Fear Not the Future

Many of us ate too much yesterday.  Good turkey gravy is now clogging our arteries and we have nothing to look forward to except costly heart procedures and a lifetime of taking expensive drugs.  If we are lucky enough to avoid that terror then we will still face the economic collapse of our nation in the face of growing Chinese prosperity.  Barring that there is another war brewing with Islamic terrorists somewhere and your kids are soon going to be the stupidest in the world. That kind of pessimism fills the media daily.  There are people who actually stay awake at night worrying about this.

Maybe it’s all true.  That doesn’t mean we need to live in fear.  The Jewish people could certainly relate to all those horrors and many more.  But God gave them a promise about their future.  When giving that promise He said quite simply, “Fear not. You have been the tail, but I will make you the head.  You have been abused, but your King will reign over all.”  He said to them, “Your future is in my hands.”  Someday Jesus will return, the Jews will worship Him as King and all will be well.  But the promise of “all will be well” is not for them alone.  It is for all who believe in Him.

None of us is really in control of our won future.  The best laid plans can be completely turned upside down by someone else.  People who write books on healthy living for longevity die of heart attacks at age 40.  People who set aside millions of dollars have solid investments tank overnight.  Governments decide to build a road through your dream house.  In this world we do our best to plan correctly, but it doesn’t always work out.  But the real future is forever.  Our entire existence on earth is but a vapor of our eternal existence.  It is that future that God has promised is secure to all who have faith in His Son. Lots of bad things can, and often do, happen to His children in the here and now.  But the here and now is not forever.  Forever His promise is joy and glory to all His children.

Peter Lutkin wrote, “The World Is Sad with Hopes That Die”, a hymn that gives us a right perspective on now and forever.  Fear not, God says, your future is in My hands. 

“The world is sad with hopes that die, with joys that gleam and then go by,

and dim the mortal eyes that gaze on setting suns of parting days.

Better the hope, the joy, the light for spiritual heart and sight!

For they whose life is hid on high shall never part and never die.” 

 

 

 

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

 

 

Abundant Grace Thanksgiving

And here we are!  This is my favorite of all holidays.  Thanksgiving!  It is full of great memories.  It was the one holiday when all the aunts and uncles were together at Grandma’s house.  There were no cousins on that side of the family.  That meant that the only two people to contend for the turkey legs were by brother and me.  I actually never got the leg because my wise Grandma knew that I wasn’t going to get even half of it eaten.  That was alright, though, as Grandma knew best.

Today my wife and I are the Grandma and Grandpa.  Our six children, their spouses and their eleven children are all here.  So is Great Uncle Larry and perhaps a few other invited friends will show up as well.  He and I no longer want the leg.  All the grandchildren are too young to take one on.  Anyway, we cooked the turkey yesterday and deboned it for serving today.  Not quite the way Grandma did it, but it works well with 26 people coming to the table.  There will be chaos and noise and I won’t hear a thing from the other end of the table.  When the last dish is done and the kids have gone to their in-laws houses for a second Thanksgiving feast my beloved bride and I will reflect on all the blessings of the day.

And that is really what we all need to do more of.  God is so good to each and every one of us.  That doesn’t mean there haven’t been tragedies or hard times this past year.  It doesn’t mean that everything we have hoped for has come about just the way we wanted.  It does mean that God is so good to each of us.  The sun has always come up, and if it hadn’t we would be in the land that needs no sun to light the sky.  God in grace has held our hand in sickness and difficulty.  He has walked beside us in the beauty of answered prayers and the anticipation of how He will answer more.  He has forgiven our sins and kept us sheltered under the shadow of His wing.  He has and will continue to be God and continue to be good.  That is what we need to remember beyond just today.

Just in case we think all must be good by human standards for us to be thankful, let us conclude today with the great hymn by Martin Rinkart which was written during the 30 Years War when over half the population of Germany died by war or plague or famine.  That is the setting for “Now Thank We All Our God”.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessèd peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Even Heroes Fear

We know that David, the shepherd boy, was not afraid of Goliath.  He knew that God was with him and not Goliath and he boldly went and told the giant just that.  Then he defeated the giant in the Name of the Lord and became the champion of Israel.  And yet later David fell into fear of lesser men than Goliath.  He was afraid of Saul and he was afraid of King Aschish of Gath.  But David was not alone in great victory followed by great fear. 

