Tag Archives: Fear

Father Gives Daughter To Boko Haram

A 13-year-old girl who escaped the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram says her father sold her into slavery with the group.

The girl, whose identity is being withheld by authorities, said that she was being ordered to become a suicide bomber.  The information from the girl coincides with a rise in terrorist attacks by young girls and women wearing bomb vests.  Officials are concerned that the terrorists are forcing captive women to commit attacks.

The girl said her captors told her the only way to get into paradise would be to let them use her as a homicide bomber.

“When I was told I would have to die to enter paradise, that I would have to explode a bomb and die, I said I cannot do it,” she said.  She eventually allowed them to strap a bomb vest on her after she noticed they were burying alive members of the group and girls who would not follow through with terror attacks.

“I was afraid to be buried alive,” she told reporters.

The girl was initially arrested at a hospital after she arrived with a leg wound.  She told a taxi driver to take her a hospital and she left the bomb vest in the back seat of the taxi.  Officials say they will keep her in protective custody while the investigation continues.

She says her father is now a full member of Boko Haram.

Naghmeh Abedini Says Husband’s Imprisonment Has Made Her Faith Stronger

The wife of a pastor imprisoned in Iran for being a Christian says her husband’s ordeal has significantly strengthened her faith in Christ.

Naghmeh Abedini wrote for TrueWoman.com that she didn’t realize how selfish she had been with her life and her walk with Christ until her husband was jailed for simply being a follower of Christ.

“I finally learned how to fight my deceptive selfish flesh on a daily basis; every nag, tantrum, despairing thought, and fear,” Naghmeh writes. “Before Saeed was thrown into one of the world’s worst prisons, I struggled with fear and anxiety. More than anything, I was afraid of flying and speaking in front of people.”

Naghmeh says that on the day of her husband’s arrest, she felt the peace of God in a way she had never felt in her life to that point.

“The peace of God that surpasses all understanding covered my whole being, and I was freed of all fear. I no longer feared death of loved ones. I no longer feared the loss of finances or health. I no longer feared the future. I was truly free in Jesus,” said Naghmeh.

Faith That Answers Fear (Pt. 2)

With everything that’s happening in our world right now, it sometimes challenges our level of courage to live through it all without fear.  But, that is exactly what Jesus said that we should do.  In fact, He says it very clearly right in the middle of the scriptures that tell of these frightful events.

“When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened.” (Luke 21:9)

And just a few verses later, He repeats the admonition to be careful not to fear.

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” (Luke 21:34) Continue reading →

Faith That Answers Fear (Pt. 1)

Now I know that we should all walk by faith in these Last Days, and we should all know how to answer our fears with scriptures in the Bible.  There’s a lot of teaching on this topic, but I want to speak to the human side of this before I tell you how to be strong in the ways of spiritual warfare.

In our humanity, we all need comfort and reassurance that God is not cold or indifferent to us when the Times of Trouble come.  I think most of us know that, but it helps to recall that fact as the writer of Hebrews did in Chapter 11, the great ‘faith’ chapter.  Go read this chapter again for your own encouragement.

Sometimes, it is good to recall all the times of your life when God has done amazing things for you.  Recall the moment you were born again and how the love of God flooded your heart and soul.  There is no greater miracle than that!  One old-time spiritual song says, “makes me love everybody!”  Now there’s a message in that for sure!  But, be sure to recall all the other times you have felt God’s presence and remember His tenderness and His loving care. Continue reading →

Franklin Graham Tells Pastors To Stop Being Cowards

Reverend Franklin Graham took a bold stand in addressing pastors at the Watchmen on the Wall National Briefing, telling them that it’s time for God’s leaders to stop being cowards.

In his speech, titled “Standing Strong on the Controversial Issues,” Graham focused on Revelation 21:8 where God lists eight groups of people who will be “in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”  First on that list was the cowardly.

“The definition of a coward: a coward will not confront an issue that needs to be confronted due to fear. That is a coward,” said Graham.  “God hates cowards. And the cowards that the Lord is referring to are the men and women who know the truth but refuse to speak it.”

