What Are We afraid Of?

God is so good to us:

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.......2 Timothy 1:7-8

The word for 'fear'  is translated from the greek word 'deilias' (Strongs #1167). It is used in this form only here in 2 Timothy.  There is a relative of this word found in 4 other places: Matthew 8:6, Mark 4:40, Hebrews 12:28, Revelation 21:8. This word for fear has been defined as the fear of losing, dread and timidity that causes one to stand back from God.

The fear of losing is rampant today. People constantly compare one another to each other. Ambitious rivalry is everywhere. People are so afraid of losing that they lie, gossip,  and demean each other just to get ahead or get to the top of I don't know what. I wonder how many people really know how serious it is to call good evil and evil good.

The more you have confidence in God and how he really sees us despite our warts and failings, the the greater the capacity to love becomes.  We are not in competition with anyone.  The competition is in our own minds for our own minds.  Sometimes it is such a good thing to say to God, 'Hey God keep me posted on where this is from or where I am going with this in my mind' when we start thinking about something or even when we evaluate what is going on around us. The ultimate goal in any situation is power, love and sound thinking. These three qualities work together for good. Love is center-stage to both power and sound thinking.

We need not be ashamed, politely correct, reticent or scared to share how good God is. The love he has planted in our hearts will facilitate the power needed and the sound thinking to help others even if they are enemies. When David dealt with Saul the word says:

14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him. I Samuel 18:14

How much God can help each one of us is easy to see when we look in the New Testament . God is so, so good to us!

Ideology, Fact, Truth and Freedom

An ideology is the specific collection of a body of men's ideas, that are connected. Ideas come from the human mind. An ideology usually develops within a group and becomes the central core of its beliefs. In our country, we can look at the 'isms' to see examples. Liberalism, republicanism, nationalism,  and conservatism are examples in the political field. In the religious field we have, denominationalism, non-denominationalism, taoism, buddhism, catholicism, trinitarianism, unitarianism, and protestantism to name a few. Each of these examples have a body of ideas built around a common ideological belief system.

Facts can be subjected to and manipulated by ideology using the tools of context and time. Here is an example. Let's say January has been a warmer month than usual. That could be a fact if you live at the equator, Miami beach or even in Chicago (not this year). Someone who believes that the globe is heating up might use these facts to support a theory on global warming (whether right or wrong). Facts can change; so can theories about facts.

Absolute truth does not change. It is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

The truth about Jesus Christ never changes since God first spoke about him as the promised seed in Genesis 3:15. He is the mediator today between God and man (I Timothy 2:5) In Revelations 19, he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.   

So, 'What is truth?' This is a question that has been asked throughout the ages. Jesus said that 'we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.'(John 8:32) Truth is the antidote to worry, fear, bondage, compulsion, oppression, depression, insecurity, loneliness and every other negative the world has to offer. It is the only thing that really works and continues to work when it is believed.  Big negatives started plaguing humanity when the first man and woman doubted the warning of God to not partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. All the remedies man has come up with to get lasting peace fails. Drugs, alcohol, man-constructed religion, entertainment, money and yes, ideologies all fall short, very short of what God's infinite love and wisdom has given us.
God has provided so much to man to see the truth. The natural world that God created, formed and made teaches us about the truth (Genesis 1:20). The word of God is truth. Jesus Christ lived the truth. He is the way, the truth and the life. The spirit of God at work in the hearts and lives of those who have seen the truth and the gift of holy spirit and it's enablements confirm the truth.

My belief that God exists does not come from an 'ism' or man's ideas about God.  God is the source of all truth. When I started seeing that, freedom started to become a reality for me and I am still growing in that freedom. Absolute freedom comes from God. Until the entire human world understands this, the negative things of this world will not change. Individuals gain the freedom Jesus talked about as they develop a relationship with God. Romans 10:9-10 says it so simply:

⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Marriage and Family Life -It's Complicated - David

David was a great man. As he rose up to help deliver Israel from its enemies, he gained in stature.  At the same time, his family expanded and so did the complications. From the Old Testament, we know that David had more than 8 wives, more than 20 children.  As I read on in II Samuel, the rivalries and pressure seem to come more and more from the family.

