Day 182: Psalm 139:14

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." ~Psalm 139:14, NIV

Today I wanted to remind you guys that one way to defeat fear is to focus on God through praise, and that's why today's verse describes one of the reasons David praised God. Psalm 139 is one of those "real" psalms that describes life as it is - hard. But despite those challenges, we can always look to God to save us, and we can remember who He is, what He's done, and give Him the glory due.

Look at the night sky, see what He's made. Look at the trees and animals around you, see what He's made. Look at your family, look at yourself, see what He's made! Hands that move, eyes that see, ears that hear, a mind that creates, the ability to love...

He loves you. So what are you afraid of?

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Day 181: Joshua 11:6

"Then the LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men. Then you must cripple their horses and burn their chariots.'" ~Joshua 11:6, NLT

Joshua's task as God's servant was to lead the Israelites in conquering the native people of the land God had given them. These were terrifying peoples, terrifying in deed and terrified as a people. Israel faced setbacks whenever there was sin among them, and these losses scared the Israelites.

But God gave this particular promise to Joshua for a battle against the Allied Armies of the northern part of the Promised Land. This is seven different Kings uniting their armies against Israel. But God promised them victory, and indeed the Israelites completely destroyed the armies, then crippled the horses and burned the chariots as an act of obedience. Failure to obey usually resulted in Israelite losses, so of course, they obeyed.

God told Joshua to not be afraid. God had given Joshua a promise long ago, and He would fulfill His end of the deal so long as Joshua and the Israelites obeyed Him. God will fulfill all of His promises, but often times they are conditional on our obedience. Will we obey Him? If so, there's nothing to fear. If no, you may need to have a little conversation with God in the near future...

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Day 180: Deuteronomy 33:27

"The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’" ~Deuteronomy 33:27, NLT

Moses is blessing the tribes of Israel before he dies, and in this passage he's blessing the tribe of Asher. A blessing, in this sense, is like a prophecy and a call to action. In v26 Moses describes God as "riding across the skies to help" them, and then he goes on to the above v27. Now after Moses died, you have to realize that the Israelites geared up to go to war with the sinful nations in their Promised Land. God was using the Israelites to punish those nations, and this is the only reason why God cries "Destroy them!" as a command.

God doesn't want us to decimate our human enemies, but He does want to be our refuge like He was for the tribe of Asher. The only enemies God has left to destroy are Satan and his armies, and those who have died and did not accept God's gift before their death. His command to destroy applied to the Israelites, His desire to be number one in our lives remains.

Will you let Him?

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Day 179: Isaiah 51:13

"Yet you have forgotten the LORD, your Creator, the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies? Where is their fury and anger now? It is gone!" ~Isaiah 51:13, NLT

In this verse, God is pointing out to the Israelites that they're being afraid of inconsequential things. This inconsequential is, of course, on a heavenly scale, which means that if you're in the moment, it makes perfect sense to be afraid of those things. Human oppressors? Yeah, you might be worried if you're stuck in slavery! Enemies? Those are the guys who are trying to kill you!

But we're not supposed to look at those things from the here-and-now perspective because we've got God on our side. You know, the fellow who "stretched out the sky and laid the foundations of the earth." What exactly are you worried about now?

The only thing we should worry about (and I mean that colloquially, not literally!) is what God's thinking. What does God think about your enemies? What does God think about your reactions? He understands that we're human, and doesn't mind that we get worried, but I bet He laughs at us sometimes. Or maybe He gets sad that we don't trust Him. What are we waiting for?

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Day 178: Daniel 10:19

"'Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,' [the angel] said. 'Peace! Be strong now; be strong.' When [the angel] spoke to [Daniel], [he] was strengthened and said, 'Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.'" ~Daniel 10:19, NIV

Daniel had been praying to God for about 3 weeks about a matter very urgent to his heart. (Check out Daniel to see what!) God sent an angel to answer his prayer. Just one thing about angels, though: they're scary. So when Daniel saw the angel, you can imagine what his thoughts were.

As usual, the angel starts off with announcing that we don't need to be afraid. Generally, if an angel shows up in front you you, he's not there to hand mete out God's wrath. He's there to bring God's message, which in this case is be strong, and not be afraid. God's answer to your prayers is coming, even if it's not the one you expected. It's coming. Take courage.

