Afraid of What?

Afraid of What?

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I not be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

Fear. It seems like fear is quickly becoming the word of the day. Instead of using a color-coded alert system for terror, we could many would welcome a color-coded fear alert.

Think about some of the fears that we are facing just in the past several weeks: Swine Flu. Deeper Recession. Increased taxes. Job losses. Al Quaeda possibly compromising Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Iran and North Korea moving ahead with their nuclear programs. Increase in Islamic Jihad threats.

We are seeing an increase in men and women losing their lives for their faith around the globe. In recent days and man walked into a church sanctuary and fired a gun at the pastor, killing the pastor and injuring several parishioners.

God's children need never to allow fear to rule and reign in their lives. It is not that we will never have fears -- we should not allow these fears to cripple us.

One of my favorite bloggers is Tim Challies. In his weekend blog, he shared a poem that was written by Presbyterian missionary E.H. Hamilton following the recent martyrdom of one of his colleagues, J.W. Vinson, at the hands of rebel soldiers in northern China. Challies writes that " small Chinese girl who escaped from the bandits related the incident that provided the inspiration for Hamilton’s poem."

“Are you afraid?” the bandits asked Vinson as they menacingly waved a gun in front of him.
“No,” he replied with complete assurance. “If you shoot, I go straight to heaven.”
His decapitated body was found later.

Afraid? Of what?
To feel the spirit’s glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace,T
he strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
Afraid to see the Saviour’s face,
To hear His welcome, and to trace,
The glory gleam from wounds of grace,
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
A flash - a crash - a pierced heart;
Brief darkness - Light - O Heaven’s art!
A wound of His a counterpart!
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
To enter into Heaven’s rest,
And yet to serve the Master blessed?
From service good to service best?
Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what?
To do by death what life could not -
Baptize with blood a stony plot,
Till souls shall blossom from the spot?
Afraid? Of that?

Is there something you are fearing today? Are you crippled by fear? Run to Jesus. Let Him move you from fear to faith. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 4; 1 Kings 16-18; Luke 22: 47-71

Great Quote: We may not preach a crucified Saviour without being also crucified men and women. It is not enough to wear an ornamental cross as a pretty decoration. The cross that Paul speaks about was burned into his very flesh, was branded into his being, and only the Holy Spirit can burn the true cross into our innermost life.... A. B. Simpson