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I ain't skeered

7/29/2015

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I see those bumper stickers everywhere...I ain't skeered.  First of all very poor grammar and then, as Lady Gertrude, Hamlet's mother says, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". 
I have dealt with fear for most of my life, and not dealt with it all that well.  More like it has dealt with me.  I was afraid a lot as a child.  Not for fear of my life, but circumstances in my home were not always the best, so it was more a lack of security that I was feeling.  Like the house of cards would crumble at any time.  I have shared before about my parents problems with alcohol.  That was something they did to deal with their own demons.  But because of it, I was never quite certain what the day, or night would hold.  I remember waking up one night, at about the age of 6 or 7 totally alone in the house.  No idea where my mom or dad had gone.  So to say I was 'skeered' was an understatement. 
That fear followed me into adulthood.  In my lack of confidence in myself and what I was capable of doing.  In my fear of trusting in relationships.  I basically lived afraid of my own shadow.
Have you ever seen the movie "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" with Don Knotts?  That poor man just wanted to be brave and wanted others to see him as strong and confident.  So he gets hornswaggled into going into a 'haunted' house to find the origin of the strange noises and things that go bump in the night.  I love that movie.  To see him shaking in fear, but trying so darned hard to get past the almost debilitating fear that tries to paralyze him.  He tried to pull himself up by his own bootstraps to get the job done.
I am so thankful that I don't have to do that.  As I have grown, as a woman and as a child of God, I have come to trust and believe that He is always for me.  He wants to see me succeed.  He wants me to live in freedom.  2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  That speaks so much to me.  God does not want us to be afraid.  The terms, fear not and be not afraid are used in the bible over 8o times.  So, if God is truth and He cannot lie, and if every word that comes from Him is powerful and true, then saying something just once should be enough for us to believe, right?  He used those words over 80 times.  I think I see a theme going on here.  Don't be skeered!!!
That verse in 2 Timothy says that He hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but first of all, of power.  In looking up the Greek origin of the word for power, dynamis it means strength, power, ability; inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.  God says He has given us the Holy Spirit to indwell us, to give us power, comfort, direction.  And it says we not only have that inherent power, but we have it by virtue of our nature; we are children of the Most High, the Living God.  What can harm us? 
Second He says He has given us love.  The love that He showed us by allowing His son to die on the cross for us.  1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; because fear hath torment".  So God gives us the power of His love, so that we can be strong and follow Him and live in peace.  Fear has torment...have you ever felt that gut-wrenching fear that seems like it will swallow you alive?  Whether it came from an actual situation where you were in real danger or a circumstance where your mind just got you to go down a deep hole of agonizing distress?  God says His love can overcome that.  We just have to trust Him.
And the third thing goes along with that love.  He gives us a sound mind.  Those words, sound mind have the definition of "an admonishing or calling to soundness of mind, to moderation and self-control".  As we take control of our thoughts, as we take on the mind of Christ, we will have peace.  As we exercise self-control in our thought processes, we will overcome fear.  There is a saying, a bird can land on your head, but you don't have to allow it to build a nest.
Perfect example for me is my fear of the dentist.  I have had a deep and abiding fear since I was about 11.  I went in because I had a piece of gum growing up over one of my back molars.  The dentist was extremely insensitive and instead of telling me what he was going to do, he gave me a shot in the back of my mouth and then before it could even become numb started cutting.  So not only did I hear that horrible sound, I could feel it.  And I never overcame that fear.
God has always been gracious to help me to learn to 'get over myself'.  He brought a customer into our business who also happens to be a dentist.  I finally was persuaded to go in two weeks ago and have him do my first exam.  He was as kind and gentle as could be.  But that didn't stop me from basically shaking in my boots.  So had another visit where he did some work on my front teeth.  Again, gentle and kind and got through it easily.  Then Thursday go in for what I thought was a routine filling, but because of my fear all these years, it ended up needing a root canal, which called for a visit to an oral surgeon and spending $1145.  So that fear not only cost me peace of mind and some sleepless nights, it cost me all that money. 
Fear is expensive.  It costs us more than we can know.  It costs us peace of mind.  It costs us physically.  It wreaks havoc on our bodies.  It costs us in our ability and willingness to trust in God.  It costs us, many times financially because we procrastinate on things that need to be done. 
I am learning.  I am trusting in His promises.  He says do not be afraid, so even if I am shaking as I proclaim it, I will not fear, I will trust in Him.  As I sat in that chair, getting that root canal, I just kept saying, Thank you Jesus.  That you love me, that you hold me close, that you want me to not be afraid.  Even as I waited for the pain to hit (which never did) I kept saying those words, Thank you Jesus.  And He got me through it. 
So to all those things that try to hold me back from His blessings.  To all those things that try to paralyze me from fulfilling my calling as His child.  To all those things that go bump in the night and cause me to live in fear and regret...I AIN'T SKEERED!!!  
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Game Of Telephone