I am reminded of the disfunction in Jacob's family. Polygamy causes problems and was not part of God's original creation. It was initiated into culture by one of Cain's offspring. It became part of the culture in succeeding generations. It was part of the culture at David's time. Polygamy was not in God's design when he put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Whenever something isn't the best in a given situation, it gets 'complicated' carrying with it burdens and pressures.

God placed Adam in the garden to work and enjoy. He made Eve to be a 'help meet' as a strong support, under-girder and companion. The marriage relationship is a unique godly arrangement. God made men and women to be different, yet equal.

'Different, yet equal' is a big deal.  It is not 'same and equal'; it is not 'different and unequal'.  In the feminist movement we see a blurring of 'different and same' and the other side of that is the blurring of 'equal and unequal'. In addition to this, every individual, male or female, has distinct traits, abilities and upbringing. The bottom line for all relationships is love and respect if it is going to be a genuine relationship.

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephesians 5:33

We should certainly not let the confusion of the world determine our definitions of love or respect. Hollywood or even Hallmark movies should not be defining love for us. God is the author of love. Respect or reverence is for the person. We should be respectful to one another in all our dealings.  This does not include respect for beliefs and ideologies if we disagree. Every person has a right to believe whatever they want to believe, but no one has a right to force us to believe what we don't think is right. This goes for marriage relationships and adult family relationships. In fact it is the standard for all adult relationships.

If verse 33 in Ephesians 5:33 is to be the standard for marriage, polygamy would obviously put a strain on a marriage.  Raising 20 kids with 8 different mothers would definitely be tough. God made things so simple because he loves us. Man has complicated things throughout the ages with his own inventions and excuses.

Nathan the prophet

The word 'prophet' congers up many images to the modern mind.  Many years ago, I used to think of a prophet as the guy with a beard standing on the corner yelling "Repent!" Haven't seen one of those guys in a while and my understanding of the ministry of a prophet has changed quite a bit.

Many people think that a prophet only foresees the future. A prophet speaks for God (present past or future). His job is to speak what God wants spoken to his people and warn people as to the consequences of their actions. An example is found in I Samuel 20. The people had rejected God and asked for a king.  Samuel was charged by God to listen to them and 'protest solemnly' (warn) by telling them the down side of of having a king rule over them. God wanted Samuel to listen first then warn them.

In my trek through the Old Testament I have gotten to know several prophets.  The first use of the word prophet comes in Genesis 20 referring to Abraham and it is an interesting story for it first use. Key words in that record are prayer, restoration, and healing (this is the first use of the word 'healing').  Abraham got into a serious situation because of fear. Prophets are not perfect. It is an interesting study to read.

During David's reign, Nathan, the prophet, appeared on the scene. The name 'Nathan' means 'a gift of God'.  Prophets are truly a gift in that they relate the truth from God's heart. It is a loving ministry which genuinely looks after God's people by listening to God.

In II Samuel 7 we read that David wanted  to build a house for God and at first Nathan told him to do what was on his heart.  As it turns out Nathan was speaking from his own thinking. That same day, God told Nathan to tell David that he would not be building the temple. Nathan went back to David and related God's words to him. It was God who would make this decision and it was David's son Solomon who built the house.

Nathan appears next in the famous record of David and Bathsheba. David had inappropriately exerted his power over a married woman and further complicated the matter in trying to solve his indiscretion by having her husband sent to the front lines of a battle where he was killed. Nathan was sent by God to confront David. He didn't yell at him to "repent". He told him a story about a single lamb belonging to a traveler that was slaughtered by a wealthy livestock owner to illustrate God's heart on the matter and David woke up as to what he had done. David recognized his own untoward actions and repented. Psalm 51 shows his heart in his recognizing his sin and that of going to God for help to heal him and restore him:

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51

David eventually married Bathsheba and they had more children, two of which appear in the genealogies  in Matthew and Luke.  Bathsheba (as wife of Urias) herself, is listed in the Matthew genealogy (one of four women listed) and is part of the Christ line genealogy.

