Coping with fear.

It was only recently that I discovered that my younger daughter - a fully-grown adult! - has a fear of flying. In this, she is certainly not alone. Many people share that particular fear. The very thought of being airborne fills them with anxiety. For that reason, certain techniques have been recommended:

1. Avoid sugar, and caffeine, before and during a flight.

2. Lean back at take-off; allow your muscles to relax as much as possible.

3. Rate your anxiety, on a scale of 1 to 10. Then think positive thoughts, and note how much your fear decreases.

4. Breathe deeply; close your eyes; stretch your arms.

5. Wear a rubber band on your wrist, and 'snap' it to break unpleasant thoughts.

Now I am unable to verify any of these suggestions, as I don't have a problem with flying. That is, perhaps, because I have a sixth suggestion that I know does work - not only for the fear of flying, but for all fears. In fact, I would claim that it is the most important of all! It is simply to put your trust in Father God. When I have to fly, I always pray, before take-off, asking for God's protection for the flight. I am then able to relax, safe in the knowledge that He is in control, and that "underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27).

That is certainly what David did, as he records in Psalm 31. The background to the psalm is that a conspiracy had arisen against him. His friends had abandoned him. "Yea, I hear the whispering of many - terror on every side! - as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life." (v.13). Not just fear, but terror! But David made a choice, and declared: "But I trust in Thee, O Lord; I say, "Thou art my God." (v.14).

When you're afraid, it may help to breathe deeply, or snap a rubber band. But don't leave out the best way to cope with the fear of flying - or any other fear. Follow David's example and put your trust in God. He is the One Who never lets us down if we are truly His, born again through God the Holy Spirit, and claiming the atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Son - Who often said "Fear not"! (cf. Matt.10:31; Lk.12:7, 32; Rev.1:17). "... perfect love casts out fear." (I John 4:18) - and the only perfect love, is the love of Almighty God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The living Word

In Hebrews 4:12, the anonymous writer describes the Word of God as "... living and active, ..." Those few words are, themselves, the theme for a 30-minute sermon, but one aspect of their truth is the simple fact that one may read the same passage 100 times and then, on the 101st reading, see something new - or, better, have something new revealed!

In my personal devotions, I am currently reading through the Book of Proverbs. A few days ago, I read these words in 25:28 - "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." Although I had read those words many times before, they spoke to me in a new way as I considered the restrictions that we have endured over the past weeks, and that are due to be only partially lifted in a few days' time. 

What Solomon is saying here is that, like city walls self-control may limit what we are free to do; but it also provides protection. Being confined to our homes has certainly been restrictive to most of us - a quick visit to Leclerc being a brief, but welcome, diversion. But it has also protected us from the potentially fatal effects of Covid-19! Self-control, likewise, restricts us in what we do; where we go; what we watch; what we listen to. However, the lack of self-control leaves us like a city with broken walls which the enemy - for you and me, the satan himself - may more easily enter and conquer.

Of course, we are not left to deal with this in our own strength. If we are truly disciples of the Lord Jesus - born again; washed in the blood of the Lamb - then we have the power of God the Holy Spirit available to us. When temptation raises its head, look to Him; seek His strength; obey His prompting. It will be for your good, and will bring glory to the Saviour's Name.

He is our Certainty in uncertain times.

"When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." 

The only One.

The story is told of a particular officer in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was completely devoted to the emperor. One day, the officer was mortally wounded in battle. As he lay, dying, he called for Napoleon and, to his credit, the emperor quickly came to where the man was lying. 

The officer thought that someone as great as the emperor, and one to whom he had been so devoted, could somehow save his life. However, all that the emperor could do was shake his head, and leave. The story describes the tragic scene. As the dying man felt the cold, merciless, hand of death drawing him irresistibly to his eternal destiny behind the curtain of the unseen world, he was still heard to cry out: "Save me Napoleon! Save me!" In the hour of his death, the officer discovered that not even Napoleon could rescue him.

The story - which I am unable to confirm, but about which I have no particular doubt - is an analogy of the spiritual. When we seek deliverance from spiritual death, we find that no human being has the power to save - no minister of the Gospel, however faithful; no pastor or priest; not even one of those who may be classed as the great prayer warriors. Only in, and through, Jesus is there salvation for sinful mankind.

Preaching that first great sermon of the Christian era, on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter spoke these words: "... there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). Jesus, Himself, said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." (Jn.14:6; emphasis added).

