Where is the Father

It should come as no surprise to anyone who claims to be a Christian that Jesus is vitally important to the teaching of Christianity. Of course; if there were no Jesus; there would be no Christianity at all. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God who was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). It is through belief in Jesus that we are saved from perishing and given eternal life (John 3:16), and it is by his death that we are reconciled again to the Father (Romans 5:10). Jesus has now ascended to the Father and sits on His right hand and is the only mediator that we now have or need (1 Timothy 2:5).

Jesus said the following concerning his Father:

He said he only spoke the words that the Father told him to speak (John 12:49)
He said he only did those things that the Father told him to do (John 5:19)
He said he always did those things which pleased the Father (John 8:29)
He said that no one comes to the Father unless they go through him (John 14:6)
He said specifically that the Father is greater than is he (John 14:28)

In 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 we read that when all things are put under the feet of Jesus (except the Father who put them there) then Jesus will be subject to the Father so that God may be all in all. Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. More than anything else; Jesus preached of a relationship with the Father and he taught us that the only way to find THAT relationship was through him. Jesus is the one thing that connects us to the Father; and it is THAT relationship that we need more than anything else.

In the modern day church we find much taught about Jesus; as it should be; but I find that we teach Jesus to the exclusion of the Father. Jesus was trying to get us to the Father; but look at how we talk in our churches and even how we pray and think. We sing that Jesus is all we need; but Jesus taught that we need the Father. I have to wonder if we have missed the boat somehow and have elevated Jesus above the Father that he loved.

A Little Child

Most have at least a passing knowledge of the verse found in Luke 18:17 where Jesus says; “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” I think we probably had a more spiritual grasp on that particular scripture when we were, in fact, children. As adults we feel the need to analyze every word and search out the hidden meanings. Even children quickly get to the point from following the example of adults around them; where they begin to question and overthink some of the things they encounter. While one could make the argument that questions and seeking answers to those questions are the way one learns; one does not need to forget the lesson that was being taught by Jesus in this passage.

A very small child will simple feel safe in the presence of one whom they trust. If they are in a parking lot filled with cars; or even crossing a busy street; as long as they have the hand of one whom they trust they have no fear. They know that the one who holds their hand will never let anything harm them and they feel safe when their small hand is firmly in the hand of one whom they trust. If a little child is told something; they will believe it. I know they don’t have to get very old to stop that; but there is a reason that Jesus said we must come as a little child.

If we as adults would learn that it is not so much how well we interpret scripture; but rather it is how well we accept it. If we would stop trying to read so much into scripture so that we can believe what we want to believe, and simply ready and accept what is written; we would find that we would rely less on us and our knowledge and abilities, and would rely more on God and His abilities.

The Author of Confusion

Those who have followed my teachings over the years know that I believe that many, if not most, people who profess to be Christians have a tendency to read their Bibles trying to back up what they have been taught. Followers will also remember that I have taught that what one should do is to read the Bible to find what one is to believe. Even as I write this I understand that most believe that is exactly what they do. I can promise you that ones who write to me to tell me the error of my ways and my teachings would promise you that what they believe is 100% Scripture and have scripture available to prove what they believe. I also believe with all that is in me that they believe that statement with all that is within them. I have no reason to doubt their sincerity or the sincerity of those who teach most of the things that are taught in traditional churches; but I want us to look at a few things.

There is no doubt that questions about doctrine do come up from time to time and should be addressed. It should also be without question that the final authority on biblical doctrine should be the Bible itself. I tend to be a bit of a literalist when reading the scripture. I do understand that things have been translated and some things are probably mistranslated. I also understand that some of what we use today was probably added later on by those who were trying to prove various doctrines; however, if one will take the entire Bible as a whole, one will find it proves itself in spite of the errors by human translators. My problem with many that I read is that they quote a scripture and then tell what it really means. Instead, I have a tendency to believe the scripture means what it says. If I say; “What this really means is……” I would have a tendency to think that whatever follows has a great chance of being in error.