Graham said that America needs God’s men and women to stand up and speak the truth of the Scriptures with boldness and that “you’re not going to shut me up.”  He said that he’s spoken with many pastors who say they want to preach the gospel but don’t want to become the target of anti-Christian activists.

“Well don’t you think the Lord Jesus Christ was a target?” asked Graham. “Could we get our heads chopped off? We could, maybe one day. So what? Chop it off!”

Other speakers at the event included Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Bishop Harry Jackson and Pastor Rafael Cruz, father of Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Craigslist Killer Claims Membership In Satanic Cult

A woman who had been accused of stabbing a man to death after luring him to a meeting using the social media site Craigslist shocked officials when she not only admitted to the murder but many others.

Miranda Barbour, 19, said that she stopped counting the number of people she killed when she reached 22.  Barbour said that not only did she remember every killing but also that she could point out on a map the locations of all of her victims.

Barbour said that she joined a satanic cult when she was 13 and living in Alaska with her mother.  She said that she then killed people in Alaska, Texas, North Carolina and California and that all killings were being done for the cult.

Barbour and her husband Elytte are facing the death penalty for the killing of Troy LaFerrara.

“He said the wrong things,” Barbour told the  Sunbury Daily Item. “And then things got out of control. I can tell you he was not supposed to be stabbed. My husband was just supposed to strangle him.”

A judge has granted a request for a forensic psychiatrist to evaluate Barbour.

God Save Me!

You only have to look around you to see that things are coming apart in today’s world, quickly!  Every day we read and hear things that are pointing to dire days ahead.  Sometimes I don’t even recognize this country in which we live.  One news article I read today said that the ‘new’ American dream was renting a home.  Remember when the American dream was actually owning a home?

But that issue is minor compared to what’s happening in our world at large.  Governments are being overturned.  Israel is fighting for her life.  People are calling good things evil, and calling evil things good.  In the midst of all that, we are see another thing happening which, unfortunately, we sometimes become complacent about.   We’re seeing a rise in natural disasters, freaky weather, terrorist attacks – any of these things could put us in a life-threatening situation in a matter of minutes.

You may say, “well Jim, hasn’t it always been that way?”  The answer of course, is “yes.”  But keep in mind that these things are increasing in frequency and intensity, just like the Bible says in Matthew 24.  When you see the increase… that’s the time to act.  When you see the ‘birth pains’ getting closer and closer, you can be sure that the baby is coming.  You better get to the hospital!
Keep in mind that the people who were watching Noah build the Ark were scoffers.  Why did they scoff?  Why didn’t they act on the warning?  They were busy with life as usual… building, marrying, partying.  It’s a sad thing when people hear the warning sound, but decide to ignore it.  It’s sadder still, when Christians disregard the Bible’s warnings.

Yet, these same people will be calling out to God for help when Times of Trouble come.  Bill Whaley, a recent show guest that specializes in self-sufficiency and survival techniques using everyday ‘junk’ , said that the people who snub survival warnings are the same people who scream “God save me!” when things come apart.

Perhaps He will.

But God sent His Word ahead of these things so that those who are wise will prepare.  I’m not the only one crying out with the warning.  Many others are warning people as well.  Even secular sources are warning people – so much so that the suppliers of emergency food and survival equipment can’t even begin to keep up with the demand.

Will you be one who prepares ahead of time when you see disaster coming?  Or will you be the one praying “God save me!”  If you’re prepared, you can help others.  If you’re not prepared, you’re the one needing help.  Don’t be a victim.

Love,

Don’t Fear What’s Ahead

Wars, global unrest, nuclear threats, looming economic disaster, earthquakes, solar storms, political upheavals, out-of-control inflation, famines, weird diseases… on and on it goes.

Who wouldn’t be afraid in today’s world?