In I Kings 18 Elijah demonstrated the power of God to the backsliding nation of Israel.  He called on God to send fire from heaven, and God did.  Elijah then called for the people to seize all the prophets of Baal and the groves and he then had them all killed.  King Ahab was overwhelmed and offered no resistance to Elijah.  After that Elijah called upon God to send rain to end the three year drought, and God did.  That is a lot of victory in one day’s work.  The next day he was running away in fear.

All of our lives are not accomplished in one moment.  If they were we wouldn’t need a whole life to get them in.  That means that neither victories nor defeats are a “one and done” deal.  We have to go on and live the next moment.  We cannot rest in victory and say we will always win.  We cannot lie down in defeat and say we will always lose.  The brave may lose heart and the faint of heart may rise like a champion.  In victory we need not boast and in fear we need not despair.  God was the One to bring the victory and God is the One who still stands beside us in fear.  In victory we are to give Him the praise and in fear we are to give Him are ardent prayers. 

When we fear we must not add fear to fear by feeling that we have failed.  God used David’s wilderness experience to make him an abler king.  God used Elijah’s flight of fear to bring him to his great successor Elisha.  God has not abandoned us at any time.  He loves His own and walks with them every day, even when the shadows cloud His face.  Despair not when you fall into fear; God is still on His throne and by your side.

By your side, His promises, sure, steadfast and true

By your side, His presence, day by day life through

By your side, His passionate love, for His weary son

By your side, His caring hand, ‘til your life be done

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

 

Greater Is He

The Bible says that it took the Israelites a long, long time to get a grasp on the greatness of God.  I believe that is true not only for the Israelites but for the Church of today as well.  We hear of what God has done and rejoice at what He has done.  But sadly, in some part of our brain there is a disconnect between what He has done and what He can do.  As the Israelites needed a constant reminder, not because of their great wickedness but because of their humanity, so do believers today.  It is sadly part of our fallen and sinful condition. 

Four hundred years before our Bible passage today, the Israelites had been afraid of giants.  Today they are again. “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine (Goliath), they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”  But wait, we are tempted to say.  God had shown them that He could defeat an entire civilization of giants. Yes, He had.  And now they were facing a new giant and they were afraid again.  Isn’t that how it really goes for us as well?  Did Jesus Christ not defeat the giants of death and hell at the cross of Calvary?  Did He not win the battle against the giant of our condemnation?  Did He not defeat every attack of Satan for us? Yes, He did.  Still, when new giants arise they have a different look than the old ones.  We see too much with the eyes and too little with faith. 

God doesn’t smack us for this failing.  He loves us.  We are His.  Every time a sheep sees a wolf and cowers, does the shepherd beat the sheep for forgetting his past care?  We are the sheep of Christ’s pasture.  He doesn’t beat us either.  He speaks to us words of assurance.  It is true that the sheep who are feeding closest to the shepherd fear the wolf the least, but He still cares for them all.  So God sent a shepherd boy, David, to calm the fears of the Israelites and their king.  He sent a savior to defeat the giant.  He still does.  He reminds us in love that Greater is He than any giant we face. 

Greater God’s great love and grace than any giant we will face

Greater power is in His rod than any giant this earth will trod

Greater care comes from His hand than all the giants in the land

Greater arms around us hold the fearful sheep within His fold

Greater, greater, greater is He than all the giants we will see

Great Christ our Good Shepherd be Who’s won for us each victory. 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

 

No Fear Under God’s Care

My favorite book of the Bible is Ruth.  In my book, The Gospel According to Molly, I have a whole chapter based on Ruth 2:16.  The King James Bible really grasps the whole beauty of that passage more than any other version.  “And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her.”  This is God’s promise to His people.  He will let fall for us “handfuls of purpose”.  By His loving design He drops in front of us all that we need.  He does it because He loves us and cares for us. 

In Ruth 3:11 Boaz, who had commanded his reapers to let grain fall for Ruth, said to Ruth, “Fear not.  I will do all that you request.”  Ruth was an outcast.  She was a foreigner from a hostile country.  She had no birthright to ever enter the tabernacle of God.  She was also the widowed wife of a near relative to Boaz.  Her request had been that Boaz would take her “under his wing” and fulfill the Jewish law of redemption of her dead husband’s property.  He would do this by marrying her and giving her a child.  Taking on a despised Moabite, a religious outcast, was no small thing.  There was a relative nearer to Ruth than Boaz was and he refused to do so.  Boaz, however, told her to fear not.  He would take care of her and her aging mother-in-law. 

