The Fear Factor!

When life changes at 2013 speed it is easy for fear to grip us in numerous ways.  If you take a step back from your busy life and list the many things that are specific to your life, the things that are changing with which you have no control, it can be frightening to see the fear factor.  Fear is found in every life.  And of late, fear is the leading emotion used by many to base decisions and reactions.


How can we live a life without fear?

The month of September found us studying this subject with our children's ministry and their parents.  Each week highlighted a moment in time from the Bible where God's people overcame the damaging emotion of fear and allowed God to bring about victory in their lives.  Such moments were seen with events unfolding that NO human being could ever do.  Things like the walls of Jericho falling flat.  The bravery of Joseph.  Moses being brave when the atmosphere was not conducive to such. 

The situations may change but the same God who has worked for hundreds of years is the same God who works today! 

Jehovah God is full of power and might.  He is all knowing.  He is caring, kind and loving.  No matter our situations, He is God, and He will bring His children through whatever struggle is before them.  God is God and will always be! 

In a recent sermon I made the statement "stop worrying, I have read the end of the book and we WIN!"  It is a statement that I have said hundreds of times in my ministry.  But this time it seemed to hit home more.  That got me to realizing something.  I began to see the depth of fear in the lives of many.  Is our constant siege producing such fear that we miss the foundational truth needed to press on in difficult times?

Living as a winner requires more than words.  But in the words "...we WIN" are found a truth that sits as a foundation for our lives, if we allow it.  The foundation is that God through Jesus paid for our victory.  In Him, we can overcome the reach of fear.  In Him we WIN!

Take some time to look at the following verses:
Isa 41:10; Isa 41: 13; Isa 43:1; John 12:15; II Tim 1:7

These are but a few of the many exhortations Biblically given to guide us through the fear factor in our lives. 

Though often people prey on our fears to manipulate and control us, God says we are to fear Him alone, and thus allow Him to defeat all other areas of fear in our lives.  Ironically, the one fear we are to have and do not, is the only weapon to defeat the grip of Satan and his use of fear in weighing us down.

Fear nothing but God Himself, and watch fear depart.  Fear God alone, and watch Him bring your life the victory that He has paid for! 

Speaking the TRUTH in todays America (Series)

Part 1

Over the past week I have made clear my perception of today's America - it is not pretty.  In noting this, the simple fact that the change we are seeing did not occur overnight was also front and center.  So now we must ask the question as Christians trying to reach people in this new era of "neo-anything can be truth" culture, HOW?

American Christians have perfected the speech approach to teaching.  Even in our social media use can be found the clear and often blunt ugly use of this method in telling people what is wrong with their ideology and where they will go because of it.  We make our points well yet we are failing to impress or influence even a few.  It is time we seek to understand the needed approach required if we are to really make a difference today.

And for many Christians, this is going to be a tough road to travel!

Our learning begins with some simple facts.  People without Jesus, do not have a foundation that we can build upon.  People without Jesus, need Jesus first!  Never should we compromise the truth with anyone.  But understanding that only in a relationship with Jesus is the foundation upon which truth is built can we expect any glimmer of accomplishing lasting life change.  This is Biblical truth.  Hard to realize that we Christians must first accept a truth before we expect others to do the same.  But this is a must.  The journey begins with this hurdle at the starting line.

Many American churches are facilitating this hurdle by abandoning Evangelistic outreach endeavors.  We talk much about reaching the nations.  Preaching to the nations is the new modern day battle cry!  A simple analysis of our current trends in methods and thoughts on evangelism reveal that we are doing little to reach individual people regardless of the intent of the battle cry.  The popular growth of Reformed Theology and the New Calvinism of our day are not helping either.  The more this spreads the fewer people that will be reached.  Sharing Jesus is the beginning.  It is more than preaching/teaching.  Sharing Jesus is more than telling someone to turn or burn.  Sharing Jesus is sharing Jesus story and what He did for all of us.  It is making it clear that Jesus offers a free gift called salvation to all who will receive.  The gift is offered, but we each must chose to accept or reject. 

Rom 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(NKJ)

Rom 5:8
8    But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(NKJ)

Sharing truth requires each of us who know Christ to begin sharing His truth.  It is not turn or burn.  It is begging and pleading with people to see what God did for them in His Son Jesus.  It is sharing the love of God for all people regardless of where they have been or what they have done!  It is leaving the judging to God while living as one changed so as not to cause anyone to stumble so that the message of Gods love in Christ, can be seen and thus received.

This is the starting point!  No moral or political change is possible of lasting value without Jesus first!

How times have changed

I was reading an article this evening about a Florida Pastor who has been praying at school flag poles for some time.  Now he is being told that it is illegal to do so.  He has committed to continue his prayer time, normally surrounded by parents and grandparents, this coming Monday as normal.  It all got me thinking.

In 1991, See You at The Pole was just getting off the ground as a student prayer meeting.  The movement was student led and grew quickly.  I was serving as a Youth Pastor in Louisiana and facilitated our students with accomplishing the Flag Pole prayer meeting.  It was huge.  And it continued to grow.  After the first year of seeing what God was doing I realized that more could be done.  I got with a fellow Youth Pastor from a neighboring town that was as crazy as I was and we started praying.  We asked God specifically to give us a plan for what we felt was swelling up inside of us.  Did we ever get an answer.

The next year we launched a See You at The Pole Rally.  Remember, we were crazy!  We sought to fill up  an entire Worship Center with teenagers and share the Gospel with them.  We encouraged students to get anyone they could to attend that night.  It was gonna be wild.  More crazy was the fact that neither of us budgeted the event (God placed it on our hearts after budget time) and out of the box thinking was going to be needed.

The plan formalized and with both us of us using our churches equipment and people the first rally day arrived.  The morning Flag Pole was huge.  But would they come that night?  Our church was hosting it.  Our adults had to move out of the Worship Center for their Wednesday night time.  Talk about raised eyebrows.  But they did.  Many of our adults agreed to work security and do other things.  They were still questioning just how many we would have and what in the world this event would be like.  I was doing the same thing!

Thirty minutes until start time and only 25 teenagers were on our property.  I was one nervous dude.  Fifteen minutes before start time and still only 25.  Then with five minutes to go - the swell hit.  That night over 450 teenagers filled our Worship Center.  It was beyond belief.  Over 20 teenagers accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.  5 others surrendered to ministry.  God had done a work beyond what we imagined.  Our youth group took off and from that point on we never baptized less than 30 teenagers a year. 

We continued the event and each year God worked in incredible ways.  And yet today I realized just how much times have changed.  Yes their were challenges back then.  Legally I had an attorney and other people making sure we did not cross any lines.  The schools themselves were supportive and many teachers joined in praying outside of the circle that the students would make.  Parents and grandparents joined.  No one from the school board nor the schools legal office tried to intervene.

Not today!  Funny how people demand their freedom while limiting others.  Funny how other religious groups resist legal pressure while enforcing the same on Christians.    Ironic that the Occupy movement can violate laws and actually get public funds applied to clean up their mess and more.  And yet today, a Pastor is told is it illegal to pray at a Flag Pole?

I'm still thinking...!