The One thing we should fear

"I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! (Luke 12:4-5 NASB)

"Don't be afraid," Jesus was saying. (We looked at this in yesterday's post. You can see it here.) Even if someone threatens to kill you, even if they do kill you, I've got this, He told his disciples. Being killed is not the worst thing that could happen. Going to hell is the worst thing. Everything else pales in comparison.

I don't have to be afraid, and neither do you. There is only one thing we should fear, Jesus told His disciples. Fear God, who has the final say about our eternal destiny. He is omnipotent and He makes the rules about who spends eternity with Him and who does not. 

The word translated as fear is phobos and indicates a reverential fear. According to Vine's, this is "not a mere 'fear' of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him." This kind of fear, it says, should "inspire a constant carefulness" in the way we act, both toward God and toward our fellow man.

We serve a God of grace and love and mercy, all of which He offers willingly to us. We can have His grace, love, and mercy in abundance. BUT. We will have them on His terms. 

As parents, we make rules for our family and expect them to be followed. When rules are broken, there are consequences. The point of rules is not to be mean. The rules serve to create order, ensure safety, respect authority, and make an environment conducive to the expression of love and joy. The rules, when followed, bring peace.

The One who is Creator and Sustainer of the Universe has also made rules for those of us who live here. He expects us to follow them. The point is not to be mean. Like the rules in my home, they are designed to create order, ensure safety, respect authority, and make an environment conducive to love and joy. The rules make a peaceful place to live.

The issue of eternity is pretty simple. We can choose heaven or we can choose hell. If we choose hell, we can do anything we want. It won't matter what we do; there will always be a place waiting for us in hell. If we choose heaven, that choice comes with a caveat. Choosing heaven means choosing God. It means we try to do things His way. 

Love as He loved. 
Give as He gave. 
Serve as He served.

There is one thing for certain. We will choose. Whether we intend to or not, we will make a choice about our eternal destiny by the life we live and the One we serve (or don't serve). What kind of choice are you making with your life?

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He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. (Psalms 103:10-11 NASB)

Our Father, You have not given us what we deserve and we thank you. Your lovingkindness toward those who fear, respect, honor You is too great to measure, and we thank You. Give us a dread of displeasing You and a constant carefulness in how we live. Give us a heart that fears You so that we can love, give, serve as You have loved, given, and served us.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

How to stop being afaid

"I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! (Luke 12:4-5 NASB)

Jesus knew His disciples would face persecution. He knew they would live under the constant threat of death. He knew that some of them would die horrific deaths because of their faith in Him.  He knew what they would face, and He told them, so they wouldn't be surprised. I love that about Him. 

God knows everything we will face and nothing takes Him by surprise. Often, He gives us a heads-up about what is coming, so we won't be surprised, either. I love that about Him, too. The "uneasy feeling" of trouble coming? That's not a sixth sense.  It's God, preparing us for what's ahead.

He knows about the terrible diagnosis we will hear when the tests come back. He knows about the loved one who goes astray, the husband who leaves, the wife who has an affair, the lost job, the financial crisis. He knows.

What is even more precious to me is that He knows about our fear. He knows that the thought of a trial is often worse than the trial itself. I look back on some of the hardest times of my life. At the beginning, I was scared out of my mind. Looking back now, I see those times as some of the most precious of my life. Why? Because I didn't go it alone. God was with me every step of the way through. My fear was pointless, a wasted exercise in futility.

"Fear not" is angel talk. That's what they always say to us when they come. I wish we could grasp "fear not" and hold on to it. We don't have to be afraid, because we are not going it alone. 

 Fear not is God-talk, too. "Don't be afraid," Jesus was saying. Even if someone threatens to kill you, even if they do kill you, I've got this, He told his disciples. Being killed is not the worst thing that could happen. Going to hell is the worst thing. Everything else pales in comparison.

It's time we got our fear straight. We are full of so many fears. We fear rejection, failure, loss, disease, pain, suffering, death. We fear, so we live our lives trying to avoid the very thing we fear. 

I used to do that. Finally, I got it. When Jesus said "don't be afraid," He meant it. I don't have to be afraid.  I can choose something different. I can choose fearlessness. 

So I did.

I stopped being afraid. 

I'm not perfect at it. I still struggle with it. But mostly, I'm done with it. 

Experience has taught me that there is nothing that will ever come my way that God cannot handle. He's got this life of mine. Even when I mess up, He's got it.

I am in expert hands, and you can be, too.

Make a choice. Change your life. Give your fear away to the One who abolishes fear and be done with fear. You will love how knowing without a doubt that God is in control of your life opens up your possibilities. Nothing is too hard for Him, so nothing is too hard for you.

It is life-changing.

Why not be done with fear? How? Give your fear to God and embrace what He gives instead.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; 

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 

     (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV)

* * *

God of all power, help me to be done with fear today. Replace my fear with You power, Your love, and a sound mind that comes only from You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Whispers in the darkness

Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. (Luke 12:1-3 NASB)

In the original language, "what you have said in the dark" indicates something spoken in secrecy. "Heard in the light" references the illuminating light that makes things clear. This verse can be taken two ways, and I believe both are correct.

