LUKE: To Fear or Not To Fear ...

                  Many people in the bible when confronted with either God or one of his heavenly messengers, were afraid. This tells us their appearance must have been other worldly. In other words, something no one this side of heaven had ever seen before. We all struggle when facing the unknown or something unfamiliar to us. Sometimes we react in shock and wonder, and other times we are awestruck and afraid. Once the visitation reveals the true intent of the messenger the peoples fear tends to subside. 

                  In Genesis 15:1 Abram was told the following: “...the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” This implies that Abram was afraid. 

In Numbers 21:34 Moses experienced fear regarding a potential attack from King Og of Bashan, to which the Lord replied: “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, along with all his people and his land.” 

Joshua was apprehensive about going to battle with the army of Ai, but in Joshua 8:1 the Lord advised him: “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land.”

In Lamentations 3:57, the Prophet Jeremiah cried out to the Lord and his reply was simply, “Do not fear!” Daniel was told the following when confronted by an angel of the Lord in Daniel 10:4-12 “... as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees.  And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.”

In Luke 1:13 Zechariah was visited by an angel who said: “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.”

Mary had an angelic visitation in Luke 1:30 ... “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!

                  Shepherds in the fields also had an angelic visitation ... “the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.’”

                  Peter, in Luke 2:10, had an encounter with Jesus ... “His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon (Peter), ‘Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!’”

                  In Acts 27:23-24, the apostle Paul may have been apprehensive of the impending trial before Caesar, Rome’s Emperor, however, the Lord sent an angel to quell his apprehension with these words: “For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me,  and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’”

                  The apostle John, banished to Patmos, was visited by what would seem to be the Lord Jesus himself due to the way he introduced himself to John. “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

                  Did you notice that every message from heaven began with DO NOT FEAR or DON’T BE AFRAID. This lends credence to the notion that all parties were fearful when confronted by an other worldly presence, such as an angel or the Lord himself.  Daniel’s example is the only one that described the messenger’s appearance. Visualize for a moment the picture Daniel painted to understand why fear was the peoples initial response. How would you react? 

From the examples given today I think it is clear that God has everything under control and always will. His message to you today is that no matter what circumstances you find yourself, God doesn’t want you to give in to fear, for he is in our omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God. He knows all that can be known, is all places at the same time and more powerful than all the worldly forces combined. So do not be afraid of anything, because God is with you and IN you always by his spirit.  

Up next is a spotlight on Simeon & Anna, prophet & prophetess, found in Luke’s gospel. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing,

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

Thought of the Day

 

Thought of the Day

In His name & for His glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

 

LUKE: Spotlight on Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah ...

            The societal norm for the women of Israel placed their value largely by their ability to bear children. To be unable to give birth often led a woman to personal hardship & public shame. Not understanding why God would withhold children from Elizabeth, she was looked upon as an anomaly, a deviation from what was considered the norm. Though this made for a painful & lonely existence, Elizabeth remained faithful to God.

            Both Elizabeth & her husband, Zechariah, came from priestly families. Two weeks each year Zechariah would go to the Temple in Jerusalem and attend to his priestly duties.

After one of those trips Zechariah returned home excited, but speechless. He had to write his good news down because he wasn’t able to speak. As you will remember from the ‘Spotlight on Zechariah’, an angel came to him and told him his wife would have a son. Because of their old age he doubted this news as true and was struck mute until the child was born. Though both Zechariah and Elizabeth dream of having a child had begun to fade, they now knew that at long last God was answering their prayers.

            70 miles north in Nazareth, Mary, a relative of Elizabeth also unexpectedly became pregnant. A few days after Mary received the good news from an angel, much like Elizabeth did, she went to visit her. Instant bonding took place when they each shared their news to one another. Elizabeth knew Mary’s son would be greater than hers for John would be the messenger for the Messiah.

            When born, Elizabeth insisted on naming him his God-given name: John. It was at this time that Zechariah’s tongue was loosed, and he could speak again as the angel had said. All the local peoples would wonder what would become of this special child. Both women marveled at God’s impeccable timing regarding the two births. 

            So what lesson can we learn from this set of circumstances and how Elizabeth handled herself? 1) That God DOES NOT forget those who have been faithful to him; 2) God’s timetable & methods DO NOT have to conform to what we expect to take place. Remember, God is in control of EVERY situation. Ask yourself this question: When was the last time you paused to recognize God’s timing in the events in your life?