7/28/2015

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Do you remember playing 'Telephone' when you were a kid?  You and some others would sit in a circle and one person would start the game.  They would make up a phrase and then whisper it into the next person's ear.  That person would then whisper what they heard into the third person's ear and so on until the last person would then say out loud what they had heard.  I don't think I ever heard the correct phrase by the time it got to the end of the line.  Words were misheard or garbled in the translation and most often what was finally repeated would be some hilarious mix up.
It is like that sometimes for us as grown ups.  Before we are Christians we have no idea who we really are.  We make assumptions based on how we feel any given day, how others treat us, even compare ourselves to what we see on TV and in other media.  We have a very distorted image of who we are inside and out.
When we come to the realization of who we are in Christ, our views should change.  Because the Word of God is truth and it is life.  
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we become, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 a new creation, old things have passed away, all things become new.  1 Peter 1:9 puts it this way, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession".  Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are his workmanship, created in Christ for good works.  When we begin to realize these things, we can start to see who we really are.  We stop listening to the whispers that tell us we are not worthy, that we are failures, that we are less than; we start listening to the crystal clear words of our Father, who says we are loved, we are the apple of His eye, we are chosen by Him.
We begin a new game of Telephone, if you will.  In this round, we see first of all that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father.  We were talking about this in bible study the other day...what does it mean that He sits in that place?  Immediately a picture came into my mind of Jesus leaning over and whispering in the Father's ear.  He sits in that place of honor and He has God's ear.  He, as it says in Romans 8:34 "
is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us."  He speaks to the Father on our behalf. 
So, in this round of Telephone Jesus has God's ear; We have Jesus' ear.  He knows all that we go through and He listens to our cries. 
Hebrews 4:15-16 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him,"  1 John 5:14-15.
So we know that Jesus has God's ear, and that we have Jesus' ear.  And how do we come to truly understand this?  How do we come to know not only who Jesus and the Father are, but who we are and how to live this beautiful Christian life? 
We have to allow the Holy Spirit to have our ear.
  John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."  Jesus also said, "That when He the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth," John 16:13.   Jesus said He would send the Spirit to us to be our Helper, Comforter, and Guide. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:16). The Greek word translated here “Counselor” means “one who is called alongside” and has the idea of someone who encourages, teaches and exhorts.  If we allow the Holy Spirit to have our ear, He will teach us the things of God.  He will encourage us through the Word when we are in doubt or discouraged.  He will advise us in our daily walk with the Lord.  He will help us to run the race victoriously.
How often have you played a game where everything was set up for you to win?  When have you ever taken a test where the teacher sat at your side and whispered the correct answer to every question in your ear?  I did have a teacher in high school who would occasionally correct an answer during a test, he also chewed on chalk, but that is a story for another time.

But all joking aside, how often have you had all the odds in your favor?  When the ref was on your side.  When you had all the answers in front of you?  Well, here we do.  In this amazing life that we were created into, we have the Creator who has given us the answer key.  He has given us His Word to lead us daily.  He has rigged the game in our favor.  No, life really isn't a game, but you understand what I mean.  He has set things up so that we cannot lose, as long as we follow His rules.  As long as we listen to the truth. 
As long as, in this round of Telephone we know that Jesus has God's ear.  We have Jesus' ear.  The Holy Spirit has our ear.  Truth in, and truth out.  That is the life I want to live every day, with Him whispering into my ear and into my heart...Child you are chosen, you are loved and you will be victorious.


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Declaration of Him-dependence

7/4/2015

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Today is July 4th, a day that we as Americans celebrate our independence.  Freedom from the tyranny of King George III of Great Britain and the beginning of an independent new country.  We celebrate our rights as Americans, freed from the imposed sovereignty of British Parliament and it's laws and restrictions that were foisted upon the Colonies.  We celebrate our liberty, that our Founding Father's said was our God-given right.
As I contemplated on what we are celebrating today, I also was thinking of another declaration.  The declaration that I made when I chose to follow Jesus.  Rather than an imposed decision, like the ones that Parliament was forcing on the Colonies, this was my own free will choice.  When Jesus died on the cross for my sins, was buried and then three days later rose and ascended to the Father, He gave me the freedom to choose; life with Him or eternal separation.  As those Founding Fathers wrote I chose life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I chose life in Him.  Or as I wrote in my title, Him-dependence.  I know that in me personally there is no good thing.  I know that He formed me in my mother's womb, He fashioned me in a spectacular way.  Made according to His plans and made to have a relationship with Him.  Life, and life everlasting.  Abundant life here on this earth and life with Him eternally in heaven after the spirit in my body takes it's last bow and exits the stage we call life.
I chose liberty.  When the Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration, they were writing it to be out from under the oppression and totalitarianism of King George III.  He and Parliament were forcing unjust laws and restrictions on the Colonies.  The Fathers believed that they were given the right to live out from under all of that domination.  Just so, we are given freedom by the blood of Jesus to live free from the dictatorship of Satan and sin.  By the blood, we are freed from having to be slaves to sin and death.  We are free to live a life emancipated from the power of sin over our lives.  As it says in John 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed". 
And in following life and liberty I am free to pursue happiness.  Or a better way of saying it, is I am free to pursue joy.  Happiness is fleeting, and tied to emotions or circumstances.  Joy is different altogether.  I can be joyful even going through hard times.  I can be joyful even when I am suffering or in times of trial.  Joy comes from the Lord and it is as unalienable a right to us as Christians as life and breath.  There are so many scriptures that show us that; Romans 14:17, "For the kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."  Or Romans 15:13, "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost."  If you have time, just find a bible app and type in the word joy and see how many times it is shown in the New Testament. 
God, through the life and death and resurrection of His son gave us freedom from death and sin, and gave us the choice to choose life in Him.  He gave us all of this, to choose with our own free will, to live life and that life abundantly.  I am so blessed to have made the choice to make my life Him-dependent, and to live that life fully in Him.

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    Gail Holleman

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