Nathan appears again at the death of David to help protect Bathsheba and her children and to make sure the right descendant of David inherited the throne.

Prophets don't have X-Ray vision, they have God vision. Nathan didn't read David's mind as he was trying to clear up his mess and making more of a mess. At that point, maybe David would not have listened. He went to David to get him to see what he had done. Prophets don't see right through you. They hear from God and then act. It is a very loving ministry because what's right comes from God's heart.

The Lesson of Kudzu

When I went to visit my parents in South Carolina, I noticed a strange vine growing up and over the tops of trees, houses, fences and anything else it could grow on top of. My Dad who knew a lot about botany, told me it was a plant called Kudzu that came from Japan and had been planted in areas that had trouble with erosion. It has been planted along the and overpowers everything quickly. Kudzu is very oppressive stuff!  It steals the light of the sun from everything! It destroys everything it it path. I saw many broken down shacks where it had grown over the tops of, covered and destroyed.

The thing is that Kudzu seemed like a good idea to solve a problem and make agricultural work easier, but it is a monster in disguise, a wolf in sheep's clothing!  Many, many things in life are like the Kudzu plant. I often have had grand ideas to do something that seem so perfect and when all was said and done, they turned into dragging doldrums.

So much in this world is full of hype! So many things and ideas are pushed at us. We fall prey to the latest rage, fads and the desire to be 'with it'!  The outtake many times on following what goes on around us and not our heart, in the end, oppresses us. All that we experience in life can be evaluated by the peace in our heart.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:17

The mind in the above verse is the intellect. Understanding is what we do with our minds.  God's peace goes way above and beyond all that we think. Sometimes our minds seem so over-jammed  with what we perceive is going on around us and what we have to do, it is hard to get up and out from under all that pressure.  We just have to let go  and let God's peace get us up. That is when we become ready to rock and roll!

The peace of God is so real.  We don't just act peaceful, doing peaceful things, we are inwardly peaceful. God loves us even in our scrambled yucky moments.  He doesn't want anything stealing the light  of his son away from us or have anything overpower us. He wants us to live free. Sometimes we just need to chill and let God's light warm us and let him guard us from something overshadowing our peacefulness!

Coming Face to Face with Jesus Christ

The apostle Paul did a 180° turn in the course of his life. He met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.The meeting utterly changed him. The strong, bold confrontational Saul was transformed. He had been the Hebrew of the Hebrews, learned in the scriptures of the Old Testament and a rising religious star. In a moment of time, he realized he had been so wrong. Out of his imperfection, God brought him true righteousness. He became a follower of God's son.

The birth of Christ happens over and over again in individual people's lives. It is not confined to a day.  Amidst all the hoopla and whirl of the world, there is a message to be reminded of as to what Jesus Christ means to anyones life. Jesus Christ life brings us to the true peace that can only come from God. God perfect love is manifested in his son to also draw others to Him.

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14

Believing

Ephesians 3:20 is a super-charged verse!

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:20

Our minds are limited.  God's thinking is not! Believing is really not something we push our minds harder and harder to gain.  Believing is trust; it is loving God and knowing that he is with you. The grace of believing is that it is ours, to be confident that God can go way farther than our limited expectations. He is bigger than our minds; he is bigger than our works.

Believing is based on love. You just have to know how much God loves you.  'Power working in us' is energized by His love. In reality, the more I soak my head in the word especially on the topic of love, the more I can believe. I want that energy from God.  It changes the way I perceive what's going on around me. I can love so much better when I am tapped into God's love. True peace is the natural  result for all involved.

