Tag: Fear

³⁹ “But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber. ~ John 18:39–40

Pilate had just finished interviewing Jesus again. He could not find any fault or any reason to put Jesus to death. No matter how desperately he sought to find a way out of crucifying Jesus because he knew Jesus did not deserve capital punishment.

So, thinking he could somehow catch the Jews between a rock and a hard place, so to speak, he offered them a deal he knew they could not refuse. “You know I always release one prisoner of your choosing at Passover. Now, I have here this murdering robber, Barabbas, whom I could release, but he is such a menace and a threat to society, I have no choice but to release Jesus, the King of the Jews, to you.”

But in unison, they all shouted, “No, no, not this man, give us Barabbas.”

They did not even use His name; they called Him this man. The one who came to redeem them. The One sent by God as their promised Messiah, they did not even bother to call  Him by His name.

Understand this, God does not force Himself upon anyone. We must choose to serve Him. We must choose to accept Him. It is never His choosing. If it was, the whole world would be saved since the Scriptures say:

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

God does not want anyone to perish, but we must choose not to perish. We must choose Jesus over Barabbas. The next time you are faced with choosing to do the right thing, as a pose to choosing the wrong thing, choose right.

Don’t worry about what others might say or what others might do, do what is right and choose Jesus. It is always in our choices. Even when the crowd is yelling crucify, do not be led astray; think before you choose. There is always a right way and a wrong way to choose. There is always a right thing, and a wrong thing to choose, so, be careful what you choose.

Father, please help us to choose the right thing. Open our spiritual eyes to see so that we are not misled by the crowd. Give us discernment that we might choose the right and forsake the wrong; in Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

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⁹ Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ~ Matthew 24:9-13

A time is coming and is now here when good will be called evil and evil will be called good. Sin and debauchery will be celebrated. Vileness and shameful things will be lifted up and proclaimed as wholesome and good. Christians will be arrested and thrown in prison, all for the sake of the Gospel. They will be beaten and their property confiscated. They will be seen as the enemy of the state, and their freedom will be revoked, but don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will be with us.

It’s more important now than it ever has been before to spread the Truth of the LORD. To share the Gospel of Christ with others. To shine a Light in the darkness. Jesus warned us ahead of time of the coming tribulation and great deception. They’re both knocking at our door. Fear is going before them, telling us that it won’t come to pass, especially not in our time. God won’t let anything bad happen to His faithful believers. These lies won’t help your endurance; they will only hinder your race. They’ll only hinder your faith. These days are coming whether we like it or not. So, strengthen your faith. Prepare for the coming times. If it doesn’t come in our time, then you would have only strengthened your faith and therefore built more treasures in heaven. But if it comes in our lifetime, and we are unprepared, how will we be able to stand?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For The Coming Times.

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⁶ And He said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. ⁷ Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. ⁸ With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” ~ Numbers 12:6-8

There’s no denying that the LORD loved Moses. God spoke to Moses face to face. He didn’t speak in riddles or parables, but clearly so that Moses could always understand. God’s love for Moses is special, which got me thinking, why? Why did the LORD love Moses so much? Abraham was loved because of his faith, but Moses didn’t really seem to have such a strong faith when he was called. David was a man after God’s own heart; Moses isn’t ever described in this way. Neither is Moses described like Job or Noah as being righteous. So, what was so special about Moses?

Moses sought God like very few people do. Moses was willing to enter into the unknown darkness that terrified everyone else there because he knew that’s where the presence of the LORD was (Exodus 20:21). When Moses saw the burning bush, God didn’t call to him until Moses stopped to investigate why the bush wasn’t being consumed (Exodus 3:2-4). When the people were afraid to even hear the voice of God again, Moses went up to the mountain of God and sought Him even more (Exodus 20:19).

There was never a time when Moses was satisfied with his relationship with God. He always wanted more. He always sought more. This is the way God desires us to be. God draws near to those who draw near to Him (James 4:8). God has done His part. He created you, called you, and died for you; it’s now your turn. It’s your turn to seek His face. It’s your turn to draw near to the darkness where God is. It’s your turn to go up to the mountain, regardless of how terrifying it may seem. There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:8).

Yes, our God is perfect. He’s Holy. There cannot be unrighteousness with God. No, we aren’t perfect. No, we aren’t fully holy or righteous, but that’s the beauty of the cross. In the time of Moses, there was no redemption or grace. Disobedience could lead to immediate death. Nevertheless, Moses, unsaved and without grace, entered the presence of Almighty God and sought His face without fear. Therefore, in a time of grace and repentance through the precious blood of Jesus, how can we do anything but seek the face of God?

