Faith & Scripture

I Chron 28:20 - Back in the last days of King David, he wished to build a temple for God, and God through Nathan told him that his son Solomon would build it.  Now, Solomon is being commissioned by David to take on the massive work of building the temple.  The verse can stand alone without much explanation: "Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; He will not fail thee nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord." When we have an assignment, God is faithful to stand by us and supply us until our mission is fulfilled, for His glory - #FearNot.

II Kings 25:24 - Between Egypt and Babylon, the city of Jerusalem is destroyed, the temple demolished, the implements and decorations taken for plunder, the king captured and replaced, priests captured, and many people killed.  The poorest and lowest are left to tend the fields and vineyards, and a man named Gedaliah is placed over them as their ruler. Gedaliah's grandfather Shaphan was the scribe who received the long lost scrolls from Hilkiah the priest and brought them to Josiah the king - the only good king in generations before & since.  Gedaliah's father Ahikam stood with Jeremiah when he spoke God's words to the people against Jerusalem for their sins.  Over and again the word came that Jerusalem would fall to the Babylonians for a time, and that God was more than aware, He was in control. And so it happened, Nebuchadnezzar ruled over the land and Gedaliah was made governor over the people.  This is the condition they were in for this season, as i...

  You can choose freedom II Kings 17:34 - This "fear not" is different, because it is embedded in the statement "they fear not God."  It is a statement of character rather than a directive, and not a good one at that. The leaders and people of Israel and Judah continued their on-again off-again dependence upon God. This time, they were overrun by the Assyrians who played mix-and-match with their captives from various countries, placing them throughout the land of Samaria. The Assyrians noted that disaster was afoot because the people did not "follow the manner of the God of the land," so they brought in a captive priest to teach the people, Israelites included, about God and how to properly honor Him.  In verse 33, it says they feared the Lord and served their own gods. "And" - it's a word that inevitably becomes "or" when discussing what our lives will be devoted to. We are finite creatures, we don't have what it ...

II Kings 6:16 - Elijah's days are over and Elisha is now the prophet of God to Israel.  The king of Syria has been attacking Israel, and losing.  When he seeks to learn the name of the mole in his army, he is told that the God in Heaven tells his secrets to Elisha the prophet, who tells the king of Israel.  When God is the spy, what's a king to do? He chooses to get Elisha out of the way and his armies surround the city.  When Elisha's servant sees the dire situation, Elisha tells him to #FearNot, for greater are those with us than those against us.  Then Elisha asks God to open the eyes of his servant so that the young man can see that the Lord's Army has things well in hand. This story is repeated by missionaries of recent centuries who, fearing for their lives, spend the night in prayer and rise the next morning to learn that their enemies ran in terror from the great army of defenders.  #FearNot - greater are the hosts of heaven than the hordes...