There was a time in my life that I worked so hard to please God.  It took growth and understanding to see how futile that was. When we love God, we let him work. We listen and allow him to inspire us and then carry out what he puts on our heart to do.  Keeping the trustful peace and guarding it like a great treasure is our goal.  Stress, pressure and achievement are not part of the formula.  God's ability is involved and that's a no brainer. However, we live in a world where there are forces that deny God and his love. Just as in the beginning, in the garden of Eden, the opposition to God constantly calls to question the existence of God and his promises.  God's willingness is just as real as the evidence that exists for God's ability.  God's willingness is seen throughout the Old and New Testaments!

I can do all things

There are millions of memes found throughout the pages of FaceBook. A meme to FaceBook users is like a 'quotable quote',  a seemingly wise saying that brings a quick point of inspiration to our minds. It is a good idea to think about the thought each one is transmitting. Is is really based on God's Word which will bring the effective results or is it like candy filled with sugar that seems sweet but actually promotes thinking that is empty.

As I continued to study the Word, I'm pretty sure I made memes out of key verses of the Bible. The context surrounding key verses should never be taken lightly when anyone quotes a singular verse. The context can change the whole meaning of a verse.   Philippians 4:13 is a good example.

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

It's a magnificent verse, but it can be taken the wrong way that a believer can do anything he wants and God will empower him. When we lift verses out of context, we have to be careful.  This verse can sound like we can accomplish anything because we have Christ in us.  If we read verse 13, we need to look at the verses leading up to it.

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Philippians 4: 10-12

Paul made the point that that it is 'whatsoever state' a believer finds himself that he can be content. It is interesting that both sides are shown, abasing AND abounding, being full AND being hungry, abound AND suffer need. Both sides show learning, knowing how and instruction.

The greatest thing  a person can learn is to trust God in any situation. Contentment is a pretty low commodity in today's world.  We are always in a fight to root out seeds of discontentment in response to negative things that present themselves. Not only do negative things impact us but prosperity can  also affect us in the wrong way. We are challenged  in both directions. It is through the risen Christ we find true contentment in dealing with life and keeping our minds balanced.

Discerning of Spirits is Not a Spooky Manifestation

When some people hear the phrase 'discerning of spirits', it congers up a dark sinister image in their minds.  They might think of horns and pitchforks.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The fruit that is produced by the proper use of this unique function of the gift of holy spirit in our lives brings peace to our minds.  A person who loves God has power, love and a sound mind because of the enablements God has given through holy spirit.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering (long fuse), gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

God wants to help us separate good from evil. Of course he does! He does this by impressing information about any situation on our spirits. He does it to protect us.  At some point God may show us clearly to take a stand against evil. Sometimes we can't do anything about it so then God can show us how to navigate the problem which may include staying away from it. Either way it produces nice juicy fruit in our lives because it settles our hearts.

The whole purpose of 'discerning of spirits' is to help ourselves and others. It is not thinking evil.  It is important to separate good and evil. Often evil disguises itself as good.  We can be deceived very easily when presented with something that seems like such a good thing. In the world and culture we live in today, it sometimes can be hard to distinguish between those things that that richly bless our lives and those things that subtract from our peace.

20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20

Isaiah call this deception a"woe". The Bible says we are not to be ignorant of how evil works. God wants us to be free of evil, frustration and woe. The woe is not punishment, it is a result. God wants the best for us.

How a person reacts to information of the presence of evil involves staying quiet, peaceful and waiting on God as to the wisdom in what to do about the situation. In the records involving David, there are very clear examples how God helped him walk through evil and chaos. At times he had to watch his own life and thinking:

3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips 4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. Psalm 141:3-4

We have the same responsibility. We don't want to be lured into and fall prey to the vain and false reasonings that might pop up in our day to day living:

9 Let love be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Romans 12:8

Replacing Fear

Recently I got very wrapped up with studying the 'superscriptions' and 'subscriptions' of Psalms in an effort to tie the records of David in Psalms to the books of Samuel and Chronicles. The books of Samuel record events from a human standpoint and Chronicles may cover the the same event with a different perspective, God's point of view. I got a little sidetracked by theological arguments about miss-placements of  these subscripts. Research is very theological at times and can be very distracting by keeping things too cerebral. It is the heart of God that stirs our spirit not our cerebral cortex.