I have told people I will not argue scripture except in the sense of an “intellectual” argument; and many have told me they don’t mind arguing at all. I would like to point out though, a scripture found in 1 Corinthians 14:33 which states that God is not the author of confusion. If we find ourselves confused we should try to learn why we are confused. God did not cause our confusion and if we rely totally on scripture we will not be confused. Another scripture in 1 Corinthians 2:14 teaches that the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God but they have to be spiritually discerned. Every teacher thinks they exercise spiritual discernment; yet we have so much confusion. When a doctrine is challenged many resort to arguing and furthering the confusions rather than turning to the scripture and to their God to find the answer. God still talks to people today; but many are still in the category of having ears but not hearing and having eyes and not seeing.

So very much of what the traditional church teaches is nothing but tradition and has nothing whatsoever to do with the realities of the scripture. While it may be true that some scripture may be found to back up certain doctrines; many are based on what people have been taught forever. An example would be the picture most church attendees have of hell. If one reads the scripture and ones reads Dantes Inferno; one will find the description in Inferno will be much close to the preconceived idea of hell than is the scripture.

If we are involved in challenging and belligerently forcing our ideas and beliefs on others we are not doing anything to draw them to God. If we condemn those who disagree with us we must think we are better than Jesus. In John 3:17 we see that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that doesn’t seem to stop us from being condemning. We; who profess to be Christians need to understand what the scripture says. We need to understand that confusion and strife is not of God. Just reading the scripture and accepting it is what we need to do. As I was praying and meditating one day I felt as though God told me that it is not how well we interpret scripture; but rather how well we accept it. I found that to be a truly astounding thing and since that day have tried to simply accept the scripture. I have found it to be both enlightening and a little scary as accepting scripture at face value can often contradict what I have been taught. The question we all have to answer is; we will accept the scripture; or will we accept what we have been taught?

The Enormity Of God

I could have called this a note to readers; but since I will be dealing with a subject which I don’t believe is considered as much as it should; I have called it the enormity of God.

There are some who follow my blog who have a tendency to write to me and tell me how wrong I am. They have said everything they could to convince me of the error of my beliefs and have danced all around actually calling me a heretic. For those readers who think I am talking about you; I may well be doing that; but rest assured there are others also. Readers who write may well be surprised to find that at some point in my spiritual development I may have well held and defended the same beliefs as do you; but I do something that most do not do. I ask myself why do I believe what I believe. I always answered the same way that most would answer that question by saying that it was in the Bible. However; two may read the same scripture and interpret that scripture in wildly differing ways. Two may actually use a series of the same scriptures to arrive at totally differing conclusions. The truth; however, will always be the same. There was a movie some years back in which someone who desired to know the truth was told they could not handle the truth. My concern for the church today is that they cannot handle the truth even though that truth would set them free (John 8:32 ).

I have always tried to interpret scripture with an open mind and with the realization that all of the scripture has to go together and any contradictions in the scripture are not contradictions caused by God; but rather by my lack of spiritual discernment. I am probably not alone in that thought; but I find that most think they have the mind of God in all they think and do. Some months back I was praying and felt as though God interrupted me to tell me that it was not how we interpret scripture; but rather how we accept it. That was such a simple statement; but the more I pondered it I found it to be quite profound. As I reflected upon my quest for the truth and my way of deflecting scripture that did not seem to line up with my doctrine; I found I was maybe not so different from the ones who criticize my beliefs.

I began to remember so many scriptures that point out what we don’t know. Jeremiah 33:3 teaches us to call upon God and He will answer us and show us great and mighty things that we know not. 1 Corinthians 2:14 teaches that the natural mind cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in the LORD with all our hearts and to lean not to our own understanding. But even with those and numerous other scriptures; we try to figure things out and have to understand everything in our own minds. The same passage in Proverbs teaches us to acknowledge God in all our ways and He will direct our paths; yet we throw in our own understanding and complain about the paths upon which we find ourselves. If we truly trust in God and if we truly attempt to acknowledge Him in all we do; then we need to believe that we are on the path He has chosen for us. It matters not if we understand it; we need to accept it. That does not mean we never try to change our circumstances; but I might tend to think we should instead try to learn what we are being taught so that our path may be changed for us.

