we long for it. It may frighten us because we expect pain and disappointment, over-control and rejection. But gradually, as we continue the healing process, we can allow God to meet this deep need. We can allow ourselves to belong more and more to God.

Help me, God, to allow myself to belong to you. 
Thank you for calling me by name. 
Thank you for saying 'you are mine'.
I want to belong to you, God.
Help me to heal, Great Physician,
So that I can accept my place in your family. 
Take away my fear, Father, 
give me the courage to belong to you.

Amen

Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan
National Association for Christian Recovery

Why do we give God the credit when things go well? Do we think, for some reason, he orchestrated the event? Or, is it possible we feel that He heard our prayer and provided us with mercy and resources? When things do not go well, we pray that God will make it all better and say we trust in Him to get us though. In all these scenarios, we act as if God has some sort of power, and even loves us. This can’t be true… Why? Because sometimes my fear feels like fact.

Obviously, there is a level of sarcasm in the previous paragraph. There are not many people I know that would state these things out loud. An informal survey among people who call themselves church going Christians would yield great answers concerning the work of God. One would hear the amazing stories of how God has brought people through addiction, divorce, the loss of a family member, and even financial difficulty. In return and overwhelming majority would agree that God can be trusted and should be followed. They may even regularly talk about their pastor’s sermons and how he/ she has challenged them to give their whole self to God. There would be no disagreement with this…until it comes to actually doing it.

Here is the problem with following God. He has brought us through so much, has provided for us, and has even shown us miracles, but sometimes it is not convenient to trust Him. We love seeing the impossible made possible, but we would rather not provide the space for Him to do more than we could even ask or imagine. This occurs most often when we talk about finances. We acknowledge that God has given us these resources in the first place, but our behavior states that we cannot trust Him with them. Fear overcomes.

In today’s culture, the average Christian gives a little over 2 percent of their income to God’s kingdom. This is usually after all the bills are paid and it is deemed possible by our standards. In the same regard, we will pray fervently for God to bless our finances. How can God bless something we never hand over for Him to bless? It is like asking the mechanic to fix your car but never allowing the mechanic to look at it.

Truly trust in God today. 
Test Him to see if He actually keeps His promises.

This post was written by Rev DeCrastos.  For the original post, go to:  http://other-words.net/2012/11/06/fear-shaped-living/

When a woman marries a man, she’s trusting him with the rest of her life that he won’t hit her, cheat on her, that he’ll work hard, that he’ll pay the bills, that he’ll love their children, that he’ll finish the race well, that he’ll walk with Jesus until the end, that if she gets sick, he’ll look after her, that if she is dying, he will be faithful to her. 


Gentlemen, it is a terrifying thing for a woman to trust a sinful man.

Every man who reads this, even the best men among us, has areas of repentance and growth that are required.

As a man, I don’t think I fully understood this until I had daughters, and now I have some understanding of that fear. The thought of taking one of my daughters and walking them down the aisle and handing them to a man and trusting that he will love them and protect them and serve them and care for them and look after them, it causes me fear and grave concern.

DON'T GIVE WOMEN A REASON TO FEAR

Women have legitimate fears, and what Peter is saying is that men need to be a particular way so those fears are alleviated. And I love his words, “in an understanding way, showing honor.” 

That’s a man.

Now as I say this, many of you guys will nod your head and say, “Yeah, that’s me.”

No, you’re not. So let me practically unpack this for you. 

Every man who reads this, even the best men among us, has areas of repentance and growth that are required. 

This week, I want to talk to you men about some ways to honor and love the woman that has committed herself to you.

This post is adapted from The Mars Hill blog.  It can be found at:  http://marshill.com/2010/12/14/how-to-honor-your-wife/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob, with swords and clubs, was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. His betrayer had given them a sign: “The One I kiss, He’s the One; arrest Him!”   So he went right up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.   “Friend,” Jesus asked him, “why have you come?” Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested Him.   At that moment one of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword. He struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up a sword will perish by a sword.   Or do you think that I cannot call on My Father, and He will provide Me at once with more than 12 legions of angels?  How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”

Watch TV and you’ll hear the Name of God the Father and God the Son mocked, used in vain, used to curse, and many other ways that deny the holiness, beauty, majesty, power, glory, and wonder of who He is.  Watch movies and listen to music and you’ll find the same things.  In fact, go out into the marketplace and you’ll hear these same abuses of the beautiful Name of our Savior.  And yet, short of boycotting some products or writing letters/emails or phoning TV stations or sending petitions, you’ll not really see any other visible demonstration of outrage from Christians.

