Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Mia Fieldes singing her song … Fearless … powerful singing of being fearless because God is all around us, lifting us up, surrounding us with His love and grace.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Philippians 4:6-7 [NLT] …
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
…It’s true … BUT … do we believe it?
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Highlight Passage [context]: Philippians 4:4-9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, gives Christians His prescription for fearful times … prayer!!
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Psalm 16:8 [NLT] …
8 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.
… Having faith that God is ALWAYS there with us.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Isaiah 26:3, 41:10, 13 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… If we believe the Prophet is true, why would we ever fear anything?
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … 2nd Cor. 12:9 [NLT] …
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
… If what Jesus told Paul is true (and it is!!), why would we ever fear anything?
Reference Passage #4 [NKJV] : … 2nd Timothy 1:7 [NLT] …
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
… A spirit of fear can only come from Satan … NEVER from God.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Dave Branon, teaches on our need to trust God, believing in His truth, . even when things are fearful in our lives. The ODB author wrote: “I’m really scared.” This was the poignant note a teenager posted to friends on Facebook as she told them of some upcoming medical tests. She was facing hospitalization and a series of procedures in a city three hours from home and anxiously waited as doctors tried to discover the source of some serious medical problems she was experiencing.
Who of us, in youth or later years, has not felt similar fears when facing unwanted life events that are truly frightening? And where can we turn for help? What comfort can we find from Scripture to give us courage in these kinds of situations?
If one is on Facebook, we see posts like that all the time. Perhaps when a relationship is damaged or when someone has been given a diagnosis of “cancer,” as in the ODB example. The question is not will we undergo fearful experiences or circumstances; but rather how we’ll handle that spirit of fear [see emoji photo] when we feel it. We’ve all BEEN THERE and have worn that t-shirt, haven’t we?!
But what Mia Fieldes sings in the linked song, and what God’s word declares (above) over and over again, is that God is always with the faithful; and that a spirit of fear never comes from God … ALWAYS from the enemy.
So, I exhort all of us to meditate today (and maybe for many days) on, and even memorize, the Scriptures above; because if we use God’s prescription for feelings of fear in these truths, we will feel God guarding our hearts with His peace, … feeling Him replacing the spirit of fear with the power and grace of faith.
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I’m wrapped in Your peace today as I relish in Your truth. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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