In the account of Ruth, Boaz is the picture of Christ.  He is the Redeemer Kinsman.  Ruth is the picture of all the world.  We are outcasts by birth.  When we throw ourselves at the feet of His cross, as Ruth had thrown herself at Boaz’s feet, He will not reject us.  He will make us His bride and care for us.  The “handfuls of purpose” then become showers of blessings. 

Here again the grace of God replaces the fear of man.  Here we see the sacrificial care of our Redeemer.  Under His wing there need be no fear.  He loves us.  He hears us.  He cares for His own. 

William Cushing wrote the beautiful hymn, “Under His Wings”.  It contains the Redeemer’s promises for us. 

“Under His wings I am safely abiding, though the night deepens and tempests are wild, still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me, He has redeemed me, and I am His child.  Under His wings, under His wings, who from His love can sever? Under His wings my soul shall abide, safely abide forever.”

 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

 

 

The Conqueror of Fear

If we are honest we will admit that the world is a very fearful place.  It can be fearful in ways many people would forget to put on the list.  It can be fearful in love.  Yes, even there.  Gentlemen, did any of you fear just a little when you popped the question to your beloved?  Ladies, did any of you ever fear that “Mr. Right” wouldn’t call back after that wonderful date?  Fear can exist in success as well as love.  Managers, did you have a little fear as you took the reins of greater responsibility?  Business owners, did you have fear as you launched your business?  Fear pops up all over.

In Deuteronomy and Joshua we find it repeatedly spoken of in terms of the changing of the guard.  Moses was about to die.  After 40 years of hassling him and giving him great grief, the people were finally attached to him as a leader.  But now he was announcing his death and new leadership.  The people were afraid.  Joshua was afraid.  That is a state of fear multiplied by three million people.  What was the message?  “And the LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."  God repeated that same message to Joshua a few months later when the Israelites were preparing to cross the Jordan.  “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

This is a message we all really need to hear often.  We must, because God often repeated it.  God knows us best.  It is the message that He is the conqueror of fear.  He is with us.  He is bigger, better, smarter, more capable than any situation can possibly call for.  He is God.  Fear not, neither be dismayed.  You are mine.  I am with you.  We cannot say that God is backing every business we build, every promotion we receive or every love affair that thrills our heart.  But we can say with confidence that if God sends us on the errand then God will be with us to see it to completion. 

Ludie Pickett wrote the hymn “Never Alone”.  Her first stanza gives us God’s promise to Joshua.  “I’ve seen the lightning flashing; I’ve heard the thunder roll. I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, which almost conquered my soul. I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, bidding me still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!”

 

 

 

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

 

 

No Fear of Giants

How big are some of the obstacles that stand in the way of our calling to glorify God?  That is our calling, after all.  Sometimes we might become confused and believe our calling is our job description or our family title.  Those are not our callings, however.  Our calling in life is to glorify God.  We were saved, according to Ephesians chapter 1, for the praise of His glory.  Paul tells us again in Corinthians that we have been bought with a price and are therefore to glorify God in our bodies.  What kind of obstacles stand in the way of our calling?

The Israelites were delivered from Egypt and told to go into the Promised Land.  Their obedience and victory would glorify God.  He would be glorified in fulfilling His promises.  He would be glorified in triumphing over the vile pagan gods of Canaan.  He would be glorified in the blessings He would give to His people.  Their job was to glorify God by occupying the territory He gave them.  But to do that they had to overcome some obstacles.

In the land dwelt giants.  Giants are not too big for God, but the people forgot God and were sure the giants were too big for them.  They didn’t want to occupy the land.  They wanted to run away back to the slavery of Egypt.  They considered the obstacles as being too much for them to overcome.  Joshua and Caleb disagreed.

God has given us territory to occupy.  He has saved us from the bondage of sin (Egypt) and has sent us to occupy the territory of the life He gives us to live.  He gives us a home, a family, a career, a church and associations.  That is our territory.  In that territory there are giants of opposition to the glory of God.  What are the ones in your life?  Are they really bigger than God?  Two spies challenged the people of their day and ours and said, “Fear them not!  Our God is bigger than them.”  Remember our calling to glorify God.  Remember His power to undergird us.  Go forth without fear of man and occupy the land.

