A Word From Pastor Dennis– August 30, 2020

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

(2 Timothy 1:7)

What We Should Know

Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 1 that we can conquer fear and timidity by keeping our focus on the power and love that Jesus Christ has for us. It takes self discipline to conquer fear and when keep our focus and step out boldly to serve Him, we are no longer driven by fear.

Ginny and I have some dear friends (we’ll call them Arnold and Mary) who both tested positive for covid-19 in June. Arnold has been on a respirator for some time and last week they performed a tracheotomy to help his breathing along with the respirator. They also surgically implanted a feeding tube. He can’t speak or eat on his own but he is strong in his faith and now is struggling with pneumonia. Mary was never hospitalized but she has struggled with the virus at home. She is alone and nurses from the hospital call her twice a day to let her know how Arnold is doing. We talk daily and she always reminds me that she does not feel alone for she knows God is present with her and with Arnold. 

Arnold and Mary are not driven by fear. Their focus is on their faith and their faith is not something that just happened. We have known them for many years and they have always declared their faith and held strong to it. We should know that faith isn’t a tool, like a first aid kit, that we pull off the shelf when we need it. 

We see faith in action in Hebrews 11 which begins…. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”