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There is no comfort in fear. Fear can emotionally paralyze the one who has it. Fear can control us and ultimately destroy our mental well being. Fear comes from not knowing and not being in control and when life seems out of control we become anxious and fearful. Fear is not a part of God’s will for your life.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, I John 4:18a

The only cure for fear is when we will trust the One who is always in control and who loves us perfectly. We do not even love ourselves perfectly so we can not even trust ourselves. Nor do we have all power to control everything always so we are helpless and can not even help ourselves. There is only One who can ultimately help us and He is all loving and all powerful and we can trust Him. He is in control and is fully aware of everything that is going on in our lives. Nothing catches Him by surprise.

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. Psalm 103:19

The Lord can do whatever He pleases. He is the only One with that kind of power.

Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. Psalm 135:6

The Lord loves you and He loves all of us. He does not show partiality.

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. Deuteronomy 10:17

His love is perfect and it is available to any who will call on Him. He is able, He will and He wants to deliver you from your fears.

And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be delivered; Joel 2:32a

The Lord will not only deliver you from your fears if you call on Him but He will save you. He will be your Savior in this world and for all eternity if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9,10

He will never leave you nor forsake you if you call on Jesus Christ to save you.

for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. Hebrews 13:5b, 6a

He will replace your fear with His peace. There is not anything that can take His peace away from you.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27

To those who call on the Lord Jesus Christ to save them He will be their refuge and One whom they can go to any time and call on any time if they ever start feeling fearful again. He will deliver them from evil and their soul can find safety and shelter from the troubles of life.

For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent. Psalm 91:9,10

Those who call on the Lord Jesus Christ and put their trust in Him will not be disappointed.

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:11-13

He is a present help in time of trouble. If this is a fearful and troubling time for you then maybe God has allowed this time so that you will realize that you need Jesus Christ in your life, not only for now, but for all time.

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

If you are weary of trying to make it on your own or if you are weary of carrying the burden of your fears and anxieties then come to Him. He invites all who are weary to come to Him. He is gentle and humble of heart and He understands your fears, anxieties and troubles and He loves you.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus Christ loves you and in His love your fears will be cast out and in Him you will find rest for your soul. He will be a present help in time of trouble and you will be able to take refuge in Him and be safe. He will give you His peace and nothing can take it away. He will never leave you. You will not be disappointed when you put your trust in Him.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. Proverbs 18:10

No one wants to be judged but it is inevitable. There are two kinds of judgment. One judgment declares one “guilty” and the other judgment is when one is declared “not guilty”. The Bible says that a “guilty” judgment brings condemnation and we were not made to be condemned but to be accepted and loved. We have become guilty on our own and by our own doing. How do we deal with God’s judgment? Whether people want it or not a Judgment Day is coming. However, the Bible says God has a provision for us so that we will be ready to face the One who will judge.

Hebrews 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

If you will judge yourself now then you will not experience the judgment of God that brings condemnation when Jesus Christ comes again. You will experience the judgment of being declared “not guilty” because Jesus Christ took your condemnation on the cross.

I Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

How do you judge yourself? Judging yourself is speaking the truth about yourself and agreeing with God’s Word on His standard, in other words, confessing that you have are a sinner and have sinned. We are a sinner by wanting to run our own life and have sinned by falling short of His standard, which is the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:3-14 (The Ten Commandments)

You shall have no other gods before Me.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Jesus Christ is God’s provision for your sin so that your judgment will not be “guilty” with the result of condemnation on Judgment Day. When you judge yourself then Jesus Christ receives you and you become “in Christ”.

Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ receives you when you trust in Him and call upon Him to become your Lord and Savior and to forgive you of your sins. Then you become His child according to His promise.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

Are you ready for Judgment Day? You can be ready. God wants you to be ready. Once a person dies then it is too late. There is nothing they can do to change their eternal destiny once they die but there is something that can be done now. The Bible says that if you will judge yourself and acknowledge that you deserve hell but that God in His kindness took your sin and guilt so that you would not be declared guilty and then call upon Jesus Christ you will be saved from the eternal punishment that we all deserve. No one is better than anyone else. Jesus did not have to die more for one person than He did for someone else. He died for all so that all might have the opportunity to be forgiven and become His child. He says that He does not want anyone to go to hell. The choice is yours.

Romans 2:4,5 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

God’s wrath will be poured out on those who did not receive Jesus Christ but He will come as a Savior to those who belong to Him, to save them from all of the horrible things that will happen to those who chose to go their own way.

Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Truths are like diamonds. These diamonds really are a girl’s best friend. The more truths that you have in your heart then the richer your life will be. Just like diamonds, truths have many facets to them. You can live your entire life and still be able to learn more about His amazing truths. So realize when you hear something about a truth that it is one or more aspect of that truth and not the truth in its entirety. Often when people argue they are discussing different aspects of the same truth. Truths never change and they are the character of God expressed here on earth.

Proverbs 23:23 Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

The Lord says to buy truth and not to sell truth and to also get wisdom and understanding. It will cost you but the value far outweighs the price. They are a package deal. They all go together. If you have truth then you will receive wisdom and get even more understanding. For whoever has truth…then more truth, wisdom and understanding will be given to him.

Matthew 13:12 For whoever has, to him  more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

There is only one source of truth and that is the Lord Himself. He said that He is the truth so if you want to know the truth then you must know Him.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

We are all deceived until we come to know the truth. Deception means that we have believed a lie in some way and we are not even aware that we are deceived, otherwise it would not be deception. When we are deceived then we actually believe the “lie” that is deceiving us is the truth.

II Thessalonians 2:10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

The truth is the only thing that can set you free. It will set you free from the lies, from sin, from depression, from guilt, from bitterness and from anything else that you can think of that you might struggle with or be overcome.

John 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

Repentance leads to the knowledge of the truth. Repentance is turning away from the lies that you believed and acted on and turning to God.

II Timothy 2:25 if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

The Lord desires that you come into the knowledge of the truth.

I Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God’s Word is truth and it is what sets you apart from the world.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in truth, God’s word is truth.

The Lord wants you to build your life on His truths. Words of truth are the only correct answer that you will be able to give to the Lord as an explanation of why you did the things you did on earth, how you spent the money and time He gave you and an account of your obedience. You will give an account of your life in terms of stewardship and obedience.

This is an incredible life and you will be living life to the fullest when you have great peace. The Lord offers us not only peace but great peace. A person who has great peace will not stumble when things go sour.

Psalm 119:65 Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.

God’s Word is His law and the Lord says those who will love His Word will have great peace.

Psalm 19:7-11 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.

Not only will someone who loves His Word have great peace but the Lord says that there is a great reward in keeping them. These are amazing promises that He offers. Just as in life if something is very important then there is a great reward for it. Even so, the Lord offers a great reward for something that He puts a great value on and that is being in His Word, loving His Word and keeping His Word.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Do you have dreams and desires in your heart that you may have or may not have told anyone. The Lord knows your heart’s desires better than you know them. Often He puts desires in our hearts so that He can fulfill them. However, with His promises there are conditions and the condition here is that you must delight yourself in Him. Delighting in His Word is one way in which you can delight in Him.

Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.

Have you been called by His name? Another way of saying that is, “are you a Christian?” If so, then He wants you to find a Bible and devour His Word or read it much and meditate on it. You will find that if you do this then His words will become a joy and the delight of your heart. Don’t wait for the desire to get into His Word or the feeling of wanting to do it. Just do it and then you will find that it will be a joy to you.

 

 

 

Are you ever anxious and worried? Anxiety can debilitate a person. Worry robs us of peace, joy and love for others because when we are anxious we focus on our problems. Some of our anxiety is about things that have never happened and will never happen but we believe they might so we worry about them.

Philippians 4:6,7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Anxiety is a lack of faith. A lack of prayer is a lack of faith. The Lord says that if we will pray then we will not be anxious. Prayer is an expression of faith.

Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

If you will go to Him with your cares then then you will find mercy and grace to help in your time of need.

I Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

He tells us to cast all of our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. He cares for you and your burdens will become His burdens if you will give them to Him.

Psalms 138:8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Isn’t this an amazing promise…that He will accomplish what concerns you. Are there things that concern you? Are you anxious about whether you will ever meet a young man who will truly love you? Are you anxious in your school work or you job? Do you have a sick loved one? There are so many things that concern us but if we will give them to Him then He will accomplish them for us.

The Bible says that the fear of man brings a snare. It is an oppressive feeling to live in the fear of someone else. Only the Lord can set us free from the fear of man.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.

As you learn to trust Him then you will see that you do not have to be afraid of man.

Psalm 56:10,11 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

Only the fear of the Lord can set you free from the fear of man. If you fear Him then you need not have to fear anyone else.

Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments.

The Lord wants to teach you to fear Him through His Word.

Psalm 119:38 Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You.