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Day 177: 1 Peter 5:7

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." ~1 Peter 5:7, NLT

I think this one speaks for itself... Maybe spend a few minutes casting your burdens onto Jesus?

If God loves you, He wants to teach you how to move past your fears. And in this case, there's an easy said hard to do strategy that says "trust God." That strategy is highly effective - but under certain attitudes. Since we choose our attitudes towards God, this again comes down to a choice.

Will we choose to believe that God is real, and that He truly is going to take care of us? Or will we doubt God's all-encompassing power? Will we resent Him for allowing us pain, for allowing us a chance to grow?

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Day 176: 2 Corinthians 1:10

"And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us." ~2 Corinthians 1:10, NLT

Paul is writing to the Corinthians here about his missionary adventures, giving himself some pathos, and witnessing about God saving him and his partners time and time again. Even when Paul was in peril, because he trusted in God, God rescued him. Paul and his team placed their trust in God that He would rescue them, no matter the danger, so long as He had a mission for them.

God rescued Paul, and Paul put his trust in Him. Sometimes we have to take the first step and trust that God'll take care of it before He proves Himself, and that's okay, because He's God: He doesn't have anything to prove. He made the universe, for pete's sake! We're the ones who have to prove that we trust Him and are willing to follow Him. All it takes is a decision. Easier said than done, I know, but that's the simplest way to do it.

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Day 175: Genesis 43:23a

"'It's all right,' he said. 'Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.'" ~Genesis 43:23a, NIV

This verse comes from the tale of Joseph and his brothers. The brothers had gone to Egypt for food since there was a world-wide (at least the Ancient world...) famine and only Egypt had enough rations to make it through. Joseph played a trick on his brothers to see if they were sorry for sending him to Egypt, and he found them to be sorry. When they left, he instructed his household manager (the speaker in the above verse) to put the money back into their bags. When they came back, they were terrified, and informed the manager. The manager knew what Joseph had been up to, and told them what was true.

God gave them treasure. "Wait a minute, Joseph gave them treasure!" you might be thinking right now. And you'd basically be right. But consider this: God uses people to carry out His work. That's right. Joseph acted as God's hands and feet. In today's world, the Church assigns people to be such servants, people you should always be able to trust: pastors, deacons, elders, parents. Everyone should be serving as God's tools, but since we're human, we often make mistakes, and hurt others and misrepresent the God who sent us.

But God does not misrepresent Himself, and He speaks through these people to tell us not to be afraid. He uses Bible-people, He uses you and me. Remember that. He's still telling you today to not be afraid.

Win, right?

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Day 174: Deuteronomy 6:24

"And the LORD our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day." ~Deuteronomy 6:24, NLT

Pentateuch. Torah. The first five books of the Bible. If you've ever managed to read through them, congratulations - for most readers nowadays the Books of the Law are long, boring, and confusing. Despite this fact, the Israelites were required by God to obey all of the commands inside of it. If it seems ridiculous, I have to agree with you, but there is a point to all of it, and that's summed up in the above verse.

We don't necessarily have to worry that if we don't kill a lamb the right way that we'll get incinerated by God, but Jesus did leave a new set of commands for us to follow. And the above verse still applies. When we obey God's commands and degrees and revere who He is, He blesses us, and preserves us, keeps us vital, alive.

Yes, a relationship with Jesus should make you feel daily refreshed, reinvigorated: alive! If you think that's balderdash, then let me just clarify that boredom is your fault, because Jesus is anything but boring. And living life according to His decrees will be the best adventure you'll ever have.

Try it. You'll like it. And besides, then you'll know that you have nothing to fear with Him on your side, because remember? He blesses those who follow Him. Maybe not here, maybe not now, but ultimately He does.

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Day 173: Psalm 84:11-12

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you." ~Psalm 84:11-12, NIV

Sometimes, instead of being afraid of the bad things, maybe we should fight and work hard to bring good things into our lives. God is a light and a protector who bestows favor, honor, and good things to those who follow Him. We could spend our lives running away from the bad things, or we could spend it chasing after the good ones.

Running away sets up our mind to live in stress, in fear, breaking us down mentally and even physically - Google some stress-induced diseases. Chasing after fills us with hope, passion, the knowledge that someday we'll attain something. And chasing after God? It sets us up to get blessed by being a blessing and to change the world.

