Fear not.
Don’t be afraid.
It’s in the Bible, over and over.
God is so powerful, He could zap us away in a blink. Why doesn’t He?
Because He loves us.
John 3:16 (NIRV)
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.
Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
Thank God for love.
“We fear men so much,
because we fear God so little.
One fear cures another.
When man’s terror scares you,
turn your thoughts to the wrath of God.”
William Gurnall (1616-1679)
A Puritan Golden Treasury
We talk about the patience of Job. Check out Job 38-40. God has some fearsome words for our patient friend:
Job 40:7, 9-12 (NIV)
“Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me . . .
Do you have an arm like God’s,
and can your voice thunder like his?
Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at all who are proud and bring them low,
look at all who are proud and humble them,
crush the wicked where they stand.”
Are you feelin’ the fear?
Do you fear God?
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom.
Wise up! No fear of the Lord = no wisdom. 
Fear of the Lord.
The love of Christ.
Which motivates you more?
These words jumped out during a recent Bible lesson:
2 Corinthians 5:11, 14 (NIV)
We know what it is to fear the Lord . . .
For Christ’s love compels us.
Do I know what it is to fear the Lord?
Does Christ’s love compel me?
Do you?
Does it?
According to Frontier Alliance International (FAI), more Iranians have become Christians in the last 20 years than in the previous 1,300. They call it the fastest growing church in the today’s world. FAI offers this wisdom:
“While many of us would instinctively pray for the Islamic regime to fall and free Iranian Christians to worship publicly, leaders within the movement urge us not to do so. They attribute the growth of the Gospel in Iran to the persecution of the Church at the hands of the regime.”
The Church grows bigger and stronger, it seems, when being a Christian is dangerous.
Lord, it comforts us to pray for freedom and comfort of our Iranian brothers and sisters. Make us more like them, willing to be uncomfortable for Your sake. Grow their faith, strength and numbers–and ours–even if it requires persecution.
For years now, I’ve paid attention to my dreams. Some symbols show up over and over, each time with a similar nudge from the Spirit.
I can’t find my shoes or clothes.
Your role is changing.
I’m driving a car and it doesn’t go well.
You’re taking charge when you shouldn’t.
I’m in a house. I find a room I didn’t expect.
A new opportunity for ministry is coming.
Someone leaves a baby with me and doesn’t come back.
Don’t take on someone else’s job.
Dream on, friends, and listen up.
If God speaks to us through symbols in our dreams, how do we know what He means? Let’s look again to Joseph, the Old Testament master of symbolic dreams.
Genesis 40:8 (NIV)
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God?”
Talk with God about your dream. Ask Him to show you what He means.
I write what I remember about a dream in my journal. I list different possibilities for interpretation. Almost always, when I talk it over with God, one possibility sparks a flash of insight.
Lord, show me what I need to learn from this dream.
All dreams are not alike:
Some dreams are carefully worded. Take the New Testament’s Joseph, for example:
Matthew 2:13 (NIV)
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.”
Some dreams are symbolic, like Joseph’s from the Old Testament:
Genesis 37:9
“I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
Specific words or symbolic images–God sends out His message. It’s our job to pay attention.