Bill Harvey wrote the hymn, “I Want That Mountain.”  Sing the 3^rd stanza and chorus: 

“One faithless Giant upon the crest of Hebron's lofty height has vowed that he's the one to make me flee. I'll climb from out the Wilderness! And trust Jehovah's might! I want that mountain, it belongs to me!  I want that mountain!  I want that mountain!  Where the milk and honey flow, where the grapes of Eshcol grow, I want that mountain!  I want that mountain! The mountain that my Lord has given me.”

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

Delivered from Fear

OK, let’s get this scenario down pat.  You have an enemy.  He hates you, for absolutely no good reason, of course.  He is chasing you.  He has a car and you are on foot.  He has a gun and you do not.  You think you just might be able to escape if you take this next turn, but, no, it is a high solid brick wall and you are now boxed in.  You turn around and there is your enemy.  What is your instant emotional reaction?  Fear!  Then from high in the sky comes a voice that says, “Fear not.” 

Now you are aware of the situation of the Israelites as they fled from the Egyptians and were caught up against the Red Sea.  Certain Death smiles its hideous and ominous grin and you have a natural response.  But God wants you to have a supernatural response.  He wants you to trust Him.

This situation confronts us daily.  It may not be imminent death.  It may be financial or familial crisis.  It may be a civic crisis.  It may be an employment issue.  We face death of hope or security or love on a daily basis.  We want to duck and hide, but that won’t work.  We want to fight back, but we are out resourced by our enemy.  We want to cry but that won’t help.  God says, “Look up.  I Am here.  Fear not.” 

What is our basis to trust this voice?  Well, He sent His Son to save us.  That is a pretty good basis.  He must have loved us a lot to do that and cared for us a great deal to make such a sacrifice.  We can also remember that He has been there in the past.  If we have walked with God for a while we have seen His care.  If we are new at this we can see that His word tells us He has cared for others in the past.  We can remember what Paul told the Colossians, “As you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him.”  We received Christ by trusting God’s promise to us concerning salvation.  We need to walk in that same trust that God cares for the saved.  By the way, the end of the story is that Israel was once again saved and the entire enemy force was left literally dead in the water.  Yes, we can trust God to care for His saints.

Consider today the third stanza of John Yates’ great hymn, “Faith is the Victory.”

 “On every hand the foe we find drawn up in dread array. Let tents of ease be left behind
and onward to the fray. Salvation’s helmet on each head, with truth all girt about, the earth shall tremble ’neath our tread, and echo with our shout.  Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory! O glorious victory that overcomes the world.”

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at www.blog.FEBC.org   

The Fear of Change

I think perhaps I mentioned a little of this before.  I hate change.  In fact my dearly beloved bride of 38 years might even suggest that I am a teeny, weenie, itty, bitty obsessive about it.  Nonsense!  I just don’t like to make unnecessary changes is all.  The furniture is perfectly functional right where it is.  Really, is that such a bad thing?  We can all be just a little crazy about facing change.  But it happens. The bigger the change the more it can be upsetting.  Jacob was 130 years old when the message came to him to not only change the furniture, but he was to take his entire family from the Promised Land and move to Egypt.  Now that is change.

Multiple psychological studies have been done to demonstrate what affects major changes can have on our emotional well being.  A scale has even been developed with each kind of change categorized and given a point system.  The higher the stress of a change the higher the points are awarded.  Too many points and a person could experience some real negative side effects for a while.  Jacob was in the midst of some mind blowing changes.  He needed some reassurance that all would be well.

As this challenging time came upon Him God met with him and said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt’.”  (Gen. 46:3-4)  Now there is a promise that has never changed.  “I will go with you.”  Jesus said to His disciples, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Hebrews 13:5 reminds us of a promise God made in Deuteronomy 31, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  God does not leave His own.  He stays right there with them

This is a great promise when it comes to dealing with change.  Whether it is change of job, change of family situation, change of living conditions or any other traumatizing change in life, God is there.  He is there!!  That is, after all, one of His names.  And if God is there, what harm can come to me in His Almighty presence? 

Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr. wrote “Peace, Perfect Peace”.  A couple of stanzas will help us cope with the traumas of change. Abide in the peace of God’s continued presence as you sing these lines.  “Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round? On Jesus’ bosom naught but calm is found.  Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown? Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.” 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at www.blog.FEBC.org   

 

Running into Fear

Every week in our paper there is a story about someone who committed a very minor offence.  They may have simply been driving with a dead tail light and were pulled over by the police.  Then, however, they jackrabbit out of there like they were being chased by all the demons of hell.  Why did they do that? They were driving with a guilty conscience.  In their car, well hidden and out of sight, are a lot of drugs or guns.  The police don’t know it until they start to run. Because of guilt over a crime committed but unknown they have run directly into fear. 

