We live within the tension between our fears and what we can accomplish if we take risks for Jesus’ sake — and sometimes our own.  Fear had captured the disciples, and yet Jesus was adamant — “Take courage.  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  While the words are designed to compel us to wrestle our fears under control, they also highlight a limiting condition of the human psyche.  We live in fear!  And it is our fear which gets in the way of our ability to do phenomenal things at the call of Christ.  It’s our fear which stunts whatever courageous acts we might take that would allow us to accomplish great things — phenomenal things because Jesus calls us to do them.  With courage we can step outside the bounds of what is considered normal and with God as our partner, do the things that seem abnormal.  But before we can do those things, fear must be brought under control.  Fear must be remedied.  Fear must be eliminated and our faith — that which drives us beyond what we believe we can do into the realm of the One for whom all things are possible — our faith enables us to accomplish God’s work without our self‑imposed limitations of fear.  These things become possible if we’re willing to live and love courageously.

• When have you taken a risk courageously that you were previously afraid to take?
• What possessed you to step out on faith rather than to live in fear?
• Has allowing your faith to overrule your fear changed your relationship to God?
• In what ways?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
God of faith and love, help me to believe that with you all things are possible. Help me to eliminate my fear through faith so that Your glory might be revealed in me.

         Most everyone is aware of the acronym for FEAR — “False Evidence Appearing Real”.  It’s almost a cliché statement.  But the reality is most people’s fear is real to them.  And all of the evidence they receive is valid and true.  And enough research has been done to show that fear covers a wide spectrum.  There are people who fear heights (acrophobia), people who fear water (aquaphobia), people who fear the number 13 (triskaidekaphobia), people who fear death (thanatophobia), and people who fear being ordinary (koinophobia). and of course there is the more common xenophobia (the fear, dislike, or prejudice against people perceived as foreigners or strangers).  It’s not only common, but we observe it in practice in our communities today.  Those are clinical and medically described fears that people suffer from.  And yet, there is a fear that is common to all people.  It’s normal in most cases and healthy in some others.  But when we become trapped by those things that prevent us from the freedom in life that God intended for us, then we face a far more powerful fear than can be handled by a medical specialist.  That’s the essential reason why the resurrection of Christ was so vital.  It was a spiritual signal to all humanity that in life and in death there is nothing really to fear.  Jesus wanted to show us that it’s possible to live courageously and love courageously without the anxiety that living every day sometimes brings.  He also wanted to show that the only real fear we needed to experience was the fear of God (reverence and awe) — a fear that is life‑giving and creates a human trust God in that can overcome all situations and frees us from the uncertainties of life and death.

         We are truly blessed to have a God who loved us so radically that he was willing to display the power of faith by allowing His Son to die.  And more, to raise him to new life to show us that not even death is to be feared.

• What fears in your life have prevented you from living your life to the fullest?
• When has faith alive in you helped you to overcome something you were afraid of?
• How has God worked within your fears to increase your faith and trust in God to deliver you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious and freeing God, empower me by my faith in your resurrection to put aside every doubt and fear that prevents me from living life and loving others courageously.

         Life is filled with many uncertainties.  Because of that we all look for something or someone we can depend on to bring some stability to our lives.  When the winds of life make a sudden shift in the direction they’re blowing, they have the ability to throw us off course and make everything seem so unstable.  When things become unstable there isn’t a sense of security.  There is only the fear at times that we will end up being somewhere that we didn’t want to be, doing something that we hadn’t planned to do, for a reason determined by something other than ourselves.  For those who have no knowledge of God, living with that kind of instability may be normal.  Not knowing what life may hold for a person may in fact be acceptable.  But in the end, we will all reach for that one thing that will secure our life in the midst of life’s challenges.  For those of us who have found faith in Christ, Jesu has become our anchor.  He has become the one who steady’s our life’s ship in the midst of life’s storms.  He is the one who has the power to say to the winds and the waves, “Peace!  Be still!”  And it’s within the authority of our Christ that we have come to find our stability.  When we make a mistake, we live with the assurance of God’s forgiveness.  When we feel we should be punished, we live with the certainty of God’s mercy.  When we believe that we’ve done something so outrageous that we believe we couldn’t be forgiven and that we’ve become unlovable, God’s love through Jesus Christ is there as a guarantee.  We have the promise of God that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Jesus Christ.  And it is that astounding and amazing love that secures our world.  It is the one certainty that everyone can rely on.  God loves us, and we can’t do anything about it!  Of that we can be certain, and with that we know that Christ is our Savior.

• What is it about knowing that you and God’s love are inseparable gives you confidence that Jesus is our Savior?
• What does that mean for you when personal and spiritual trials come into your life?
• How does knowing that Christ is your savior, shape you faith and confidence in God to hear your cries of distress?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, thank You for Your gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration. Because Your love for me is unstoppable, You have saved me forever.