There is a litany of Scriptures counselling us against fear. Scriptures like:
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34. And: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12:22-26, are among some of the most quoted ones.
Still, despite the positive energy those Scriptures emit, everybody has fears. And, depending on one’s priorities, fear can either be spiritual or temporal. And sometimes both.
According to my dictionary, “Fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, whether real or imagined”.
Honestly, my biggest fear is spiritual. And it has to do with Jesus’ return, and I am not ready. There is no one among us who can predict the future. One could be in a state of readiness today, and the Bridegroom returns tomorrow and you are not ready.
Everybody remembers the parable of the ten virgins Jesus told His disciple on the Mount of Olives. (Matthew 25:1-13). The only reason the five foolish virgins did not meet the Bridegroom was because they ran out of oil. And it could happen to you.
Mary, a virgin, living in Galilee of Nazareth was engaged to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. One day God sent an angel, Gabriel to inform her that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child, and she would name him Jesus.
At first Mary was afraid and troubled. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, “How will this be?” The angel explained that the child would be God’s Son and, therefore, “nothing is impossible with God.” Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.
While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he felt betrayed and disgraced. He knew the child was not his own. Under Jewish law, Mary could be put to death by stoning.
Although Joseph’s initial reaction was to break the engagement, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary’s story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God’s will. The angel explained that the Holy Spirit conceived the baby within Mary and that his name would be Jesus the Messiah. When Joseph woke from his dream, he obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife.
In Mary’s third trimester, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census must be taken, of every person living in the Roman world. Joseph, a descendant of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable. There was no room in the inn. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.
Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior’s birth in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.
There they found Mary, Joseph, and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart.
After Jesus’ birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they knew the star signified the birth of Christ. So they followed the star to Jerusalem where they asked the Jewish rulers where the Christ born. The rulers explained, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” referring to Micah 5:2.
Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child.
So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. They bowed and worshiped him, offering treasures of gold, incense, and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. The Holy Spirit warned them of his plot to destroy the child.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Recently I read a very disturbing article, captioned: “What is this world coming to?” The article arrived in my Inbox, and I believe Stephen Altrogge whom I do not know wrote it.
Obviously, Stephen is a follower of Jesus Christ, and he is every bit as concerned as most of us are about the moral decay of our society and the world in general.
Here are some excerpts of what Stephen writes:
“Every so often I hear someone say in despair, “What is this world coming to?” This kind of comment usually comes in response to a doomsday report of some sort.
1. Statistics shows that kids are more sexualized now than ever and that 70% of kids will have sex before graduating high school!
2. A new report says that 45% of Americans think that God wants them to be happy more than anything else!
3. A pew poll report shows that church attendance is at the lowest mark in twenty years!
When we hear these kinds of reports and stats, our gut instinct can be to throw our hands up in despair, panic, or disgust. We are shocked at the behavior of young people these days. Shocked at the levels of immorality at universities. Shocked at the apathy of people toward spiritual things. Shocked at the spike in gay marriages. Shocked at the smut being produced by Hollywood. Shocked at the increase in sexual promiscuity in our culture. What is this world coming to?”
The apostle Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, warned us about these things. In a letter to Timothy, he writes the following:
“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
6 They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. 7 (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) 8 These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. 9 But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres” (2 Timothy 3:1-9).
So, my good friends, do not be dismayed about the troubling things you see today. The worst is yet to come. But if you stayed committed and faithful to God, the one who gave up His only Son as a ransom for your sins, then at the end you will hear the words, ‘Well done thou good and faithful servant.’
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