Fear No Evil

Good Morning!! You know evil is so deeply rooted, so profoundly enmeshed in our hearts and this world that our struggle to remove it often seems futile. Just when we think we've made a clean break, evil pops up again like a weed. The fact that we cannot purge ourselves of evil and live sin-free can easily lead to despair, which the apostle Paul calls a "worldly sorrow" that produces death. Such grief says there is no hope, there is no cure,...there simply is no balm in Gilead.

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.—Luke 6:22 (NIV)
But there is both hope and a cure. We can let sin's presence produce in us a "godly sorrow." This grief also despairs of self,...but not of God. In fact, godly sorrow turns from self  to look to God for forgiveness, cleansing and strength. The very presence of sin and evil keeps us dependent on God, and alive both to our own potential for sin and to the very love of God that redeems us.

Remember that God has a purpose for our lives and that the temptation to judge ourselves by what other people say, is just one more of the enemy's tactics, to prevent us from discovering who we really are in Christ.

---

Father God, help us to to stand strong and overcome our fear of people's rejection. Their rejection can hurt, but more than anything we want to please You, Father. Help us to make right choices,...we and thank You for Your promise of blessing. In Jesus name. Amen.

"Distractions are all around us,...today lets keep them in perspective, and focus on our relationship with God."