84 WALKING IN THE BLESSING James 1;22.

But be doers of the word, not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer and not a doer, he is like one who looks at his natural face in a mirror; Once he has gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.’ (James 1:22-25) in this particular Scripture, the word MAN comes from the Greek word for MALE (I am pointing this out because in most other Scriptures the word MAN means male and or female) why is that significant? Because there is a difference in the way men and women use a mirror. Men in general glance at it just long enough to get the basics done; whereas women are sometimes so intent on knowing how they look that they even carry a mirror and refer to it regularly throughout the day. But don’t miss the point here, it’s not about the difference in how men and women use mirrors, No, it’s about spending a few hurried moments in the Scripture before rushing out into your day; instead of meditating on it and allowing God’s Word to shape your character into the likeness of Jesus Christ for the day ahead. None of us know what awaits us each morning when we shut the door and leave the relative security of our homes and families, But, those few extra minutes spent in the presence of God could be of tremendous assurance and comfort if and when things don’t go quite as we expect them to during the day ahead. Think about it.!! As you read the Scripture The Holy Spirit holds a mirror in front of you, so that you can make whatever adjustments are necessary. Note the words ‘Whoever looks intently and continues in it, will be blessed’. Walking in God’s Blessing is a two-way street. we need to take care of the ‘Doing’ and He will take care of the ‘Blessing’ As a Christian, your new nature is programmed to want to obey God in much the same way as a calculator is programmed to compute numbers. When you put in the right information, you get the right responses. And when you feed your new nature with God’s Word, it’s designed to give you the right response. That’s why Satan keeps us so busy doing other things so that we wont spend time reading our Bibles. His goal is to keep us weak and ineffective. In (2 Corinthians 3:18) Paul writes; “We all ...beholding as in a mirror the Glory of The Lord, are being transformed into the same image” A mirror is simply a reflector. And the more time we spend in God’s Word, the more we begin to reflect His likeness, But it wont happen by just grabbing a verse here and there or skimming through a passage saying to ourselves “Oh yes nice story” No! God always has something new to tell us and you wont hear it by spending a few hurried moments ‘on the run’ with Him, It doesn’t have to be long, but it has to be “Quality Time” If we want God’s best, we must learn to give Him our best, that includes Time, energy, money and work. In fact all we have comes from Him. If we can’t trust Him with it, where is our Faith? That’s a good question, because it calls for a renewing of our minds everyday with God’s Word, to the extent that the Holy Spirit connects with your spirit and produces a Christlike lifestyle. Jesus said in (John 15;3-4) ‘You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you,. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you bear fruit, unless you abide in me.’ When food dries on a plate, that plate needs to abide in some hot soapy water so that all the mess can be removed. That’s why your mind needs to be soaked in God’s Word, it removes not only gross sin but hardened, baked on stubborn attitudes that will prevent you from growing in grace. Thank you for reading my take on “Living In The Blessing” I find the best thing about living this way is-- You never have to look for God or wonder where He is, because you KNOW He is always with you. And you are completely covered, surrounded and protected (Head to Toe) by the veil of Almighty God Himself. Like Daniel in the Den of Lions Like the Israelites in the Wilderness. Like Paul in the Storm or, Peter chained to two guards in prison. God is always there for you. Now, I am not saying there won’t be difficult times, there will be; but, Living in the Blessing gives you the confidence, the assurance and absolute knowledge that whatever happens good or bad, God is in control and sometimes we have to go through some pretty tough situations, not only to see, but to experience and understand the benefits of God’s Grace and eternal presence in our lives.. He has your best interest at heart Give Him a call He has promised to answer you. (Jeremiah 33.3) God Bless. Phaline. --------------------------------

