FEAR

          What is FEAR? In the dictionary the noun is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. The verb is to be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening. We all have faced some type of FEAR in our lives, from the first time trying to walk as baby, learning to ride a bike, learning to swim, learning something new in school, driving a car, starting a new job etc. Some have faced even worse fears like cancer, someone dying, loss of employment, car accident etc. I don’t think many of have faced a fear such as this COVID-19. It is causing a Global Pandemic. If you look at John Hopkins website tracking the virus, literally the entire world is red with infection. This is like watching a movie unfold in real life but unlike a movie, real people are dying and at the end of the 2 hour movie the world is usually saved and we all survive.
          The COVID-19 is currently the smartest killer virus ever formed. It is unseen, endures for days on different objects, can be in your body for weeks, can infect others without knowing, and can be spread through the air and close contact. Once infected you can feel perfectly fine or if it decides to rapidly destroy every system in your body it can. This virus has no respect for laws of man, nature or medicine. Every age group from newborn to elderly can get this virus and who lives and dies is unknown. I have seen it effect every organ system. It causes breathing issues, causes strokes in the brain, clots in the body, kidney damage and heart attacks/strain. Once intubated there is a low probability that you could survive. There is poor testing to even detect it and we are in a war with no weapons against it. We are literally in the testing phase as we try multiple treatments on different patients. This virus exploits our lack of resources, poor communication between countries, government officials, hospital administrators and even treatment strategies among physicians. Even if you are infected and survive we have no idea if the antibodies will protect us if we get re-infected. It spreads fear as we are all afraid to infect our family members who we live with from elderly adults, children and spouse. It forces us into isolation. This is a horror/sci-fi movie we are currently living through.
          This reminds me of the famous story seen in Mathew, Mark and Luke about Jesus calming the storm. We will look at Mark 4:35-41 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” The disciples had been traveling, praying, in fellowship and seeing the amazing miracles Jesus was doing throughout the New Testament. Yet they did not trust Jesus at this moment and let fear sneak into their hearts. Jesus showed his power over nature and calmed the storm. It is to remind us that fear can not defeat the cross and Jesus will always be triumphant.
          This Sunday is Easter and it a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb on the 3rd day after his crucifixion. They mocked Jesus  as a king when he really was The King. They said he was powerless when He really was all powerful. They said he cried out in despair when He was really trusting God. They said He couldn’t save Himself when he really was saving others. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would be persecuted, die for our sins and rise on the 3rd day (Isaiah 53). Jesus conquered death and left the Holy Spirit to defeat Fear. Romans 8:15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
          As the famous song goes “No Longer a Slave to Fear”, Jesus has broken the chains of death and conquered the grave. Your perfect love has freed us from the bondage of Fear. We have seen miracles throughout the Bible of how powerful our God is from splitting the read sea, healing the blind and deaf, bringing Lazarus back to life, Jesus walking on water and conquering death. This virus has turned the world upside down and changed our routine completely. We can take some good things that have come out of the pandemic; more family time, work is not as important, learning to teach our children, cooking together, going out for walks, focusing on health, not needing to eat out as often and wasting money on unnecessary things. We can also use the time to concentrate more on God as He has literally shutdown the world. Only necessary things are open currently like Hospitals, Groceries and Banks. All the distractions in the world have been taken away and He is giving us the chance now more than ever to be closer to Him. Government, armies, nuclear weapons, celebrities, sports athletes can do nothing when God decides our future. Fear has no power of the FAITHFUL. Prayer/Faith is more powerful than this Virus because I know our God is listening. We will never know God’s plan but we know He is in control. Fear will never defeat God and we need to focus on God now more than ever.

A thousand words!

            Not sure if anyone has seen or heard about this movie called “A thousand words” with Eddie Murphy in it. It is a movie about a fast-talking agent named Jack McCall who uses whatever words he can gather to sell his deal. He meets a guru Dr. Sinja who recognizes the type of person he is. A magical tree appears in Jack’s backyard and now he is connected to the tree and the leaves. Every time he says a word, a leaf falls from the tree. He has exactly a thousand words left on the tree and when the last leaf drops, Jack will die. It is a story to remind us that our words do matter.