Not even the officer's devotion to his emperor was enough - and our best works are, likewise, insufficient. Paul wrote: "... by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God — not because of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph.2:8; emphasis added).

Have you asked the Lord Jesus to save you? If not, do it now! He always answers those who come to Him, in repentance and faith*, and put their trust in Him. Call on Him. He is the only One Who saves.

*These are two of the words dealt with in my first book; "Great Words of the Faith". Details for ordering it, and the others, in paperback or Kindle e-book formats, at the top of the page. Remember, I receive no financial benefit from the sale of my books. All royalties are sent, directly, to the bank account of Release International, in support of the persecuted church.

The personal testimony of Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A couple of days ago, I came across the personal testimony of one of the greatest preachers of the Christian Gospel in the 19th century - Charles Haddon Spurgeon. As his situation may apply to others, I am going to share his testimony on this blog. May it be a blessing to someone. ("Editorial" inserts are in brackets, and in this Italic font).

"I thought the sun was blotted out of my sky - that I had so sinned against God that there was no hope for me. I prayed - the Lord knows how I prayed; but I never had a glimpse of an answer that I knew of. I searched the Word of God; the promises were more alarming than the threatenings. I read the privileges of the people of God, but with the fullest persuasion that they were not for me. The secret of my distress was this: I did not know the Gospel. I was in a Christian land; I had Christian parents; but I did not fully understand the freeness and simplicity of the Gospel."

(I wonder - is there someone reading this post who identifies with the young C.H.Spurgeon? Someone who is going through the same, or similar, thought processes? Do read on!)

"I attended all the places of worship in the town where I lived, but I honestly believe that I did not hear the Gospel fully preached. I do not blame the men, however. One man preached the divine sovereignty. I could hear him with pleasure; but what was that for a poor sinner who wished to know what he should do to be saved? There was another admirable man who always preached about the law; but what was the use of ploughing up the ground that wanted to be sown? Another was great practical teacher. I heard him - but it was very much like a commanding officer teaching the manoeuvres of war o a set of men without feet! What could I do? All his exhortations were lost to me. I knew that it was said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31), but I did not know what it was to believe in Christ.

I sometimes think that I might have been in darkness and despair now, had it not been for the goodness of god in sending a snow-storm one Sunday morning when I was going to a place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a court and came to a little hall. In the hall there were a dozen, or fifteen, people. The minister did not come that morning - snowed-up, I suppose. A poor man, a shoemaker, a tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach.

He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had nothing else to say. The text was: "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 45:22). He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter.

There was, I thought, a glimpse f hope for me in the text. He began thus: "My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, "Look". Now that does not take a great deal of effort. It isn't lifting your foot or your finger. It is just "Look". Well, a man need not go to a college to learn to look. A man need not be worth a thousand pounds a year (a very large sum in 1850!) to look. Anyone can look. A child can look. This is what the text says: "Look unto Me."

"Aye," he said, many of you are looking to yourselves. No use looking there. You'll never find comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No: look to Him by and by. Jesus Christ says "Look unto Me." Some of you say, "I must wait for the Spirit's working." You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. It runs, "Look unto Me."

Then he followed up his text in this way: "Look unto Me; I am sweating great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hanging on the cross. Look! I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend; I am sitting at the Father's right hand. Oh look unto Me! Look unto Me!"

When he had spoken about ten minutes, he looked at me under the gallery and, I dare say, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. He then said: "Young man, (he was fifteen years of age)  you look very miserable." Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made on my personal appearance, from the pulpit, before! However, it was a good blow struck. He continued: "And you will always be miserable - miserable in life, and miserable in death - if you do not obey my text. But if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved."

Then he shouted, "Young man, look to Jesus Christ!" I did 'look'.

There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun. I could have risen that moment and sung, with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks to alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me that before: "Trust Christ, and you shall be saved."

It was, no doubt, wisely ordered, and I must ever say:
"E'er since by faith I saw the stream

Thy wounds supplied for me;

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall, for ever, be." "

Steering straight!

In the Old Testament book of Daniel, we read of three young Hebrew men, Hananiah, Misha-el, and Azariah, (better known by the names given to them by the Babylonians: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), who were brought before the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, accused of not bowing to the great golden image that he had had erected, and which all of the people had been commanded to worship.  The punishment for disobedience was to be cast into a large furnace, and to be burnt to death.  Not a pleasant prospect!

