Fear Will Not Win!

 Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his first inaugural speech, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” It seems that FDR is referring to the effects of fear on a person, not the actual fear that is felt. So how do you alleviate fear? Many turn to the Bible for comfort when fear creeps into their lives.

“Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod
and your staff comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4). This is probably one of the most well-known Scriptures quoted from the Bible. Its words provide such comfort and peacefulness to those who hear them. The fear that has built within your heart seems to just dissipate.

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you” (Isaiah 41:13) This Scripture evokes an image of a father lovingly extending his hand to a frightened child and lends his strength and comfort to that child. One of the most comforting things is to have someone sit beside you and just hold your hand. This comforting gesture gives you a feeling of safety, that you are not alone and that you just need to reach out and your heavenly Father will grab hold and walk you through your fears.

“Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.’” (Exodus 13:14-15). Even though Moses lived centuries ago, in a land so far removed from modern-day life, his words still ring out and hold the same conviction as they did all those years ago. The Lord will always wrap his arms around you and keep you safe from your adversaries. He will remove the fear from your heart and guide you towards a peacefulness that calms your spirit and gives you renewed hope and strength.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Stand firm, even when you are feeling defeated and the fear has seeped into your entire being. The Lord is there beside you through your trials and He will continue to lift you up and ease the fears that are entrenched in your heart. He knows every secret crevice of your heart and He knows the fear that is residing there, he will never leave you even though he knows your deepest terrors and secrets.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7) The Lord gave us the power within ourselves to stand up to the fears that invade our beings. He has empowered us and given us the tools to not cower in the corner but to step forth and defeat those who are trying to intimidate us and make us cower in a corner and from the bullies of this world, whether these bullies be human or circumstance.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?...Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.” (Psalm 27:1, 3) This is another very well-known Scripture that calms the fears of people and makes the fears recede to the background and empowers you to stand against the fear that is gnawing at your heart and soul. With the Lord standing beside you, there is no one or nothing that can embed fear into you. He will keep his arms around you and protect you from any fear that tries to invade your calmness.

Many more Scriptures address fear and how to help alleviate it before it becomes all-consuming, paralyzing fear. With the Lord standing guard over you and swatting all the enemies away before they can fully embed within your soul and cause you an uneasiness that alters the way you live your life. The enemy will try to force his way into your heart and cause you to doubt the love that the Lord has for you, but remember the promises that the Lord has given throughout the Bible to always stand with you. “The only thing to fear is fear itself”, fear is only a feeling that can be dispelled by grabbing hold of the Lord’s hand and keeping your eyes firmly focused upon the cross.

Satisfied

 “I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor will I satisfy with food.” Psalm 132:15

When you first read through Psalm 132 verse 15 your immediate thought would be that the Lord is referring to food that you eat; and that is what I first thought as well. Throughout the Bible, the Lord speaks plenty of providing food, shelter, and clothing for His people but in this vers,e He is giving us His promise to fulfill our Spiritual needs. Though food for our bodies is essential to our survival, food for our souls through God’s word is essential for our relationship with the Lord.

Without growing in the Lord we, the church, and we, the individual Christian, become stagnant and stunted.

Without fulfillment of our Spiritual needs, we become distant from our heavenly Father. He wants to have a close relationship with us and promises that if we call out to Him he will be there for us. 

This promise is revisited in Matthew 5:3-6, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” How can you be “poor in spirit”?

When you do not feel the love of Jesus covering you in all you do you are poor in spirit. When you do not feel a peace within your soul that is when you are poor in spirit.

We are all hungry and thirsty for righteousness – believers and unbelievers alike. This is a righteousness that we can never earn through work or buy with money or jewels. It is righteousness offered to us through the promises of the Lord: “her poor I will satisfy with food”.

I know I am being fed the word of God and He is filling my soul with peace and love. Not long ago my soul was at poverty level as I was too stubborn to reach up to the cross and ask for Him to fill my hunger. I just knew I could go it alone, face any demon that crossed my path, and come out the victor. When I finally did an emotional face-plant into the mud and muck I came to the realization that He has been there all along waiting patiently for me, His stubborn daughter, to lift up my arms and ask to be carried.

Hope -- It's Such a Small Word

People have turned to the Scriptures for centuries for comfort and to find hope in dealing with situations that seem hopeless or buried in despair.  To have hope in an unseen entity takes a great belief. Through the Bible, there are so many instances of people standing against adversity with the hope that the Lord will deliver them from the situation in which they are being persecuted. 

There are so many scriptures in the Bible that pertain to hope.

Hebrews 11:1, Proverbs 24:20, Proverbs 24:14, and Jeremiah 29:11 cover hope for the future.

Proverbs 24:19-20 -- "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of wicked men for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out."

