Happenings 12 November 23
It's nice to be back in the 'hood, after a few weeks away! I hope you have been enjoying a more relaxing Summer vibe, and enjoying some quality speakers at our worship services in my absence.
How are you approaching the year ahead? This Sunday at our worship service, I will be speaking about the reality of fear - fear of the future, fear of what life may bring in 2024, and of our ability to rise to the challenges that will come. I once heard a couple of expressions about fear that I have found helpful:
Expression 1: Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real (FEAR). So often, the things that we are anxious or fearful about actually never come to pass, particularly when the God of power and love walks beside us. And yet, we are so prone to focus on indications of approaching disaster and possibilities of calamity ... 'false evidences', if you like ... which loom larger than they have any right to. Why don't you do a quick reality check? What proportion of the things you have spent your time worrying about recently actually ended up happening? If you are anything like me, the figure will be somewhere less than 10% (and in reality, probably far less even than that). Let's not treat false evidence as if it is real.
Expression 2: 'Satan is busy in the darkrooms of our lives developing negatives.' Ok, so this one may need an understanding of older photography technologies where photos weren't taken on mobile phones but on camera film which then needed to be developed in a darkroom. (Remember those days?!). This sentence is a great reminder that our enemy speaks lies and works through fear. Our fear can limit, inhibit, immobilise, and discourage faithful service for Christ, and every time this happens, Satan celebrates because fear is a very cost effective tool; he often doesn't need to bring any actual opposition ... only the fear of opposition. Let us not be those who are taken out of the fight cheaply.
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid (fearful), but gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).In Him,
Murray
