124 ARE YOU LIVING IN FEAR? 1 John 4:1

Ann landers, an advice columnist received about ten thousand letters a month from people who were afraid. When questioned further, she said most people were seriously fearful of something! People were afraid of losing their health, wealth, loved ones and even life itself... If you allow it to, fear will control you. The above scripture tells us “Fear involves torment” And until the power of fear is broken, it will keep tormenting you. When fear rules your life, you cannot truly enjoy anything. And you certainly can’t enjoy God’s blessings. Dr. Caroline Leaf says that “Fear triggers more than 1400 physical and chemical responses in us, and activates more than thirty different hormones and neurotransmitters. It’s at the root of all our stress. When fear causes a chronic stress reaction in us, it Actually marinates our body in chemicals that can be harmful in large amounts. This of course, can be terribly unhealthy and threatening to our well-being. The fear of not being accepted by others can make you develop a phoney personality, stifling your true self and hiding who God made you to be. The fear of failure will prevent you from trying new things or stretching yourself to do more than you feel comfortable doing. The fear of the future can cause you not to enjoy your present life. Fear is a spirit, and it doesn’t come from God. In (2 Timothy 2:7) we read; “For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of sound mind. So reject the spirit of fear. Draw on God’s power, believe He loves you unconditionally, and begin to exercise the “sound mind” He has given you. As from today refuse to live in fear. God has created you for a life of growth, adventure, and acceleration, but you must take bold steps of faith. However you can’t do that if you’re perfectly happy to live “in the safe zone”. Even when you Feel fear, don’t let it stop you! Feel the fear and do it anyway. You say “Will I ever stop being afraid? Only when you get to Heaven. The feeling of fear is part of being alive. You will experience fear when you try something for the first time, or when the obstacles in your path seem unsurmountable, or when you feel your resources are not equal to the challenge. None of this means you’re a Coward. It just means you’re human. You are only cowardly when you let your fears control your actions and decisions. Feeling fear is merely the temptation to flee from what you should confront. Feeling fear is not the same as being afraid, because... being afraid means allowing fearful feelings to take control of you. But, you don’t have to let that happen. eg. you can feel anger, but yet choose not to act on it and instead take a “Selah” moment (often seen in the Psalms) (selah= rest/relax) and respond with forgiveness and love. In the same way you can feel fear, but not let it make your decisions for you. God Himself has said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say (Hebrews 13 5-6)” “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me.” note the two phrases “He has said” and “we may boldly say” So, stand on God’s Word, to day and declare “I will not live in fear” When God says”Fear not” He is basically telling us “We will still have fear, but we will be able to conquer it. And act in spite of it. In (1 John 4:18) the Bible says “Perfect love drives out fear” Sometimes we mistakenly think this Scripture means if we love God perfectly enough, we wont be afraid. No! The only perfect love is God’s love for us. And that’s unconditional. Knowing God loves You, walks with you, defends you, supports you and has promised to bless you in all you do, that is what casts out fear. And when it does, one more thing happens your faith strengthens. And as (Hebrews 11:6) tells us “Without faith it is impossible to please God. When you know God is pleased with you, you begin to rise above your fears. When fear knocks on your door and finds you full of faith it cannot enter. That’s why you are continually being reminded to meditate on God’s Word and allow your conversation constantly to be filled with faith. If you are allowing your mind to go anywhere it pleases or even nowhere, Meditating on God’s Word will require making a new habit (thinking Scriptural thoughts). Don”t become discouraged if you discover you have good intentions, but many failures. There is a spiritual battle going on for your soul. Keep fighting, God has said, you will get the victory. (2 Corinthians 5:7) says “We walk by faith” Allow me to ask you, How did you learn to walk? It was by getting up one more time than you fell down, until you finally did it. So, when you decide on speaking fear-defying words of faith, The Holy Spirit will come to your aid and strengthen you. As one minister put it, “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is progress in the presence of it.” Just keep progressing and you will get there. To overcome fear you must believe that God is with you. It’s your key to the ability to obey what He tells you to do. As you become more and more confident knowing and trusting that He is with you, your fear will lesson. In the book of (1Samual17:33) When David volunteered to fight Goliath, King Saul said to him, “You are not able to go against this Philistine … for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth” Then David replied, “The Lord will deliver me from… this Philistine.” The sooner you realise, understand and accept you are not in this battle alone, and you are convinced that it is the Lord who is with you, your fears will subside, and your confidence will grow. You may not always know what God will do, but you can relax in knowing that He will do what needs to be done at the right time. When you think about the future and all the things that presently are unknown to you, it’s easy to be afraid. But you can view it two ways. You can either be pessimistic and afraid or you can say to yourself, this battle is the Lord’s, and He has never lost a battle yet. You may not always know what to do in a tense situation, but God does, He knows everything prior to it happening, and He has planned your deliverance in advance, just put one foot in front of the other, confident that He is guiding you. You don’t have to see God or feel Him in order to believe that He is with you. Faith is a matter of the heart rather than the head or your natural senses, God is with you! Believe it and refuse to live in fear. Thank you for reading these few words on “Conquering fear, Learn to trust God, He wont let you down, because He loves and values you so very much. The more we do our part, the more He does for us. God Bless Phaline. -----------------------------

