FEARS' COMPELLINGS

Image result for CLIP ART SHOWING FEARIn completion of the readings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it has been so interesting to see how the spirit of fear drove actions against the Lord Jesus.  The religious feared Jesus for his teachings which they considered blasphemy.  They were so fearful that they were willing to plan to kill Jesus since His popularity arose with the raising of Lazarus.  They would have taken Him captive then, but they were fearful of the great crowds following Jesus. Luke records that Pilate and Herod, though they feared Jesus for their own political sakes and what the Roman government would do to their little "kingdoms" had been enemies. Fear drove them to unite as co-hearts since they must remove Jesus, THE THREAT, from the center stage of their political world.

Fear was the compelling motivation for Peter's denial of Jesus and most of the other disciples moving into hiding.  Fear drove Judas to betray Christ because he could see his dreams of a new king and being a part of the "leadership team" going down the political drain.  Nicodemus, a Pharisee, who came to claim the body of our Lord along with Joseph of Arimathea, was a secret follower of Jesus because of the fear of the religious Pharisees.  

Consider with me, how has negative fear compelled the activities of your life?  What actions have you been willing to take driven by fear?  How have the fears of being over-looked, disregarded, and ignored motivated you?  In my own life, fear and pride have been a "tag team" and have in the past been strongholds because I believed the lies of inferior, less than, not good enough, and insecurity.  It has been a battle, but a relief to pull down the strongholds which have been raised up against the Truth of Scripture...2 Corinthians 10:3-5.  I must heed the warnings of 1 Peter 5 and Ephesians 6 because the evil one is always there to applaud when I am ensnared.  Pride and fear are most subtle and I must stay alert.  How about you?  Forever learning.  In process.  #IHAVETHREESONS

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THOSE SEEING CAN BECOME BLIND

Image
John 9 is the story of the healing of the blind beggar.  Not only is it a marvelous story of the miraculous healing of the man as he is given his sight, but a sad story of the religious of whom Jesus said, "For judgment, I have come into this world, so that the blind will see, and those who see will become blind ." The religious have seen the miracle, even though it has taken place on a Sabbath, and they interview the man and his parents for their stories and understanding. I find it so thrilling that the healed man speaks so articulately and logically with the religious in their "interview" with him.  His statement, " Now that is remarkable!  You don't know where HE comes from, yet HE opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners.  He listens to the godly man who does His will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing." What truth he has spoken to the religious wh...
Read more

REHEARSALS

Image
  I wonder how much time do I give to rehearsing God's goodness and how He has intervened in my life to "save" me from myself?  How alike the Israelites I can be, complaining about what goes wrong, how it affects me, and what I lack.  As a Christ follower, I have the Indwelling Holy Spirit to give me remembrance NOT of my complaining and grumbling, but of a recall of God's faithfulness to me.  It is recorded in Psalms 78 and 106 that " They forgot what He had done, the wonder He had shown them", "They did not remember His power--the day He redeemed them from the oppressor...", "They did not remember Your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.", "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel.", and "They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt...". Contrast with me, God's remembrance: Ps. 106:44-46, "But He took note of their distress...
Read more

A DONKEY SPEAKS!

Image
    Numbers has been full of repetitive accounts of the Israelites and their disobedience.  They have now made several laps around Mt. Sinai, many of the original people have died off, or been killed for their arrogant and presumptuous actions against the LORD, Moses, and Aaron. The overriding truth of the accounts is the merciful grace of the LORD! Moses is in his last days of leadership.  The forty years are coming to an end and they are moving toward a second attempt to enter the Promise Land.  They have been victorious in taking land, and they are moving further into the interior of the land of Moab.  The king and the residents of Moab are "filled with dread because of the Israelites.  The king of Moab, Balak, sends messages to Balaam, who is a sorcerer and is able to to place curses or blessings on others.  King Balak wants to know how to defeat "this horde" that is licking up everything around them.  Of course, he is desirous th...
Read more