It the most frequent command from our Lord! The ONLY thing to fear is the Lord, our God!!! He is the only one worthy of our fear!
------------------------------------This week I received a whole new understanding of the verse, "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. (John 8:32)"
What is truth? "...Your Word is Truth!!! (John 17:17)"
I have realized the importance of knowing the Truth of Scripture to be able to stand against the lies of the enemy, and the truth has made me free!!!
I have found lately, especially when struggling with fear, when I hold to the truth... in this case, that only the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of my fear and my worship, I can reject the lie that is fear of everything else.
I found a great anti-fear verse yesterday... it talks about the antidote to fear, LOVE!
I love truth and love! They are the polar opposite to fear.
So, 1 John 4:16-19
"We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; for we are as He is in this world. There is no fear in love; instead perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He loved us first!"
This paragraph is so often quoted that almost everyone is familiar with portions of it, but I had never heard taught what I am about to point out...
The antidote to fear: "The one who fears has not reached perfection in love". Why have I not heard this more strongly emphasized? I have been fearful for so long, and it has all been centered on lies, and the truth has set me free.. but now I know what to do if I ever find myself becoming fearful again, it is probably because I am believing some lie, or because I have not reached perfection in love. So, if we find ourselves fearful, LOVE MORE! Draw near to God and concentrate on His love and your love for Him. His promises to be your shelter, the fact that "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world". The fact that God is "in your midst" and "near", that He is our "dwelling place" and our "strong fortress".
Do a concordance search on "God is". That guy is nothing short of absolutely amazing! He is cooler that Superman! When I read the results of that concordance search, it gave me greater insight into the true nature of God! God is Love!
What is truth? "...Your Word is Truth!!! (John 17:17)"
I have realized the importance of knowing the Truth of Scripture to be able to stand against the lies of the enemy, and the truth has made me free!!!
I have found lately, especially when struggling with fear, when I hold to the truth... in this case, that only the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of my fear and my worship, I can reject the lie that is fear of everything else.
I found a great anti-fear verse yesterday... it talks about the antidote to fear, LOVE!
I love truth and love! They are the polar opposite to fear.
So, 1 John 4:16-19
"We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; for we are as He is in this world. There is no fear in love; instead perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He loved us first!"
This paragraph is so often quoted that almost everyone is familiar with portions of it, but I had never heard taught what I am about to point out...
The antidote to fear: "The one who fears has not reached perfection in love". Why have I not heard this more strongly emphasized? I have been fearful for so long, and it has all been centered on lies, and the truth has set me free.. but now I know what to do if I ever find myself becoming fearful again, it is probably because I am believing some lie, or because I have not reached perfection in love. So, if we find ourselves fearful, LOVE MORE! Draw near to God and concentrate on His love and your love for Him. His promises to be your shelter, the fact that "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world". The fact that God is "in your midst" and "near", that He is our "dwelling place" and our "strong fortress".
Do a concordance search on "God is". That guy is nothing short of absolutely amazing! He is cooler that Superman! When I read the results of that concordance search, it gave me greater insight into the true nature of God! God is Love!
Yeah, they touched on the fear aspect in mass yesterday. It gives me a lot of comfort, basically saying to me anything that happens on this earth is trivial. Just worry about living your life as Christ desires and the rest will happen. I still feel we should try to better the outcomes when we can control them, but if we cannot then don't worry about them... don't FEAR them.
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