God’s desire from the very beginning was to be amongst mankind. God came down to speak with Adam in the cool of the day. God walked and talked with Enoch. God was a friend of Abraham. God leaves all of Heaven to dwell on the New Earth with mankind in eternity. Why? Because God’s dwelling is with mankind (Revelation 21:3). It’s with us. He doesn’t want to be separated from us. He died so that we can be together always.

So, don’t fear the LORD to where you won’t enter His presence or seek His face. His desire is that all come to repentance and none perish (2 Peter 3:9). Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Seek His face, and you will find Him. Repent, and you will be saved. Trust Him, and He will perfect you in His perfect love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Fear His Presence.

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¹¹ The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, “Watchman, what time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?” ~ Isaiah 21:11

Today we are living in a time of trepidation—a time of perplexity. Fear is weaponized, and the people cower from it. Panic is on every side. One word, whether it’s real or not real, sends the population into a frenzy, causing lines upon lines. For them, the modus operandi is “create a crisis. Bring the solution. Enjoy your desired outcome.” It’s like enjoying the spoils of war.

Fear is like a liquid toxin that saturates the people and causes them to think irrationally. It is like Stockholm Syndrome sets in. The victims are forced to compromise their lives and the lives of their loved ones, yet they sincerely believe the perpetrators are looking out for their best interests. It’s their coping mechanism for survival.

If anyone tries to explain the flaws in their way of thinking, they will fly into a rage and defend the perpetrators even though it is plain they mean them great harm. They never actually get around to asking the right questions or hearing the right answers.

Watchman, what time of the night?
Watchman, what time of the night?

There is a question we all need to ask at this hour in our history of time, for there is an appointed time—a time appointed by God Himself when He will judge all the earth. There is a time of night that is coming. Do you see the sun setting? Do you notice the times? Are you preparing for those times? Now isn’t the time to allow fear to control you and cause you to come to a halt or to hide your head in the sand. Now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to store up food in your storehouses. Strengthen your foundation and build on the sturdy, unshakeable Rock. We are each called to be watchmen. We are each expected to know the season and recognize the signs. Don’t let the panic and hysteria of the world grab hold of you. You aren’t a part of this world. You don’t belong to this world, so don’t be bound by the strongholds of this world. Stand on the Rock.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch For Coming The Night.

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⁴ And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ~ Exodus 32:4

The Israelites had to wander the wilderness for forty years because of fear. Moses was gone a little longer than they thought he should be. So, fear crept in, and they forgot all the LORD had just done for them. They had just been taken out of Egypt, where they had been slaves for 400 years. They had just experienced a great victory, an amazing breakthrough, but at the first sign of possible trouble, the enemy snuck in and began to influence them. They fell right back into the same idolatry God had just personally freed them from. Even though GO had just lifted this loke of slavery to those false gods of Egypt, the first sign of possible trouble caused them to run back to that familiar yoke of slavery that had become all too familiar to them. It had become a safe place for them. Today, the Church is no different.

Today, the Church continues to return to their past yokes of slavery, even though whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Even though we literally have God-Himself dwelling inside of us. It’s not because we outright just want to abide in sin; it’s because at the first sign of trouble, just like the Israelites of old, we return to that familiar, comforting yoke of slavery where we feel safe. The reason we feel safe is because the enemy isn’t being aggressive to his slave in chains and bondage. The enemy becomes aggressive and tries to intimidate his opponent, that is endowed in the full Armor of God, because he knows that if he can intimidate you, you will willingly take off your protective armor and return to the yoke of slavery on your own.

If the enemy can get you to take off the full Armor of God and return to your yoke of slavery, you’re no longer a threat to him. He knows that when we are walking in the full Gospel of the LORD, filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, then no word formed against us will ever prosper because we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. So, he has to use something like fear and doubt to get us to remove our hedge of protection around us, just as he did with the Israelites over 3,000 years ago. Don’t let the enemy keep you from your freedom by filling your heart with fear. Remember who you are in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Keep Your Full Armor On.

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³⁰ But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” ³¹ Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” ³² So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. ³³ And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” ~ Numbers 13:30–33

In 2006, Mel Gibson released a movie entitled, Apocalypto, based on the Mayans and their culture. In the film, the chief of a tribe warns his son of allowing fear into his heart because of the refugees they had just encountered, fleeing their homes and seeking a new start. This is what he tells him,

Fear is a sickness. It will crawl into the soul of anyone who engages it. It has tainted your peace already. I did not raise you to see you live with fear. Strike it from your heart. Do not bring it into our village.

