Breaking the Chain of Fear

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.

One of the joys of my childhood in the Great North was playing in the ever-present wintertime snow. I remember a day when my brothers and sisters and I were sliding down the great mounds of plowed snow in my uncle's farmyard along with our cousins. We were yelling and screaming as kids always do, but it turned into shrieks of terror when their vicious dog broke its chain and ran to where we were playing and began to attack us. I shrieked the loudest and attempted to escape by climbing the makeshift hill but he grabbed a hold of my heel and dragged me down. Fortunately my boots and heavy clothing kept me from any physical harm, but my soul had been scarred for life with fear.

Far from my mind was this memory when my husband Tom and I took a brisk walk in our neighborhood on a recent spring-like day. "Look at that sky," I sighed. Great swaths of pure white vaporous clouds wispily curtained the pale azure vault. The sight gave rise to worship within my heart and I thanked God for the beauty of the day. Love poured over and through me deeper than the warmth of the sun. Suddenly the pleasure of the moment was disrupted as a large white dog came running towards us barking a warning.

"Oh, no," I said as the adrenaline rush of fear tried to rise up in me. My husband was between the oncoming animal and me. We continued to walk hoping the dog would lose interest, but he didn't.
 
"His hackles are up," Tom said, his voice lowered. But within the flash of that moment the dear Holy Spirit came with guidance and I began to sing softly in tongues. I looked heavenward as we continued to walk and the Holy Presence poured over and through me once again. Immediately, the dog stopped barking and began to sniff the ground at a nearby mailbox losing all interest in us.

Then I remembered how by the Spirit I escaped being brutally mauled by an attack dog when Tom and I and our then two children lived in a mobile home park. I was walking to a neighbor's trailer when I heard a growl behind me. The Holy Spirit inspired me to whistle a tune as I continued to walk. As the beast closed in, I turned towards it and with pointed finger commanded, "In the name of Jesus Christ return to your home and do not come back out." I watched with amazement (and knees knocking) as that trained attack dog did exactly as I spoke.

THANK YOU LORD JESUS, OUR YAHSHUA HA MOSHIACH, for sending us the oh so precious Holy Spirit. Only through Him are we able to overcome the things of the world! Only by the blood of the Lamb came the gift of Holy Spirit. And only by the immeasurable love of our Heavenly Father came the Son.


 

Trial Duty

Shouldn't that title be 'Jury Duty'? No, but let me explain...

Like a multitude of other families, we live in an area severely affected economically. This has hit close to home now to the point where I realize we are truly going to have to walk by faith in order to continue paying for what are considered 'basic bills' here in America--water, electricity, gas, home-health-auto insurances etc. Oh, and let's not forget groceries!

This is not something entirely new to me. In the very first year of our marriage, I was forced to stop working early due to a car accident resulting in the premature birth of our first child. (I share this story and the harrowing tales of my other two pregnancies in The Mommy Manual. Click here.)

Financial help was short in supply and our own auto insurance company was trying to pin the blame for the accident on us so that they wouldn't have to pay us! (The other driver was a minor who ran the light and smashed into us at high speed totalling our car. It was a miracle Tom and I and our unborn survived.)

The thought of having to live through a time similar to that pulled me down into a dark place--a place I did not want to go. Like David in Psalms, I poured my heart out to my Heavenly Father. I was led to read in I Corinthians beginning in Chapter 9, but kept reading the next chapter. A verse that had been of great encouragement to me in the past was there like an old friend to greet me again~

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV

This verse if powerful once you better understand the word 'temptation'. It was translated from the Greek word peirasmos and means 'trial, proof'. What a promise!

No trial will come upon you that any other person hasn't already gone through. God is faithful and will not allow you to be proved beyond what you can bear and will make a way for you to come up out of the trial, so that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 LOV (Lyn's Own Version)

As I write this, I am remembering two specific things the Lord did for us that difficult year. I received a check for $200 unexpectedly from the State with a note claiming that I had overpaid my taxes. This was the exact amount we were short that month in order to pay the rent! Another incident was that we found groceries sitting outside our apartment door, although we had not told anyone of our plight.

Again, like David, I am thankful to remember how my God is faithful. He has delivered us through the fire before, so I know I can trust Him to come through for us once again.

[Note: The LOV is based on studying the words according to the Young's Analytical Concordance.]

Who's Afraid of a Big Bad Fireball!

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. - Psalm 91:5-7 KJV

As my manner is, I turned on the TV this morning around 7:30 to check the Weather Channel while I waited for the coffee to brew. The TV was already set on a local channel, however, so I listened as a reporter on WBTV said to be on the watch tonight because there will be a geothermal light show. He went on to say that this was caused by solar flares and could result in knocking out satellite and cell phone usage in some areas. This natural light show could actually be seen the next few nights he added.

This led me to later check on-line regarding any other sources mentioning aurora activity. I found an announcement at the Universe Today site: (Click on aurora-alert)

Well, you know how it is once you get on the worldwide web...I clicked on Science Central's link entitled, "Fireballs from Space" (sciencentral.com) which opened a 2003 article about solar flares and the changing of Earth's magnetic field that results in natural light shows that might appear on a nightly basis.

Meteorites are also referred to as fireballs and I found some links at Seven Theory Ministries' home page announcing several recent sitings in the US. The most informative (although quite irritating) source was: (libertybroadcastingnetwork)

I mention all this because just yesterday my daughter, Rachel, and I were reminiscing about prophetic dreams she had experienced years ago. I had been reading the rest of David Wilkerson's book (see the-heat-is-on) where the Lord had given him a dream of New York City burning and great violence erupting on the streets.

This prompted me to ask her, "Hey, Rachel, didn't you have a dream or two related to fire?" She retold me her dreams. One of them was simply that she was at home looking out a window. The house was full of people we were helping. Suddenly a fireball came down, passed through the window and then through her, but did not harm her or anyone else. She also had a dream where she saw piles of debris on fire scattered around homes in a neighborhood.

Again, I looked on-line and found there were postings of other people who had had similar dreams or visions (fireball dreams). I did not watch all of them, but one thing they had in common was that THEY WERE NOT HARMED BY THE FIREBALLS.

I believe that our Lord in His great mercy wanted to reassure us of His loving presence in the midst of disaster. So, whatever you are hearing about comets, asteroids, meteorites, or balls of fire falling from the heavenlies, HAVE NO FEAR!

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. - Psalm 91:1-2 KJV

I Confess

The other day I was confessing to the Lord a list of things I was worried about including family members who have been unemployed for over a year. I received a holy tongue lashing as a result.

“Why would He do that?” you might ask. In this blog I have shared several accounts of God’s goodness to me (which is only the tip of the iceberg), but I must confess that I succumb to worry, doubt, and fear from time to time. This is, of course, NOT pleasing to the Almighty (see Romans 8:5-9).

I do not want to be like those of the children of Israel who saw miracle after miracle yet did not enter their promised land due to UNBELIEF (see Hebrews 3). Fortunately, Christ Jesus our Lord understands our weakness—“For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.” Psalm 103:14 KJV
While in the secret place, He exhorted me to rise above my mortal frame and doubt no more.

When I first confessed Christ as my Lord, I saw God do amazing things to provide for us. We needed an additional $200 to pay our rent one month. My husband Tom and I prayed and believed God would provide. We received a check for $200 for taxes I had supposedly over-paid the year before!?! Another time we found a bag of groceries in front of our apartment door, yet only our Heavenly Father knew our need.

QUESTION: Is there anybody else out there who feels as though they had more faith when they were first born again than they do now?

In Mark 9:23 KJV Jesus said to the father of the boy tormented with a spirit, “If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.” Let us—like the father of this child—cry out, “Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!”

This reminds me of when I was sitting in an auditorium listening to a physically-handicapped man of God teach on 2 Corinthians 9:8 KJV - And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work.

The voice of the Lord came to me giving me a personal teaching within a teaching—“I am your sufficiency in your identity as well, Daughter.”

At this time in my life I doubted (ugh! there’s that word again) who I was in Christ. I had stepped out in what He had called me to do only to be bashed down by brethren. His words melted away my unbelief.

If it feels as though this post is a writing assignment via the Holy Spirit, perhaps it is. I find that I remember things if I write them down, so what better way to retain God’s promises than to highlight them here.

HE IS our sufficiency in~

PROVIDING OUR FOOD~ I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalm 37:25 KJV

PROVIDING OUR CLOTHING~ And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Luke 12:22 and 31 KJV

PROVIDING EVERYTHING!~ But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 KJV

Thank you Heavenly Father for being My Sufficiency no matter what the circumstances look like!



P.S. Readers, I seriously would like to hear from you about the above question:)