And yet, throughout the world we see angry people causing all manner of evil due to the denigration of the name of their prophet.  What’s the difference?  Why don’t Christians burn down things when Jesus is mocked?  Just a few thoughts…

1. There is coming a day when Jesus will make all things right and all who were mockers of His Name will bow at His Name and confess He is Lord.  There is a sense in which I don’t have to defend the honor of Jesus’ Name…He’s quite capable of defending Himself, thank you.  And on that day when every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father, the mockers will be put to shame for eternity.  I might be angry for a day.  The wrath of God will be poured out for eternity.

2. When the Name of Jesus is mocked, every Christian should remember that s/he once mocked Jesus, too.  We were all by nature children of wrath fully deserving the full wrath of God.  And yet our God showed us mercy and grace through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  While fully responsible for actions, we were acting in ignorance according to our natures.  But when God said, “Let there be light” in our hearts, we saw for the first time the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  We then saw our sin for what it was and the beauty of Christ for who He is and we repented and trusted in the finished work of Jesus to save us.  So, instead of burning things up when others mock Jesus, we show patience knowing the Savior was patient with us.

3. Which leads us to the work we should do now.  Instead of burning things up, we warn and plead with those who mock the Savior to repent of their sin and turn to Christ.  If we truly love Christ, we will love making much of Him to sinners knowing He came to save sinners.  Because we have been forgiven much, we will want others to know of the beauty of His grace poured out on sinners.  We will warn these mockers of the fire of hell which will never die out.  The work we do isn’t to defend the honor of His Name but to herald His Name as we seek reconciliation between God and man through the preaching of the gospel.

4.  All of this reminds us that Jesus is the living, resurrected Lord.  Jesus continues to be at work even today, right now.  The Holy Spirit works through us as we make much of Jesus who is risen from the dead.  We have a story to tell.  Jesus is coming again and will make all things right.  We don’t have to defend the honor of a dead man…He’s alive!

I pray that those who feel the need to defend the name and honor of a dead man will see the glory of the true and living Lord who has made a way of escape from the wrath of God through His death and resurrection.  Let us pray that their blinded eyes will be opened to the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life who is the only way to the true Father of all.

This post is from Mike Lee.  The original post can be found here:  http://mikelee1963.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/why-we-dont-burn-down-things-when-jesus-is-mocked/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Sometimes it takes me a little longer than usual to go to sleep. My mind is kept awake by the rehearsing of my schedule for the next day, different concerns regarding the previous day, and whether or not I will be able to sleep because of these thoughts presently. The fact is worry, concern, or anxiety is hard to get away from. I can take a vacation, but often it takes me half of the time period to clear my mind and focus on the present relaxation. No matter how relaxed we seem to be, we may always have some degree of concern for the future. This is a part of our culture. Some people justify this concern by saying that they are wanting to prepare for a number of different scenerios. Others would say that it is a result of using our time wisely. Sure, preparation for everyday tasks and appointments is extremely important, but the moment it grows to anxiety is a symptom of something greater. Wouldn’t it be great if our lives were not controlled by fear? The “what if” that floats around our heads regularly….

The Bible tells us that this dream can actually become a reality. We can actually place our burdens upon the shoulders of Jesus. Often this makes us uncomfortable, because we think that He may be too busy. Truth be told…I have thought that at times. 


Then I think about God’s character. 


He is all knowing, all loving, all powerful… The one who created the universe can surely bear my burdens.

Ultimately, no amount of information gathering (or worrying) in the present can fully prepare us for what is to come. We can be assured, however, that Jesus is already waiting for us at the intersection of now and tomorrow. Only He can give us true peace in knowing that He has everything under control.

No Jesus no peace….Know Jesus know peace.

This post was written by Rev DeCrastos.  You can find the original post with comments here:  
http://otherwordsdotnet.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/manufacturing-fear/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

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.