Worship

Scripture

In high school health classes during the 1960s, the curriculum required Civil Defense training in the event of a nuclear holocaust.  Our teachers showed films on how to plan and provision family bomb shelters, where to go and what to do in the event of a nuclear attack, how to administer first aid to radiation wounds, and many other emergency topics.  Now those movies weren’t simply training films!  They were dramatized with melodramatic special effects: the haunting wail of air raid sirens; shocking mushroom clouds billowing violently into a reddened, smokey atmosphere; scenes of terrified civilians, bloodied and panic-stricken, racing through smoke and debris on city streets; sickening images of radiation burns and severed limbs caused by explosion trauma.  These educational films were produced not just to educate, but to terrify.

It’s cool to imagine that if Jeremiah had today’s video technology to produce a movie for the oracle against Babylon, he would have incorporated scenes like the ones above to create the most horrifying depiction of Babylon’s destruction.  Just think: If Jeremiah’s written words are laden with terrifying imagery, how much more compelling would we find an action movie enriched with special effects!

Either scenario, a nuclear holocaust in my generation or God’s wrath in Babylon’s day, would produce fear.  I can’t speak for ancient Babylon, but the fear of nuclear conflict induced by those 1960s films was real.  The question that arises about fear, though, is this: As people of faith, should we fear earthly forces and circumstances?  Should we feel guilt over having fear?

I suggest no guilt, because in our post-Eden fallen world, properly managed fear is a necessary impulse that informs our judgment and helps to keep us from danger.  What we should remember, though, is that fear must never define us, for we are children of eternal hope.  I find the lyrics of a hymn reassuring: “No pow’r of death, no scheme of man / can ever pluck [us] from His hand.”  

True, we will all have fearful moments on earth.  But we also hold to the assurance of hope, which transcends our mortality. Paul understood this hope when he wrote to the Ephesians, “ Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”  Therein lies the power that defines us in the face of fear!

Prayer

HONOR GOD

Psalm 147:1

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! How beautiful it is when we sing our praises to the beautiful God, for praise makes you lovely before Him and brings him great delight! 

Celebrate God with your praise, by doing so you fulfill what you were created for.

ASK GOD

2 Samuel 22:7

I called to the Lord in my distress; i called to my God. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached his ears. 

God is listening and hears every desperate cry

 SUBMIT TO GOD

John 14:21 TPT

Those who truly love me are those who obey my commands. Whoever passionately loves me will be passionately loved by my Father. And I will passionately love you in return and will manifest my life within you. 

 Lord help me to grow in affection towards you. Reveal yourself to me and through me to the world around me.