  “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”2 Timothy 1:7 Sing No longer slaves,  “Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear”. Martin Luther King Jr. “By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.”Proverbs 16:6 When the coronavirus warnings started trumpeting one of my fellow deputies observed, why so much fear in the headlines. Yes, it seems the news media will always turn up the anxious level when events like coronavirus occur. So, I read a bit about fear, I learned there are at least two kinds of it. First there is the kind of fear Scrooge had for the ghost of Christmas yet to come. The unrepentant Ebenezer feared death. The sort of fear a prisoner or a sick person might have, a fear of the unknown. The second kind of fear is described by protestant reformer Martin Luther who wrote, “There is a form of fear when a respectful child fears their parents, not because of possible punishment but because they don’t want to disappoint or let down the family. The fear of the lord is what Luther was focusing on. So we develop a Holy fear that will shape our thoughts, make us bold in love, and give us power over the unknown. In this time and always, we need to trust God with the confidence a child has toward a loving father. Blessings, Pastor Roger Hovis Today’s Prayer: Lord, I do love You and I desire to surrender to You everything in my life that keeps me from loving You with my whole heart. Give me a holy fear so that I may draw closer to You and learn to love others as You love them. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen. |
On Earth as in Heaven
posts on matters of theology, culture, art, church, and family life.
On Earth as in Heaven 