The three young men, however, were not cowed by the king's threat - even although they were only too aware that he would carry it through.  Here is their recorded response:

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If it be so, our God Whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.'" (Dan 3:16-18; emphasis added).

In other words, they were willing to place their trust, unreservedly, in Almighty God - regardless of the outcome!

In one of the old, mythological, stories, an old pilot was sailing his boat through a severe storm on the tempestuous Aegean Sea.  In his extremity, he was seen to stand erect and cry out, 'Father Neptune, you may sink me if you will, or you may save me if you will but, whatever happens, I will keep my rudder true!'

I wonder, are you facing a difficult situation, today?  Are you facing, albeit metaphorically, fire or storm?  Then be comforted (i.e. strengthened).  Almighty God is in control.  He is sovereign.  As Paul assures us: "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose." (Rom 8:28).

When our circumstances are difficult, it is tempting to compromise our principles, and depart from the course set out for us in God's written Word.  Let us not do so!  Let us, like those three young Hebrew men, continue to trust God in every situation.  Let us say, "I will keep my rudder true"!  That's the only way by which we may steer a straight course through life.

Guidance

When I am out in my car, I have a sat-nav (GPS) system to guide me to my planned destination.  (I also have a wife-nav - often more dependable!).   Life, however, does not come with a sat-nav, and knowing which direction to take can be one of the most difficult, and one of the most frustrating, decisions that one has to make on a daily basis.

As a disciple of Jesus, I am particularly concerned that I know God's will for my life.  I have often said that what I would really like is a postcard, delivered every morning.  It would be postmarked "Heaven"; signed "G,O,D,", and have a list of bullet points outlining Father God's will for me for that particular day.  Sadly, that is not the way in which He works.  Guidance comes - but I must be willing to look for it, and able to recognise it when it does!

The long gap in posts has been because my wife and I have been house-hunting - in France.  Although we are normally based in the static caravan that we have in the Gironde area, we are looking for a house in the Dordogne - as close to Bergerac as we can manage.  To facilitate our search - and the countless viewings that were being arranged, we spent a lot of our time stopping with friends who live much closer to Bergerac and, of course, it would have been rude of me to spend too much time in the evenings, ignoring the chat, and concentrating on my computer!

We still haven't found the 'right' house, at the 'right' price, in the 'right' area.  We are convinced that the Lord has a specific property for us - but He hasn't revealed it to us, yet!   We believe that our more permanent move to France is in His will - there have been many confirmations of that, even at times when we were beginning to question it - but to be what we believe He wants us to be, we really do need that house!

So what do we do?  Well, we pray about the situation.  We keep looking at potential houses.  We discuss the various possibilities - with each other, and with trusted friends.   We continue to trust our loving heavenly Father that He will lead us to the right place, at the right time.  On a very practical note, I monitor (usually on a daily basis, ex Sunday) the Pound Sterling to Euro currency exchange rate.  At the moment it is favourable - and it may be that the Lord is simply holding us back until it reaches a level that will allow us to purchase the house of His choosing.

I wonder if you, too, find guidance to be difficult; if you wonder about the decisions that you make; if you long for something clearer, day by day?   I wish that I had a simple solution!   I don't.  All that I can recommend is what my wife and I are seeking to do.  It's called trust, or faith.  However, it is not the faith that is of greatest importance - it is the Object of that faith.  Put your own trust in Him.  Be assured that He does have a perfect plan and purpose for your life.  Then, while doing all that is necessary from your own perspective (like us looking at all of these houses!), leave the final solution to Him.

When I was a young student at the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow, so many years ago now, I learned my first Greek language phrase.  It was the motto of the College: "Pistos 'o Theos" - which means "God is faithful".  I proved that, on innumerable occasions.  I am still proving it today.  I commend my faithful God to you - and you to my faithful God!

Living "on the edge".

On Friday, I was travelling up from the Borders' General Hospital, outside the lovely town of Melrose.  As anyone who knows the area will confirm, I was not travelling on motorway, or even dual carriageway!  Indeed, the road, whilst very scenic, is a single carriageway that twists and turns, and goes uphill and down, for mile after mile after mile!  On more than one occasion I found myself behind a slow-moving vehicle, and there was nothing I could do but travel at the same speed. 