Flint Sky,
Apocalypto

God told the people of Israel to go in and take the land because He was giving it to them as their inheritance. But the spies who went in to spy out the land, except for Caleb and Joshua, returned with fear in their hearts because of the Nephilim, and they spread fear through the whole camp and made the people too afraid to take what was theirs.

Fear leads to defeat, even before you start. Not one arrow flew, not one sword was drawn, not one rock flew out of a sling, but they were already defeated. What is happening now in our world is the unleashing of fear as a weapon, not only as a weapon but as a tool to keep people compliant. It silences Christians as we watch our world fall deeper and deeper into darkness. It stops us from even trying and spreads to those around us like a disease. Striking down each victim starting in their heart.

There’re many giants that we have to face in this world. Some will be scarier than others, but we have to strike fear from our hearts lest it consumes us and we fall subject to it. The only way to overcome our fear is to have faith in the love that God has for us. If He’s called you to do something, then you stand in faith, knowing that the LORD is and will fight for you. All you have to do is keep moving forward.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Strike It From Your Heart.

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²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ~ Matthew 6:27

⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:6-7

Oftentimes, the Church falls for the lies of the enemy. How? This is what we say, “Well, I did everything I know to do. I guess the only thing I can do now is to pray.” Prayer, or seeking Jesus, is not our last resort. It is not the thing we can do after all else fails. No! Prayer is what we do first. Our attitude should be:

Let me take it to the LORD in prayer, first.

But instead, we wrestle with things that we could give over to the LORD. We stay awake all night worrying about things that we can’t control and things that will never happen. There are studies that show that anywhere between 85-91 percent of what we worry about never comes to pass. I even saw a post where it basically said something like, “Worrying works because 90% of what we worry about never happens.” This is one of the biggest lies of the enemy.

Worrying is counterproductive, not only from a physical standpoint but a spiritual one. Because when we worry and refuse to go to God, we are calling Him a liar. We’re saying that He won’t protect us. He won’t rescue us even if He’s promised that He will. Even if He’s never failed before. Why do we do this? Because we know that God can do all things, but we don’t fully believe it. We don’t believe it in our hearts, only in our minds.

In order for faith to overcome fear, we must believe the Scripture with all that is in us, even if it doesn’t happen overnight. Even if it takes constant prayer. Even if it takes reciting the same verses over and over again until we believe it with all that is in us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Believe With Everything In You.

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⁸ He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. ¹¹ Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, ¹² I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which He commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” ~ 1 Samuel 13:8-11

Saul’s lack of faith in the LORD and in the man of God led to Saul becoming impatient and destroying his future and his children’s future. Samuel gave Saul a set time to wait for him, but when Samuel didn’t show up at the exact time Saul expected him, Saul began to panic and took matters into his own hands. He allowed his fear of the enemy and the lack of time to overtake him. Today we are no different.

Some of us are given a call or promise from God that we feel should come in a certain amount of time, and when it doesn’t, we begin to panic and try to force it to come sooner or come through closed doors that we force open. The fear of missing our opportunity can lead us to not only miss our opportunity but endanger our children’s future as well. We can’t allow the fear of running out of time to keep us from following God’s perfect timeline. God isn’t slow to fulfilling promises as we count slowness; instead, He is always on time, bringing things to fruition at the perfect time.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Have Faith in the God of Time.

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²⁴ Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” ~ 1 Samuel 15:24

Saul was a beloved king chosen by God Himself to be the first king of His chosen people, yet Saul feared the people. He was a great leader that the LORD had shown His grace and love upon, yet for Saul, it wasn’t enough. From the moment Saul was chosen by the LORD, he responded with self-doubt that he wasn’t good enough. This led to the need to be loved and accepted by the people of Israel regardless of whether or not he was dwelling in the will of God. This was because he feared being rejected by the people and risked being rejected by God.

This is how we are today. We are so afraid of being rejected by society that we push away the love and grace of God. The spirit of rejection is one of the most dangerous spirits that can take root in us because the spirit of rejection breeds fear in us. When we are filled with fear, we can’t please God because we have a lack of faith and love in God. The only way to overcome the spirit of fear is to embrace the love of God. Only in the love of God does fear disappear, and faith begins to grow.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Embrace The Love of God.

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