forgotten you and there is no hope. It makes sense that Satan would try to intimidate us with fear.
But Jesus said, “All things can be (are possible) to him who believes!” (Mark 9:23). We have to believe there is nothing worse for the enemy than an on-fire, Bible-believing, fearless Christian! God didn’t promise us life would be easy. We will all face problems and challenges. But the outcome depends on whether we trust God—or give in to fear.
Psalm 23:4 says, “Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me.” The psalmist David said he walked through the valley.
When we become afraid, we can be sure it is not God at work, but one of the sly tricks of our spiritual enemy. If he can make us think God won’t come through for us, or is angry at us, or wants to punish us, we allow those thoughts to fill our minds, and we start losing the battle.
God is love.
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! (1 John 4:18).
But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one) died for us (Romans 5:8).
We can never say those words enough. The only thing we can add is: God is love, and God loves me! Fear is a spirit that must be confronted head-on—it will not leave on its own. We can take positive action even in the presence of the feeling of fear. Actually a courageous person is not one who never feels fear, but someone who feels fear and takes proper action anyway. We must proclaim the Word of God and let fear know that it is not going to rule us. So the next time fear knocks on your door, send faith to answer!
----
A courageous person is not one who never feels fear, but someone who feels fear and takes proper action anyway.
----
CHAPTER 32
When Someone Fails
A s a believer in Jesus one of the things you will have to learn to deal with is other people’s faults and failures. What should your attitude be?
Paul instructed people not to teach others to do things they were not doing themselves:
Well then, you who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you teach against stealing, do you steal (take what does not really belong to you)? You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery [are you unchaste in action or in thought]? . . . You who boast in the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law [by stealthily infringing upon or carelessly neglecting or openly breaking it]? (Romans 2:21–23).
It is confusing for a young Christian if or when they see church leaders or those in authority doing things they know aren’t right. It can either lead them to be discouraged and give up or cause them to think, If you can act that way and still be a Christian then I guess I can too. We each need to remember that God has called us to be responsible for our actions. Don’t use someone else’s bad behavior as an excuse to behave badly yourself. God holds us accountable for every thought and every action—but our responsibility doesn’t stop there. We are also responsible to help lift up others when they fall. We would like to see those who lead or teach others always live up to what they teach, but the truth is we all make mistakes.
----
Don’t use someone else’s bad behavior as an excuse to behave badly yourself.
----
Perhaps nowhere in the Bible is this concept more clearly defined than in Galatians 6:1–3. Paul lays down three important principles Satan doesn’t want us to grasp. First, when we become aware a sister or brother has fallen into sin, we are to do whatever we can to help lift up that person. Paul writes,
If any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of
But Jesus said, “All things can be (are possible) to him who believes!” (Mark 9:23). We have to believe there is nothing worse for the enemy than an on-fire, Bible-believing, fearless Christian! God didn’t promise us life would be easy. We will all face problems and challenges. But the outcome depends on whether we trust God—or give in to fear.
Psalm 23:4 says, “Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me.” The psalmist David said he walked through the valley.
When we become afraid, we can be sure it is not God at work, but one of the sly tricks of our spiritual enemy. If he can make us think God won’t come through for us, or is angry at us, or wants to punish us, we allow those thoughts to fill our minds, and we start losing the battle.
God is love.
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! (1 John 4:18).
But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one) died for us (Romans 5:8).
We can never say those words enough. The only thing we can add is: God is love, and God loves me! Fear is a spirit that must be confronted head-on—it will not leave on its own. We can take positive action even in the presence of the feeling of fear. Actually a courageous person is not one who never feels fear, but someone who feels fear and takes proper action anyway. We must proclaim the Word of God and let fear know that it is not going to rule us. So the next time fear knocks on your door, send faith to answer!
----
A courageous person is not one who never feels fear, but someone who feels fear and takes proper action anyway.
----
CHAPTER 32
When Someone Fails
A s a believer in Jesus one of the things you will have to learn to deal with is other people’s faults and failures. What should your attitude be?
Paul instructed people not to teach others to do things they were not doing themselves:
Well then, you who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you teach against stealing, do you steal (take what does not really belong to you)? You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery [are you unchaste in action or in thought]? . . . You who boast in the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law [by stealthily infringing upon or carelessly neglecting or openly breaking it]? (Romans 2:21–23).
It is confusing for a young Christian if or when they see church leaders or those in authority doing things they know aren’t right. It can either lead them to be discouraged and give up or cause them to think, If you can act that way and still be a Christian then I guess I can too. We each need to remember that God has called us to be responsible for our actions. Don’t use someone else’s bad behavior as an excuse to behave badly yourself. God holds us accountable for every thought and every action—but our responsibility doesn’t stop there. We are also responsible to help lift up others when they fall. We would like to see those who lead or teach others always live up to what they teach, but the truth is we all make mistakes.
----
Don’t use someone else’s bad behavior as an excuse to behave badly yourself.
----
Perhaps nowhere in the Bible is this concept more clearly defined than in Galatians 6:1–3. Paul lays down three important principles Satan doesn’t want us to grasp. First, when we become aware a sister or brother has fallen into sin, we are to do whatever we can to help lift up that person. Paul writes,
If any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of
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