BLOGGING TOWARD SUNDAY…

I’ve now been in the ministry for most of my adult life…20 years as a minister of music, and now almost 21 years as a pastor, and I can tell you that I have come to understand that it is fear which lies at the root of almost every human problem. We are afraid of failure, afraid of success, afraid of looking bad, afraid of the future, afraid of what might happen to us, afraid of losing our jobs, afraid that something bad might happen to our loved ones, afraid of not understanding, afraid of being drawn into issues we would rather avoid. The plain and simple truth is that we live in a state of constant fear and anxiety.

If you will read your Bibles carefully, you’ll find that Jesus knew and recognized the problem of fear, and he wants us to be free of it. The very first words spoken by the angels to the shepherds were “fear not.” Jesus said to Peter, “fear not.” Jesus said to the disciples, “fear not, little flock.”Jesus said to Mary at the tomb, “Fear not.”

Paul wrote that God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power and love. The author of Hebrews wrote that “perfect love casts out fear.”

And that, brothers and sisters , is the secret! When we finally understand the height and depth and width of God’s unconditional love for us, our fears disappear! God’s perfect love for us casts out our fear, and we learn to live fully and freely, secure in the knowledge that nothing we can ever do, say, think, or become can separate us from that amazing love.

Filed under: Blogging Toward Sunday