Take a chance. Start running - towards something, someone, perhaps a certain Jesus who loves you or a goal that God wants to help you achieve. No one wants to live in fear.

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Day 172: Psalm 18:2

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety." ~Psalm 18:2, NLT

Who is God?

...

Okay, better question, who is God to you?

Think about that for a minute. Who is He? What do His actions mean? Why does He do things? You might not be able to answer those questions, but that's okay. Think about it. To the psalmist, God is a rock, fortress, savior, a shield, the power to save, a place of safety.

Again I ask, who is God to you?

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Day 171: Job 5:19

"From six disasters he will rescue you; even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil." ~Job 5:19, NLT

There's a lot of verses about God's goodness in Job, but I often hesitate to put them in because of the controversy going on inside the book. In Job's situation, the proclamations didn't make any sense - God wasn't it seemed, fulfilling any of His promises.

It seemed to Job, in fact, that God had brought about six disasters! Yet in our lives it's often the same. Bad things happen to good people. Does that change the truth of the words in the Bible? In other places we see that God makes these kinds of promises, yet we often still seem abandoned.

But the truth is, no matter how bad it is, God will rescue you from six - even seven catastrophes. He'll save you from evil, even if it's not the way we expect it, which is exactly what Job had to go through. Just because it didn't apply in the moment didn't make it untrue.

And just because it doesn't make sense doesn't make it untrue. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. God will do what's best for you.

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Day 170: Zephaniah 3:16

"On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, 'Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!'" ~Zephaniah 3:16, NLT

The Israelites have had a rough history from when Zephaniah was writing. It was terrible, actually - they'd been carted off into captivity to die. Yet God tells Zephaniah to pronounce hope: someday Israel would be brought back.

The time frame of this verse is 'someday.' Someday might as well be today. Cheer up! Hear a joke, have a laugh, life's too short to miss a moment! Don't be afraid!

Day 169: Psalm 112:7

"They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord." ~Psalm 112:7, NIV

The psalmist here is talking about God's people when they live in God's truth. What's the truth? Everything that's written in the Bible is the truth. And it says that we will have no fear, because we're trusting in God.

Grown up humans don't just spontaneously trust in God - we've got to choose to trust Him, that He's going to take care of us. Only when we trust God will we realize that there's nothing to be afraid of. And that's just that!

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Day 168: Matthew 17:7

"But Jesus went to them and touched them and said, 'Stand up. Don’t be afraid.'" ~Matthew 17:7, NCV

If we're going to be honest, Jesus did some pretty scary things with His disciples. Walking on water, fighting off Romans, transforming into God and chatting with Elijah and Moses... Not to mention all of the miracles He did and all the Pharisees and Sadducees that He ticked off!

Jesus had taken three disciples high up onto the mountain, and prayed. Up there, He started transforming, and Elijah and Moses appeared. Yeah, talk about culture shock! The three disciples saw what for us would be George Washington and Abraham Lincoln appear and start chatting away with their leader. Then, after a moment, they disappeared again.

Your buddy starts glowing and talking to dead people. I'd be frozen to my spot, fainted, or at least freaked. No surprise that the disciples also felt that way - but Jesus, after going back to normal, tells them to get up, and not to be afraid of Him.

Sometimes, God has incredible things happen. Incredibly awesome, incredibly mind-blowing, and you're left sitting there going "This is the God I serve!?" in such a way that you want to crawl in a hole and hide for the rest of your life. When faced with God's awesomeness, our minds generally go into hibernation. We can't comprehend Him. So we shut down. But God wants us to know that He's not done - we've got to get up, trust He's got us, and keep going. There's nothing to be afraid of, if you're on God's side.

We get to choose our team. We also get to choose our attitudes. That's for sure!

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Day 167: Psalm 40:3

"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him." ~Psalm 40:3, NIV

God is everywhere. He gives good gifts - including songs! Remember how once we said praising God was one way to get away from fear? Praise is a gift we can give, and a gift we can receive. God can give it to you, your radio station can give it to you, your friends can give it to you.

The best path is when we spread our praise so that many can see it, and they will know - as you teach yourself through praise - that God is big and you can trust Him. That God loves everyone and will save you. Try putting on a new song, and worship God before trying to deal with your problems. Even a breath prayer would suffice to get you into the right, world-changing mindset.

I'm pretty sure God would use it to change YOUR world.

