If fear says, “I don’t trust God,” then we must replace that thought!

Psalm 22:1-5 says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”

The first verse of Psalm 22 is the one that Jesus quoted on the cross as He died for you and for me! It shows a place that we all fear to go. It’s a place of loneliness! Those emotions were real and extremely raw.

Yet…the passage doesn’t stop there, though. Verse three turns the mind around, and aligns it with the truth. God is holy, and He is enthroned on the praises of His people. He is the one in whom we can trust! And, when we trust Him, we will not be put to shame.

The psalmist shows us the importance of replacing fear with praise. We should praise God audibly with His own truth, and thank Him that we can trust Him with every moment of this lifetime and our eternity.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6-7‬ NKJV)

Being thankful is crucial to a heart and mind of peace.  In our thanksgiving and praise, we are informing the enemy, and ourselves, that we know our God is ever-present in our time of need.  To be enthroned, He must be present. Paul tells the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.  The Lord is near!”

As our challenge for today, let’s take some key verses and use them as praise to combat the enemy and His lies. Speak these verses out loud and do it with a grateful heart. We must replace our fears with a “Thank You!” God…I thank you that I can trust you. You are with me, and I don’t have to be afraid any longer. You’ve got this!

Challenge: Read these out loud as an offering of thanks, and allow them to change your mind for the better:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (‭II Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ NKJV)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5-6‬ NKJV)

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.

But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭2-11‬ NKJV)

Per Google, shame is a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. Let’s break down the story of the scribes, Pharisees, adulterous woman, and Jesus using the Romans 12:2 approach.

Look Out (Pattern of the World) – When it comes to shame, the world is real quick to point a finger and to seek some kind of public humiliation or retribution. I would say that we even have a tendency to hold others to a higher standard than we have already obtained.

Remember this, reputation is how man sees you. Character is how God sees you. Let God handle your reputation, and you work on your character!

Look In (Search Your Thoughts) – Our task is not to prove ourselves as Blame Less. We have to take responsibility for our actions, and desire forgiveness. We are focusing on Shame Less, and shame can only be erased by the forgiveness that come from the grace of God and His sacrifice in Jesus.

We can be our biggest accusers; however, it is not our place to forgive ourselves. There is only one judge who sits on the throne. There is only One who will separate the righteous from the unrighteous on the day of judgement. When we stand before Jesus, He isn’t going to ask if we have forgiven ourselves. He will ask what we did with His sacrifice. Did we accept that He was the way, the truth, and the life? Did we acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness through His shed blood?

God does not desire that we forgive ouselves; rather, for us to accept that He has forgiven us!

Look Up (Search for Jesus) – Jesus asks, “Woman, where are your accusers?” But, He knew that He had run them off through whatever His mysterious writings were on the ground. Jesus knew that the penalty for sin and death would be paid for her sins by His sacrifice. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ NKJV) So, He said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Jesus loved us enough to die for us, but also enough to not leave us the way we are. He wants us to accept and believe we are forgiven. Then, go and sin no more!

Challenge: It is time to ask, receive, and BELIEVE you are forgiven!  Take time to lay specific recurring thoughts of shame from your past at the feet of Jesus!

Yesterday morning, we found out that my uncle Ricky had passed away. This is my second uncle who has gone to be with the Lord in the matter of just a couple of months. It’s in the wake of this tremendous loss that I am reminded of how fragile life can be, and how short our time on this earth really is.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭13-14‬ ESV)

We have zero time to waste on the lies of the enemy. Each lie we believe robs us of living life to the fullest, and that is not the plan our Creator has for us.

Fear has to be faced.
Pride has to be broken.
Shame has to be released.

But, they all have to be replaced!

Jesus said it best… “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.” (‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭43-45‬ ESV)

We must replace the lies of the enemy with the truth. For it is the truth that sets us free. Since Jesus is the truth (John 14:6), we must look to Him, the author and finisher of our faith. It is His word that reigns supreme!

But, it isn’t enough that we merely find a scripture that helps us face a fear, break pride, or let go of shame and accept His forgiveness. We must begin to speak that truth audibly over our life. We need to say it with our mouth and hear it with our ears, so it will fill our hearts and minds.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ ESV)

If we will begin to fill ourselves with His word, then the enemy’s lies won’t have a place to reside. And, in the words of an old revival preacher I heard growing up, “When the enemy comes knocking, we will send Jesus to answer the door!”

Challenge: Find a scripture that deals with your biggest insecurity and begin to audibly speak it over your life, today! Memorize it and make it a life verse for this season. For example, with fear say this, “For God has not given [ME] a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (‭II Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ NKJV)

What are you thinking about lately? Are you aligning your mind to Jesus and toward heavenly thoughts. Or, are you still thinking like the rest of the world? Are your thoughts consumed with fear? Do you still tell God that you can carry your burdens alone, and that you’ve got this?