First, when we whisper secrets that we don't want heard, they will, all too often, find a way out and become public knowledge. If we don't want it known, we should not say it. 

Secondly, this is likely a prophetic reference to the time after Jesus' resurrection, when the disciples would be gathered together for prayer until the day of Pentecost. What was spoken of Christ in secret, in the hidden room where they sheltered, would be proclaimed for everyone to hear. The illumination of the Holy Spirit would make all things clear. When the Holy Spirit empowered them, the disciples would not hold back. They would share Christ with boldness and power. 

When we combine verse 3 with the verses that follow, speaking of coming persecution, it confirms the reference to whispers of Christ. Our faith should burn so brightly within us that we cannot keep silent about the wonder of Christ's redemption, no matter the cost.

Christians in this country have not yet experienced the kind of persecution that has been seen in other places around the world. It may come here as well (and almost certainly will). When persecution comes, our job will be no different. We are to follow Him and proclaim the good news that Christ died for sinners, just as we do now.

Therein lies the rub, doesn't it? If the good news of Jesus were dependent upon the way I share it with those around me, how far would it spread? How widely would it be proclaimed? What if the cause of Christ were dependent upon how you share Him with those around  you? If we don't share our faith with others now, it is not likely we will share our faith in times of persecution and danger. 

If we are to share Christ when times are hard, and we are, we must be willing to share Him when times are easy. Just to be clear, a hard time is not when someone thinks you are a fanatic or says a few harsh words to you. 

A hard time is when a soldier clad in black holds a knife to your neck and threatens to cut off your head if you do not deny Christ. 

A hard time is when a soldier with a gun threatens to kill your child if you do not recant your faith. 

That is a hard time. 

Nothing we have faced in this country compares.

Am I sharing the good news of Jesus with those around me? Am I making disciples? If not, how do I expect my faith to withstand hard times? How will I be faithful then?

If we have accepted Christ, we must follow Him. If we follow Him, we must share Him. 

It's that simple. 

It's also that hard. 

There is a decision to be made. Will I follow Him? Will I share Him no matter the cost?

but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, 

but is to glorify God in this name. (1 Peter 4:16 NASB)

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Father, help me to follow You faithfully, no matter the cost. Help me to share the good news that Christ died for sinners, of which I am chief. May honoring You be uppermost in my heart, in my words and actions. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The great and terrible revealing

Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. (Luke 12:1-3 NASB)

Our focus verse today is a difficult one for me. Jesus had warned the disciples against hypocrisy, then continued. "There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known." The word translated as "covered up" is sygkalyptō and indicates something that has been completely covered on all sides so that it is totally camouflaged, not visible to the naked eye. The word translated as "hidden" is kryptos and indicates something that is a carefully concealed secret. 

Jesus was talking about those things in our lives that we reserve for ourselves alone. Those thoughts and actions we would never want anyone to know. It includes the things we do (or don't do) as well as those things we've done in the past. I have a few of those secret, hidden things from my past that I would never want someone to know, much less have revealed for all the world to see, and I suspect you do, too. If we are honest with ourselves, we all have things of which we are ashamed, things we want to keep hidden for all eternity.

Jesus warned against those hidden things because, He told those listening to Him, they will eventually be revealed. The word apokalyptō is translated as "revealed" and is a word that indicates that which is completely hidden will be completely revealed. Nothing will be left hidden, no matter how carefully the secret has been concealed. All will be known. The word here is ginōskō and indicates a complete, full knowledge of the matter.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 tells us, "For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil."

I don't want all my secrets known, and I certainly don't want all my secrets told. You probably don't either.

Nothing said in secret and nothing done in secret will remain so forever. One day, all will be revealed. Every secret sin will be known. There are a myriad of possible responses to this fact, but only two that I recommend. 

The first is to guard our thoughts and actions, making sure we only say and do those things on which we would willingly allow light to shine. I've seen it said, "If you wouldn't want your mama to see it, don't do it." The problem with that philosophy is that God sees it all. If you don't want God to see it or do it, restrain yourself and don't do it. 

The second response is to give all our secret failures to our Lord, who can wash them white as snow. One of my favorite Scripture passages is Isaiah 1:18-19, in which God pleads with His people to return to Him.

"Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land..." Isaiah 1:18-19 NASB

When we allow God to wash us clean from our sin, He does even more. He blesses us with His best.

Let us, then, join in praying the prayer David prayed after his fall with Bathsheba.

"According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 

Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.

Psalm 51:2-4 NASB

Beware of leaven.

Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. (Luke 12:1-3 NASB)

"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy," Jesus told the crowd. Leaven is a substance such as yeast that causes fermentation of dough or batter. When fermentation occurs, it causes the dough to expand (or rise). A tiny pinch of yeast will quickly spread through an entire bowl of dough. The word translated as hypocrisy is hypokrisis. It can also be translated as play acting or dissimilation (becoming unlike).

