Newsletter June 2013

This is what happened to the ten spies of the Hebrews who went into the land of Canaan to spy it out before taking it as the Lord commanded. They looked at false evidence and thought it was real. The giants in the land made them look like grasshoppers, therefore they were consumed with fear and made the wrong assumption, that they would be defeated.

The truth and the reality was that they could have overcome the giants because God would have given the giants and the land over to them. Their fear kept them from the provision of the Lord which was the promised land of milk and honey.

When it came time for the next generation to enter the land, Joshua was told “fear not” because God would give the inhabitants into his hand. He believed God.

Now David, at a later time, was just a lad, and also saw the size of the giants and rather than cower in fear he chose to believe their size was not relevant

He chose to believe instead that the Lord would hand them over to him. He picked up his meager weapon of a stone and a slingshot and with the help of the Lord, slays the giant. He believed for the Lord’s provision and he received it.

We have been exhorted to do likewise.

Don’t let past fears steal today’s blessings

Many of our fears are based on something that has already happened. In this case our fear is irrational because we fear it will happen again. Many phobias are based on childhood fears of the same occurrence happening all over again.

Sometimes these fears are locked away in our memories and are triggered by the events of the day. Fears locked in our memory bank are generally based on the lie that it will happen again. Once the Lord heals that memory and the lie is broken, the fear disappears. If a fear has you in bondage, seek the Lord as to its origin. Once the origin is recognized, pick up your stone and slay that giant.

Did you know that the phrase “fear not” is recorded 63 times in the Old and New Testaments. The first time it is used is when God spoke to Abraham in a vision. The vision came after Abraham had just rescued his neighbors and was the victor against four worldly kings in the territory of the Jordan valley. Perhaps Abraham was concerned that these Eastern Kings would rebuild their forces and retaliate at some point. Perhaps he was wondering about his future in a world of unrighteous leaders.

These words of the Lord must have comforted him greatly. “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord exhorts Israel and says, “Fear not for I am with you.” Again and again throughout the scriptures the Lord exhorts each one of us not to fear because He is everything that we need.

The final time it is written is in the first chapter of Revelation during John’s encounter with Yeshua. When John saw Yeshua he fell at His feet as if John was dead, and the Lord touched him and said, “Fear not, I am the Aleph and the Tav."

Yeshua is the beginning of all that we need, He is the center of all our needs and He is the end of everything that we have need of. Yeshua is the essence of Love. His love for us, as well as our love for him, will cast out all fear eventually.

As we grow in Messiah and learn to trust Him more and more our fears will diminish, and through the power of the Holy Spirit; fear will be replaced with courage.

Pray for America!

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, [and] giving of thanks, be made for all men;

For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peacable life in all godliness and honesty.

For this is good and acceptble in the sight of God our Savior.

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (Yeshua)

1 Timothy 2:1-5

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Be Blessed!

Rev. Marjorie

This months Newsletter is going be using a recent Word from the Lord as a spring board. I was in the car alone and yet this is what I heard.

"Who among you can calm the storm? Who among you can still the sea? And yet my people pray prayers birthed out of fear and anxiety. Those that walk in fear will not be sustained by my provision. Those that walk in reverent fear of the Lord will survive.”

This was not a word that was directed to me personally. I believe it is for the body of Messiah. God alone can calm the storm. He alone is able to still the sea. There may be those among us who have the authority from the Lord to do the same. Never-the-less none of us are able to do anything unless our God grants it. He is in control of all things. So what is He saying to us? He is asking us not to fear. He is asking us not to pray prayers that are based out of fear. Rather He is asking us to pray out of hearts that trust Him regardless of the circumstances. He is warning us that those who walk in fear will lose His provision. Not because He would withhold the blessing, but because fear will motivate us to move prematurely.

In these end times there will be many opportunities to be fearful. If we allow fear to motivate us to the point that we take matters into our own hands rather than wait upon the Lord, we will lose out on the provision that the Lord has planned for us. In fact fear when it is full blown will cause us to compromise and commit various sins against God. Therefore, the Lord is saying in order to survive in these end times we must have a healthy fear or reverence of God which will not waver as we wait upon His provision.

His provision may come to us in various ways. He may speak instructing what to do, He may arrange divine appointments with the right people, or He may provide supernaturally. He will not disappoint if we fear not.

What does it mean to “Fear Not”? Fear has negative and positive emotions connected to it. Fear that grips us when a speeding car approaches can be positive and have a positive reaction. Our reflex action could save our lives. On the other hand fear that controls our inaction can keep us in bondage.

I believe the Lord is saying NOT to let FEAR control our behavior. Although we may have fear to begin with, He wants us to grab onto His hand because He will walk us through our fear if we will just let Him.

Fear is Toxic to our emotions and to our bodies. Dr. Caroline Leaf in her book, Who Switched off My Brain, says that negative thoughts such as fear and anxiety releases negative chemicals that travel through the body causing damage. She goes on to say that science is now able to demonstrate the links between fear and disease, and anxiety and disease, through innovative testing.

If a sudden jolt of fear is felt, the hypothalamus secretes a hormone called CRH which doctors have dubbed the “negative emotion hormone.”

The CRH travels to the pituitary gland in the brain and stimulates the release of another stress hormone called ACTH. The ACTH then races down to the adrenal glands on top of the kidney and stimulates them to release the biochemicals cortisol and adrenaline.

When cortisol and adrenaline are allowed to race unchecked through the body, they begin to have adverse effects on the cardiovascular system causing high blood pressure, heart palpitations and even aneurysms or strokes. They attack the immune system, making it less able to do what it is designed to do, making the body more susceptible to viruses and disease.

According to Dr. Leaf the fear based emotions that release these toxic stressors are, hate, worry, anxiety, anger, hostility, rage, ill-will, resentment, frustration, impatience and irritation. Since all of these emotions are activated by fear; fear is the root then of all stress. Research shows that fear triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses, and activates more than 30 different hormones and neurotransmitters.

The good news is that conversely, scientists are also proving what our bibles have said all along. Emotions that are faith based, such as, love, joy, peace, happiness, kindness gentleness, self-control, forgiveness, and patience produce thoughts that bring healing. Since thoughts do cause illness, and are powerful enough to make us sick, then our thoughts are also powerful enough to make us healthy and well. There’s a reason that the scriptures exhort us to “Think on these things, whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, and praise worthy”. He who has created us has the formula for our chemical balance that leads to good health.

We can change the chemical responses in our brains and bodies by taking control of our thought processes. We must learn to reject negative thoughts birthed out of fear and replace them with positive thoughts based out of faith. The choice is ours to make.