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Day 166: Jeremiah 30:10

"'So do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,' says the LORD. 'For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet, and no one will terrorize them.'" ~Jeremiah 30:10, NLT

We know that Jeremiah had a rough propheting career. Not only did he have to give terrible prophecies, he also saw most of them come to fruition. And generally he only saw his doomsday prophecies come to pass. He wasn't really around to see the above verse come into reality - but I'm sure he knew it would happen some day.

God wasn't going to let Israel get decimated beyond repair. He didn't wipe them out. He promised, as above, to bring Israel back again. He says "do not be afraid, do not be dismayed." Israel was being carted off by brutish Babylonians, and that's what God has to say? God's people had abandoned Him, and He was dealing with them as He must deal with those who aren't on His side - and He tells them, as He destroys them, not to be afraid?

Yet that's exactly what God asks of us.

When we're not on His side, bad things happen. Those things even happen when we ARE on His side! Yet He is God. We can choose to get back on His side. And we can choose to obey, to take courage, to not be afraid. Whose side are you on? There's no border, you're either ON God's side, or you're NOT. Whose side?

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Day 165: Job 5:21

"You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes." ~Job 5:21, NIV

Job is a mighty and noble man of God. In fact, he was so upright that God gave him everything a person could want in life - riches, family, land, esteem etc. Seeing this, Satan comes to God and asks permission to challenge Job's faith in God, by taking away every good gift God had given to him, except for his life. Satan's logic was that Job loved God because of God's gifts, not because of some moral integrity. If you know the story, you know Satan was wrong - Job outlasted every purge without ever cursing or challenging God - sure, he questioned Him, but he ultimately trusted that God knew what was going on in the big picture.

Job had three friends who came to him and tried to comfort him. Today's verse comes from a long and grandiloquent speech from one of such friends. In it are many truths. Yet Job spurned the "help" of his friends, because they were condemning him for something he had not done, and giving promises that he already knew of. "God will protect you," his friends said, "you won't have to be afraid if you confess your sin."

In their understanding the calamities had befallen Job because of a sin he had committed. While that is often the case, and turning from sin often leads to the blessings they speak of, in his situation it didn't help. And maybe you're reading this and thinking about your situation and you think I'm just proclaiming a bunch of nice-sounding "help". And maybe I am, but listen to the "help" anyways, and gain hope that God is good, even if He's testing you right now.

The verse says you "need not fear when destruction comes." Life crumbles sometimes, and you will often be affected, but that statement still rings true - you don't have to be afraid. You can choose otherwise. You can ask God what the blazes He's doing. Job did. And when Job's trials were over, God blessed him with everything he had had before, and seven times more!

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Day 164: 2 Chronicles 20:17

"You won’t need to fight in this battle. Just stand strong in your places, and you will see the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord is with you. So go out against those people tomorrow." ~2 Chronicles 20:17, NCV

Moab and Ammon have allied against the king Jehoshaphat, and are coming to wage war. Now what's the first thing you should do when you're afraid of something or someone?

If you said pray, you must've already read this chapter, because that's exactly what Jehoshaphat did. In fact, he had all of Jerusalem and Judah fast with him as He sought God's will. He was probably terrified, as this was a sizable army. As he was praying to God before the assembly, God's spirit came upon a prophet named Jahaziel. (Remember him?) And the above verse is what God had to say.

Often times we try to fight through our problems alone. Sometimes I think that if we just stood firm in God like this verse says, half of our problems would solve themselves. So don't be afraid OR discouraged by your fears! God IS with you, and He wants to help you do what's right, He wants to help you become the very best version of you possible. He does that through a myriad of ways, and some of them are downright scary.

But He's with you! So what are you afraid of?

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Day 163: Joel 2:22

"Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field, for the wilderness pastures will soon be green. The trees will again be filled with fruit; fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more." ~Joel 2:22, NLT

The nations around Israel in Joel's time had been asking the people "where is their God?" Scoffing, mocking, these nations figured Israel was now just a nothing - they'd been abandoned. God answers these nations in an interesting way - He takes pity on the people He'd punished, and promises them to bring them back.

But it's not just the people who've been crushed - the whole land of Israel was crushed. But nothing is too small to escape God's attention, and He speaks directly to nature in this verse. If God tells the animals of the field "don't be afraid," how much more does He want us to be courageous? If He promises the trees to grow and produce good things, how much more does He want that of us?

