NO FEAR

I have experienced fear several times in my life. When I was a crackhead I once had a gun pointed at my head, cocked and ready to fire. I almost overdosed several times. I almost lost my children because of my drug abuse. Those all elicited some fear.
Now I'm the Lord's; He has delivered and redeemed me. I should be fearless, right? I wish. Sometimes, I actually have more fear now then I did before. I fear that I will make a wrong decision with my life, that I still harbor unforgiveness, that I judge others. My fear traps me from being more like Christ.
I think that to the outside world, Christians can actually seem indignantly fearless. Sometimes, with just the proper amount of inflection in our voices, we can sound superior about our eternal status. Do we have the potential of appearing smug to 'the unsaved?' I think so. Sometimes, all we want to do is squeak by until the end, without causing too much disruption. However, I find that the children of the Lord who are actually living fearless for God don't have time to be smug.
So, what does the human race think about fear, and what does God say about it? Well, let's start by defining fear. A pastor once defined FEAR as False Evidence Appearing Real. Ok, now take that to a person who's questioning. A very real fear is that he will become a 'Jesus Freak.' Another fear is that she will be alienated by all her family and friends. Still another fear is that God will turn out to be less than expected and he will be hurt again.
What are the believers' fears? That we will become 'overboard', and that life will never be the same if we go too far. That we will 'not fit in' both inside and outside the church. That God will let us down and we will be no 'better off' than we were before Him.
Both side of the gate sound rather similar, don't they?

WHAT'S THE POINT?

Well, for both sides I have a question. Exactly how good is your life right this moment? How well have you played this game all by yourself? What would you risk by making the most important move of your life?

Let's check out what God promises:

"...For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5.4-5

"For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 1 Timothy 1.7

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of Sonship." Romans 8.15

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4.18

And Jesus..."He said to His disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'" Mark 4.17

Over 350 times the Bible tells us not to fear. I think the crucial this is to remember that God has no comparison to our earthly experiences. He cannot be compared to whatever has happened to us thus far. Our fear is keeping us from living the most complete, satisfying, rich life we could possibly imagine. Our fear robs us of joy, of freedom, of truth. As I wrote earlier, when we do it alone we don't do so well.
I think it's downright amazing that you can become a part to a life that has the potential to be lived fearlessly. Knowing right now, in a very real way, that you are never alone. Never. Knowing that there can be a life lived beyond circumstances, beyond situations, beyond feelings. I want that life. Don't you?
Think about it.