The hopes of a true believer do not lie in things of this world but in the promise of everlasting life through Jesus Christ. Evil or wicked men in this life are not to be envied for their Earthly possessions or what seems their good fortunes for those who are washed in the blood of Christ will be given the ultimate reward in heaven.

Proverbs 24:14 -- "Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off."

A righteous man when he walks with the Lord, listens to His words, and gains wisdom will always have hope for the future and peace in knowing that the Lord will continue to provide.

Jeremiah 29:11 -- "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

The Lord will not forsake you when you walk with Him. He knows the paths He wants you to follow. He will provide you with the hope and future that He has arranged for you as you continue to grow and learn in your faith.

Titus 1:1-2, Titus 3:7, 1 Corinthians 4:16-18, and 1 Peter 1:3 relate to hope of Eternal Life and Salvation

Titus 1:1-2 -- "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies promised before the beginning of time,"

Before the Lord sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, He promised eternal life to those who believed in Him. After Jesus came to Earth and died for our sins, the Lord still promised eternal life for those who believed in Him and come to Him through His son.

Titus 3:7 -- "so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

Once again we are reminded that the Lord has promised eternal life for those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts and live according to the word of God.

1 Corinthians 15:19 -- "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied by more than all men."

The covenant was given by the Lord that those who believe in Him will have eternal life. By having that hope and the expectation of eternal life, we know that we will always be sheltered by the Lord. We are not to be pitied for our hope but joyful in our knowledge that we will have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 -- "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Even though these verses do not have the word hope, the meaning within them inspires hope. Although we are aging day by day and our bodies are becoming more and more frail, we still have the hope and the promise of eternal life. We know that as we walk through this fallen world, we will face pain, grief, and tribulation as well as love, joy, and contentment. But we also know that we do not truly belong in this world, we are called to a higher place once we have completed the tasks set before us here.

1 Peter 1:3 -- "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"

This is another example of how the Lord has given us the promise of eternal life and that we will achieve perfection when we leave this world.

Throughout the Book of Romans, we are given uplifting words of hope.

Romans 5:2-5 -- "Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

The love of the Lord is so pure and we know that through our love and commitment to Him, we will obtain eternal life. It is this hope that sees us through the darkness of this fallen world and allows us to see the light and the path that He has chosen for us.

Romans 8:24-25 -- "For in this hope, we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

We cannot see or touch the Lord but we can see His hand in the blessings and miracles around us in this world. We have to have hope while moving through this world, even though we cannot see our Lord or the promise of eternal life.

Romans 15:4 -- "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope"

We are taught to learn from history and the Bible is a history book as well as a guidebook. Therefore, we must learn from the missteps of those who walked before us. We have a sense of hope as we read through the Bible and we know that through our hope and love for our Lord, we will obtain eternal life.

Romans 15:13 -- "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Many times we can see a light shining forth from a person and we know that they have hope in the Lord and peace in the promise of eternal life. The Holy Spirit resides within their heart and the hope that they feel shines from deep within their soul.

The Bible offers scriptures of hope when dealing with a crisis.

Psalm 27:4-5 -- "One thing I asked of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.  For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."

When facing tribulations or stumbling blocks, we must remember to keep our eyes securely fastened upon the Lord and He will protect us and keep our enemies at bay. The Lord will pick us up and dust us off when we fall into the dirt face first and he will heal our wounds when we are attacked.

Mark 5:35-36 -- "While Jesus was still speaking, some med came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler, “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why trouble the Teacher any more?” Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”"

Even though we cannot see the Lord or know His plans for us, we do know that He will always be there for us even when we doubt. Our faith will endure even through our missteps and our grief.

Scriptures were taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version.

No Half Measures

 "My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19

Wow, what a promise that our Lord God has given. He will meet all our needs -- we will be taken

care of and given the things we need. "According to his glorious riches in Jesus Christ" refers to those who believe and follow Jesus Christ. He died for us this we know. What we have a hard
time grasping is that He provides for us and while we struggle here on Earth, He is there with us
and waiting for us to call out to Him. Our will and pride are our downfall -- are too proud to ask
for His help and too stubborn to admit that we need Him.

There have been times when I have been so down or broken and so stubborn that I suffered in
silence for a time (sometimes a very long time) before falling to my knees and asking the Lord
God to step in and help. Once I humbled myself and asked for help, He stepped in and took
care of my needs. 

One example I would like to share is when my daughter was about three years old. I was driving an old minivan, and I knew I needed a newer vehicle. I was diligently saving my pennies. One day, when I turned the van on, smoke started filling the van, and sparks could be seen coming from the vicinity of the radio. I shut the engine off and barreled out of the van, snatched my daughter from her car seat, and called my dad. 

