NO FEAR

Since the Sisterhood is about being ambassadors for Christ, I thought I would make this last post an invitation to all who read to know more about Jesus Christ and His Father. I have chosen to write about prayer because I believe it is the cornerstone of our relationship with Christ, both as a seeker when coming to Him for salvation and as a learner when walking with Him once salvation becomes our own.



Just one glance at that brave soul and we think "Wow, no fear!". And we might be right. He or she does indeed seem to be fearless. To sit on the edge; to stare into the valley below; sitting confidently on the edge of the stone...yes, that must be one brave soul! Who could deny that or question it? To dangle your feet over the precipice and stare certain death in the face should the rock crack. Surely that is the personification of courage of fearlessness.

So, what is fear? Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. Anticipation or awareness of danger....hmmm, it seems Mr. Red-Coated Man doesn't understand that it is quite normal, natural to feel an emotional response to the anticipation or awareness of danger. If you look at his circumstances, do you see anticipation or awareness of danger? Well, of course you do. So, why no fear?

What causes such confidence in a man that he feels no fear? What can give him so much assurance that his circumstances do not cause him to recoil in fear? Perhaps it is confidence in his own ability. He's a climber and he has been in these circumstances many times before. He has the necessary skill sets to navigate this situation successfully. Perhaps it is confidence in his equipment. He has tested the equipment, it has never let him down. It has performed just as expected at every opportunity to display an affinity to operate well. Perhaps it is confidence in the solidity of the rock upon which he is seated. That rock has been there many years, perhaps thousands of years. It has demonstrated it's ability to remain stable. It performs consistently under all circumstances. No storm seems able to sway it.

Now, consider this man. In your opinion, which of these men display more courage, show less fear? Would it be the man who challenges the rock and the precipice below, or would it be the man who kneels before the God of the universe to offer petition, intercession or praise?

According to Ephesians 3:12, it is the man of prayer who displays the greater courage. It tells that through faith, we can approach the God of Heaven and we can have confidence that He will listen and hear our petition. He will consider our intercessory request for our brother or sister. He will accept as praise as a "sweet smelling savor" before Him.

Where does he get this confidence to go before His God? The verse says "through him". Just who is this "him"? The New Living Translation of this same verse says it this way, "Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence". Or, because of Christ's faithfulness we can come boldly and confidently into God's presence. Because Christ was faithful, God offers me and you bold and confident access to His personal presence.

It has nothing to do with you or me; it has only to do with Jesus Christ. Only He can offer access to God the Father; it comes by way of His shed blood. It has has nothing to do with our preparedness to face God on our own. No human can survive before the Holy God of creation if he or she approaches in any manner other than through Jesus Christ. Nothing I can summon in myself is worthy of His notice or attentions. It has nothing to do with my steadfastness in being faithful to Him. My faithfulness would not be possible without the blood of Jesus.

And, thus we come to this conclusion, it is the man or woman of faith, who has placed their trust in the sacrificial atoning blood of Jesus Christ and who has accepted His free offer of salvation who can walk with boldness and confidence into the presence of a Holy God and make petition or intercession and who can offer praise to that same Holy God. Once we accept the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we can come before a Holy God not only boldly and confidently, but freely and without fear.

The blood of Jesus Christ conquers fear and gives us faith; faith that can move mountains, faith that can restore relationships, faith that can heal wounded spirits, faith that can reclaim broken lives. Faith that gives us the free ticket to all of God's best and access to His thone at any time.

Ephesians 2:8 (NIRV) says "God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift". Salvation is the gift of God to the undeserving and He makes it accessible through the faith we place in Jesus Christ. We can't earn it, buy it, create it or develop it. It belongs only to God is His only to give.

The question now becomes do you take advantage of your grace gift? How often do we face troubles, temptations, disappointments, seemingly insurmountable circumstances and fail to take advantage of this marvelous gift of free and uninhibited access to the throne of Holy God? It is a simple process and does not require any magic or complicated procedures. No sophisticated words are needed. Just an open and honest heart willing to offer everything in return for more than we'll ever comprehend.



Through him and through

faith in him

we can approach God.

We can come to him freely.

We can come without fear.

Ephesians 3:12 (NIRV)