            Up next is a post called LUKE: “To Fear or Not to Fear”, where I will give examples of 11 dedicated Christians from the scriptures who were fearful when confronted by either God or his messengers. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

LUKE: Dealing with Doubters ...

            There are those in scripture who are well known yet allowed doubt in God’s ability to do what he had said to them. Because of the age of Abraham & Sarah, the patriarch doubted that Sarah’s giving birth to a son was possible. (Genesis 17:17) Sarah flat out laughed at the news that she would bear a son at her elevated age. (Genesis 18:12)

            Moses doubted God when he was told to return to Egypt to lead the Jewish people in a monumental exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Exodus 3:10-15) Whenever they faced difficulties in the wilderness the Jewish people doubted God ... this spilled over into anger that benefited no one and caused many to lose their lives. (Exodus 16:1-3) 

            Gideon, in the OT, was told by God that he would be a judge and leader, which Gideon struggled to accept. (Judges 6:14-23) Zechariah was disbelieving when an angel from the Lord told him he & his wife would have a child in their old age. (Luke 1:18) And perhaps the most famous doubter in scripture, Doubting Thomas needed to see and touch Jesus before he would believe that he had risen from the dead. “When he later saw Jesus and believed, he received the gentle rebuke, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Hebrews 11:1 says, ‘Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ We can have confidence even in the things we cannot see, because God has proven Himself faithful, true, and able.” 

      “A working definition of doubt is ‘to lack confidence, to consider unlikely’. The very first expression of doubt in the Bible is in Genesis 3, when Satan tempted Eve. God had given a clear command regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and had specified the consequence of disobedience. Satan introduced doubt into Eve’s mind when he asked, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’ He wanted her to lack confidence in God’s command. When she affirmed God’s command, including the consequences, Satan replied with a denial, which is a stronger statement of doubt: “You will not surely die.” Doubt is a tool of Satan to make us lack confidence in God’s Word and consider His judgment unlikely.

Lest we think that we can lay all of the blame on Satan, the Bible clearly holds us accountable for our own doubts.

Any time we allow human reason to overshadow faith in God, sinful doubt is the result. No matter how logical our reasons may seem, God has made foolish the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20), and His seemingly foolish plans are far wiser than man’s. Faith is trusting God even when His plan goes against human reason or experience.

Once we understand what God has done in the past, what He has promised us for the present, and what we can expect from Him in the future, we are able to act in faith instead of doubt.” Faith and trust are key ingredients in walking with God, without question. Doubters, doubt no more for God is the most reliable source of light, love and hope that exists. 

Up next is a Spotlight on Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth and the lesson to be learned from her life. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

NOTE: Text in blue is from https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-doubt.html.

LUKE: God’s unusual ways of communicating ...

            The best way to understand God’s willingness to communicate with people is to take a look at the various ways he does it. 

 

Jacob (OT), Zechariah, Mary & shepherds all were communicated to by angels. [1]

 

Jacob (OT), Joseph (OT), a baker, a cup-bearer, Pharaoh, Isaiah, Joseph (NT), & the 3 wise men were all spoken to in dreams. [2]

 

Belshazzar (The King following Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon) actually saw a hand writing a message to him on a wall ... it was from God. As it turned out, Daniel was the only one who could interpret this message. [3]

 

Balaam was spoken to by a donkey, due to his spiritual blindness of not seeing an angel directly in his path with a drawn sword in his hand. The thing that was always curious to me was that Balaam wasn’t at all surprised when his donkey spoke to him. [4]

 

The people of Israel were communicated to by God thru pillars of cloud during the day and pillars of fire at night, thus protecting them from their enemies. [5]

 

Jonah was communicated to by being swallowed by a big fish. This was due to his refusing to go preach to the Ninevites. [6]

 

Abraham, Moses, Jesus at his baptism, & Paul heard from God verbally. [7]

 

Moses was spoken to by fire (burning bush). [8]

 

All of us can be spoken to by God’s Son thru the Holy Spirit. [9]

 

            Up next is a piece on doubters that God would do as he had said. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

[1] Genesis 32:22-32; Luke 1:13, 30; 2:12-13

[2] Genesis 28:10-22; 37:5-10; 40:5; 41:7-8; Isaiah 1:1; Matthew 1:20; 2:12-13

[3] Daniel 5:5-9

[4] Numbers 22:21-35

[5] Exodus 13:21-22

[6] Jonah 2

[7] Genesis 12:1-4; Exodus 7:8; Matthew 3:13-17, 22

[8] Exodus 3:2

[9] Hebrews 1:1-2 

Thought of the Day