            We can see in James 3:8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Our words/tongue have much power and can cause harm or lift others up. The tongue is made of all muscle, is flexible and does not fatigue. It is not the strongest in the body even though some say it is. When was the last time you conversed with another person and your tongue became tired from talking?

            Let us look at how powerful the tongue can be in our current world. I am sure many of us are glued to the TV and hearing what is going on in the news. We are hoping to hear good news every day and praying to God the pandemic will pass. We hear from Presidents, Doctors, Financial advisors, Military, Governors etc. about their plans, hopes, ideas, theories and goals. These words that are spoken by them can either give us peace and hope or can cause more anxiety and fear. Their words have significant meaning to the world. Jesus doesn’t care about politics or the world’s rule, all he wants from us is spreading his words, being an example to the world and using our words for good. Only God’s words can give us true comfort and peace!

            We can see how powerful even simple words can conquer death itself. When we look at John 11, we see Lazarus a close friend of Jesus had died. In verse 4 Jesus says “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus comforts Martha and Mary and states in verse 25-26 “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus comes to the tomb and in verse 43 says 3 simple words, “Lazarus, come out.” Just like that Jesus triumphs over death with those simple words and Lazarus has returned from the dead.

            An example of where not speaking and disobeying God caused a person to lose blessings. Moses is the prime example of how his words could have allowed him to enter into the promise land. We can see in Numbers 20 that the Israelites ran out of water and murmuring against Moses. God appeared to Moses and told him to take his staff and gather everyone together. Then the Lord told him to “speak” to the rock before the people and it will bring water out of the rock for everyone to drink. Moses took the staff and instead of speaking to the rock he struck it twice and water gushed out. Instead of using his words to magnify God’s power in front of his people he disobeyed God and was punished by not being allowed to enter the Promised Land. A simple thing as just speaking to the rock would have caused a great miracle to be witnessed by the people.  

            Our words should not be used to blame God, speak hypocritically, discriminate, lead others away from God, boast, swearing or blaspheming. Our words should be used to praise God, lift others up, pray to God for wisdom, peace, healing, wisdom, redemption, to sing and witness the Lord. The Holy Spirit can help us tame the tongue and the words we speak. Proverbs 21:23 Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity. We need to dedicate our heart, mind and tongue to the Lord. In Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. There’s always a saying I followed that if you are talking, you can’t possibly be listening. Our words should have purpose and intention. We should think before we utter our words as they have power in the name of Jesus. In Psalms 19:14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight. Taste the words in your mouth before speaking them! The Holy Spirit brings change into our hearts and that will be seen in every aspect of our lives, I think especially in our words. We need to use our words to glorify and sing the wonderous name of Jesus to the nations.

Our words do matter in this life and we may not know when our last ones will be spoken. Don’t waste time complaining, gossiping but rather asking God for forgiveness, speak words that encourage, comfort and inspire. Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

We live in uncertain times, now more than ever. We are being attacked by an unseen force that we know God has control over. We spend time now more than ever with our family and some still have to go into work. No one knows when our last words will be, unlike Jack in the movie. He realized the power of his words and asked the Doctor how to end the curse. The guru tells him he must make peace with all his relationships. What touched me more than anything is that the last few words he had, he used to say, “I forgive you.” He forgave his father who abandoned him when he was a kid and the last leaf fell. Of course, in the movie he breaks the curse and becomes a new man. Our lives are not movies and the last word we speak only God knows. He will judge us according to our words and actions and if we lived as an example of righteousness/godliness to the world. Wake up and choose the words we speak to our loved ones, our co-workers, our friends and prepare as if tomorrow is not promised, because now more than ever it is not! As long as we are Alive and Breathing continue to Praise the Lord! (Matt Maher “Alive and Breathing” a song that can uplift your spirit)