Fear of death...

GOOD MORNING!

It would appear the flip-opens for the week all have "fear" in the verses! God has a message for us!

Because God's children are human beings-made with flesh and blood-the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who HAD the power of death. Only in this way could He SET FREE all who lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Heb 2:14-15 NLT

This morning, may we all see that we have been set free from the fear of dying, in Christ JESUS. Jesus broke the power over the devil...the devil has no more power over us...there is no more fear...no more shame...no more condemnation. We have been given all power over the enemy!!! It is in our BELIEF of HIM who has raised from the dead on our behalf that we have such power! It is that very fact that He dwells IN us...greater is HE that is in us that he that is in the world!

Now, we have this...our inheritance...it is been given to us with our name on it. Just one catch. You and I have to claim it, have to go receive it, have to sign for it. We have to RECIEVE it! Then, after we receive it we have to sit there and believe this has just been given to us, its ours! Lastly, we must exercise our gift to see the benefit. We have been set free from the fear of dying.

However, even thou we have been given such a gift...the enemy doesnt want you to believe it. So, he works overtime keeping our liberties hidden, by blinding our eyes and our hearts from the truth of God's Word. Many, walk around still in bondage to fears of the unknown, the fear of dying. These are people like you and me that have been saved, delivered, are born again believers...Christians and they have been deceived. Remember, satan can mimic an angel of light...as we follow God beware that we do not mistake the enemy's back as God's. Watch to make sure what you follow is pure and lovely and lines up with God's character and the scriptures!

Just last week, my 13 year old son, Sammy, says, "Mommy, I struggle with the fear of dying and if God is real." "I know He is God but I dont, my mind wants to tell me eternity is a long time in not knowing, how can I know for sure?" I said, "Honey, think back of all the things you have seen God do with your very eyes. We have testimony after testimony of how God has answered prayer, spared us, healed us, revealed himself to us...havent we?" He said, "Yes!" The enemy doesnt want you to remember the goodness of God. Just like the Israelites, constantly forgetting the greatness of God. Let's not be like them but claim the remarkable things that the world calls "coincidences," but we know is God's handiwork.

The devil would like you to be afraid of the unknown...but let me ask you this... "What If?" "What If?" What if God wasnt real, where does your peace and/or answers come from when you pray?  Whose voice do you hear when you read your Bible and you get an "aahaa" moment? When you are prompted or compelled to do what you naturally would'nt have done on your own, where does that come from? God always reveals Himself when He is in it!

There is absolute right and wrong...absolute truth and lies...absolute good and evil. Follow after the good...follow after God...in the long run even in your "what if" ...you have lived your life pursuing what is right pursing God. You can be proud of that.

Who hung the stars in place? Who paints the sky at a sunset? Who holds the tides back on the shoreline? Who made the birds to fly, the fish to swim, and the deer to run? Where do we get the sense there is so much more to life than meets the eye? Who created all we see, touch, smell, taste, and hear? Why is your ears not where your nose is? Why do we have hair?.....

Let us remember the stepping stones of God's greatness in and through our lives. Keep God real, He wants to do the supernatural EVERYDAY with us. He wants to make HIMSELF KNOWN to us everyday...not just sporadically...HE DESIRES TO WALK WITH US AND TALK WITH US ALONG LIFE'S NARROW WAY now and eternity.

BELIEVE...TRUST...AND KNOW THAT FEAR IS NOT OF GOD...DYING IS JUST A METAMORPHOSIS, A TRANSFORMATION FROM THIS LIFE TO THE NEXT...some of us may go through some really hard times to get from this life to the next but, IN CHRIST, its all worth it.
Think of the death of the apostles...there is a time to die for us all...to fear the What Ifs...truly is a waste of time in worrying...enjoy God...enjoy life...and prepare to enjoy eternity! WE ARE SET FREE FROM FEAR!

YOU ARE POSITIONED BY GOD AND HIGHLY FAVORED!!!