As I continue to read about the great David in the Old Testament, the more I see him as a person.  His life was very real and his heart, thinking, emotions, missteps and huge victories are fully made plain. The Bible really lets us into his heart not in a religious, pious way, but with an authentic window to clearly get to know him. Yes, he was the slingshot man, a warrior, a leader, and a king, but there is so much more in the word about him as a man and his heart for God. His life can inspire our own heart.

As I was looking at Psalms, I stumbled on a gold nugget in Psalm 34:4

 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

David dealt with fear! It says he  got relief from "all" his fears. That is a big statement!

"All" means all and indicates a plurality of fearful thoughts. We all have to deal with the bombardment of fearful thoughts on our brain cells. No one is exempt from this.  It is life. If the great David had to deal with it, so do we. The great apostle Paul had to deal with fear and certainly Jesus Christ, God's own son had to deal with it! How did they all deal with it? They sought God.

The same can be true for us. God is not a God of fear. He makes it quite plain throughout the word of God that he can and will deliver us from "all" fear. 

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. II Timothy 1:7

Instead, he gives us three doors to choose from: the right kind of power, the right kind of love, and a sound (rock solid) mind! Not only does he give us these three doors, but he gives us the choice of choosing all three! There is no mountain too high, or Goliath too tall, or darkness too thick, or chaos too confusing, that these great verses can't send packing in a instant.

Fear (Old English for respect and awe of God) replaces fear! 😊

We have so much to be thankful for!

Put on Your 'Nike'

If David had been a Facebook user, I wonder how many friends he would have had. Reading through the books of Samuel, Chronicles, and Psalms, there are records of many difficult times in his life. There were  times he didn't have a lot of friends. He was oftentimes counted as the enemy for many. Even some of his family were critical of his zeal.

24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Popularity depends on many factors, many of which have to to with with fitting into the culture and holding popular views. In order to have many friends, a person has to be friendly in a non-offensive way. The 'friend' talked about in the second part of Proverbs 18:24 is a rare find. This friend is a person who stays with someone through thick or thin. David had such a relationship with Jonathan, Saul's son.

A good friend is a friend by their own choice. Jonathan chose to be a friend of David.  He was loyal, truthful and risked his life to help David against his enemies.  Jonathan's father, Saul was after David and Jonathan helped him several times to evade his father's attacks.

True friendship like that of Jonathan and David is a rare blessing.  It is one that should be treasured, respected and fully appreciated.  It is more than just having something in common or being useful to someone. We often develop connections in jobs, neighborhoods, school, religious groups, coffee shops, business, bars and any place where people gather together. They may be lasting relationships or short-term.

Friendship with things of the world are very short-term. The current fad fades away. Connections based on worldly philosophies, ideologies and usefulness fritter out. We make many mistakes in this life, the world is not an easy place. True friends encourage us to be overcomers; not resigners and bellyachers. We will be known by our victories.

4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh (from the Greek word 'nike') the world: and this is the victory (nike) that overcometh (nike) the world, even our faith .5 Who is he that overcometh (nike) the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? I John 5:3-5

Jonathan helped David put on his 'nike'. In one sense Jonathan's life foreshadows the life of Christ. David was defined by his victories because God was his friend despite David's faults and imperfections. Jonathan was a true friend to help him. Jonathan warned David about his father. There is a man who is a friend, Jesus, that encourages us about his father.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. John 15:15

Jesus Christ has torn down the enmity between God and man through his own life when he walked the earth and now as he exists at the right hand service of God. He is collecting the friends of God together as God's church.

We too can be defined by our victories not our mistakes as we look to the author and finisher of our wholeness, completeness and peace, Jesus Christ, the son of God (Hebrews 2:2).  He is our 'nike' or victory in living this life!