Whom Shall I Fear Blog Hop
I am truly excited to be part of the My Paper Treehouse Whom Shall I Fear Blog Hop. This month we are focusing on the theme of Fear and we pray you find hope in the midst of any fear you may be experiencing. Join us as we showcase the talent the Lord has given us through projects that reflect what we know about God. The hop begins over at www.mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com, so if you just happened to find this blog, make sure to go on over there first. If you came from (Zeni's) blog, you are in the right place! Know that we are praying for you!
Before we can ask the question: "Whom shall I fear?", we must first define the word FEAR. According to Dictionary.com, Fear is "a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc. " It is interesting, though, that the original Webster's Dictionary (1828) defines fear as the following: 1. To feel a painful apprehension of some impending evil; to be afraid of; to consider or expect with emotions of alarm or solicitude. We fear the approach of an enemy or of a storm. We have reason to fear the punishment of our sins. When you contrast the end of the definition provided, you can tell that the reasons behind our fears have changed.
With that change has come great compromise and a HUGE loss of the reality of the greatest thing we should fear... GOD!In both definitions it is clear that fear comes from an expectancy of danger, pain, or evil. All of the threats that we face on earth can potentially take our physical lives away, but they have absolutely no power over what will happen with our souls. Interestingly enough, more people are afraid of speaking in public than they are of dying... and the truth is that to die apart from Christ would bring destruction to both body and soul.
You see, we fear losing our jobs, our children, our homes... We fear the dark, or changes that come our way... We fear thieves, and guns, and accidents; yet we refuse to fear the Lord. The Bible says that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10). I always wondered why this was true, until I came across the following verse: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28) God is the ONLY ONE who can destroy both your body and your soul! What a scary thought!
In both definitions it is clear that fear comes from an expectancy of danger, pain, or evil. All of the threats that we face on earth can potentially take our physical lives away, but they have absolutely no power over what will happen with our souls. Interestingly enough, more people are afraid of speaking in public than they are of dying... and the truth is that to die apart from Christ would bring destruction to both body and soul.
How is it that we do not FEAR this reality?
To be honest I myself didn't Fear this reality, oh I was very much aware of it though. I knew in the back of my mind I needed to find the road back to Christ, but it was not easy there was always something holding me back. Yes I can say that part of it was me, but my Pastor's wife Sonia always says that the enemy knows that if you come back he will have no control over you. Two weeks ago our entire household of 5 was getting ready for church when 5 minutes before we are ready to walk out I begin to get stomach pains, I'm like no way I have to go to church it's like a need. No one in the house was fighting or making excuses not to go right then I decided who is more powerful, why am I afraid? Then I remembered Psalm 27:1 " 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? " My God is in control of my life and my family's life, we have to go back to Exodus and remember when Moses was talking to his people in Chapter 14:13 "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. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
You see it's not easy standing firm because in life there are a lot of obstacles, but we need to remember the Fear of the Lord in both definitions, and ask yourself do I want to die without Christ in my life the answer is NO. Am I fearful of God? my answer is I respect that He is a powerful God, should I be afraid of what He can do. NO I am fearful of what my life would be without God. It is important that our relationship with God, through His son Jesus Christ, be solid. So that in the end we will have eternal life. So I will leave you with an excerpt of Exodus 14:13 "Do Not Be Afraid, Stand Firm"
For your next stop you have to hop on over to Tammy's Blog
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