Actually, I'm in on the missions business too. My area of expertise is just different from Mom and Dad's. See, they do student ministry. I on the other hand am Christ's light to my school. It's a great school really. And it's my current field of ministry. I'm quite comfortable, living as a beacon. But comfortable isn't really what God called us to be. Sad day, right? (Only if you're religious...) But I haven't always been this comfortable. In fact, since school's started, my life of comfort has been getting wrecked up! My future is about to take a great (meaning: massive) turn, you see, because I will soon be returning to the famous United States of America. Now that is pushing out of the comfort zone!
And often times when we get pushed out of our comfort zone, we get scared. And being scared is not necessarily the greatest gig on the planet. Fear is the body's natural response when it perceives that our life is in jeopardy. God tells me countless times in the Bible to "fear not!" There's a commonly circulated phenomenon that says the Bible tells us "fear not," "don't worry," etc 365 times. Do a quick internet search for those 365 instances and you'll come up with exactly... NOT 365 examples of God specifically saying "fear not."
If it were true, that God specifically told us 365 times to not be afraid in His Bible, that would be epic and awesome. But God is so much better than that! He gives us direct access to Him! So when we're worried... or scared... we can PRAY for courage! And honestly, we shouldn't really need him to tell us EVERY STINKING DAY "don't worry!" , "fear not!" We wouldn't be living in very strong faith if He had to do that, would we? Now don't get me wrong - God does tell His people VERY often to take courage and to use the phrase, "fear not!" But He gave us brains too. He gave us access to the Holy Spirit. And if God, the One who crafted the Universe and is carefully making sure you are all right RIGHT NOW tells us but once "fear not," shouldn't that one time be enough?
In a perfect world, maybe. But we hardly live in a perfect world. And you know what? I get scared and intimidated more often than I ought. (Thank God for the grace that allows us to make stupid mistakes over and over... and He still loves us!) The reality is God DOES tell us that we don't need to be afraid. And sometimes it really helps to see how much He cares. So this blog will be a list of the times in the Bible where God shows us how to overcome fear, where He blatantly yells "FEAR NOT!!!" and the promises He gives to those who manage to put their full trust in His love. :D I *hope* that I will be able to post a verse and a short meditation upon it for everyday of 2012. This blog is being written so that I can overcome my fears... But if you read it, I *hope* that God uses it to bless you too!
Oh, and while we're at it, here's a couple of technical notes: I did all the research using a KJV Bible, but that really doesn't mean that's the version I'll post. There will be at *least* 365 entries (Lord willing...) and I might even find something to do on Leap Day (besides take a nap *yawn.) YouVersion is a very helpful online Bible. And there's an app for it too! (Yay!) IF in the highly likely case that I repeat the same verse TWICE (or more O.o) please do let me know and I will remedy it instantaneously! Maybe. Or maybe I'll just notice it while experiencing major deja vu while writing...
I also *hope* you can understand my trains of thought and general jabber, such as the example above. Because, I'm warning you now, there will be a lot of it. Probably. That's just who I am. And since I'm writing this to help me overcome my fears... well. Yeah. I'll also be using a very complicated persona. Using words like "we," "you," "us," and "our," to promote a sense of unity with the me writing the post and the me reading the post. Silly Hobbitses xD.
So I pray that through this blog the intimidation Americans in general have over me will be broken and I will realize they're just ordinary people... just like me! I also pray I would be drawn closer to You, that my faith would grow exponentially and that Your word would be written all over the tablet of my heart, so when temptation grabs a hold I won't give in to the whispers of doubt and lies. *Amen.
Well, now. Starting a blog isn't SO hard!