We rely on our own understanding and our own interpretation of scripture. We rely on the teachings of those we love and trust even though 1 John 2:27 teaches that the same anointing which we have received of Him abideth in us and we need not that any man teach us; but that same anointing teaches us all things and is no lie. Now we have come full circle and again mention that truth that will make us free. If I teach against the doctrine of the Trinity I make some people very upset and they write and give scripture and tell me how I misinterpret scripture; but others who believe other doctrines write to tell me how good of a teacher I am. If, on the other hand, I teach against the Jesus name only doctrine; then the Trinitarians rally around me and the Jesus name or Oneness believers tell me I am on my way to hell. All of them quote their personal favorite scripture and then tell me what those scriptures really mean. In other words; they tell me how they interpret that scripture and anyone who disagrees with them is wrong. What I attempt to do is just a little different. I try to read the scripture and just accept it. Even though I do offer explanations and tie that scripture to other scripture; I try not to interpret but to accept.

One scripture I find enlightening is Isaiah 55:8-9. In this passage God tells us that His thoughts are not our thoughts and that His ways are not our ways. His ways and His thoughts are very much higher than ours. I don’t believe we have any concept of the enormity of God. Our thoughts of Him are limited by our natural abilities and unless we are operating in spiritual discernment we don’t get much of the scripture at all; but I simply don’t believe we have any idea of the magnitude of our Heavenly Father. The fact that we twist scripture and force the things of God to fit into our preconceived notions of how things are amaze me. I will readily admit that I have; and probably to some extent; still do this; but how much should we simply want to read the scriptures and just acknowledge that He is our God and we are His children.

The simplicity of the gospel is, in my opinion, confused daily by traditions and doctrines of men. We read of the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and so confuse the issue. We see how, as Christians, Jesus is so vitally important to all we say or do. We see that he is our one mediator between God and us. We see and read that he says the Father is greater than is he. We see that Jesus says he never did anything unless he was told it by the Father. We see and read that he did not send himself but that the Father sent him. We see Jesus call the Father the only true God and calls him his God and our God. Most likely everyone reading this will agree with all of this as it is all taken directly from scripture. Our various differences would be what we do with those scriptures. Some want to make Jesus one thing that the Bible does not make him and others want to make him something else that the Bible does not make him. The Bible says that Jesus is the Word of God. When God said let there be light; He spoke words to do it. That spoken Word of God later became the living Word of God and we beheld his glory. We need a mediator because of the immensity of God. We are told that no man has seen the Father. He is so powerful and immense that mortal man could not stand that presence. Jesus is the conduit that carries that power safely to us. He was and is our example.

God is simply too immense to describe. He is too holy to imagine. His thoughts and ways are so superior to ours that we can in no way begin to grasp who or what He is; but so many are so confident and so dogmatic in what they believe. My sincere belief is that we need to simply read what the scripture says and read it and read it until things are revealed to us.

I see the Bible as one story from beginning to end. I see one God who is the Father. I see one Lord, who is the only begotten of the Father. I see that God is a Spirit and God is Holy; hence a Holy Spirit. Many quote many verses to show that Jesus is God Himself. Many will say and teach that Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New Testament without one single scripture to back it up. Or maybe more to the point, they may have one or two verses that they can use to back up their beliefs; but simply cannot weave the entire scripture together to prove spiritually what is not in the Bible.

