Score! We Win!

"They fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." Matthew 17:6-7 " Don't be afraid." Luke 12:7 " Let not your heart be troubled." John 14:1 " Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Matthew 14:27 When I finally sat down from working in the fireworks stand, I remembered I have not read my Bible for two days. Wow! So I picked up my iPad and got with it. Sometimes I get completely lost when I do that and time just blasts by. Happened again today, and a customer for the fireworks scared me to death when he peeked over the top of the piled fireworks and spoke to me. It's like reading a good book for me. I'm basically gone, drawn back in time to when the passage was written and what it tells me about God. That love for the Word has taken a lifetime. I never even read it much until a few years ago. Getting to know the power of God's Word and what it can do for you takes time and experience. I take you down this little bend in the road for a reason. I hope you understand why as you read this post. Today is the last post from Max Lucado's book. We have learned a lot about fear. In his final chapters, Lucado talks about the one fear that is very healthy. The fear of The Lord. He speaks of how we tend to put Jesus "in a box" and casually label Him according to our need at the time. Like our " do me a favor Jesus" when we ask him to take care of something. Or there is the "make me a buck Jesus" who people call on when they believe in 'prosperity gospel'. How about the " Jesus of my making" when we reduce Him to a set of doctrines or beliefs. We think that in a world we can't control, we need a god we can control. Lucado points us to the event Peter, James, and John witnessed in the 17th chapter of Matthew. The transfiguration is recounted here, and Moses and Elijah join Jesus on the mountain. WHOA! These men witnessed Jesus in His purest form, but they didn't seem to 'get it'. Peter offered to build three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. He just didn't get that Jesus was not on the same level as the other two. That's when God Himself had to make it clear by speaking who Jesus was. THEN they got it. Scripture tells us they 'fell on their faces and were greatly afraid'. Fear of the Lord. The only fear that's appropriate. To quote the book, "When God is fully revealed to us and we 'get it', then we experience the conversion of our fear.....'Fear of the Lord' is the deeply sane recognition that we are not God......when Christ is great, our fears are not." Brings me back to my statement about reading the Bible. I have not always had the desire to " soak up the Word". Far from it. As a matter of fact it's really only been the last 3 1/2 years that I have been this way. Before this event , God had been working for quite a while to get my attention. Finally took me to my lowest point ever so I would be ready to listen. Then I saw God perform a miracle. I saw how really BIG He is. He hadn't changed, I did. And being in His word regularly has completely changed my life. I am not even close to being the same person. You wouldn't recognize me if you knew me 40 years ago. That's how much power the Word has. Like Max Lucado said, the bigger our God is, the smaller our fear is. All the kinds of fear he has addressed in this book.....all of them....can be handled by our God. He's big enough to take those fears and conquer them. As a matter of fact , He's the only cure for fear. And we build relationship with Him in His word. No other way. That's why He provided it for us. There's a very short section at the end of "Fearless". Extremely powerful. Lucado tells us we are the most fearful generation ever. He shows us many verses regarding fear,then he tells us about William Fariss, who watched his house burn to the ground as a 7 year old boy. William is the son of Pioneer Bible translators in West Africa. As his family watched the house burning, Williams's mother heard him praying. She noticed the prayer sounded like a Psalm, and later in the week she heard him say it again. I am going to repeat it here, because it shows how much a young child trusted God, and conquered fear: Through wind and rain Through fire and lava The Lord will never leave you. Through earthquakes and floods Through changing sea levels and burning ash The Lord will never leave you. If you love Him, He will bless you And He will give you many things. Who can stop The Lord? Who can chase a cheetah across the plains of Africa? The Lord. He can. Who can stand on Mt. Everest? Who can face a rhinoceros? The Lord. The Lord can give you anything He wants to. Who can stop The Lord? Who can face an elephant? Who is brave enou to face a lion? The Lord. Who's as fast as a horse? Who can catch a blue whale? Who is brave enough to face a giant squid? The Lord. Just as Jesus died on the cross, So The Lord has done so. The Lord will never leave His people. The Bible is His word. The Lord is a good leader. The Lord who loves you. And He will not forsake His people. The end. Imagine a young child losing everything he has right before his eyes. But this boy, this William,trusted God and feared less. No tears, no panic. An amazing testimony. If a child of 7 can trust The Lord like this, should we as "seasoned" believers be able to trust God through our storms? I know the last time I was faced with a personal hurricane I failed miserably. But I hope I will do better next time .I hope to do better. I believe by experience I know Him better now. I hope to call on that relationship like William did. I know no matter what happens, He will hold me. I know the worst case scenario results in myself and/or other family members being with Him. I know I win.....through Him. Because He wins I win. What have I to fear?