Now I know that we should all walk by faith in these Last Days, and we should all know how to answer our fears with scriptures in the Bible.  There’s a lot of teaching on this topic, but I want to speak to the human side of this before I tell you how to be strong in the ways of spiritual warfare.

In our humanity, we all need comfort and reassurance that God is not cold or indifferent to us when the Times of Trouble come.  I think most of us know that, but it helps to recall that fact as the writer of Hebrews did in Chapter 11, the great ‘faith’ chapter.  Go read this chapter again for your own encouragement.

Sometimes, it is good to recall all the times of your life when God has done amazing things for you.  Recall the moment you were born again and how the love of God flooded your heart and soul.  There is no greater miracle than that!  One old-time spiritual song says, “makes me love everybody!”  Now there’s a message in that for sure!  But, be sure to recall all the other times you have felt God’s presence and remember His tenderness and His loving care.

For me, there are too many special times to count that God has spoken to me or answered a prayer breathed in earnest.  But, I remember incomparable times like when He encouraged me when I was in a prison cell with an inspired song.  Or, when He told me the prayers of the saints were flooding my cell with love and hope.

Remember, God will never, never, never leave us or forsake us!

World events may cause us to have a healthy fear of what is happening to our world, but we should never forget that all of it means that JESUS IS COMING SOON!  When Jesus steps out on that cloud and we see His shining face, all of the troubles of this world will be over, and we will be with Him forever!

But, until then, we are told to “occupy” so we must live with a supernatural knowledge that we are indeed a chosen generation… one that will usher in the coming of Jesus.  While this can be a time of great fear, it shouldn’t be for those who are working, watching, and waiting for His return.

There is a healthy fear and an unhealthy fear.  A healthy fear reads the whole Bible, including the Revelation, and heeds its warnings.  A healthy fear helps you to know that God’s Word is true, all of it, and we will have some Times of Trouble in the Last Days.  And make no mistake, we are in the Last Days.

A healthy fear prepares both the spirit and the body to meet each and every situation we are faced with – with the maximum amount of faith.  I am reminded of the three Hebrew children:  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  We can recall how they refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s  demands to worship him, and were thrown into the fiery furnace as a result.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s story is an example of great faith because they told Nebuchadnezzar that their God was not only able to deliver them from the fiery furnace, but that He would deliver them!

How many of us have enough faith to say “God, I know you can deliver us out of our troubles and I know that you will!”

In the natural, we are all afraid to some extent.  But in the supernatural, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to give us strength and courage.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Tim 1:7, KJV)

With everything that’s happening in our world right now, it sometimes challenges our level of courage to live through it all without fear.  But, that is exactly what Jesus said that we should do.  In fact, He says it very clearly right in the middle of the scriptures that tell of these frightful events.

“When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened.” (Luke 21:9)

And just a few verses later, He repeats the admonition to be careful not to fear.

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” (Luke 21:34)

Many say they are just not that strong – and they wonder how they can have faith in the face of fearful events.  The answer is humility and a heart that reaches out to God in spite of a weakness.

Isaiah 40:29 says, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

Have you ever heard the scripture “Lord, I believe.  Help me now my unbelief.”  (Mark 9:24)  Perhaps we should understand this as “Lord, I have faith.  Help me now with my fear.”  A humble heart is something the Lord will not refuse.  (Psalm 51:17)

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah” (Ps 46:1-3)

No matter what catastrophes may come on the earth in Times of Trouble, we should not fear!

Why is fear so hazardous to our spiritual life, especially in the Last Days?  Why does the Lord caution us about fear?  Fear is not just a distressing emotion; it is the spiritual force of Satan’s kingdom. Faith is the force of God’s kingdom. We are saved by faith, we are healed by faith, and we move mountains by faith.  Fear is the opposite of faith. “And whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). It’s impossible to please God without faith.  So, fear is a sin.

According to Revelation 21:8, the fearful will be cast into the lake of fire! Fear is that serious!  Fear is called a spirit, and the Spirit of God within us should overcome the spirit of fear.