Jacob had committed some pretty serious offences.  He had lied to his father.  He had cheated his brother.  He had stolen a blessing.  He was on the run for his life.  Then he stopped and slept on a stone.  During the night he had a dream that a ladder went up from his resting place to heaven.  Angels were ascending and descending the ladder.  He woke up in fear.  He was on the run from sin and he had run, seemingly, right into the entrance to the throne of the Almighty God. 

What does the Divine Officer say?  “Here, Jacob, I make a promise to you.  I will be with you and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”  Once again sin has been supplanted by grace.  That didn’t mean that Jacob had “gotten away” with anything.  God was watching him.  If we pursue a life of sin that can be a scary thought.  But also he knew for sure that God was with him.  Through all the troubles of life and in the midst of great temptation, that can be a very comforting thought.  Once again we have to replace our “God with a club” theory for a “God who is my Savior” fact.  The righteous man falls, but he also rises again.  This was true of Jacob.  God didn’t beat him while he was down.  As a pastor I have dealt with too many people who succumb to that expectation.  Remember, beloved, God saved us from judgment, not just so He could whip out some more, but so that we could live in hope with Him. 

Remember Jacob’s ladder and fear not, but have hope in God.  Consider these words by Isaac Watts in his hymn “God, My Supporter and My Hope”.    

“God, my supporter and my hope, my help for ever near; Thine arm of mercy held me up when sinking in despair. Thy counsels, Lord, shall guide my feet through this dark wilderness; Thine hand conduct me near Thy seat, to dwell before Thy face.” 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at www.blog.FEBC.org   

 

Displaced but Not Afraid

It seems to be a modern epidemic – displacement.  Whatever happened to job security has become the moan of fear and despair in millions of homes.  Some people, especially those over 50, have been displaced longer than at any other time in their lives and see little hope on the horizon.  Their roots have been torn up and their secure wells of provision have disappeared.  This happened to Isaac.

 “And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you.” (Gen. 26:24)  The people of the land were starting to “crowd him out”.  The wells he had dug were taken by others and he was constantly on the move looking for a place to dwell.  All his labors were coming to naught and he was distressed.  God came to him and simply said, “Fear not.” 

Now you might say, “But I’m not Isaac.”  That might be half true.  Physically you are not Isaac, but I hope that spiritually you are.  Isaac was the son of promise.  That means that he prefigures Jesus Christ.  He had an impossible birth.  Isaac was figuratively raised from the dead when the ram was caught in the thicket.  All God’s promises to Abraham were passed on to Isaac.  In Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham, all the promises of God are passed on to us as well. We are children of the promise of forgiveness by faith and called in the New Testament “children of Abraham”.  (Galatians 3:7)

God has not forgotten His promises.  He came to Isaac with a message.  It was the same message He had given to Abraham many years before, “Fear not.”  It was not the last time that He would have to encourage His people who found themselves displaced in this world.  He still extends that promise to all the children of Abraham.  I am among that great group of displaced and daily I have to remind myself that God has given great and precious promises.  One of the greatest is the simple message so oft repeated, “Fear not.” 

We need to remember the hand of God is not shortened that it cannot save.  We need to remember that the Lord is my Shepherd.  We need to remember that He will never leave us or forsake us.  There are a few words from an old Gospel chorus whose author I do not know that go simply, “Every promise in the Book is mine, every chapter every verse, every line.  All are blessings of His love divine.  Every promise in the Book is mine.” 

They are, and we are assured by God Almighty Himself to “Fear not.” 

 

 

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work. 

 

No Fear Required

Have you ever been faced with apparent absolute disaster?  Have you ever come to the end of the checkbook two weeks before the end of the month and still had at least two major bills to pay and milk to buy?  Has your car collapsed for the last and final time and there is no way to pay for a new one and no way to get to work without one?  Has disaster stared you in the face from five sides at once and there was nowhere to turn?  Then you understand today’s text.

