"There is no greater disease than fear
And there is no greater threat than those who weaponize it against us"
And there is no greater threat than those who weaponize it against us"
----Common Sense Evaluation [1]
Then the greatest remedy to fear is
faith for it is faith by which fear is cast out because it is faith that serves
as the foundation of courage and if faith is the foundation of courage, then a
lack of faith is the foundation of fear and cowardice.
Never have fear, cowardice, and going
along with the status quo ever been known to bring meaningful change to anything
nor change the course of history. Only
extraordinary acts of courage have done so and those extraordinary acts of
courage that have marked the most significant events in history and which have
served to change its course are those feats that were founded not just upon
courage, but faith and that faith was not in any human capabilities or in
fallible men and women limited in their capabilities and attributes, but in
that which is unfailing, without fault, and immune to corruption, and whose
power and attributes know no bounds or limits, and who is able to perform acts
of deliverance that could not come from any other means, and who is able to grant
victories that might otherwise be impossible to acquire and it was faith in Him
alone that broke the chains off of an enslaved people and made them into a
nation. (Exodus)
It was faith in Him alone that took
down a giant with a single stone (1 Sam. 17)
It was faith in Him alone that instilled courage in three men to face death on behalf of the God they worshipped and which rewarded them with deliverance from a fiery furnace (Dan. 3)
It was faith in Him alone that shut the mouths of lions (Dan. 6)
It was faith in Him alone that granted a people and a nation the courage to drive out from the land given to them by their Maker an occupying force [2]
It was faith in Him alone and their love for Him that gave the followers of a newfound faith, which was the fulfillment of a faith already established, the courage they needed to spread its message of peace and hope, even at the risk of their very lives, having full confidence that the rewards and honors of Heaven would surely await them.
It was faith in Him alone that gave the reformers the courage they needed to break off from themselves the spiritual tyranny of Papal Ceasars.
It was by faith in Him alone that produced the courage that birthed a nation by those seeking to right a series of injustices done against them by their mother nation.
And it will be by faith in Him alone that will restore that nation to the greatness envisioned by its founders.
And if our courage should fail, if we
should feel demoralized and discouraged, if apathy should begin to set in, if
cowardice should take hold, and if we should find ourselves lulled into
complacency, it is then that we need to reevaluate in what it is that we have
placed our faith in.
Leaders will disappoint us,
Influencers may deceive us,
Our own strength and intellect may fail us and we may come to the end of ourselves, but there is one who will not fail us in whom we can always place our trust, even in the most darkest and disappointing of times and that is in the Lord God who made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them and it is by His hand that captives are set free, by His power that we are delivered from our enemies, by His might that powerful and formidable adversaries fall in defeat, and by His Spirit are we uplifted and sustained.
And it is when we turn to Him and humbly
call upon His name that the spirit of fear is driven from our midst and the greatest
fear of all that He is able to drive away is the fear of death itself and we
have assurance of this because He Himself faced death and subjugated Himself to
it on our behalf to take upon Himself a demanded penalty that we could not bear
ourselves and the penalty that He took upon Himself on our behalf and which
demanded a death sentence was that of sin and it was for all of our sins that He
took upon Himself this penalty that we need not fear death; the sinless (2 Cor.
5:21, Heb. 4:15) dying on behalf of the sinner which is all of us, for as it is
written, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and
we sin in more ways than we know every day which is why our own goodness is
insufficient to deliver us from what would be an eternal death filled with an
unrelenting torment which is the sad fate of all who die in their sin and the
reason why our own goodness is insufficient for deliverance from eternal damnation
is because of sin which is ever present within us.
Sin is not merely defined by just our
actions or even the words we speak, but it is the corrupted condition of our
very nature itself which influences not just our behavior or even the words
that we speak, but also the very thoughts within our minds and the motives and
attitudes of our hearts, for when the day comes for us to stand and give an
account before our Creator, it will not be just our actions and words that we
will have to answer for. It will also be
even our inward person which will be judged but this sinful condition to which
we are subject was not what God had intended for humanity.
For God had created humanity to be
incorruptible and sinless as the world that He had initially created, He had
intended to be a world of life, light, peace, harmony, joy, happiness, and
contentment, and in which there existed a perfect harmony between God, man, and
nature and a world in which there was no evil, no death, and no suffering until
the first man Adam and the first woman Eve, who was Adam’s wife, committed an
act that would have consequences of astronomical proportion and of the likes
that even they themselves could not have anticipated and that fateful
transgression was pertaining to a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil whose fruit Adam and Eve were warned of God not to eat from lest they
should surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) but instead of heeding the warning, they
disobeyed the prohibition and ate of that forbidden fruit and just as they had
been warned of God, the sentence of death was placed upon them (Gen. 3:19) for
it was in that day when Adam and Eve ate of that forbidden fruit that sin
entered into them and from them, the sin which entered into them and brought
about their eventual deaths, was also passed down to all of mankind for all of
us are descendants of that first man and that first woman and because we are
their descendants, we have also inherited the sin that entered into them (Rom.
