Tag Archives: fear

Shadows

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Have you ever been spooked by your own shadow?

Own Shadow Stock Illustrations – 908 Own Shadow Stock Illustrations, Vectors & Clipart - Dreamstime

Whether or not you get frightened by it, your shadow is harmless. It is not the real thing so there is no merit to putting fear into it. More on that to follow.

With shadows on the mind, let’s look at two verses that might shed some light (pun intended!) on shadows.

Psalm 23 is, perhaps, the most well-known chapter of the bible. Believers and non-believers alike could quote portions of it from memory.

“The Lord is my shepherd…” WOW! Talk about an attention-grabbing start!

But wait for verse 4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 KJV

There is also a ‘shadow’ reference in the New Testament. Yes, there are multiple verses but I am going to look at one. James 1:17 gets the spotlight (yes, another pun intended).

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 NIV

Here are the two verses side by sided so you can make a comparison.

Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” KJV

Shadow: a death-like or deep shadow; being in extreme danger

James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” NIV

Shadow: either a shadow cast by an object, or a faint image or copy of an object.

Sometimes, we find ourselves in the first situation. We are facing what may seem like death. But God does not lead us into death. Behold, He is with us in our trouble. We can take great comfort in these words.

We can also count on God’s faithfulness. His character remains unchanging. James says God is not like the shadows that shift and change with the passage of time. We can count on Him.

Next week, there is another shadow that needs to be brought to light (yep, on purpose).

So here is this week’s take home from twominuteswithtim;

If you are gripped with fear or are unsure of your circumstances, trust that God has not left you or changed His mind about you. He is madly in love with you and will protect you.

I hope this post was a bright spot in your week. Lit!

Watt? Another light joke?!?!

Feeling the pressure…

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If you have been following me this year, you have been going through the alphabet with me. I call it Alphabet Soup. The first post of 2017 was on the letter A. You can read it here.

My math tells me that I could post every other week and that would get me to the letter Z by the end of the year. Well…I am only at U! Pressure!!!

No worries though. I am excited to finish this series so I can begin to look ahead to 2018.

And without further delay…

The Word – Underestimate

The Worth – The Christmas story can be found in Matthew and Luke. And it was in Luke’s writing that the inspiration for ‘underestimate’ hit me. Here is Luke 1:26-38:

“26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be calledb the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37For no word from God will ever fail.” 38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.”

Dwell on this angelic visit for a minute. An angel comes to speak to Mary. Mary is probably around 15 years old. She has never had sex. She is also engaged. The angel tells her that God’s son will be born of her. I personally cannot fathom what types of thoughts were racing around in Mary’s brain.

I do know one thing though, Mary underestimated God. How do I know?

Let’s look at two verses.

Verse 29, “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.”

Verse 34, “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 

Mary was questioning the purpose of God (v. 29) and the ability of God (v. 34).

Have you and I ever underestimated God?

Why is God doing this or that?

Why isn’t God moving?

Will you ever hurry up, God?

Why me?

And the list could continue.

We know the rest of the story. Mary did not, however. She questioned and the angel replied. Something happened in verses 35-37. And then we get to verse 38.

Mary comes around. She may still have doubts but her faith is bigger than her fear.

The Work – We need to come around like Mary.

I don’t always see the why, when, or how of God. And that is cause to be joyful.

I am not God! I do not have to know everything!

Be encouraged that God really does have everything under control. There is a current of Godliness that continually flows. It is an ever-moving river.

I say we jump in that river and enjoy God and what He is doing today!

can saying

 

 

Faith!

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faith

Have you ever climbed a mountain? Ever taken on an outrageously huge project? Ever had paperwork over your head? Me too. When I get in those situations, I freeze. How can I ever do this monumental task set before me!?!? If I am honest, that is how I was viewing this post. More so, this topic. Faith. There was a brief mention of it in one of my posts last month. Hope and Faith are closely related.

But there is so much about faith that can be written! The bible speaks long about faith. And the fact that faith is not clear cut in what it means makes it even more daunting. Faith can be so many things to so many people. Where do I start?

 

So I froze.

 

Right now it is Friday morning. I usually post Tuesday some time.

I was fearful of writing something offensive. What if I posted something that was contrary to God’s word? Am I even qualified to do this?

My feelings say no but my faith says YES! So I sat down and started typing…

In the rest of the month, I want to share my thoughts from a few verses in I John. Faith is personal. So I will share my journey.

So I conclude with this idea:

 

Faith has nothing to do with feelings. (Thank you God!!!)