I was in a shopping center parking lot with a crying toddler and a smoking van. I was on the verge of tears. When my dad got there, he pulled the radio out and looked at the wiring behind it—all the wires were melted together! He drove the van home that day, and I drove his car. 

But because I still did not have enough pennies saved to get another dependable vehicle I still had
to drive this van; a fire extinguisher now rode shot-gun. One month after this incident I got a call
from a family friend who had just passed a minivan that was for sale and that I needed to call on
it. So I did, the price was right and the mileage was low so I went to look at it. I test-drove it and
knew God had provided me with a much-needed dependable vehicle. I bought it on the spot and
to this day I still have that minivan, it is getting less and less fuel efficient but getting me to
where I need to go without having to keep a fire extinguisher handy. 

I praise the Lord often for my little minivan. I know I would never have been able to afford it without Him beside me.

Trust is Such a Small Word

Trust in yourself.
Trust in others.
Trust in the Lord.
 

All three are scary statements. It has taken me a very long time to pull myself up from the rubble of my past and put one foot in front of the other. My steps led me straight to the base of the cross where I fell to my knees and thanked my God for never leaving me, even when I was stubborn and turned my back. 

I set my burdens before the cross and handed control to the Lord, only to stand up and snatch it all back again when I felt He was moving too slowly or just did not care. I failed to hear His soft whisper, "Wait and trust." 

When your world begins to crumble, the first thing you do is look for someone to blame. Am I right? You look at your boss, co-workers, spouse, child, parents, friends...everyone but yourself. You may even raise your eyes to the heavens and shout at God, blaming Him for your troubles. I know I have been guilty of this. 

Instead of sitting in silence and speaking with God, I railed at Him, pleaded with Him, and then simply ignored Him and plowed ahead with some type of plan I created on my own (doomed for failure, mind you!). When I would fail yet again, I would lose all trust in myself and my abilities. Those failures also led me to lose trust in those around me because they could not stop my fall or lift me up out of the ashes. 

Learning to trust again is one of the scariest things a person can ever do. It takes baby steps and for those of us used to standing up and sprinting toward the finish line, those baby steps can be terrifying and irritating. Spending a few minutes in prayer before opening yourself up to trust a situation or person will give you the answers you seek. The Lord will speak to your heart, you have to TRUST that He will guide you. 

By opening your heart to the Lord, you are saying "Please help guide me. I trust in You." 

Spend 10 minutes in the morning, before your day becomes hectic and life pulls you in all different directions, and ask the Lord to keep His hand on you and guide your steps. Then trust that He will do just that. 

At the end of the day, before you close your eyes at night, give praise to the Lord for all the small things He did to help you through the day. Your trust in Him will grow with each passing day, and your trust in yourself and those around you will also begin to grow until you become the amazing person God created you to be.

Teach By Example

 Sometimes in the craziness of life, we forget what is truly important. Taking the time to sit quietly with the Lord and building your relationship with your Father is as important as the air we breathe. We lead by example and when we forget to stop and pray, our children see this. When we fail to strengthen our relationship with Jesus through prayer and meditation, our children see this. 

Show your children that your strength comes from God, not from your own power. Teach them the importance of fighting battles on your knees rather then by running your mouth or using your fists. Beat anxiety away by lifting your arms in praise. 

~Rev. Micki

Harassment Through Text Messaging

I never thought this would happen to me. I am an adult woman, educated, ordained and kind. Therefore, when I started getting text messages from a number I did not know I politely told them they had the wrong number and thought that was the end of it.

How wrong I was!

I began getting more and more messages from this unknown person proclaiming that I am some man named Gabe (after dealing with this irrational person, I actually feel very sorry for this Gabe). This unknown person keeps vacillating between pleading with the Gabe guy to love her and to take her back to cursing and proclaiming that Gabe had given her a disease. She then claims that I must be Gabe's new girlfriend named Rebecca and she curses even more.

It is vulgar and rather disgusting that someone is so willing to send these types of rants through text messaging to someone they have never even met! I hate to put her number on here but feel that if she sees this she might realize that she is pleading with the wrong person to come back to her...the number that comes up is 636-524-9679.

I have time and again told her she has the wrong number but she persists in sending messages. Being a minister, I have tried to reason with this person and explain that she was wrong. However, nothing seems to work.

Therefore, I am turning to my Prayer Warriors.

Prayer Warriors, I am requesting that you add this lost soul to your prayers. She is confused, hurt and vulgar...but she is still one of God's children. I feel that the Lord has put this lost soul in my path for a reason and it is my hope that she realizes that she is sending these rather vulgar text messages to the wrong person. Prayer for peace in her life and that she reaches out for our Lord and Savior is much needed. Also, prayer for me as I navigate this rather interesting situation. I do not know the girl's name, but the Lord knows.

Thank you, my Prayer Warriors.

Yours in Christ,
Rev. Michelle