5:12) and because of that sin which we have inherited, we all sin in some form
or fashion and as a consequence we all die for as it is written, the wages of
sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and this is how men were turned from being that which
was without sin into that which is sinful, but the consequences of Adam’s
disobedience did not stop with just mankind but extended to all of creation;
twisting, corrupting, defiling, and distorting more than we can comprehend which
is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain to
this day (Rom. 8:19-22) and it is our very fallen nature that makes us to in
need of redemption which comes in the form of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior
who came down from Heaven, lived among us as one of us and when the time came,
offered Himself up on our behalf and in His death, purchased our redemption
with the blood that was shed upon the cross on which He was crucified and after
having died, rose again from the dead three days later that we might be
justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) if we will but call upon His name so that we might
be saved from what would otherwise be a terrifying everlasting punishment if we
will but call upon His name (Rom. 10:9, 13) and believe in our hearts that God
raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9) for it is by calling upon His name in
sincere repentance that salvation is granted and our souls made clean from sin
thereby liberating us from the threat of eternal damnation and with that
cleansing comes a new spiritual transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) that causes us to
no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those
things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven,
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty who is the source of all truth, (Jn. 14:6)
no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God, (Mt. 6:25-33)
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, (Jas. 1:5) nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
And it is this new inward transformation that reconciles us to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) from whom we had once been estranged and just as our souls are cleansed from sin and our spirits regenerated in Christ Jesus thereby liberating us from the eternal tormenting punishment that must come upon all who remain in their sins, so one day we look forward to the liberation of our bodies from death itself when our mortal and corruptible forms are transformed into that which is immortal and incorruptible and from that which is imperfect to that which is perfect (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) and lastly, creation itself will be delivered from the curse placed upon it because of sin when it is made into a new and better world (Rev. 21-22)
When we place our trust in the God
who made us, we need not dread anything else and we need not even fear death
itself. And if you reader are looking for
assurance and peace in your life and want to rest assured as to what life after
death itself has in store for you, then I urge you, if you have not done so
already, to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of
sins. It is but a sincere prayer of
repentance away:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
End notes:
1.
“Fear”, Common Sense Evaluation
https://commonsenseevaluation.com/2024/10/02/weaponized-fear/
2. 1 and 2 Maccabees
Scripture references:
1.
Exodus
2.
1 Samuel 17
3.
Daniel 3
4.
Daniel 6
5.
2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15
6.
Romans 3:23
7.
Genesis 2:16-17, 3:3
8.
Genesis 3:19
9.
Romans 5:12
10.
Romans 6:23
11.
Romans 8:19-22
12.
Romans 4:25
13. Romans 10:9, 13
14. 2 Corinthians 5:17
15. John 14:6
16. Revelation 21-22
17. Matthew 6:25-33
18. Matthew 10:28
19. James 1:5
20. 2 Corinthians 5:18
21. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
It was faith in Him alone that instilled courage in three men to face death on behalf of the God they worshipped and which rewarded them with deliverance from a fiery furnace (Dan. 3)
It was faith in Him alone that shut the mouths of lions (Dan. 6)
It was faith in Him alone that granted a people and a nation the courage to drive out from the land given to them by their Maker an occupying force [2]
It was faith in Him alone and their love for Him that gave the followers of a newfound faith, which was the fulfillment of a faith already established, the courage they needed to spread its message of peace and hope, even at the risk of their very lives, having full confidence that the rewards and honors of Heaven would surely await them.
It was faith in Him alone that gave the reformers the courage they needed to break off from themselves the spiritual tyranny of Papal Ceasars.
It was by faith in Him alone that produced the courage that birthed a nation by those seeking to right a series of injustices done against them by their mother nation.
And it will be by faith in Him alone that will restore that nation to the greatness envisioned by its founders.
Influencers may deceive us,
Our own strength and intellect may fail us and we may come to the end of ourselves, but there is one who will not fail us in whom we can always place our trust, even in the most darkest and disappointing of times and that is in the Lord God who made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them and it is by His hand that captives are set free, by His power that we are delivered from our enemies, by His might that powerful and formidable adversaries fall in defeat, and by His Spirit are we uplifted and sustained.
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty who is the source of all truth, (Jn. 14:6)
no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God, (Mt. 6:25-33)
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, (Jas. 1:5) nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
And it is this new inward transformation that reconciles us to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) from whom we had once been estranged and just as our souls are cleansed from sin and our spirits regenerated in Christ Jesus thereby liberating us from the eternal tormenting punishment that must come upon all who remain in their sins, so one day we look forward to the liberation of our bodies from death itself when our mortal and corruptible forms are transformed into that which is immortal and incorruptible and from that which is imperfect to that which is perfect (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) and lastly, creation itself will be delivered from the curse placed upon it because of sin when it is made into a new and better world (Rev. 21-22)
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
End notes:
https://commonsenseevaluation.com/2024/10/02/weaponized-fear/
13. Romans 10:9, 13
14. 2 Corinthians 5:17
15. John 14:6
16. Revelation 21-22
17. Matthew 6:25-33
18. Matthew 10:28
19. James 1:5
20. 2 Corinthians 5:18
21. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
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