Whenever you notice fear in your life, you can overcome it by answering it with the Word of God.

Isaiah 41:13 “For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

“I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”  John 14:27

So in the Times of Trouble ahead of us, do what you can to be ready.  Do all that you know to prepare for any calamity.  Then, cast the rest of your care upon the Lord and watch how he delivers His own people.

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Love,

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Failure, Flesh and Faith

When Jesus was preparing to go to the Cross, he was surrounded by his own disciples who had walked with him for 3 years.  They had all felt his presence in the most tangible way possible, witnessed his miracles, and were taught one-on-one by him.  They were there when he multiplied the fish and the loaves of bread to feed the 5,000.  They were there when he healed so many people and drove out demons.  They had pledged their loyalty to him and made great swelling statements of how they would stand by him.  Yet, not one did when the going got tough.

Simon Peter even said that he would go to his death for him.  Yet Simon temporarily failed in his weak and fearful flesh when things got really rough, and he even denied knowing Jesus.

Luke 22:31-34 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

Oh, Simon still believed that Jesus was who he said he was – but he couldn’t hang onto the courage to stand up for him with other men when his own life was threatened.  He lied when he said he didn’t know Jesus – he failed in his confession because he was afraid.  He went from fearless to fearful in a matter of hours.

Before all this happened, Jesus told Simon that it was going to happen – and it did – just the way he said it would.  He also told him something that saved his spiritual life.  Jesus told Simon that he had prayed for him that his faith would not fail as a result of his own sinful failure and lack of courage.  Denying that Jesus was the Christ was a terrible blasphemous sin, especially considering that Simon had pledged his life to defend Jesus just hours before.

Satan wanted to destroy Simon by causing him to lose his faith because he had lost his courage.  Simon had wept bitterly when he realized what he had done.  He was completely broken – and that’s when Satan would have finished the job with a great big heap of condemnation if Jesus would have allowed it.  Condemnation is always the first response of a wicked agenda.  Complete destruction of one’s faith can result by condemning an already broken-hearted sinner.

The trials of the Revelation Days ahead are going to get rough.  People who have stood strong and powerful in their faith in earlier times, may be assaulted by Satan himself.  Our brothers and sisters are a huge target of a common enemy.  We need to keep in mind that “but for the grace of God, there go I.”

We need to pray fervently and beseech the Lord for our brothers or sisters that have grievously failed.  That should be our first response.  Our hearts should break and our spirits should grieve that a comrade has fallen.  There should never by any other response from Christ followers except to intercede so that their faith not fail, as Jesus set the example with Simon Peter.

Then Jesus said something wonderful to Simon.  He said “when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”  Jesus knew that Simon would deny him, then repent and turn around, then preach a few days later at Pentecost and 3,000 would get saved by one message!  He knew that his faith would not fail and that he would then have the opportunity to strengthen others in the same way Jesus had strengthened him – by praying for him!

You can come back again from any kind of failure.  You can be forgiven and you can, once again, operate in the fullness of your anointing and calling.  Peter did – you can too.  Don’t be deceived by angry and proud voices if they tell you that you can’t come back.  We have a very relatable story about one who did – in Simon Peter.  Losing your way is not the same as losing your faith.

Let’s remember how to go to war in the spirit for one another, even when we fail.  Failure doesn’t mean that we are condemned – it means that we are weak.  Yet, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus.  If Jesus is interceding for us, should we not do the same for one another?

God is going to use the weak and the foolish things of this earth to confound the wise in the days ahead.  I have a rock-solid witness in my spirit that he will.  When God showed me in prison that he still loved me after my failures and that he would never, never, never leave me or forsake me, I knew that my faith was not going to fail.  It had been shaken but it had not failed.  It didn’t fail because of the prayers of God’s people – and the faithfulness of a loving God.

In the days ahead, let’s all remember to pray for one another that our faith not fail.  Let’s remember that we are but flesh too, and that given different circumstances, it could be that “it’s not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”

Jesus is pulling for you, and we are too!

Love,

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