All this discussion about fear and pride can become as heavy as bearing the burdens themselves, so let’s take a break and do a mind check.

I thought it might be good to stop and ask God what should I be thinking? We have discussed quite a bit about what we should not be thinking.

Yes, we should have the mind of Christ, but what does that really mean?

Philippians 4:4-8 is one of my favorite passages regarding what we should be thinking about!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭4-8‬ NIV)

According to Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi, we should rejoice in the Lord. And, in case we missed it, again he said that we should rejoice! In our prayers, we should also remember to be thankful. Even when we are petitioning God for something, don’t forget to be thankful for all He has already done!

Remember, if God doesn’t give you anything else. He gave you enough when He gave you eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This life is only but a vapor. Eternal life is a lot longer than any suffering we may undergo in this world!

Paul finishes off with a list of things to which we can focus our attention. Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and if it is excellent and praiseworthy, think about such things.

This is the kind of thinking that brings peace beyond all understanding and it guards our hearts and MINDS in Christ Jesus!

We really do need to look up and turn all our thoughts to Jesus! Remember…the Lord is near!

Challenge: Write down a list of no less than 10 things that are worth thinking about. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. (‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭33-35‬ NIV)

The following is what happened after Jesus had been arrested and the disciples had scattered:

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.” Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. (‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭69-75‬ NIV)

Let’s use the Romans 12:2 approach to survey this passage, and see what we can learn from it.

Look Out (Pattern of the World) – The pattern of this world is to say, “I’ve got this!” We go around thinking that we can carry it all and that we shouldn’t show any signs of weakness. It is in our nature to be prideful. All you have to do is look back to Adam and Eve to see that it is in our genes. We want to play the god of our life, and He will let us carry the weight…even if it breaks us!

Look In (Search Your Thoughts) – Peter said that he would not fall away, even if he had to die with Jesus. I got this Jesus! When we search our thoughts, we might very well find that we are saying a similar statement. I would argue that it isn’t necessarily with our words, though. When we go throughout an entire day without stopping for one minute to search His word, pray to Him for help, thank Him for His provision, etc., then we are saying with our actions that we don’t need Him. These are the prideful actions that set us up for a fall!

Look Up (Search for Jesus) – There is a huge contrast between Jesus and everyone else on the night of His betrayal. Jesus was tied up and the others were running free. When the soldiers came up to Jesus, he humbly surrendered. Then, He willingly underwent an excruciating night of mockery, beatings, cursing, and more. He did this to show how important it is too humble ourselves to the will of the Father. We should look to Jesus for an example of how to break pride through humility.

…have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! (‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭5-8‬ NIV)

There is no way around it, Jesus’ actions were Pride Less!

Challenge: Tell God, with your actions, how much you need Him by spending time with Him preparing for the day!

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”

Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same. (‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭31-35‬ ESV)

The words pride and fall are synonymous. They go hand-in-hand. After all, Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Peter said that he would never fall away; however, fall is exactly what he did. Matthew 26 ends by telling the account of Peter’s denial, and it is no shock that it went exactly as Jesus had predicted.

I wonder if things would have gone differently if Peter had changed his words and/or his emphatic tone with Jesus. What if he had said, “Jesus, I am sorry, because I know that I am highly capable of falling away. Please teach me how I can withstand the temptation and how I can stand with you.”

You see, we have to be real careful about saying that we will never do something. We are highly capable of any and all sins, and many people in the public eye have fallen from the soap boxes they were standing on.

We can break our pride with humility, or God can break our pride with humiliation! Pride says, “I don’t need God. I’ve got this!”  Humility says, “I need God!”

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭12-13‬ ESV)

We must be very cautious about making Pride Full statements. And, it shouldn’t be because we want to avoid a fall. It should be because we are aware of how much we really do need God!

Challenge: Take some time to fall to your knees, and express to God how much you really do need him!

Let’s take a look at the paralyzed man’s encounter with Jesus one more time…

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭18-21‬ NIV)

So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. (‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭24-25‬ NIV)

What is carrying you through life? Are you being carried along on a MAT like the paralyzed man? I’m not asking if you are physically paralyzed. I’m asking if you are mentally, emotionally, or even spiritually paralyzed?