Jesus is called the Son of God over and over and over. The 8th chapter of John has so much to say on this subject. The Jesus name people need to read John 8:17-18 where Jesus teaches that the testimony of two men is true. He says that he is one and that the Father testifies of him also and that makes two. Verse 29 tells that Jesus knew the Father had not left him alone. What could this possibly mean if they were the same entity? John 8:42 Jesus says he proceeded forth and came from God and says he did not come of his own self; but that God sent him. The Jesus name believers claim that Jesus was the fleshly God; but the Bible says Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever. If God is God; He is God no matter what form He takes. Jesus name advocates and Trinitarians alike need to understand that God is God no matter what form He takes. Jesus was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin; but the book of James says that no man should say when he is tempted that he is tempted of God; because God cannot be tempted with evil. If we want to believe all of the scripture we have to decide what to do with this. I would say the simplest thing to do is read John 17:3 which reads; “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” Those are the words of Jesus Himself in a prayer to the Father. God is the Father who has always been and always will be. We read in Revelation 4:8 of the four beasts who surround the throne and rest not night or day but continually say “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” We also see in Revelation that the lamb comes and takes from the right hand of Him who sits on the throne a book. We see when the lamb returns to earth that he wears a vesture dipped in blood and his name is called “The Word of God”. This is completely in line with the entire Bible that teaches that God created all things through His Word. John 1 teaches how that Word became Flesh. That Word proceeded from God as we saw in John 8.

We read further in 1 Corinthians 15:28 that once all things are subdued to the Son, then shall the Son also be subject to Him that put all things under him so that God may be all in all. There is no three in one who are all equal and altogether make God. God is God. He is the Father. In the Old Testament one will oftentimes see the word Lord in all capital letters if one uses and reads King James. When we see LORD; it means Jehovah. The Jews would not often call the name Jehovah so instead used the word LORD in all capital letters. Isaiah 42:8 reads; “I am the LORD (Jehovah); that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another.” God knows who He is and I would think we would all want to know the same thing.

We need to understand that we do not know all. We need to understand what an awesome and immense God we claim to serve. He does not seem to be One who desires to confuse and in fact says He is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33); but we get so wrapped up in our own theology and doctrine that we cannot see the truth that is written in the scripture.

To summarize I will say what I or others may think about scripture does not really matter. What God thinks about it is of paramount importance. It seems to me that He knew that we would be reading the Bible and knew that we needed things in a simple form I have to wonder what He would think of all the controversy; of all the judgmentalism; and all the condemnation.

We need to read the scripture and just simply accept it.

The Secret Place

The 91st Psalm starts with a promise that states; “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Even if we are not completely sure of what that means; it just sounds like something we should want to do. Living under the shadow of the Almighty sounds like a nice place to live. If we look at this on the surface it seems like a fairly simple Psalm to understand. If we trust in God; He will take care of us. This is an awesome thing to know; but I think most of us who attend church or read the scripture know that already. The question then is; where is the secret place of the Most High and how do we get there?

One might also want to know why is this place a secret. 1 Corinthians 2:14 teaches that the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. If we do not spiritually discern the things of God we will not understand them at all; so one could easily say that spiritual things are all a secret or a mystery to the natural man. The majority of Psalm 91 tells of the benefits of being in this secret place; but I tend to believe the where is pointed out simply and pointedly in verse 2. “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.” The secret place of the Most High is in Him. It is in trusting Him. Again, this is so simple most might actually miss it; but when we have total and complete trust in our Heavenly Father we are in that secret place where “no evil shall befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Trust and its benefits are taught again in Proverbs 3:6. This short and simple verse, I believe, is that absolute key to living in the secret place of the Most High. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Again; so simple, but so revealing. If we acknowledge God in all our ways; then He will direct our paths. It does not say He might or He will sometimes or when we are being super spiritual; but that He will. Our daily prayer should be that we will be able to acknowledge Him in all our ways; because then He can and will direct our every path. The question I would ask those of us who claim we try to live for God and try to do His will and say we trust Him is this—If we acknowledge Him and trust Him, and if He directs our paths; why do we complain about the path we are on? If God has directed us to be on that path and we trust Him; we should not be trying to get off the path. We might want to learn what He is trying to have us learn so we can move on; but let’s not complain about where God has directed us.

When we get to where we really do trust God and will allow Him to teach us and try to find a way to be content in whatever state we find ourselves; we will find Psalm 91 coming to life in our lives. We will find ourselves living daily in the secret place of the Most High. In His shadow and under His wings is where I want to be.