The Pharisees, Jesus was saying, were play-acting their faith and, as a result, they were becoming less like God instead of more like Him. As representatives of God to a lost world, the example they gave was worse than no example at all. Beware of their example, Jesus said. If you aren't paying attention, you will become just like them. 

The problem, of course, is that hypocrisy is much easier than living a life of faith. Being a disciple requires that I give up my desires to follow Christ, when I would rather do what I want. That's what had happened to the Pharisees. They had studied the law so long that they could quote it easily, and were experts at enforcing the law. When it came to obeying the law, they weren't so good. 

What they had done was pick and choose. They decided which laws they would follow. They tithed the mint in their garden, but didn't care about widows and orphans. Tithing mint is easily accomplished. Providing for widows and orphans requires an ongoing commitment to their care. Putting money in the offering boxes was easy to do. Having a heart that was humble and pure was much harder.

It's the same for us. At least it is for me. Giving money is much easier than loving my enemies and praying for those who despitefully use me, isn't it? Teaching what God says is much easier than having an humble, teachable spirit that gives God all the credit and leaves none for myself. It's easier to put on my "Sunday clothes" and go to church with the same attitude I have for going to the grocery store than to arrive with a heart eager to hear from God, willing to renounce my sin and embrace the purity only God can give.

I want to be done with hypocrisy. 

I don't like it in others and I don't want it in me. 

But I'm a Pharisee. 

I do what I don't want to do. I think what I don't want to think. I don't do what I know I should. Like Paul, I think woe is me. Who will separate me from this?

Only Christ. 

Paul said that, what the law could not do, God did in sending Jesus. Through Him, we are made clean and kept clean. It's a choice we must make every day. Will we allow Jesus to cleanse us? Will we follow Him? Will we walk the path of the Pharisees or will we walk the road of Calvary, where His will becomes ours and we become one with Him?

If we want to be real disciples, and not just Pharisees, we will follow the road Christ set before us, in the way He walked it, humbly, putting the will of God before our own. It's not always easy, but it's worth it. 

How to avoid a shipwreck

Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. (Luke 12:1-3 NASB)

In yesterday's post, we looked at the word "beware". The word translated as "beware" is prosechō and is the same word used to describe the action of bringing a ship into dry land safely. It caused me to wonder about the dangers of bringing a ship to land, which ultimately led me to the top 50 causes of loss of ships. The list was so interesting that I thought you might enjoy a little detour to see it. 

Dr. E. Lee Spence, writing about shipwrecks, published a list of the 50 top causes of loss of ships. (you can read the entire list with the link below.)
Causes of the loss of ships at sea, by wreck or otherwise

1. Short complement of men.
2. Deficiency of materials and stores.
3. Deficiency of water and provisions.
4. Bad materials — anchors, chains, boats, spars, sails, cordage, etc.
5. Bad quality of water and provisions.
6. Teetotality — coffee instead of rum, etc.
7. Bad condition of the ship from age, want of repairs, caulking, and looking properly to.
8. Bad construction of the ship, out of trim, cranky, etc.
9. Incapacity of masters and others.
10. Presence of captain’s wives, and other women

Of the top ten causes of shipwreck, four are essentially due to not taking care of the ship and the equipment needed. (bad materials, bad quality, bad construction, bad condition). Four more are due to inadequate supplies (too few men, stores, provisions, and masters). 

Shipwrecks are bad business, and I want no part of it. I've seen lives that are "shipwrecked", and it's a heartbreaking sight.  I want no part of that, either.

How do we avoid shipwrecking our lives? If we want to navigate the treacherous waters of life safely, we must attend our lives in the same way that a captain attends his/her ship. We need to begin with truth, and make quality decisions based on that truth. We also need to take care of the "ship", or, in this illustration, take care of our bodies with adequate rest, exercise, and a healthy diet. 

We are more than physical beings, however. We are body, mind, and soul. Our minds need to be occupied, as does our soul. Experts recommend "mind tasks" such as crossword puzzles and math games to keep the mind sharp. I enjoy games, but prefer a life-long quest for learning to keep my mind sharp. My effort to learn the skills needed for writing fiction is just one example of that. "You're never too old to learn something new" is my motto.

Most important, however, is taking care of our souls. Bible study and Scripture memory are essential, but they are not enough. All the Bible studies in the world will not help me navigate the perils of life if I don't apply the lessons I learn. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, said that the purpose of study is to handle the word of truth accurately. Our goals should be that of a workman who wants to please his employer. In the case of disciples of Christ, we should aim to please God by how we use His Word.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB)

Taking care of body, mind, and soul is an almost daunting task, but none of it is optional if we want to have the abundant life Christ came to give us. (John 10:10) It can be done, no matter our age or education or economics. 

Ship captains keep their eye on the goal. A successful journey is only accomplished when the ship returns to harbor. In the same way, the success of our lives is only determined at the end, when we successfully reach our eternal destination. If we want to reach our goal, we must be diligent to care for our ship (body, mind, and soul) and make sure we are traveling in the direction of the destination we most desire to reach. 

Pleasing God. In eternity, it's all that matters.