Will we give it to Him?

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Day 162: Psalm 64:1

"God, listen to my complaint. I am afraid of my enemies; protect my life from them." ~Psalm 64:1, NCV

Sometimes I think I should just become a psalmist. They're honest and spot-on about life, and aren't afraid to ask the touch questions. They're also not afraid to ask the tough questions, or for help.

I mean, read that verse up there. Can't you see yourself saying that, at least sometimes? This is exactly what we should be doing, too! PRAYING! Asking God for help! Resolving in our hearts that we CAN do it with God's help. He wants to help you; He doesn't want you to live in fear! So take the first step, that's one of the only things between you.

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Day 161: Psalm 143:8

"Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you." Psalm 143:8, NLT

When we bind our lives to Jesus, we are saying that the life we live is not our own. We owe it to God to live a life worthy of Him. This is a continual choice, one we must make every morning, as this psalmist says. God will always bear unfailing love, and we must continually choose to trust Him. Consequently, He will teach us "where to walk". Trusting that God's plan is the best, and that He will teach you to make it come to pass. Besides, it's one more way we can choose to fear not.

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Day 160: Psalm 27:1

"The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?" ~Psalm 27:1, NIV

When we are overcome with fear, our brains go into a mode where the only thing we think about is this fear, and how the blazes we're going to deal with it. We get stressed as our body tries to supply our brain with stimulating chemicals that help it to work faster, but if we don't have sufficient information about our fears, we won't come up with a solution. Consequently we will remain stressed, and our body cannot function in the "stressed" mode for very long without signs of wear and tear.

But before we go into this fear mode every one of us can ask as this psalmist did. First, we make ourselves aware of what it is we trust in. If you're honest, it might not be the Lord. Then, we can choose to make the Lord our light, life, stronghold, and salvation. Finally, we can again look at our fears in light of the God of our lives, and we should find some very good news.

There's no one to fear, nothing to be afraid of!

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Day 159: Psalm 26:1

"Declare me innocent, O LORD, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering." ~Psam 26:1, NLT

Innocent. How we all long to be innocent! Yet the only way to be innocent is to wipe off our sins by the grace of Jesus. Indeed, it is possible. But let's focus on the second half of the verse - "I have trusted in the Lord without wavering."

Can any of us say that? What would it be like if we did? What if we stepped out and trusted Him of our own volition instead of forcing ourselves into situations where He reminds us He's the only constant? We can choose that. So why don't we? Why can't we be like the psalmist?

"Declare me innocent, o Lord, I'll give it all up to you. I'll trust you with my future, my friends, my life."

Afraid no more.

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Day 158: Deuteronomy 7:19

"You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear." ~Deuteronomy 7:19, NIV

Way back in ancient history, the Israelites were trucking out of Egypt after a great victory - God's victory over the Egyptians, who had enslaved the Israelites for hundreds of years. He did miracles for the Israelites, from weather to animal-behavior to splitting the Red Sea to raining bread from Heaven!

Yet when the time came for the Israelites to claim their inheritance, they shrank back in fear. "Not so!" says God. "Don't you remember what I've done?" Sometimes it's easy to forget, but if you ever need to be reminded of how big your God is, just check out the first five books of the New Testament. God promised the Israelites that He would continue to be faithful, perform miracles and rock their world, and to kick out the people that they feared.

And He fulfilled that promise, like He has and will fulfill every single promise He's ever made. Including the one over your life. I don't know what that promise is, but I do know if you step out, He'll fill in and do what you can't. It's terrifying, but so worth it!

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Day 157: Matthew 12:21

"And his name will be the hope of all the world." ~Matthew 12:21, NLT

Today we're going to go to the source of our hope, the reason we can actually say "I have nothing to worry about." As was read in Matthew, this person is the hope of the whole world. His name? Jesus.

Why?

God sent this Jesus to Earth as a fulfillment of a multitude of promises He made in the Old Testament, most notably, to become the hope of the world. God sent Jesus not just for the chosen people, the Israelites, but for all mankind. Mankind is broken by the curse of sin, and our primary purpose to know and love and glorify God has become impossible to fulfill due to sin.