The Only True God

It seems that every single denomination believes there is only one true God. They believe this, hopefully, because this is what the Bible teaches. However; various churches and people read a lot into what the scripture actually says about the only true God and make that one God something entirely different than what the scripture actually says. I recently read that an honest but mistaken man; when show the truth, ceases to be mistaken; or he ceases to be honest. My quest to find the one and only true God has taken me along a path that has sometimes been crooked and hard; but when I return over and over to just what the scripture says without adding to or deleting or changing the words to fit what I believe; I do find that the scripture truly does teach that there is only one true God.

Most people who profess to be Christians believe that the one true God is made up of three individual persons who together form the one and only true God. This doctrine of the trinity has only a sketchy relationship to scripture and those few scriptures would have to stand completely alone and leave out or change much of what is recorded in our Bible to be true without making any changes. There are others who claim to be Christian and who claim there is only one God and His name is Jesus. They say that Jesus is the Father and Jesus is the Son, and Jesus is the Holy Spirit. These folks also have scripture but they also have to leave others out and change the meaning of most scripture to make their doctrine work. My quest has always been to find the truth by simply reading the words of the scripture and not changing anything. I just want to take them at face value and learn what they mean. I know there are missed translations and I know that several verses can be pulled out of the scripture to prove both of these doctrines; but when one takes the entire Bible and refuses to change anything and only use the words that are recorded they can only come up with the fact that there is only one true God.

As I stated at the beginning; everyone believes this in their own way; but let’s take a look at a few scriptures that are quite telling. John 17:3 teaches; “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 8:42 are words of Jesus as he says; “If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.” The words of Paul concerning this matter are found in a couple of places. One is 1 Corinthians 8:6; “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” And again in Ephesians 3:14; For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” There are many more verses which say the same thing; but these tell the story. Jesus is not the Father which is clear from John 8:42 where he says he did not send himself. Jesus also says that he proceeded from the Father. The Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Father; so one should conclude the The Father is God. He was unbegotten and was before time. Jesus proceeded from God. The Holy Spirit proceeded from God.

As Paul said in 1 Corinthians; “But to us there is but one God, the Father.”

The One With Whom We Have To Do

In Hebrews 4:13 we see a reference to “him with whom we have to do”.

I recently heard a comedian stop in the middle of a performance and say how cool he thought it would be to introduce Jesus Christ. He then proceeded to do just that. He said he was not saying how he was doing it was right or was how others should do it, but was only how he would do it. I was amazed as I saw the response of people who were out for a good time and a comedy show as the comedian began to list the accomplishments of Jesus and what he had meant to this comedian.

I do not want to mimic or imitate that comedian; but I thought it might be a good idea to talk for just a minute about “the one with whom we have to do.”

The best selling book of all time was written about this one. The Old Testament tells of the creation and subsequent fall of man. The rest of that testament is leading up to the life and ministry of the one who would redeem the fallen man, and reconcile him with the Father. The New Testament tells the story of the life and ministry of Jesus and his death and resurrection.

Starting with the very first chapter of the Bible we see that God created the heavens and the earth. We see that he made the things that we see with things that did not appear. He simply spoke the Word and things happened. God said let there be light and there was light. He said for a firmament to appear and to divide the waters and it happened. His spoken Word is what created the world and all that is in it. He spoke those things that were not as though they were and they appeared. In the book of John and the first chapter and the 14th verse we see that the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. In ways we will not understand in this life—-the spoken Word of God became the Living Word of God and we know him as Jesus. No matter what else your doctrine may tell you about Jesus, we know that he is the word of God who became flesh. According to 1 John4:2 “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” 1 John 4:15 teaches that whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Jesus Christ is the very son of God. John 3:16 calls him the only begotten Son of God.