You are blessed if people revile you because you are a Christian. Do not be intimidated. Remember who you are, a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

I Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,

The Lord does not want you to fear anyone but if you live according to His ways then people will fear the Lord by not wanting you around when they do evil.

Deuteronomy 11:25 No man will be able to stand before you; the Lord your God will lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.

However, you must look to the Lord and not to others. He will protect you and be your defense. He will never forsake you but will help you when you need Him.

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?

If you do not fear the Lord then often times you will be tempted to have irrational fears.

Psalm 53:4,5 Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
There they were in great fear where no fear had been;

Finally, the Lord Himself is for you.

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

You are the apple of His eye.

Zechariah 2:8 …for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.

 

 

The Lord says that He is not far from you and that those who draw near to Him then He will draw near to them.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

The nearness of the Lord is a refuge. A refuge means protection from the storms and stresses of life.

Psalm 73:28 But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God; I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him, That I may tell of all Your works.

Do you ever feel stressed out or depressed? If so, then you are living as if you have no Shepherd. If you have not come to the Good Shepherd and given your life to Him then now is a good time to do it. Or maybe you gave your life to Him earlier but now you are living as if you have no Shepherd.

Matthew 9:36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Another reason why people do not draw near to Him but rather go far from Him is that they feel that He has been unfair. He is good and there is no unfairness in Him but if that is your perception then it will feel like reality to you. The Bible says that you will go far from Him. Going from Him begins with just not seeking Him or neglecting your time with Him. Do you find that you are making excuses for missing your devotions or for missing church? Before you realize it, your heart has become kind of cold to the things of the Lord and then after awhile you really don’t even miss Him. You will also start going after emptiness and in a matter of time you will feel empty.

Jeremiah 2:4 “What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after emptiness and became empty?

He is calling for you to come back to Him. We all drift at certain times in our lives but don’t stay away from Him. He wants you more than you know and offers you rest for your soul. You will have no rest as long as you are not close to Him. He made you to be close to Him.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

 

 

 

Although a life that is holy may not seem too exciting it actually is a very fulfilling life. First of all, our Lord commanded it and if He commanded it then that means it is because He loves us and it is for our good.

I Peter 1: 15,16 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Holy means that you are not to be like everyone else but that you are set apart for something better, for something special.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

It is God’s Word that sets you apart. The Lord wants you to be different in a good sense. Just like a clean drinking glass is different than a dirty drinking glass. You will feel clean on the inside when you live a holy life just like you feel dirty on the inside when you have a sinful lifestyle.

Ezekiel 36:23 Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.

It is through our holiness that the world will know that the Lord is God. You are His ambassador on earth. People look at you to see if the Bible is real and if the Lord is really God. They want a reason to not believe what their conscience is telling them is right. For this reason they look at your life and if it is just like their lives then they say to themselves, “She is not any different than me”.  Therefore, in their mind, they are doing just fine.

Ezekiel 39:7 “My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.

There are several things that the Lord calls holy and He wants us to treat them as holy also. His name is holy. The opposite of holiness is profanity. When you take God’s name in vain then you are profaning His name. He says that He will not leave that person unpunished. Do you want the Lord to punish you? If not, then don’t take His name in vain. Some examples of taking His name in vain is OMG or my G_ _! or even derivatives of His name, such as g-o-s-h are either profanity to the Lord or very close to it.

Deuteronomy 5:11 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

God’s Word is holy.

Jeremiah 23:9 Because of the Lord And because of His holy words.

The Lord says that if you are ashamed of His Words then He will be ashamed of you.

Mark 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

 

We all seek after different things but the Lord is looking for the one who will seek after Him.

Psalm 14:2 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.

The Lord wants you to seek Him so much that He says that if you will do this then you will not lack any good thing. Do you need anything? Then you must seek Him. His promises are true.

Psalm 34:10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

He made us to seek Him because it is in Him alone that we live and move and exist.

Acts 17:26-28, 30-31 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist…

Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

 

The Bible says that only the fool lives as if there is no God.  He also says that if we seek Him with all of our heart we will find Him. The Lord tells us to seek Him continually. He is declaring to us through Jesus Christ that we need to repent and seek Him. He is not far from us.

Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

The God of the universe, who made all things, wants to have a relationship with you and fellowship with you. This is much greater than any king or president and yet if someone of great importance were to contact you then you would make every effort to accept their invitation and in all likelihood you would share what has happened with everyone you know. Yet…He who is the King of kings and Lord of lords is seeking you!

Psalm 138:6 For though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.