Because of sin, we can't approach God. The only atonement for sin was blood, the death of a perfect being. Usually that was an animal. Until Jesus came. He was born sinless, and He died sinless. Son of God. He paid the price for sin for all time. We can live in proximity to God now, without having to kill a sheep every single time we want to talk to him.

We don't have to go to Hell to pay for our own sins. We can live, we can have life, we can fulfill our purpose again. And we can help others.

He loves you. He weeps when you weeps, He cheers when you cheer. He knows your name. He wants you to know Him, and to know He's got you. How is this possible, when He died!? See, that's the funny thing - apparently when you kill a perfect being, they don't stay dead. At least Jesus didn't, He rose back to life three days after being crucified, and rumor is He's sitting at the right hand of God's throne. He's reaching out for you, won't you please accept Him?

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Day 156: Psalm 56:11

"I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?" ~Psalm 56:11, NLT

This verse could pretty much sum up our lives. If we trust in God... what good reason is there to be afraid? All that's out there is mortal, stuck in time and change. We can't put our trust in anything but God and be content.

Seriously, give me one good reason to be afraid, if you trust God. The psalmist knew what I'm trying to tell you and convince myself - God is in control, and He's got an active hand in your life, making it the most awesome one you ever get to live. Plus, He's a good God. What are you afraid of? Imagine the ultimate worst-case scenario, and ask yourself if it'd really be that bad. Then imagine the best case scenario. Now whatever happens, God will use it to make a better you.

So what exactly is it that mere mortals can do to you?

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Day 155: Jeremiah 1:8

"Don’t be afraid of anyone, because I am with you to protect you, says the Lord." ~Jeremiah 1:8, NCV

Jeremiah was called by God to be a prophet to the Israelites. Jeremiah wasn't exactly thrilled about this, but he obeyed God anyways. As he did to Ezekiel, God gave Jeremiah a promise... and a command.

The promise? "I am with you to protect you." When we accept Jesus, we're automatically "in" on this promise. No matter where we are, God is with us. Because of this, we can boldly take part in the command, "don't be afraid of anyone." Guys, don't be afraid!

God might not have called you to be a prophet, but He has called you to His purpose for you. He has a very specific plan for you, and He wants you to step towards that plan with the same courage and confidence that He called Jeremiah to.

Jeremiah did it, will you?

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Day 154: 2 Kings 17:37

"Always obey the rules, orders, teachings, and commands he wrote for you. Do not honor other gods." ~2 Kings 17:37, NCV

This is a command to the Israelites, and in the KJV it says "do not fear other gods." Now we've already discussed that, so I'd like to emphasize the first half of today's verse: always obey the rules, orders, teachings, and commands.

Let's face it, this should be a no-brainer. But it's also half of a promise. You know how in the ten commandments, obeying your parents came with a blessing? Well, since God is our father, obeying Him definitely comes with perks too. Notably among those is experience closeness with Him, and from that closeness comes almost every good thing. In fact, the closer you are to God, the more confident you will be, and closer to the person He made you to be. This is an excellent thing, something that will help you infinitely in your battle against fear.

And this isn't even mentioning the fact that one of God's commands is to fear not!

Conclusion? Remember who's hands you're in, who you're following. He is definitely worth the challenges you face anyways.

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Day 153: Psalm 34:6

"In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles." ~Psalm 34:6, NLT

When I think of fears and of God, I often think of one of two things: God's going to have to save me from my fears, and God's already told me I don't have anything to be afraid of. Both are true, if you've read any of the other entries of this blog. This psalm definitely demonstrates the first, however.

If you don't tell God about your problems, He can't come in and rescue you. Okay, He could, but you wouldn't be demonstrating an understanding that you NEED Him. Praying tells Him and keeps you aware of the fact that you alone can't do anything. You can choose your attitude in a tough situation, but most other factors force you to rely on something other than yourself. And that would be God. Now He's always listening, and He wants to respond to your pleas - so pray! Don't just pray for yourself though. If you're struggling, be sure to let others know so they too can pray for you. If they don't know about your trials, they can't pray for you, so the aid is limited. Who knows, maybe they'll have a word of wisdom or insight that can help you! Get as many people praying as you can. Pray with others, just keep it on your mind all the time - I cannot emphasize the power of prayer enough, so just do it!

And as the psalmist writes, he prayed and God helped him. If you pray, God can help you combat your fear, and make good choices.

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