Category Archives: Love
Love Works, Good Works!
1 Cor.13:8 “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away” [NIV]
The fourth thing that you and I must do to banish the fear of failure is to Redefine Failure. Failure should not be what the world has called it – you redefine it. Doing something that does not work is not failure. Failure is not doing that thing in the first place. Failure is not making an effort that became fruitless but actually not making the effort at all. Ecc.3:12 “I realized that all we can do is be happy and do the best we can while we are alive” [GN, with emphasis]. As a wife, a father, a teacher, a manager, a leader – all you can do Read the rest of this entry
Risk Taking
Prov. 13:4 “The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich” [NKJV, with emphasis]
Jesus is a Master of story telling. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us the story of a master that gave money to three of his servants while he was travelling. Two of the servants took a risk, invested the money and made more. The third servant was afraid of failing, so he did nothing. Matt.25:25-26 “…I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground . . . His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant!’” [with emphasis]. The master responded with strong but instructive words. When we do not push the envelop of our lives, God sees us as wicked and lazy. When we cave in because of the fear of failing, God says wicked and lazy. Read the rest of this entry
Antidote I
Isa.62:4 No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), Because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration [MSG]
When we look at life through the eyes of the “fear of rejection”, we are unable to see the hurt of others and so we miss opportunities to minister to people in need. Picture this, Sister A walks past Sister B in church and does not respond to her greeting. Sister B takes offense and throws a pity party in her heart – ‘how could she do that? No body likes me in this church! Look at her, who can even like someone with such a nose?’ As God would have it, they both boarded the same bus one day and Sister A greets Sister B so warmly and Read the rest of this entry
In Perspective
Isa.46:4 “I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”
I know what it is to be rejected so I have a soft spot for people that are going through rejection. You should too because even if you have not experienced it, the Bible says we ought to carry each other’s burdens. Sadly sometimes we are not empathetic. We have experienced help from God but we do not extend that same help to others. To banish the fear of rejection, I need to put God in first place, put people in their place, and put myself in the proper place.
Audience of One
Gal. 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” [with emphasis]
I choose a long time ago that only the approval of God will stand in my life. You cannot seek the approval of men and the approval of God at the sam
e time. What is it going to be – men or God? It is a choice you have to make, no one can do it for you. Choose to live your life for the audience of one – The One. Guess what? This One follows you everywhere. He is there with you when you are sitting at your desk, diving in your car, and surfing the Internet. The objective is not to scare you but for you to live for His approval.
Light House
Ps.18:1 “I love you, Lord; you are my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety” [with emphasis]
Are you looking to man to be the light that brightens and brings illumination to the dark places in your life? Are you depending on a human being for protection or for energizing? Listen, you are setting yourself up for trouble. Even if the person is your spouse or your parent, you are still setting yourself up for trouble. There is no man or woman that is capable of being your light [illumination, protection and energizer], only God can. It is when you make God alone your light that you will have no fear. If you make another Read the rest of this entry
What’s Your Concern
Jn.12:42-43 “…many believed in Jesus. But they would not admit it for fear of the Pharisees… They were more concerned to have the approval of men than the approval of God” [Ph, with emphasis]
Today we will continue with the damaging effects of the fear of rejection. Another damaging effect is the fear of rejection makes us bow to peer pressure. So to avoid peer pressure we imitate other people. When I started pastoring, every pastor I knew wore a tie. I do not have a problem with wearing ties but sometimes I just did not feel like wearing a tie. A lot of people find themselves acting, talking, or dressing in certain ways just to be accepted by others.
Ctr+Alt+Faith
John 15:12 “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Sadly, a lot of us really do not understand what this means. There was a huge chasm between God and us. But love made God come down and rescue us. He was insulted, slapped, spat on, abused, ridiculed, and nailed to the cross. But He was not angry or afraid because He was moved by love.
Love Can
1 Cor.13: 13 “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love”
Receive the love of God. Just receive it. God says that as far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our transgressions from us. According to 1 John, when God forgives us and we do not receive His love or believe that we have been forgiven, the Bible says we are calling Him a liar. Some people feel that they need to pay for their sins, so they enjoy feeling guilty. God’s forgiveness and love for you has nothing to do with how you feel. Yes there is a place for Godly sorrow do not get me wrong, but when that has led to Read the rest of this entry
Ctrl+Alt+Love
2 Cor. 4:2 “In the full light of God’s truth we live…” [GN, with emphasis]
The second antidote to fear is Love. 1John 4:18 “Love contains no fear — indeed fully developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty” [Phillips, with emphasis]. How much fear is contained in love? None! If you love the Lord, you will have no fear of spiritual things and no fear of eternity. Love does not entertain fear. Fully developed love sweeps through the life and purges fear. Peradventure there is a grain of fear lurking around, fully developed love will sweep it out. Read the rest of this entry