123.LET GOD CHANGE YOUR THINKING. Romans 12:2

When you think creatively, you are thinking like God your Creator. But not everybody will welcome your creative ideas. Jesus wasn’t crucified because He worked miracles: He was loved and applauded for those. He was crucified for having ideas that challenged the status quo. God is the giver of great concepts, truths and ideas. So when He gives you one, don’t let anybody talk you out of it. Don’t let the fear of rejection or failure kill your idea either. After all, you can’t do something new and exciting if you force yourself to stay in the same old rut. Don’t just work harder at the same old thing; make a change. And the first things you’ll have to change are how you think, what you listen to, whom and what you believe in and how to handle criticism. God’s commands, principles, values, ethics and precepts are non negotiable. Remember that; and cover every thought , idea and project with His approval before proceeding any further down the track. So with that in mind, we can proceed. The following phrases will challenge you on your journey of change, so be aware of them… “I’m not a creative person,” “ Just follow the rules and don’t ask questions” “Don’t be different or difficult,” “ Just stay within the guidelines.” “ There is only one way to do this,” “Don’t be foolish,” “ Think of your image and reputation.” “That’s not logical or practical.” “ It’s never been done that way before.” “ It can’t be done.” “ It didn’t work for them.” “We’ve tried that before.” “ It’s too much work.” “ We can’t afford to make a mistake” “ It will be too hard to administer” “ We don’t have the time or the money.” “ Yes but…” You and your ideas will be rubbished, discarded, and thrown out. But if you feel God has given it to you, hang in there with it, if it is in fact from God , He will find a way. Paul tells us in (Romans 12:2) “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think, then you will learn to know God’s Will for you, which is good, pleasing and perfect.” If you are surrounded by negativity, look for a better environment. Charlie Brower said “A new idea is delicate, it can be killed by a sneer or a yawn, it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow.” Negative environments kill great ideas. A creative environment on the other hand is like a greenhouse where ideas are seeded, sprout and thrive in order to grow. So seek out people who are committed to personal growth. Such people (1) encourage creativity. David Hills says Studies of creativity suggest that the biggest single variable of whether employees will be creative or not is whether they perceive they have permission.” When environment and good thinking are openly encouraged and rewarded, people see they have permission to be creative. (2) Are willing to risk failure. Even when they have studied and prepared themselves thoroughly, they will have to try several times before they succeed. So make sure you are in an environment where mistakes are viewed as part of the creative process. (3) Believe in the potential of a dream. A creative environment encourages the use of a blank sheet of paper, with the question. If you could draw a picture of what you want to accomplish, what would it look like? It was a creative environment that allowed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to speak with passion and declare “I have a dream” not “I have a goal” Goals have focus, but dreams have power. And God is the giver of dreams and visions (see Joel 2:28) The book of proverbs. Begin: (Proverbs 1:1-5) “These are the proverbs of Solomon...Their purpose is to teach people; wisdom… to help them to understand the insights of the wise...To teach people to lead disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance.” Creative thinking is simply disciplined thinking. If you think you know all there is to know then you already know everything you are ever going to know. Think about that!!! In order to breake out of the box, you must begin by asking the right questions. Sir Antony Jay said “The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a creative mind to spot wrong questions.” Wrong questions halt the process of creative thinking. They send you down the same old path. But, in order to change your life, you must change your thinking. That means you must be willing to ask these two questions; Why must it always be done that way? and Is there a better way? Whether your goal is to build a better life, family, business, church, career or better anything, all change and progress must begin by honestly asking those two questions. The saying is still true; “If you build a better mousetrap the world will beat a path to your door.” So yes, to succeed, you must be willing to change your thinking. I believe the best way to begin that process is by first establishing and then maintaining a close relationship to the God of creation, and ask Him to share His creative mind with You. Thank you for reading these thoughts on “Changing your Thinking” It begins and ends with turning our minds over to God, who will keep them Pure, honest, upright and at peace. Isn’t that what we all want? God Bless Phaline. ------------------------