Notice that Jesus healed the man’s spirit before He healed his body. He said, “Your sins are forgiven…”

In this life, we have things that seem as though they are carrying us along. Without them, we wouldn’t get very far. But little do we know, they really aren’t carrying us at all. We are still debilitated, paralyzed, and sometimes dying inside. The following are a few of those things to which I am referring (MAT):

Masks – We pretend like everything is great, but inside everything is all but okay. We put on a fake face, in hopes that others will not be able to read beyond the exterior. For example, those parents who fight on the way to church, but then turn the smiles on when they arrive in the parking lot.

Attitudes – The bully hides his pain by pushing others around. More than likely, he is being bullied at home or in some other area of his life, and this is how he carries himself along to cover the pain. The class clown hides her lack of confidence by joking about others. If she can make others laugh at someone else, then they won’t see what is really going on inside of her. Robin Williams made millions laugh, thus helping them to face life. But, it is sad to say, that it wasn’t enough to help him continue on.

Talents – Some people are über talented! They have more talent in their big toe than others do in their whole body. But, once again, talent is not enough to fulfill a person’s longings within or to heal hurts from the past. There is a list one-mile-long of super talented people who lived short lives, because their talent wasn’t enough to help them walk it out. Think about Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Judy Garland.

So, I pose this question; “What, or who, is carrying you?” What is your MAT?

Challenge: List one Mask, Attitude, or Talent in your life that Jesus needs to replace with his healing power. Let Him heal you from within, and be intentional about not pretending anymore!

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭23‬ ESV)

We are created in the image of God, right?! According to Genesis 1:26-27, the answer is “yes.”

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26-27‬ ESV)

So, why is this important? Well, I’m glad you asked…

We are made in the image of God, but we don’t all look alike. That is because our similarity isn’t in our looks, it’s in our make-up. God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and according to 1 Thessalonians 5:23, we are soul, body, and spirit, too!

God didn’t say, “Let ME make man in MY image…” He said, “Let US make man in OUR image…” God spoke in the plural, because we are made in the image of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Father – soul
Son – body
Holy Spirit – spirit

We often face our issues like they are all physical, but what if a problem is really spiritual. Or, what if it is emotional (soul)?! It won’t do any good to throw physical medication at a spiritual problem, will it? No, we need spiritual medication. We need the truth to confront the lies that plague us like a deadly and paralyzing virus.

So many people are empty and trying to gain happiness through buying stuff, through empty relationships, or other emotional/physical means. However, these things don’t fulfill them. That is because their spirits are what is actually empty! They are only running on two out of three cylinders (body and soul)…

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full“. (‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ NIV)

When we connect to the Father through His Son, Jesus, He fills us with His Spirit and then we begin to live life to the full! This is His desire for us.  He loved us so much that He created us like Him, and when we sinned…He laid down His body for us!

Challenge: Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ NIV). We must intentionally feed our spirit by quieting our soul/body before the Lord.  Take some time to reflect on the scriptures in this morning’s devotion and apply them to the way you think.

This is the truth about fear:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord… (‭II Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7-8‬ NKJV)

Of what are you afraid? Are you afraid your children will take a wrong turn in life? Are you afraid that you won’t have a job much longer? Are you afraid to lose a loved one? Maybe that you will be single all your life? Or, that no one will ever accept you?

The best gauge for figuring out your fears is to start by asking yourself what consumes your thoughts throughout the day? If your thoughts are fueled by fears, I can promise you that this isn’t something God wants for you. He did not give you a spirit of fear! He gave you a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

I use to love watching lawyer and mystery movies that had thick and twisting plots. In some cases, defendants would be associated with a gang or the mafia, so they would call someone to make a hit on the witness or to shake him up. If they could put fear into the witness, then he would go into hiding, change his story to a lie, or even decide not to testify in the case.

In addition, it was always intriguing to watch the lawyers build their cases and battle it out in court. Whenever a witness would get on the stand, one lawyer would ask questions that were favorable for their side of the case, while the other would try to tear down the character or the testimony of the witness. The intent was to show that the witness could not be trusted!

In the real world, the spirit of fear is trying to use these same tactics on us!

Our enemy is the defendant. He tries to use all his worldly power and connections to shake us up. He intends to make us go into hiding, change our story, or even decide not to testify. In addition, our enemy tries to tear down our character, so no one will listen if we do testify against him.

Well, guess what…we don’t have to fall prey to the devil’s plans. We have the best witness protection plan ever. His name is Jesus! He paid the price, and we need to stop thinking that we are the one on trial.

Remember, we don’t have to be on the defensive. The enemy is the defendant in this case. We should be on the offensive. Our weapons of warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… (‭II Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭4-5‬ NKJV)

Stand with power, love, and a sound mind. And, a sound mind is an aligned mind!

Challenge: Don’t be on the defensive today. Remind the enemy of who you are in Christ, and that he has already been defeated!