“Then Hagar went and sat down across from him at a distance; for she said to herself, ‘Let me not see the death of the boy.’ So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.”  (Gen 21:16)  She had lost her home.  She had lost her livelihood.  She had lost the father of her son.  She was about to lose her son.  Seemingly she had every right to be afraid, but God said, “Fear not.”  He was ahead of her fear.  He had a plan for her and for her son before she knew it.  To have a plan also means you have to have a provision to make that plan succeed.  Instead of dying of thirst there was a well of provision.  It was a well that was right in front of her but she had not seen it.  But God let her see the provision and sent her on her way for the plan He had in store. 

We can say that there was no fear required on Hagar’s part.  But she was human like the rest of us and the trouble of life blotted out a clear vision of the care and provision of God.  It could not, however, blot out God.  The God who asked, “Is there anything too hard for Me,” is still alive.  As the hymn writer said, “He is not dead nor doth He sleep.”  He is the God who hears us pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and takes that prayer to heart.  That is the God of grace who made the greatest provision for us.  There is a need we can never solve for ourselves.  That is the need to have our sins forgiven before a righteous and holy Judge.  God, the Almighty God, who showed the well to Hagar in the midst of a desert place, has shown the Fountain of Life to us in His Son.  Through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, He has given to us a Fountain of Life that comes through His blood and radiates to every need of our life. 

William Cowper wrote, “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains; and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” 

A God provided fountain saved Hagar and His Fountain, Jesus Christ, will save us.

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work. 

 

Fear into Joy

Have you ever lied to God?  Have you ever tried to hide your feelings from Him and pretend they aren’t in the way of your prayers?  While trying to cram the desire of your heart aside and concentrate on what you think God wants to hear, do you lie by not speaking the truth?  Well, I do, and in talking with others, I know I am not alone.

The next time we find fear mentioned in Genesis is when a saint of God’s own flock lied to Him. God told Abraham that Sarah would have a son. This was a physical impossibility and she laughed in her heart at the very thought.  God asked why she laughed and she denied having done so.  She lied to God.  Uh-oh!  Smack on the head time, right?  God said, “No, you laughed,” and Sarah knew in her heart that God knew all.  That simple conviction of sin and reproach was all that God needed to do to Sarah.  You see, He had better things in mind than smacking her on the head.

God said to her, you will have a son and call his name Isaac, which in Hebrew means laughter.  Each time she called her son she would remember how she had laughed at God and remember how gracious He had been.  In our foolishness as lost people we laugh at and mock God all the time.  His response?  He sent His Son to die for our sins.  When we believe Him and receive the gift of new birth, we should not dwell on the dread of remembered sins, but we should constantly remember the grace of His love that forgave them.  God loves to turn fear into grace and sorrow into joy.  Thank Him again right now for turning the fear of judgment into the rejoicing of grace. 

Now, the next time you want to hide something from God in your prayers, don’t.  If He loves us so much as to turn judgment into rejoicing, can’t we really expect Him to turn our greatest concerns into our greatest joys?  Praise God.  Believe His promises.  Live in joy and peace.

The great hymnist Eliza Hewitt wrote a song for this occasion, “Sunshine in My Soul”. Sing along: “(1) There is sunshine in my soul today, more glorious and bright than glows in any earthly sky, for Jesus is my light. (R) O there’s sunshine, blessèd sunshine, when the peaceful, happy moments roll; when Jesus shows His smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul.  (2) There is gladness in my soul today, and hope and praise and love, for blessings which He gives me now, for joys laid up above.” 

 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work. 

 

A Holy Fear

If you were walking along a street and lightning struck unexpectedly nearby, would you duck?  Would your heart pound?  Would you wonder what was coming next?  This is not the same kind of fear as that of judgment or punishment, unless, of course, you happen to have a really guilty conscience right at that moment.  This instead is a natural fear, an awe or dread of a vast power greater than yourself.  It asks the question, what is going to happen to me in the next moment. 

We meet this fear in Genesis 15.  God suddenly appeared to Abram in a vision.  His words to Abram were, “Fear not.”  We can assume that Abram had been rightly terrified at this appearance of God.  But the message was not just one of allaying the immediate fear; it was a message of assurance of God’s ongoing care for Abram.  Again the fear is to be overcome by the message of God’s grace as it was with Adam in the Garden. 

We can find this scenario again in Luke 5 where Peter and his partners are fishing and catch nothing. Then Jesus commands them to cast in the net again and the net is full to breaking.  Peter falls down at Jesus’ feet and cries out in fear.  The power of the Christ had overwhelmed him.  But Jesus does not depart as Peter asked.  Jesus instead called Peter and his partners to follow Him.  Fear was again replaced by grace. 

