Do Not Be Afraid: It’s a Commandment!

By Lisa Nordell-Detres

There are few places we can look these days where somebody is not trying to prey on our fears. News about the crime rates, economy, the weather and even what might visit or hit earth from outer space all have the potential to send us running for the hills. If we spend just a little time entertaining the potential scary situations that could befall us in this life, we will find ourselves in a constant state of alert. That is not a healthy place to live, either physically with the adrenaline pulsing through our system, emotionally if we are neither fighting nor running from the source of fear, and especially spiritually, since we are not  trusting in God.

The apostle John (John 16:33) records Jesus comforting His followers in the hours before He was to be crucified. Jesus assured his followers, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV) Over and over again in the Bible, we are commanded not to be afraid. Why should we not be alarmed when there are so many dreadful things and people out there? Isn’t it just natural to be afraid? Perhaps, but if we truly place our lives in the hands of Jesus, the one who has overcome the world, what is there to fear? God promises over and over again that He will be with us, will take care of us and never leave us. Psalm 121 is a great example of this promise.

To continue to fear, knowing that the Creator of the Universe is watching over us is to say that we do not think God is powerful enough to take care of us and that we need to take matters into our own hands. That is rebellion against God and will make us vulnerable to all the things which cause us to panic. On the other hand, if we trust in God, we will have peace no matter what is going on in the world.

Live in peace or live in panic, the choice is yours today. Peace to you!

Lisa Nordell-Detres is a mother of four, grandma to two boys, a pastor’s wife and has worked in the garment and customer service industries in southern California. Besides writing, Lisa enjoys cooking, sewing, organic gardening, hiking, skiing and doing most anything outside.

Lisa was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Design from Woodbury University and an MBA from California State University at Northridge. Lisa, her husband and their youngest child now live in central Oregon.

Blessings

By Lisa Nordell-Detres

Thousands of years ago, God made a promise to a man named Abraham and his descendants: “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you…” (Genesis 12:3). This was one powerful promise, one that was passed on by Abraham’s son Isaac to his son Jacob. God went on to promise Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  If you read on, you will learn that Abraham and his family were blessed with wealth, children and honor. As God also promised, the world was ultimately blessed by one of Abraham’s descendants, Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we don’t feel like we are very blessed, do we? When times are tough in our lives, we may find ourselves asking, “Where are those blessings that God promised? We tend to think of blessings as just abundant possessions and wealth; and they can be, but God knows that these trappings may not always be blessings. God has promised “never to leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 13:5).” Is this not an amazing blessing?

If we trust Him completely, we can be assured that God provides exactly what we need, right when we need it. We need to seek Him first, as Jesus instructed in Matthew 6:33, and then we can quit worrying about politics, the economy and our future because He will take care of us.

If we are sincere in our faith in God’s care, we need to remember and recite often the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30:8-9:

“Give me neither poverty nor riches –
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny you,
And say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.”

As you go about your day, try to see all the big and little blessings around you like your family, friends, home, fragrant flowers, and beautiful sunsets. Counting your blessings is a great way to know that God is taking care of you; it can also give you a better perspective on what is truly important in life.

Lisa Nordell-Detres is a mother or four, pastor’s wife and has worked in the garment and customer service industries in southern California. Besides writing, Lisa enjoys cooking, sewing, organic gardening, hiking, skiing and doing most anything outside.

Lisa was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Design from Woodbury University and an MBA from California State University at Northridge. Lisa, her husband and their youngest child now live in central Oregon.

In the Beginning

…God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1, the first verse of the Bible, answers one of the basic questions of human existence, “Where did we come from?” Of course, many people choose not to believe this. They have the right not to believe, which will be explained in the “God is Love” blog. The curious thing about believing that God created the universe and every good thing in it is that in this post-Christian era, we who have faith in the loving creator God are sometimes viewed by evolutionists as simple, unintelligent and unenlightened.

What the debate over origin really boils down to is whether one wants to have faith in a gaseous ball of dust that exploded mysteriously billions of years ago, creating a chain of events that eventually led to your existence; or faith in a loving, all-powerful creator God. To avoid an ontological debate over our existence in this and all the articles to come, feel free to substitute “gaseous ball of dust” any time God is mentioned. The truth here is that the origins of the universe cannot be duplicated scientifically, so faith is required to believe in any source of our existence.

I have chosen to believe in an intelligent, loving creator God who spoke the universe into existence. That is one powerful being. What is really cool to consider is that since His words actually create reality, His promises were also created to take shape at some time in the future. God has made many promises, some which have come to pass throughout the ages and some which have yet to materialize. Because of the creative power of His words, we can trust that what He says in His Word, the Bible, is also true.

To start learning about God and His words of promise, I encourage you to read the Bible, preferably in chronological order. There are several web sites that provide a daily Bible reading schedule in chronological order. Happy reading!