From Perception To Reality...

Terry Dashner…….Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013

I read this some time ago. It's an old Chinese proverb. It says, "When walking through a watermelon patch, don't stoop to tie your shoes or someone might think you are stealing the melons." May I encourage you, says the Apostle Paul, to abstain from all appearances of evil. Okay, but what about fear?

If you've lived any time at all, you know how important perception is. A person's perception may differ widely from reality. Again, the reality of fear is that it doesn't exist anywhere; however, because of negative perceptions a person might fear when he should believe. And what are the results? Missed opportunities.

What do you fear? Someone once said that they who worship God merely from fear, would worship the devil too, if he appears. Don't get me wrong. As Henry Ward Beecher said, "God planted fear in the soul as truly as he planted hope or courage.--It is a kind of bell or gong which rings the mind into quick life and avoidance on the approach of danger.--It is the soul's signal for rallying." When push comes to shove regarding fear for God it's best said this way, "The fear of God kills all other fears" (Hugh Black).

Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus has said, "Fear not."

Pastor T.

About the Author

None