We want to repeatedly see that the will of God is not that we live in fear.  The Law teaches us that we are sinners and that God is Almighty.  The Law is given to us that we might see our need and turn to the Almighty God for salvation.  The Law is our guidepost from fear to grace.  The constant message of Scripture is that God is gracious and wants to bestow that grace on us.  He proved it through the cross where the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for our sins and God reached out to humanity in grace and forgiveness.  His message is “Fear not, only believe.” 

In Paul Rader’s comforting hymn “Only Believe” we find this call of assurance and grace.  “Fear not, little flock, from the cross to the throne, from death into life He went for His own; all power in earth, all power above, is given to Him for the flock of His love.  Only believe, only believe; all things are possible, only believe, only believe, only believe; all things are possible, only believe.” 

It is possible to have your sins forgiven, to have peace with God and hope forevermore.  Fear not.  Believe in Him who died for you. 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work. 

 

Fear!

Fear is one of the most powerful of all our emotions.  It can generate the release of powerful hormones or melt us into quivering masses of utter incapacity.  It can compel us to act in ways we would not normally act whether it is bad or good.  It is a weapon used by many powerful institutions to intimidate and rule over the masses under them.   It can have both positive and negative outcomes in our life.

The first time we find fear in the Bible is in the Garden of Eden.  Things are no longer perfect as they had been.  Eve has been deceived and Adam has chosen to sin.  Now it is the cool of the day and they hear God coming for His afternoon visit.  Hide! They run in fear away from their best Friend.  Adam says, “I heard Your voice and was afraid.” 

Fear of God has been a part of the human condition ever since.  It is true that there are some who have become so callous that the Scripture says of them, “There is no fear of God before their eyes”, but that was not always their condition.  Even Adolf Hitler as a Catholic school boy had a fear of God.  But why fear God?

We fear God because we are sinners.  Paul told the Romans that even Gentiles who had no law were a law unto themselves.  They show the law written on their own hearts and are directed by a conscience.  Pagan worship is a cheap set up to learn how to appease an angry god.  If gods who do not exist can be viewed as angry for our insolence and sin against them, how much more the Creator God of all?  Indeed Psalm 7 says that God is angry with the wicked every day.  When someone who is bigger and more powerful than you is angry with you, you are afraid.

But what did God say to Adam and Eve on that fateful day?  Did He crush them and walk away laughing?  No, He spoke grace.  “I will send a Redeemer who will take away the curse of your sin.”  And He did.  He sent Jesus Christ so that we could be reconciled to God and have the joy of His love and not the fear of His anger.  In Christ, God is not angry.  We must rejoice in this great message.  It is the message of the Gospel. 

Oh, blessed hope the God of Love, His angry face has turned aside

And through the blood of His Dear Son, in peace can now with man reside

The fear of God is thus removed; the Judgment Day has been passed o’er

In Christ we find His grace is sweet; abide in peace forever more. 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work. 

 

A Happy Ending

I don’t go in for sad movies or sad books.  Tragedies are not my favorite genre.  When someone says I should really see something or read something, I have one question.  Does it end happily?  If they hesitate, I don’t read or go.  I know that life is not like that.  We have lots of seemingly sad endings.  Some are truly sad endings, but that is not the ending I have in mind.  Jesus Christ has made promises.  These are not promises of vain hope.  They are the sure promises of God.  He said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”  That is a happy ending.

In the Book of Revelation it says, “Blessed (happy) is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”  God tells us to read this book with a happy ending.  That is a very “happy” command.  It doesn’t matter what a person’s particular view of Revelation may be.  There are many views and we argue too much over them.  What matters in this case is that all the views have one thing in common.  God wins!  Satan loses!  Righteousness prevails!  Jesus reigns!  Whether the manifold sufferings found in the book refer to past, present or future is not the point.  The point is the end.  In the end sin is over.  Christ is revealed as King.  We live forever with Him in the place of His new creation.  There is no more suffering or sorrow or shame.  That kind of ending will make all but the wicked happy. If they read the book and are converted by the sureness of God’s victory, then they can be happy, too.

As we conclude our five week look at promises for happiness in the Bible we come to the one that wraps things up for all mankind.  God didn’t give us the Book of Revelation to make the church unhappy with argument.  He gave it to give us the assurance that He will prevail even when it seems that He is not.  God wins!  How much happier can you get?

