FAITH VS. FEAR
We live in a negative world and without constant attention and work we will follow suit. It is easy to be negative, and to live by fear. Look all around you, read your Bible! It is very easy to flunk the faith tests that God allows to come our way. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are filled with followers of God failing faith and living by fear. IT MUST NOT BE SO WITH YOU. How will you respond? Will you keep giving in a down economy? Will you remain faithful to the Lord while others bail? Will you stand for Jesus in a world that has chosen to bow to idols? As usual it comes down to a choice on your part. Where do you stand? “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”
Love,
Pastor Chris
4 Comments
Just a short story of faith in God. Several Christmas’ ago my brother and his wife were unemployed and my sister and I chose to do Christmas for his 4 kids. We agreed on what we would spend and told him. Wehad decided to give him all we had saved, which would be a good Christmas for his family and give them a weeks worth of pay also. He was really glad that his girls would not do without for Christmas. A couple days later FPC announced they were going to have a Happy Birthday Jesus offering. We prayed about what to do as we were going to use all our savings for my brother’s Christmas. Not wanting to back out on him and knowing that we had to give at least as much to Jesus we were in a quandry. We were new Christians and just learning that Jesus comes first, no matter what. We decided that we would match what we were giving my brother and not decrease what we told him we would give. This was the faith part. We in our human flesh thought if we timed it right one of use would get paid and we would scrimp to get by. That way both Jesus and our brother got what we said we would do. The morning of the offering we wrote the check to FPC, we had already given my brother his money, and prayed over the check. We asked God to slow the process down so that the check would clear. We had such little faith. All day we were sick thinking we had written a bad check, possibly cheating God. Later that day we both went to God confessed our lack of faith and asked Him to make right what we had done wrong. Monday morning the mail ran early. I went out to the mailbox and lo and behold there was 2 checks in the mail from an account that was 12 years old and long ago forgotten. The 2 checks were all but $5.00 short of the amount we had written the check to FPC for. We danced and praised God for His faithfulness. It was that day that we truly understood Gods grace and mercy. That He was exactly who He said He was. That day our faith was made secure and we have never waivered from that faith. No matter what the world has for us we know that God is true to His word and will be our Jehovah Jireh.
It is so easy to be a “worrier”. It has just been in the last few years I have been able to let go of the emotion of worry. I’ve always trusted God and have experienced peace in the midst of difficult circumstances. But for the day in day out I struggled in “feeling” my trust in God. I ultimately had to come to the point that I know God is sovereign and I just have to trust that – in all things
Tina, You never cease to amaze me and God continues to blow me away. This morning a dream prayer was asnwered, tell everyone about it later.
love, Pastor
Michele, I have watched you grow from worrier to warrier, one letter makes a big difference.
love, Pastor