Tag Archives: fear

Paralysis: Satan’s Tool

Evangelism, ,

Guillen-Barre is a slowly progressing illness that paralyzes people beginning in the feet and sometimes moving all the way into the chest and neck. It’s terrifying to feel your muscle control slipping away and wondering whether your breathing will soon stop. In most cases GB reverses itself and patients make a full recovery but they are forever changed by the brush with a permanent infirmity.

As horrible as physical paralysis is, spiritual paralysis is far worse and, I would argue, far more common. In fact, paralysis is one of the devil’s top tools for preventing evangelism and stopping the spread of the gospel.

We’ve all experienced it. We meet someone that we really click with. We begin to spend time with them at work or at play. We actually consider talking to them about Jesus. But then the paralysis sets in. We cannot seem to bring ourselves to discuss the most important topic in our life and in theirs. “Jesus” just will not come out of our mouths. It would be easier to bend our arm halfway between our wrist and elbow than to talk to our new friend about their soul. Why? What happened?

Assumptions

We often assume that the people we know are not interested in the Bible. Or we assume that people are already comfortable in their faith and have no interest in anything we have to say.

Paul could have made such an assumption when he traveled city-to-city preaching the gospel. Yet he entered the synagogues, places where devout Jews were found, to preach to them. The entire church began among already devout people (Acts 2:5). Today, we likely assume such devout people are already comfortable in their faith.

We also tend to assume that wicked, sinful people – those with no obvious interest in spiritual matters – would likewise be uninterested in Jesus. We filter them out having never even spoken to them about the Lord. How do we know? Rough, Galilean fishermen were the first disciples (Matthew 4:18-22). Sinners were the chosen friends of Jesus (Matthew 11:19). Our assumptions and filters must be eliminated.

Fear

Fear is incredibly powerful. Yet all of God’s great men and women have rejected fear in favor of trusting in God for every need. The apostles were told that they would stand before powerful kings and governors (Mark 13:9) and Jesus would sustain them. Paul was warned of what awaited him in Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 21:10-16). He appeared before murderous Jews and ignorant Romans and yet he never missed an opportunity to preach truth. Finally he would appear before Caesar and preach among the most influential people of the day (Acts 26:32; Acts 28:16, 30).

Satan will try and convince us that we will be persecuted for our faith. Oddly enough, he may be right. But we must know that any persecution that does come our way is laughable compared to what our brothers and sisters in the first century experienced. Be encouraged by the example of all those who stand for truth and let us “speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:14)

 

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter @jbevans.

Of God and Birds

Daily living, Matthew, ,

Passer_iagoensis_maleI’ve been thinking a lot about God’s care for his people. I get in a rush sometimes and forget just how important his care is to us. Nothing happens secretly. He knows our every care and struggle. That means volumes to me.

As I write this morning I am sitting in our front room looking out onto two bird feeders. It’s still early morning, the shadows are slowly retreating, and I expect the arrival of the birds soon. They are so small and delicate. Yet they weather every storm without harm. For them, food never seems to be an issue. Even when I let the feeders empty they still seem to find food somewhere. The neighborhood cat patrols the area, but I have never seen him with one in his mouth. God takes good care of these seemingly insignificant creatures.

God takes care of me too.

Jesus talked about birds.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26)

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. (Matthew 10:29).

With over 10,000 species of birds worldwide it would be impossible to count their actual numbers. They are everywhere. Yet, God knows when one falls or is injured. That’s incredible. But here’s the kicker:

Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:31)

What is Jesus saying? He is saying that if God takes note of the small bird falling to the ground, he will surely take note when you struggle. Even before you beg in prayer, God knows your pain. Before the first tear falls he is already weeping with you.

God truly cares.

Sometimes, in the majesty of his great will, we still must walk through dark places. It is part of the sanctifying process that every Christian goes through. But when we walk in darkness, God is there.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

Today, look for the birds in your life. They fly through for a reason. They remind you of just how much God really cares.

Fear

Bible General, Church Bulletin, Daily living, Encouragement, ,

Today is Patriot Day in the USA. It is a day of memorial for those who died in the terror attacks of 2001. That attack was designed to frighten – terrorize – Americans and remove us from the national stage. It didn’t work.

Fear is one of Satan’s most powerful tools against the Christian. Fear stops evangelism dead in its tracks. Fear causes us to question God and his great promises. The paralyzing power of fear locks the faithful into a do-nothing life which is exactly what Satan wants. It is terrorism on a spiritual scale and it will not work. Continue reading Fear →

Kevin Elko and Touchdown!

Daily living, Hebrews, ,

My good friend Bert Sims suggested I read Touchdown! by Kevin Elko. I am in the process of reading it and will post a short review next week. But I read a story in the book which I just can’t hold back. Elko is a sports psychologist who has worked with the Crimson Tide, The University of North Carolina, Miami and other great sports programs.

Elko tells of meeting a security guard stationed on the ground floor of one of the World Trade Centers on 9/11. As the building burned above him he was trying to get people off the stairs and out the door. He said he kept yelling to the women “Take off your heals, take off your heals!” Their stylish shoes were making it hard to run through the rubble that covered the streets. Only by getting rid of the shoes could they run to safety without falling and being trampled.

Elko notes that to be successful you sometimes have to leave baggage behind. He doesn’t make the point quite as well as the Bible which says,

“let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

It’s not always the physical things like shoes that slow us down. It’s our attitude, our guilt, our anger, our confusion, our mistrust and so many other ideas that distract us from the importance of following Jesus. What weights are you carrying? What obstacles are those weights preventing you from overcoming?

It’s time to take off your shoes!

Fear

Daily living,

What are you afraid of? Nothing? Are you sure?Are you really sure?

The truth is I have never met a mentally intact person who isn’t afraid of something. There are the usual fears we hear about all  the time. Some are afraid of flying, some fear the water and some are scared to death of a snake. Fear is common. But sometimes our fears are not well founded. At least we can say that the feared consequences are not nearly as bad as we imagine. These are irrational because they don’t make sense to clear thinking people. Let me suggest a few to you today. Continue reading Fear →

Fear

Bible General,

I thought I’d take a slightly different direction this morning and talk about a common problem: fear. Actually, I’m going to suggest you visit another site for a great article on dealing with personal fears. This guy is not a preacher and I am not sure where he stands on spiritual matters but I came across his post and thought I suugest you read it. You can find it at Terry Starbucker.com, Ramblings from a Glass Half Full. The article is called, “A Frank Talk With My Friend Fear.“ I hope you enjoy it.