Spiritual Thoughts

  Friday Tale ~ Not Frozen by Fear On  a summer morning as he was fixing his breakfast, Ray Blankenship looked out his window to see a young girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Ohio home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath the road and then emptied into the main culvert.   Ray dashed from his home and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the flailing child. Finally, he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. When he surfaced, he was able to grab the girl’s arm.   The two tumbled end over end and then, within about three feet of the yawing culvert, Ray’s free hand felt something protruding from the bank. He clung to it desperately, the tremendous force of the water threatening to sweep him and the child away.    By the time fire department’s rescue team arrived, Blankenship had amazingly pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock. In that heroic mo...

  F.E.A.R.  has two meanings: "Forget Everything And Run" or "Face Everything and Rise." The choice is yours. ~ Zig Ziglar I n God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? ~ Psalm 56:10-11

M y unknown future is in the hands of the all-knowing and all powerful God. ~ Unknown   T he LORD is for me, I will not fear. What can man do to me? It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in people. ~ Psalm 118:6, 8

T ell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. ~ Paulo Coelho   B e sober, be watchful....Be firm in your faith, know that the same experience of suffering is happening to your brothers and sisters throughout the world. ~ 1 Peter 5:8-9

H e is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, BUT rejoices for those which he has. ~ Epictetus   K eep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The LORD is my helper, I will not fear;    what can man do to me?" ~ Hebrews 13:5-6

  Friday Tale ~ Knowledge to Live By    Ø   The most destructive habit:  Worry Ø The greatest joy;  Giving Ø  The greatest loss:  Loss of self - respect Ø The most satisfying work:  Helping others. Ø  The ugliest personality trait:  Selfishness Ø Our greatest natural resource:  Our youth Ø  The greatest "shot in the arm:  Encouragement Ø The greatest problem to overcome:  Fear Ø   The most effective sleeping pill:  Peace of mind Ø The most crippling failure disease:  Excuses Ø  The most powerful force in live:  Love Ø The most dangerous outsider:  A gossiper Ø  The world's most incredible computer:  The brain Ø The worst thing to be without:  Hope Ø  The deadliest weapon:  The tongue Ø The two most power-filled words: " I can " Ø  The greatest asset:  Faith Ø The most worthless emotion:  Self - pity Ø   The most bea...

  F ear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson   D o not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. ~ Isaiah 41:10

  S ometimes fear convinces us that it is strong, true, real and that Love is tiny, weak, and for those who want to hide. We forget that the muscle of the universe, the essence of all, could never be fear. It is always love . ~ Unknown W e have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is Love, and the one who abides in love, abides in God, and God abides in him. ~ 1 John 4:16

  Y ou gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt   F inally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the false accuser. ~ Ephesians 6:13

  O ne can choose to back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be over come again and again. ~ Abraham Maslow   S ow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes and showers His righteousness on you. ~ Hosea 10: 12

  T he wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from the danger, but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within which endangers him, not the storm without. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson   T he LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army besiege me, my heart shall not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. ~ Psalm 27:1, 3

  G reatness comes from fear. Fear can either shut us down and we go home, OR we fight through the fear. ~ Lionel Richie  W ork out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you; both to will and to work for His good pleasure. ~ Philippians 2:12-13

  C ourage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. ~ Mark Twain   B ut you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work . ~ 2 Chronicles 15:7

  C ourage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying, "I will try again tomorrow." ~ Mary Ann Radmacher T hese things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, BUT take courage; I have over come the world. ~ John 16:33

I f you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. ~ Dale Carnegie F or whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. ~ 1 John 5:4 

T oday, fear again grips America and the world - in public and in private. Remember FDR's words, and focus with courage on the job at hand - the job of living joyfully regardless of external circumstances. Franklin D. Roosevelt said: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ~ Anonymous BUT the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear , you are more valuable than many sparrows. ~ Matthew 10:30-31

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, BUT the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, BUT he who conquers that fear. ~ Nelson Mandela   S o do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ~ Isaiah 41:10 NIV

F ear is a pair of handcuffs on your soul. ~ Faye Dunaway H e who has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson BUT He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

F ear is the opportunity for courage,     not proof of cowardice.  -John McCain   T he following night the Lord stood by Paul   and said, "Take courage, for as you have     testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem,       so you must testify also in Rome." -Acts 23:11