John W. Mc­Gar­vey, Jr. wrote “The Bright, Happy Home”.  “There’s a bright, happy home over yonder, on the bright eternal shore; where the saints shall dwell with Jesus, all the glad for ever more. We’ll meet with our Savior in the morning, that Savior full of love; we’ll dwell with our king, and forevermore we’ll sing in that happy home above.”  There is a happy ending we can count on! 

 

 

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work. 

 

 

Happy are the Patient

Do you like to wait?  Do you choose the longest lines in the supermarket?  Do you arrive three hours early for your dentist appointment?  Do you really love the cable guy who says anytime between noon and five and arrives at 4:59?  Those would not normally be our first thoughts or desires.  But there is a waiting that can make us happy.

In Isaiah 30 God says, “Blessed (happy) are all those who wait for Him.”   We often don’t like doing that anymore than waiting in line anyplace else.  There is no tomorrow or wait five minutes in the American vocabulary.  A more common statement is, “I need that 10 minutes ago!”  That is not only how we treat other people, but it is also the way we try to treat God. 

In this passage in Isaiah God is telling His people that He will, in His time and for His glory, bring them justice and restoration.  Until then – WAIT!  If it is hard to wait when things are going well, how much harder to wait when they aren’t?  God says, however, “Listen, I am God.  I know best.  I care for you.  I will take care of it in the best way for you.  Wait.”  Can we do that?  Can we first of all trust God?  That is at the center of the issue.  Then can we believe that His plan is best?  That is rippling out from the center.  Then can we really wait for Him to do it?  That is the end of the matter which we would really rather have now than later.  Still, God says, “Happy are those who wait for me.”

In Isaiah 40 there is a promise to those who wait.  They will mount up like eagles and soar.  Would mounting up like eagles and soaring be preferable to the mess we would make by rushing in with our own plan and solution?  I am sure it would make us all much happier, but to get there we must WAIT.  “But Wait!” the infomercial hawker cries, “There’s more!”  What if in developing the patience of waiting for God we also developed some patience with our fellow man?  Wouldn’t that make us even happier on a real life day to day level?  You must admit, God really does seem to know what He is doing. 

Our Sovereign God on Thee we wait, Your steadfast love our guarantee

The veil of time is closed to us, but You the future fully see

Your justice and your grace is vast, to Your beloved You freely give

By virtue of Your glorious Name, all that we need to truly live

Sustain our patience with Your hand, that we in faith may see Your care

To tend Your sheep in this bare land, and take us to a land more fair    

 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work. 

 

The Wisdom of a Happy Man

As parents we want to impart to our children things that will make life rich and full    for them.  We want them to be happy.  That is the age old desire of mankind.  We may have failed here or there and learned some sad lessons. We want our children to avoid those ways and walk in a path that will lead them to happiness.  The Book of Proverbs begins with just this idea and the Book of Ecclesiastes ends that way.  At the start of Proverbs Solomon is speaking from his own point of view.  By chapter 8, however, he is using a symbolic speaker.  Wisdom herself is now addressing the reader and says, “Blessed (happy) is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.”

Solomon began Proverbs by saying “Get wisdom”.  Then wisdom speaks and says that those who find her will be happy people.  But where do we find wisdom?  In chapter 2 Solomon tells us that the Lord gives wisdom out of His mouth.  Therefore, the first place to look for wisdom is to look to God.  Chapter 9 of Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Once again wisdom starts with God.  But this wisdom is not for those who don’t believe the God who offers it.  Proverbs tells us that the scoffer will not find wisdom.  The New Testament tells us that the scoffer is one who denies the truth of God’s word.  God and His word are the foundation of all wisdom.

The benefits of wisdom are truly such as should make everyone happy who has it.  The Proverbs tell us that it is better than rubies.  Have you priced rubies lately?  Wisdom is valuable for us to make us understand how to relate to both God and men.  The application of this valuable commodity will preserve us from many sorrows of life including financial ruin. That is one of the constant refrains from the Proverbs.  A good relationship with God, with family, with employers, with friends and even with enemies can be gained by wisdom.  There is richness indeed in being wise; wisdom that will make us happy.

A happy end on earth is sought, by riches it cannot be bought

By labors is cannot be won, for they may fail e’er day is done

By friends in pow’r we seek its gain, but those who seek will find it vain

Its source on earth cannot be found, by God in heav’n it’s handed down

So seek it from its wellspring there, with humble heart and humble prayer

Rejoice that God gives it in love to all who seek it from above   

 

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work.