fear – Be Still…

2 Chronicles 34:1-13 – Hiding or Purging?

Read 2 Chronicles 34:1-13

Here we go again. Does it feel a bit like “déjà vu?” King Josiah takes it upon himself to make sure that his kingdom is cleansed from all the pagan articles and distractions away from the one true God. We’ve seen this pattern repeat itself before. One king destroys the idols, and another rebuilds them. No wonder the people were disillusioned. The kingly leadership was never consistent.

King Josiah’s intentions were good in purifying the land once again, including the temple. Even as a young king, Josiah wasn’t afraid to make some bold moves. What do you think happened to the people who were worshiping in “pagan style?” Did they go into hiding and continue with their rituals and allegiance to false gods? Continue reading “2 Chronicles 34:1-13 – Hiding or Purging?”

Mark 1:40-45 – Fearless Compassion

Read Mark 1:40-45

Do you think anybody saw Jesus touch the man with leprosy? The man would have been untouchable for everyone, except Jesus. In that day, people with leprosy, called lepers, were shunned and kept to themselves or lived in “colonies.”

There was great fear and stigma surrounding the disease which would cover the skin with hideous lesions. Leprosy was highly contagious from skin-to-skin contact. And Jesus touched the man! I can just imagine the gasp of those watching such a scene.

Amos 6:1-14 – Impending Doom

Read Amos 6:1-14

Do you ever wake up in the morning with a sense of “dread,” like there is some impending doom about to strike? That’s happened to me before, and it is totally unsettling. I often wonder where those thoughts come from. Perhaps I dreamt something horrific that I thankfully can’t remember. Whatever it is, this reading took me back to one of those moments.

How do you deal with impending doom? As a child growing up in the Midwest, I used to hate those news alerts during the summertime warning of a tornado in the area. Even more scary was hearing the sirens, grabbing the cats, and running for shelter in the basement. If you haven’t lived in tornado alley during the late spring into summer, it might be other weather warnings or fire drills at school bringing you fear.

1 Samuel 30:1-20 – Worst Nightmare

Read 1 Samuel 30:1-20

A closeup of a pile of ash and burnt up wood

David and his men faced their worst nightmare when they arrived home and found a burned-out village and that their wives and children were gone. Thankfully, they didn’t come home to dead bodies, too. There was hope they were alive.

David’s men were furious and blamed David for this misfortune. It was time for David to turn to God rather than try and take matters into his own hands. He called for the ephod from the priest so he could be sure the word was truly from God. And God said, “Go!”

1 Samuel 17:1-11 – Rocked By Fear

Read 1 Samuel 17:1-11

standing on a ledge, looking down at feet and to the street below

Probably the most well-known of all Bible stories we learned as children was the story of David and Goliath. All sorts of images pop up for me, from the felt board stories of my wee years to play acting the story with children with costumes and sound effects when I was Children’s Ministry Director.

We are going to take our time as we walk through this story. Maybe new messages will pop out for us. Sometimes we tend to rush through things, especially when they are familiar. I guess we want to conserve our “energy” for handling the more complex or new things we encounter each day.