83. DEAL WITH YOUR FEARS Psalm 118:6

During the great depression in the 1930s unemployment hit 25 per cent of the American population, and our country was in much the same boat. Savings accounts were wiped out by bank failures, Farmers lost their land to repossessions, and people were having trouble feeding their families. During this dark time Franklin D Roosevelt addressed his nation. In these words ‘Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses, needed effort to convert retreat into advance.’ What most people didn’t realise at the time is that the President himself had experienced some dark hours during which fear paralysed him. He was born a child of privilege and educated in Europe, at Harvard, and at Colombia law school. But at age 39 he was struck with Polio which left him severely disabled. During his recovery he developed an extreme fear of fire. He worried he wouldn’t be able to escape because of his disability. But in time he overcame his fear, regained the use of his hands and even learned to walk again with the use of braces. He re-entered the political arena Fearlessly campaigning to become the Governor of New York. Which he did in 1929. He then went on to become one of Americas greatest Presidents. He also Joined with Britain and her allies in the victory of World War 11. In his memoirs he recalls, When he turned to God for help,courage and guidance, He received it. Are you afraid today? If you are, stand on this promise,’The Lord is on my side, I will not fear, What can man do to me. (Psalm118:6) We tend to think that successful people are exempt from fear, nothing could be further from the truth. Every generation in history has experienced fear. The first person God created was Adam, and the first recorded words Adam spoke were these:-’I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself’(Genesis 3:10) . Fear is genetic; It’s part of human nature. Studies confirm that seven of our greatest fears are; (1) Finances, (2) Health, (3) Career Concerns, (4) Parenting Struggles, (5) Family Relationships, (6) Accomplishing Personal Goals, and (7) Death. Are you fearful and anxious in any of those areas? Fear can be a destructive force in your life. One of the old English words for fear is”Sudden attack” It’s akin to an old German word that means “Ambush or Snare”, That’s what fear does it attacks, and takes us Captive. So what’s the answer? Faith in God! Fear weakens but Faith strengthens. Fear imprisons, but Faith liberates. Fear Paralyses, but Faith empowers. Fear disheartens, but Faith encourages. Fear sickens, but Faith Heals. I understand that the words”Fear Not” appear 366 times in Scripture, if that is so, God has given us a ”Fear not” for every day of the year and also one for leap year! And here’s one of them, “Fear Not for I have redeemed you, (bought and paid for you) I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1). Today God is with you and He promises to be with you in every situation you face. If you allow it, fear can be devastating. Why? Because it breeds more fear! And the most insidious thing about fear is its ability to exaggerate. C .Everett Koop Former Surgeon General of the United States, Observed, ‘People just have an inappropriate sense of what is dangerous . Do you fear flying? The fact is you are more likely to die from choking on a piece of food than in an air crash in a commercial aeroplane, Are you afraid of dying in a robbery? You are more likely to die playing sport than be stabbed to death by a stranger. How about Sharks, afraid of them? More people are killed by farm animals than by sharks each year. What about surgery? You are much more likely to die in a car crash than surgical complications. Seldom do our fears come to pass. In our minds we conceive disasters that will likely never happen. And when they don’t occur, we think, That was a close one! The truth is – Our thoughts were the only thing creating potential danger for us. So how should we deal with our fears? By practising the truth of this Scripture. ‘You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast’ (That is committed and focused on You – in both inclination and character) Trust confidently in The Lord forever. (He is your fortress, your shield, your banner) For The Lord God is an everlasting Rock. The Rock of Ages (Isaiah 26:3-4) To enter the Promised land the Israelites had to cross the Jordan river at the stage of its flood. Were they afraid? How would you feel? Nevertheless, the only way to reach their goal and destiny was to do the very thing they feared! When you let fear take hold, you become more fearful and end up creating a debilitating cycle that works like this; fear breeds lack of action; lack of action breeds lack of experience; lack of experience breeds ignorance; and ignorance breeds fear. It makes you afraid to do the very thing that would be beneficial to you. Taking action means you have to step into the unknown and do the untried – and that can be scary. But, if you give in to your fears, you wont move forward. You don’t receive the benefit of what you avoid, nor do you gain the valuable experience that will improve your life. As a result, you will remain ignorant about that area of life, and ignorance always breeds more fear, making it that much harder to push ahead when you want to achieve your goals. Henry Truman remarked; “The worst danger we fear is the fear of being paralysed by doubts and fears, this danger is brought about by those who abandon Faith and sneer at Hope...by those who spread cynicism and distrust to blind us to our great chance to do good for all mankind.’ Someone once said;; “Fear is the Darkroom where all our negatives are developed. It’s interest paid in advance on a debt you may never owe. And it undermines Faith – in yourself, in others and in God. Charles Spurgeon once said;”Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its problems but today of its strengths” As long as you allow fear to take the wheel, you will never get to where God wants to take you or develop and discover the talents He has placed within you. And here’s the great thing, God will help you to confront and conquer those fears that control you. David the Giant Slayer, author of Psalms and Israel’s beloved King, often found himself with his back to the wall, This is when he wrote:-Make haste to help me Lord” (Psalm 38:22), “Lord, be pleased to deliver me” (Psalm, 40:13), David knew who to turn to, “The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid” (Psalm 27:1). When God is the source of your strength you can face your worst fears, and overcome them Sometimes the thing we fear does happen, and if we haven’t learned how to trust God to bring us through, we tend to use our own instincts, running away or mistakenly believing they will just go away, but they don’t. So what should we do?. We can’t wish or wait for it to go away,The only way to escape this prison of fear? Is action. You can only work your way out. Every time we escape that prison of fear we grow stronger. Fear has no upside, and no benefits, it pushes us in the wrong direction while producing nervous energy as you fight its paralysing effects. Don’t let fear rob you of your God-given potential. Learn to trust God in small things, while believing Him for greater things. Start stepping out in your small fears attempting to do them in His strength and you will find God will grow you into trusting Him in bigger things. It works for me!!When you succumb to fear you are already beaten, and you’ll always stay where it’s safe, and that’s sad. Because you can’t reach your potential by always staying in a safe place. Shakespeare said “Our doubts are traitors, they make us loose what we oft’ might win by fearing to attempt’. What would you attempt in life if you were sure you couldn’t fail? Before answering, read these words of David. ‘When I cry out to You...my enemies will turn back...I know because God is for me.(Psalm 56;9). Believe that God is on your side today, then step out and attempt the thing you are afraid to do! You’ll never be the same again – because You are liberated. Thank you for reading these thoughts on not allowing your lives to be ruled by fear . I have carried this one verse in my mind all my life, and even when my worst fears are realised (and sometimes that happens) I know “God is with me so what or whom should I fear”. A strong faith will dispel all your fears. So work daily on your Faith in God and be fearless. God bless, Phaline. -------------------------------