Do Not Fear

Beloved, We are almost one week away from celebrating Christmas Day 2020 and what a day of rejoicing I pray it will be for you, your family, your friends, your loved ones. It will be a Christmas like no other and you should thank God for being alive during a time like this. The way that God has brought victory out of defeat, hope in the midst of great challenge, transformation during a time of chaos, love, healing, and reconciliation in spite of those who choose hate, harm, and division. It is a great time to be alive...if. What do I mean by ending an encouraging statement with the word if? What I mean is that you have got to choose to focus on victory instead of defeat. You have got to choose to focus on hope instead of challenge. You have got to choose to focus on transformation instead of chaos. And, you have got to choose to focus on love, healing and reconciliation instead of hate, harm, and division. And, when you dare to make such an audacious decision to focus on the good instead of the evil, the light instead of the darkness, and the promise instead of the problem, you will likely have had to decide to also focus on the one who is greater than you. Our first two Sundays have focused on Mary and Joseph, the mother and earthly father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. When God made them aware of how God was coming to earth through Jesus that would completely upend, disrupt and change their worlds, God also sent a word of comfort for their caution, "Do not fear". Beloved, when God is moving in your life in ways that you do not easily understand and sometimes cannot control, fear is a natural reaction; BUT, you should know that there is nothing natural about God. What we call natural in this world has come out of the supernatural, God who created the world. That is why when you face great difficulties, disappointments, and desperation in your natural rhythms of life, you need to seek out one who is greater than you and all that you are going through. You need God. And, the wonderful thing about God is that God never fails. And, if you can put greater confidence in God, who created the world, than in the people, places and things that God created, you will find that you will also have greater confidence in facing your great difficulties, disappointments, and desperation. You will find that faith in God will cause you to cease to fear. The prophet Isaiah wrote of God this way in Isaiah 41:13, "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Do not fear, I will help you." Beloved, for all of the people, places, and things that you can turn to for help, things of creation, is it not incredibly wonderful to know that the God who created all, who knows all, and who can do all not only can help you but actually wants to help you? And, what do you have to do to access the greatest help that you will ever have or need? You just need to choose the Lord to be your God. And, when you do so, you need to trust in His word, receive the truth of His word, walk in freedom because of His word, and then you need to put God's word in action and "Do not fear". Beloved, your faith has been tested in 2020. Has your faith been increased? I so hope and pray that it has because 2021 is right around the corner and for you to live it as victoriously as you possible can, your faith is going to need to keep increasing. God is there for you. Trust in Him and expect for Him to do great, incredible, amazing, astounding, remarkable, unique, faith-inspiring, and fear-reducing things in your life. We will be praying for these things in words of praise and petition at Noonday prayer today. We will hear an encouraging word from the Lord on The Light radio and internet broadcast today at 3pm. And, we will be living out our faith in all we think, say and do today. May you walk in faith as a blessed son or daughter of God and do not fear. And, remember, God loves you and I love you too! Be blessed, Rev. Cain