Do Not Be Afraid: The Opposite of Fear
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."
Mark 5:36
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When we think of faith, we think of belief. And when we think of the opposite of belief, we naturally think of unbelief. Therefore, we conclude that the opposite of faith is unbelief. And from a dictionary perspective, that is true. But the Bible usually sets something besides unbelief in opposition to faith—and that is fear. From a grammatical point of view, the opposite of believing may be not believing. But from the perspective of life, the opposite of faith is fear.
Jesus demonstrated this clearly when a Jewish man begged Him to come and heal his sick daughter. On their way, friends of the man met them and said it was too late—the little girl had died. But Jesus said to the man, "Do not be afraid; only believe." Jesus didn't tell the man not to doubt—He told him not to fear. Faith and hope are focused on the future. Facing the future without faith and hope is a good reason to be fearful. Going forward, we have two choices: faith or fear.
Whether the future you are focused on is five minutes, five months, or five years away, "Do not be afraid; only believe."
The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.
George Muller
Read-thru-the-Bible
Mark 14–16
Mark 14–16
The current Turning Point T.V. Series deals with fear.
This Week’s Television Broadcast
Disapproval: The Fear of Rejection | Week of October 20, 2013
The longing for approval by man is a never-ending spiral, but with God there is acceptance as we bow our head and knee to Christ and receive His unconditional approval.
Watch the broadcast HERE
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Notice that the Turning Point devotional makes the claim that, "from the perspective of life, the opposite of faith is fear."
Whom or what do you believe in? Whom or what can you trust? It makes a HUGE difference - both in this life and in eternity.
Let me share a "secular" example. First, I ask each of you some questions.
Do you trust the media?
Do you think that what is being broadcast as "news" is always the absolute truth?
Or, do you believe that the media can be controlled by a person (e.g. dictator), ideology (e.g. liberalism), or methods; including the sleight of hand manipulation of videos, photos, sound bites, or even people?
Here are two examples I'd like to share. The first one is a bit humorous:
Proof "News" is Centralized Propaganda
HT: Commieblaster
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The second one is about the stenographer heard-round-the-world on the House floor as the bill passed by the Senate to end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling occurred.
Before It's News: What Really Happened When the House Stenographer Was Pulled Off the Floor?
What do you think about what was shown on the Fox News broadcast vs. what was shown via the video?
This Reuters article has more quotes regarding what the woman actually said on the house floor (rather than what was revealed in the elevator afterwards).
Do a search on Freemasonry. There are varied opinions about it.
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2 comments:
Reuters is part of "the media" you so despise.
What makes their account of the stenographer different?
Reuters quoted the woman - that's the difference.
Did you watch and listen to the video?
The dialogue that was broadcast by Fox News was dubbed in. How do we know? Two ways. 1. Because the stenographer said those words at the elevator. 2. She was walking away from the microphone, yet the same volume of her voice could be heard (via the dubbed in Fox video) as she was dragged off from the House floor.
It was interesting to see what was left out - namely - her exclamation about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Did you find it strange that she just suddenly, in a zombie-like trance, got up and went up to the podium after that gray haired man spoke with her and nodded? Then, he got on his phone and appears to be texting - not even paying attention to the woman as she yelled at the podium.
Strange...very strange.
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