The Apostle Paul explains to us in Ephesians 2:1-9: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The
Apostle Paul explains to us further in Colossians 1:9-14 “Be filled with the knowledge of His
will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner
worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of
all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the
Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the
saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness,
and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Father
God qualifies us, rescues us, transfers us, redeems us and forgives us. What
more can we ask for? Psalm 118:4-8 says, Oh let those who fear the Lord say, “His loving-kindness is
everlasting.” From my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore
I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. Throughout
our lives, each of us will confront and have to deal with the fear of man. Our
lesson tells us that the only fear that can override the fear of man in its
many forms is the fear of the Lord, which means that we need to continuously
strengthen and renew our understanding of Him. Get into the Word of God daily,
trust in Him and do what He says no matter the circumstance and the stronger
you will become spiritually, with a deep sense of peace and the favor of God
that you’ll long for it more and more, then fellowship with other strong
believers who will be there to support you … Bible-believing churches and small groups, like Bible Study.
God puts us in a body because we need each other. Fear God, not man.
In Christ, Brian
2 comments:
I think facing the Lord in our fear is the key isn't it? It's easy to think about being thankful to God during the good times but many fall away when they think He isn't doing the things the flesh wants so they succumb to the darkness (which in reality their hearts never left) and the truth comes out. The Bible says not to pull back because His soul has no pleasure in those who turn away from Him. He is the source of life....where else can we turn? John Chapter 6
Susan, I'd love to hear more about "facing the Lord in our fear". There are different types of fear and they seem to involve real or perceived loss. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines fear as a painful emotion or passion excited by an expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger. Fear expresses less apprehension than dread, and dread less than terror and fright. The force of this passion, beginning with the most moderate degree, may be thus expressed, fear, dread, terror, fright. Fear is accompanied with a desire to avoid or ward off the expected evil. Fear is an uneasiness of mind, upon the thought of future evil likely to befall us. Fear is the passion of our nature which excites us to provide for our security, on the approach of evil. Slavish fear is the effect or consequence of guilt; it is the painful apprehension of merited punishment (Rom. 8). The example that you give of us thinking that God is withholding things that our body, mind, will and emotions desire is the original Sin of Eve. This side of eternity, we never shake those flesh desires of our sinful fallen nature either. Galatians 5:16-26 speaks to the battle that wages within the Believer between the flesh nature and the Holy Spirit daily, but explains to us that we need to "walk in the Spirit" continuously in order to not give in and gratify the flesh. Like you said, the person in your example never stopped walking in the flesh and was using the Lord as some Genie to grant their every wish for pleasure. In that case, who is lord? God, Father, Son & Holy Spirit is "life", so if we turn from the Lord (as you say), where else can we turn? Great point and a very thought provoking comment. Thank you and may God bless.
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