Tag Archive for fear

Come to Me

2017-06-26 Devotional with Hymn No comments

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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, NIV)

What burdens you right now? Various situations and concerns probably start parading through your mind. Each involves uncertainty and fear.

Fear creates an imaginary world for us—a world in which there is no God, with all His love and power and promised faithfulness. Don’t live another day in that dark world! Christ invites us to come to Him and know Him. As we do, fear and its imaginary world melt away in the light of His love.

But you may carry another burden that doesn’t immediately come to mind: the burden of self-concern. It’s the most constant, most distracting, most draining burden that any of us carries. It is the drive to constantly look out for ourselves and worry about ourselves and promote ourselves to those around us.

It is another burden that melts away as we come to Christ and know and trust Him. We come to Christ with many burdens. We leave with only one: the burden of pleasing Him. But what an easy burden it is! All He asks is that we trust Him who has proven Himself trustworthy and love Him who is so loving and lovely.

Bring all your burdens to Christ—now and every time they raise their heads. Trade them for His one burden: the burden of simply loving and trusting Him. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Come
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

No Fear, No Bitterness

2016-09-06 Devotional with Hymn No comments

God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)

No matter how the present situation seems,
remember:
God has not given us a spirit of fear.
Do not let appearances intimidate you.

No matter what others have done to you,
remember:
God has not given us a spirit of bitterness,
but of forgiveness, love, and peace in Him.

Fear and bitterness are Satan’s deceptions.
Resist them.
Renounce them, and
embrace love.
Embrace faith.
Embrace Jesus.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: One in Purpose, One in Passion
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

No Fear

2016-07-26 Devotional with Hymn No comments

When nagged by uncertainties big and small –
no fear.

In the grip of illness –
no fear.

In need –
no fear.

In loss –
no fear.

In change –
no fear.

In all my weakness and boundless ignorance –
no fear.

In the darkness –
no fear.

When opposed by forces far stronger than myself –
no fear.

When assaulted by temptation –
no fear.

When threatened by suffering –
no fear.

In the valley of the shadow of death –
no fear.

For my life is hidden with Christ
in You,
my Father,
my loving Savior,
my mighty Rock,
my sovereign Lord and
my everlasting God.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: If God Is on Our Side
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics

Father, Save Us from Fear

2015-01-20 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Salvation, in its broadest sense, is deliverance from anything that
pinches us,
oppresses us,
narrows us, or
restricts the free flow of God’s life in us and through us.
We need this salvation not only in moments of crisis, but
daily,
constantly,
need by need.

One of our most constant temptations,
one of the greatest hindrances to our life in Christ, is
fear –
fear of anything but God Himself.

Fear threatens all the most precious gifts and graces
our loving Father longs to pour through us:
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
generosity,
thankfulness, and
wholehearted praise.
When fear takes hold, all these are choked out.
Fear plunges us into a false reality where
God is not God.
Fear causes us to think and act as if God is not
all-powerful,
all-wise, and
all-loving.

Sometimes fear expresses itself as outright worry.
It stares us in the face and
grabs us by the throat.
But sometimes it is more subtle.
We’re not fully aware of its presence.
It simmers beneath the surface,
making us vaguely unsettled and uneasy.

As soon as anything concerns you,
no matter how big or small,
drag it out into the full light of day and pray,
“Father, I am concerned about _______.
If there is anything I should do about it,
lead me, and
I will follow.
Otherwise, I simply trust it to You.”
Pray this way every time that concern comes to mind.

Don’t let the Enemy clutter your mind and disturb your peace
with concerns that are
unexamined and
unnecessary.

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

Listen and sing:
Hymn: As I Trust You
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics