Love, Faith, and Fear

Watching a clip from Jentezen Franklin and this is what I have held onto.

"Faith activates God and Fear activates Satan".

2 Timothy 1:17 God has not given us a spirit of fear. (It is simple... He has not given us fear)

Our connection with God is through faith. When we are able to receive his blessings it is through our connection which is our faith. A connection with the enemy is through fear. As God did not give us this it can only have been received or learned from the enemy himself.

1 John 4:18 says Love has no fear, in fact a perfect love will push fear out. For fear is from punishment. As we fear we allow the enemy to talk us to the ground. We allow the enemy to make us feel comfortable hiding. Genesis 3:9-10 God calls out to Adam asking "Where are you?" and Adam answers I heard you were near and I hid from you because I was afraid.

Pastor Frank Hawley of Garden Grove Church has recently preached that the enemy's focus in our hard times is to put a wedge between us and our faith. Whether that be of friends, family, or even God; the enemy's focus is to separate us from our faiths, from our strengths. Allowing us to accept and believe that we are afraid, that we have fear and nothing sounds safer than under the covers.

Rob Bell gives a visual of his son doing something he should not have and hiding underneath his covers. He sits there for hours believing that the place he is most safe is from those who love him. Under the covers and hidden away is where he believes he deserves to be. When his father comes and finds him he holds this drenched from sweat little boy who decided that being in a miserable place... Hot, Dark, and alone, was far better than being with those whom he believed had lost faith or love in him. His father holds him close and whispers to him over and over that no matter what he will never love him less. There is nothing that he could do to cause his father to love him less. Because God's love for us has no fear!

I am not afraid of what you can and will do to me. I am not afraid of what might come later in life. I am not afraid of whether my love for you will fade or diminish because of the pain that you can and will cause for me in the future. Because I know that no matter what my love from this moment on will do nothing by grow, mature, and strengthen for you.

I am stretched to say that I will have faith in this moment. I am stretched to say that even though it seems as if it is going to falter I will keep going down the path you lead me to. I am stretched to say I will do everything in my power to hold my faith tighter than the fear that the enemy tries to convince me of. Curling up and laying down will not work this time. Being afraid of what will come is just not as strong as the faith of moving forward. I will show myself that I can follow him wherever he tells me to go. Regardless of how many times I have to fall and get up. I will not sit down with this anymore!

Risk takers

It seems that our generation is just fascinated with the idea of taking risks... Standing up for who you are, be creative, be yourself, and seize the moment I am sure are all things you could find on some wall decoration in every apartment, house, or dorm room that my "peeps" and I inhabit. But are we really risk takers or do we just really like the idea. Do we stand up and take life by the horns or do we just like it written in our space. In my head a good argument says something like, of course we seize the moment. We do so many things that are out of control, sky diving, mountain climbing, bungee jumping, white water rapids, and other equally adrenalin driven tasks that make us sit back in our triumphant risky lives. But is that really the "risk" that these philosophical decorations speak of. When we say risk something in this life are we really talking about our physical health, our easy paced heart rate activities? Or is it something a little more emotional, spiritual, things that can really snatch the breath right out of us. I would be the first one to suggest that we should drop our normal routined weekend and move onto something that we haven't ever done or at least something that we don't normally do... But would I risk the safety of my heart? Would I risk the safety of my mind and its controlled status. Am I overly willing to keep doing the same stupid and sometimes painful things because I know the length of its consequences? Where is the risk that my mind seems to crave seeing? Where is the risk that my heart and soul seem to crave... From a safe distance. Do I simply fall into the same horrible cliché only teasing my fantasies about something that I will always keep just out of my reach. Shall I just stand here idly by in the shadows of life only because I know the depth of its darkness and fear the brilliance of the light.