All we have to Fear is Fear Itself///Time to Do Great Things!!!

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Research says that of all the human endeavors that produce the most fear, public speaking heads the list. I was once one of its living victims, so much so that it made me a bit sick to the stomach prior to speaking before anyone (Colleen has literally passed out). I was so fearful that when I entered college and saw that Public Speaking was one of my required undergraduate courses, I made it the very last course I signed up for. It turned out that the Public Speaking course was one of the best courses I ever took.

Life is like that. Fear and worrying can be debilitating but most of all a wasteful use of the precious time God has given us. Who by worry can add one day to his life? (Matt.6:25-34) What do you worry about? Is it bills, the kids, school, your job, the environment or our worship? Do not the birds get fed? (Matt.6:26) It is all about our faith. Fear is a part of our human experience; just ask Moses who took on the King of Egypt, Jonah who lived temporarily inside the belly of a great fish, and Daniel who spent the night in the lion’s den, David as he stood before Goliath and Jesus as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before his death.

We must trust in God and follow his inspired word just like the Israelites did as they traveled on that dry land between the walls of the Red Sea. We should heed the words of Moses who said “Do not be afraid, stand firm, be still and allow the Lord to fight for us. (Exd.14:10-14) Remember that greater in us than in the whole world (1John 4:4)… and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Phl.4:13).

So let us move forward with courage and zeal as God’s body of believers for his name’s sake with an eye on the lost people around us. Let us invite a neighbor- the poor-the blind-the disenfranchised to come with us to worship the Father and the King. Let us be more prayerful-ask God tor help us… Give more on Sunday and trust God to feed us and clothe us …and be content with that...You can start a small group of your own…We ought to talk about your conversion to Christ with someone else…We need to be more dutiful…more studious…most of all more loving….And as 1 Peter 5: 6-7 says “let us humble ourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift us up in due time…casting all our anxieties (fears/worries) upon him because he does care for us.

Time for the church body here at Hendersonville to break forth and do great things to honor and glorify God in 2011!!!!
-Gary Rivers