Live Fearless

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.  

(2 Timothy 1:7 AMP)

Fear and anxiety are from the enemy, they have no place in a spirit filled Christian’s life. When the feeling of dread and despair come upon us, we have to shut it down immediately before it spreads. 

Using the Amplified Bible, I searched the keyword ‘fear’ and there were 485 instances throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.  God knew fear would be a problem for us, so He wanted to make sure we were prepared to fight it.   

Fear is a flesh response to a situation or even a possible issue.  When we are rooted in God’s Word, we are already prepared to fight, we can rebuke what the enemy has sent and claim scriptures that God has for us.  As we call out fear and tell ‘it’ (‘it’ being used in place of whatever ‘fear’ we are dealing with - sickness, financial problems, relationship issues, etc.) that we refuse to accept it in our lives.  We are not sticking our head in the sand and denying our circumstances; we are claiming God’s protection over what the enemy is throwing at us.  

When we are tempted to be fearful, cling to the rest of the verse and remember we already have this within us:

spirit of power

   But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.  (1 John 4:4), 

spirit of love

  Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.  (1 John 4:18) 

and of self-control

  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

Remember to cling to God’s promises not the problems from the enemy.

Be strong and courageous. 

Be not afraid or dismayed before {your FEAR}, 

for there is Another with us greater than [all those] with {your FEAR}.

With {your FEAR} is an arm of flesh, 

but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.

(2 Chronicles 32:7-8, {substituted})

Breaking the Chains

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (Romans 7:21 NIV)

When we are struggling against our flesh, what if we changed our perspective to this:

Each breath is for Christ who died for us
Each thought is for Christ who died for us
Each word is for Christ who died for us
Each action is for Christ who died for us

Would it be easier to fight the flesh when each breath, thought, word and action were for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

We died to sin and we were brought to new life by Christ's death and resurrection, so literally every breath of ours is owed to God, so EVERYthing we do should be FOR God's glory and out of love and appreciation for the ultimate sacrifice (made for us while we were still sinners).  We did nothing to deserve this gift, it was given to us because God loves us, because of his amazing grace & mercy.

God's righteousness can never be comprehended by our human minds, but yet our old human nature (flesh) fights our new spirit with excuses and reasons why we should do what we want and not what is right. We have to train ourselves daily to look to God, to what is pure, what is noble, what is righteous and not that which is of this world; which is a dead and decaying world, full of sin and lost souls who don't know God. 

We have been commanded to Love and be an Ambassador of Christ - to represent Him in this foreign world, to shine His light on those who have lost hope and have never known the all consuming and perfect love of a Savior.

We have been bought and paid for, we are no longer slaves to this world; we have been given a new spirit (one of power, love and self-discipline), we have the Holy Spirit to help us, so we should no longer be slaves to the old sins and struggles that had held us in bondage.  We have been freed by the blood of Jesus, so stop picking up the old chains that once captivated us; stand firm on God's promises and claim your new birthright as a Child of the Most High God.

Share your freedom, the Gospel, the truth, the love and share the light that has been given to you.

                                              artwork from (http://jtbarts.com/2012/11/set-free-jesus-my-ransom/)