Fear, Faith and Love...

Have you ever stopped and thought about how much fear there is in the world?  I’ve been noticing lately how the news media, much of the product promotions we see on TV or online, and many of the popular series that people watch are based on the premise or pretense of things that we might be afraid of.  I was pleased to see that the Fox news program “Happening Now” concluded yesterday’s program with a good news event concerning the heroic rescue by a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer of four fishermen in the Northwest whose ship was sinking in rough weather.

As I become more and more aware of the advertisers practices, I find that I now tend to smile when I see the ads playing off the consumers fears of hair loss, weight gain, lost investments, home security, car accidents, damage by bad drugs, being left behind in your job or from the “in-crowd” because you are still using last week’s old cell phone technology, or that you’re just plain boring because you are not driving a hot new car, taking expensive vacations in exotic locations, drinking the right alcoholic beverage or going back to college to finish or get another degree.

As I perused the headline news on my Yahoo home page this morning, my attention was drawn to the article on the latest information on the shooting in the Louisiana theater last night.  When I finished the story I looked down through the attached comments that other readers had left.  Many of them expressed the individual’s concerns for their personal safety and how it was getting to the point that everyday folks can’t go anywhere anymore without fear of bodily harm.

I have to admit that I even felt a twang of concern at the weight of that possibility.  Then I remembered Papa God’s promises to us like when Paul told the young Pastor Timothy when he was dealing with concerns of his youth in the face of his first pastorate.  Paul basically told him to “man-up” and stand tall in the revelation that “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind,” (MKJV) or when he told the Roman Christians that “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (God’s Word ©)

When I turned on my bible study program this morning it opened right back up to where I left it yesterday at Colossians 2:7 and Ephesians 3:17-20.  I was immediately drawn back into the bright light, reality and power of the effect of Papa God’s love on, in, for and through me!  These defining scriptures should cement in us the ultimate plan of the Gospel of love that Jesus brought to the world.

In these verses Paul prays that God’s agape love would be the good ground that we sink our roots into and is that on which we have our life’s firm foundation.  Then he goes on to say something that totally astounds me…  In Ephesians 3:18-20 he basically declares that our ever increasing, personal and intimate experiential knowledge of Christ’s love opens up and expands our EXPECTATIONS to the limitless, boundless possibilities of seeing the fullness of God working in our daily lives!  - WOW! – Talk about being “satisfied with a long life and being wowed by all the redemptive processes of our salvation!”  (literal modern translation of Psalm 91:16)

And according to how I read, understand and have personally experienced the written Word of God, I firmly believe that it is Papa God’s intention that this life style is to be the norm in a Christian’s life and not just a distant hope or a hit and miss proposition!

What do you think?  Absurd or possible?  It was the norm in the book of Acts… why not for us today?  Now that’s definitely something that will spark your weekend!  Have a super weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom am I EXPECTING to cause me to conquer fear, move mountains and be the head and not the tail today?”