However, there was one particular lorry travelling in front of me.  Because of the nature of the road, it was impossible to see far enough ahead to be able to overtake it with any degree of safety.  Yet, at one point, that is exactly what I did!  Was I being impatient, and reckless?  No!  What happened was that the driver of the lorry, from the height of his cab, could see that the road ahead was clear, and he had signalled to me that it was safe to pass him.  Of course, what I was then doing was putting my trust, and my life (and that of the passenger I was carrying) in the signal given by someone I didn't even know!

Of course, as I point out in my book "Great Words of the Christian Faith" (see top of page!), each one of us, whether car-drivers or not, does the same sort of thing day in and day out.  Every time we board a 'bus or a train, get into a taxi, or travel by 'plane or ship, we commit ourselves to individuals who are usually total strangers.  We also take the word of others concerning such matters as health, nutrition, and finance - and act accordingly!  How amazing, then, that so few seem to be willing to totally trust the Lord and His Word.  Yet He is the One of Whom king Solomon could say, "Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave ..." (I Kings 8:56); while John wrote, "We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater [just] because it is the testimony of God ..." (I John 5:9).

Those of us who would start "living on the edge" need to learn how to trust Him more and more.  We need to put our hands, in all of their weakness, into His hand, with all of its strength, trusting Him to keep a firm grip on us.  We need to learn that, just as 'faith' is said to be spelled R I S K, so 'risk' (which is at least part of what "living on the edge" is all about) may be spelled F A I T H or T R U S T.  We need to show, in our lives,that we are convinced that, above everyone else, our faithful, unchangeable, omnipotent God is the One Who can safely be trusted.

"Living on the edge" means "letting go - and letting God"!

I believe in God because ...

Sharon is a Youth Worker.  She has only got the time it takes to toast a slice of bread, to explain why she believes in God - not just accepting that He exists, but trusting Him with her life.  Listen in to see how she does (it's only a little more than a minute!!).

Personal Update!

A telephone-call today, made by an English speaking friend here in L'Isle, has helped to clarify the situation with regard to the repair of my car!  It would appear that the authorisation that I was told had been received was for no more than to examine the car!!!  They have now done so, and were awaiting someone from Opel to come to inspect it.  The person failed to arrive!  They have now sent photographs of the 'damage' and are awaiting a reply.

I have instructed them to start the work regardless (as I told them ages ago!), but they want a signed declaration that, if Opel say that the work is not covered by the Warranty, then I will pay.   They are faxing something to my friend this afternoon.  They also want a deposit - refundable if Opel meet the charges - as, understandably, they wouldn't even have a car to sell if I walked away from the situation! (Not a great demand for RHD cars in this neck of the woods!).  I don't think that they fully realise how much I am not going to walk away.  I only want to drive away - and then drive home!

They have also told us that it will be at least a full week's work, so the earliest I will be home is now Sat.18th.!!

My younger daughter finds the situation almost unbelievable - and I can fully understand (as can her mum and elder sister!).  She wanted to know how I am managing to cope.  I suppose that the answer to that is on different levels.  There are, quite naturally, times when I shed a wee tear.  If I didn't, I would have to question the reality of the love that I constantly express for each of them.  At that level, the answer is sometimes: "With difficulty"!

However, I am also keeping myself fairly busy, mostly with work on my book project on Getting to know you - Great Words of the Christian Faith - an obvious contender for the Booker Prize next year!!!!  It's amazing how much research one can do, in our modern technological society, even without access to a Library (or at least a Library with the material for which I would be looking!).

The deepest level, of course, is best described by the Psalmist: "YHWH is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song." (Ps 28:7; NIV) 

I am also helped by remembering that I am here in relative comfort.  The caravan is a modern one, with all of the required conveniences; I have clothing; I have sufficient funds to ensure that I won't go hungry; I have some new friends who are proving to be so in very practical ways; having access to the internet, means that I am able to speak with my loved ones via Skype; I have CDs, and MP3 files to allow me to sing; I have health and strength; I have the freedom to continue to read God's Word, and to pray.  Comparing this with the lot of so many - particularly those who, in N.Korea, parts of China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, northern Nigeria, parts of India, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, and so many other countries, suffer great privation, false imprisonment, torture, and even death for the sake of the Lord Jesus - I am sooooo well off.  That is why I can still praise Him.  I also remember that, from His vantage point in eternity, He saw all of this before I was even born, in time. He is the One Who knows the end from the beginning, and He knows exactly how all of this will pan out! 

So, I take comfort.  As the old saying has it: "I don't know what the future holds; but I know the One Who holds the future."  With that sort of hope in my heart, I reckon that I'll manage to cope!