Hebrews 12:2 teaches that Jesus is the author and the finisher of our faith—and oh what men have gone through because of that faith. By faith- Sara received strength to conceive. By faith—Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac his son. By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and rather chose to suffer with the people of God. By faith the red sea was parted; the walls of Jericho fell; kingdoms were subdued, and righteousness was obtained. The mouths of lions were stopped and faith quenched the violence of fire and also caused men of faith to escape the edge of the sword. The sick were healed and the dead were raised. Others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings. They were stoned; they were sawn asunder, were tempted, and were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins being destitute and afflicted. And they all did this willingly and counted it joy to be allowed to suffer with the author and finisher of their faith.

This one with whom we have to do has been called the Lily of the Valley, the bright and morning star. The fairest of ten thousand to my soul. He is not only the author and finisher of our faith but is also called the one mediator between God and man.

IN his own life and ministry he was born of a virgin and never committed one sin. He was tempted in all points like we are but never fell. He turned the water into wine. He fed the 5000. He walked on water, He healed the sick and he raised the dead. He died on a cross and on the third day he rose from the dead and now sits on the right hand of the Father. With his death he reconciled us to the Father and through his life he offered salvation. He was, and still is a worker of miracles; but the greatest miracle ever was that he loved me enough to sacrifice his own life for mine. He took what I deserved and suffered for it and instead gave me his reward. He took away the wages of sin that I had earned and the death that would go along with it and gave to me instead; eternal life.

He is the Son of God, He is the coming King. He is the Word of God who became flesh. He is the Lord of Lord and the Saviour of my very soul. Words will never be able to do him justice or tell all that he has done for me; but I must say he has done so much for me. I am not only glad that he is the one with whom I have to do; but that somehow through his infinite grace and mercy I am one with whom he has to do.

Getting It Right

In today’s Christianity we find many things we are told we must do to make it to heaven. I find it somewhat interesting that we seem to have lost the idea that what we need more than anything is to have a right relationship with God. God the Father sent His only begotten Son to us so that we might have everlasting life, and it would seem to me that instead of looking at things like how to dress, or whether or not we watch television, or how we were baptized; we should look more at how we should live. Many seem to think that we need to make sure we take care of all the big things and then the little things will fall into place; but I would say that if we learn to have the same attributes that Jesus had; everything else will fall into place. Jesus was accepting of others and was inclusive. He did things that promoted unity and never tried to cause division. He put others before himself and was a help whenever possible and was encouraging. He freely forgave others and let all things point to His heavenly Father. He understood that according to John 3:17 he was not sent to the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. If Jesus was not sent to condemn the world; why do we think we are? We need to be people who are accepting and inclusive. We need to do things that promote unity and not division. We need to put others first and try always to be helpful and encouraging. We need to be willing to forgive others. We need to realize that more than anything else; we need a right relationship with God. If we have that, and if we act in this way, our lives will be very different. The big things will then take care of themselves.

When it all goes wrong

Sometimes it seems that the whole world is against us. Of course that is not the case; but it really does seem like it sometimes doesn’t it? Work is a pain and the boss or bosses don’t understand what they are asking us to do. Home life is not exactly like we want it to be, and even church is not going like we wish it would. Sometimes the problem is simple selfishness on our parts as we want everything our way; but other times things simply are out of sorts. No matter what we do they seem to stay that way and don’t get better. At those times we need to look to the author and the finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). When it seems that everyone and everything is against us we need to read the last part of Romans 8:31 which reads; “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Let’s make sure that we are on His side and then we can know that nothing formed against us will prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Let’s not just ask Him to be on our sides; but let’s make sure we are on His side.

What time I am afraid

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee (Psalm 56:3)

All of us have, at some point in our lives, been afraid of something. I am sure David had a few uneasy moments as he looked up at the giant who was over 9’ tall and wanting to kill him. The deacon Stephen probably was afraid as a mob took up stones to kill him. Abraham told people that his wife was his sister because he was afraid they would kill him to take his wife. Our moments of fear come from all the same reasons that did theirs. We fear for our safety, or our reputations, or sometimes we are just afraid and don’t know why.

This verse from the Psalms teaches us that whenever we are afraid, we should trust in God. If we look to Him we may well find that our fears are not so fearsome.