Be not afraid, only believe

Mark 5

v36

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

Impossible things became possible when Jesus Christ came and worked. He seemed to want to keep reminding people about faith. He wanted to teach us that He works and does mighty and miraculous things when we believe in Him.

And, once again, faith and fearfulness are mutually exclusive. We shouldn't fear terrible things that have happened in the past, like the people in Mark 5 could have feared when their loved one had died. We should fear the Lord, and besides that, we should have faith instead of fear.

faith to shield from fear

Mark 4

v40

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

I've been thinking that there's a correlation between fearfulness and lack of faith, and this verse confirms it. We're not supposed to be fearful.

Revelation 21:8

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Here unbelief is listed as one of the sins of the people who will have a part in the lake of fire... So this fearfulness is definitely wrong. Notice that unbelief is listed right with it: But the fearful, and unbelieving...

The Lord says, Fear not so many times in the Bible. He also says:

1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Modern translations translate the word fear as timidity. If I was trying to clarify that it was talking about wrong fearfulness, not about the fear of the Lord, I might have translate that word in that verse, as paranoia.

We see that there's a direct correlation between fearfulness and lack of faith. If we don't want to be wrongfully afraid or paranoid, we need to be taking the shield of faith.

Ephesians 6:16

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

a strong man armed

I thought of a verse recently, and as I've been reading through Mark, today I came to a verse similar to it. But I'm more familiar with this verse in Luke:

Luke 11:21

When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

I'm more familiar with this verse. At first glance, Luke 11:21 seems like it's saying it's a pretty good idea for men to arm themselves to to keep their houses and possessions safe. Think about it: When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. Yes, it seems we should all go out and arm ourselves right now, to keep our houses and possessions safe... If you totally take it out of context!

2 Timothy 2:15

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

It's so important to rightly divide the Word, instead of taking one little sound bite and twisting it to mean something totally different or even opposite from what the Word really means. Let's consider the context of Luke 11:21.

1. If you look at the verse right before it, you see that Christ was not talking about an example of how godly Christians should live, but of what it's like when the devil possesses someone before Christ casts him out, and how the devil works:
   v20 & 21a
   But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace...
   I don't think that we should take, what the Bible says about how the devil works, as our example for godly living, do you?
2. The passage doesn't stop with v21, stating that the goods will be kept safe, but it continues into the next, all important verse 22: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
   So we see that the point of v21 was not to arm ourselves to keep our houses, and then it's promised that our goods would be safe. When taken in context, it goes on to present a strong argument to the contrary: But when a stronger than he shall come...

The passage that I read in Mark today was:

Mark 3:26 & 27

And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

Every Word of God is good, but it needs to be used in a completely honest way, and not wrestled around to make it sound like it means something else. So think twice next time you hear a partial little "sound bite" or "clip" from the Bible, and don't assume it means exactly what it was made to sound like, being taken out of context. That's the way the devil tempted Jesus, too.

power to forgive sins

Mark 2

v10

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

It's a blessing and encouragement to remember that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.

Genesis 18 - Key

v17

And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

v19

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

The Lord shows things to people that He knows will be righteous.

Application

Psalm 25:14

The secret of the LORD [is] with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

I'd love to find things out from the Lord, so I'll work on fearing Him.

Genesis 18 - Outline

v1-5

being the Lord's servant

v6-8

working quickly

v9-10

the promise was told again, seeming impossible

v11-15

The Lord and Sarah's argument

v16-22

the Lord shows secrets to the righteous

v23-33

Abraham's bargaining with the Lord

fishers of men

Mark 1

v17

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Let's remember the calling to be fishers of men. We should be going out and "bringing people in," to be Jesus' people with us.