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We Don’t Need To Be Scared

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Even If It Is Halloween

As I write this, tomorrow is Halloween. There are a lot of scary decorations in yards and on houses as I drive through town. There are a lot of scary movies on TV. Kids will be dressing up in costumes and trick or treating. There will be scary sounds and scary things as they go from house to house.

 As scary as this can be, most people will know that there’s no real danger with these decorations and sounds…but it’s nice to know there are others close by that have our backs.

As scary as Halloween is, there is something else that’s scarier.

In Matthew 10:28 we are told, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” We should be afraid of Satan. Matthew goes on in verse 31 and tells us, “Don’t be afraid…”

We have Christ’s protection available to us every day. If we acknowledge Jesus before people, He will acknowledge us before our Father in heaven. But if we deny Christ, He will also deny us before God. (Matthew 10:32-33)

As a parent you’ve probably had situations where your kids are hounding you about something. You tell them no. They keep asking and asking. You continue to tell them no.

Then comes the question…why?

And the answer…

Because I said so!

This is because you as the parents know more than them as the kids.

This is the same thing Jesus tells us. He knows more than we do.

As we’ve been going through Isaiah, we’ve heard him warning the people and telling them what to expect if they don’t quit doing the things they are doing. As scary as this is, they don’t seem to be taking it seriously.

He goes on to tell them the peace they can have if they believe and change.

It can be hard to believe if we don’t have proof. These people were being told to believe something and they didn’t have any proof…yet. We do.

In Isaiah 61:1-2, we see what Isaiah told the people they could expect from Christ. The Lord’s spirit is upon Him. He was sent “to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release for captives, and liberation for prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and a day of vindication for our God, to comfort all who mourn…”

In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus has returned to Nazareth, where He had grown up. One Sabbath when He was at the synagogue, He was given the book of Isaiah to read from. He unrolled the scroll and read:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
    to proclaim release to the prisoners
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to liberate the oppressed,
    and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

He sat down and everyone was looking at Him. He told them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”

Like little kids we’re continually asking why. Why is this so hard? Why did this bad thing happen? Why…

And the answer…

Because Jesus said so.

The world can be a scary place. It doesn’t have to be. Jesus is our protector. We need to trust Him. He knows more than us.

Doing a Proposal for Doing a Proposal System is Out of My Comfort Zone

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But “Comfort Zone” is Just an Excuse to Not Fulfill My Purpose

There have been a few times when I stepped outside my comfort zone and the results were not what I’d hoped for. On the other hand, there have been times when I stepped out and the results were better than expected.

So, if this is the case why is it that I push back at taking chances? The comfort zone is called that precisely because that’s what it is…comfort-able.

The problem is we won’t ever achieve our purpose in life if we stay comfortable.

Living the life God wants us to live requires getting uncomfortable once and while.

There are a lot of boundaries we put up to keep ourselves from going out into the big scary world of the unknown. It’s not that these walls are bad things. They may even be good things.

I know that, in an effort to be sure that I’m prepared before I go out there, I’ve done things like trainings, classes, courses, etc. You know, to be sure that I know what I’m doing. Ray Edwards refers to this as “educrastination”. These are not bad things; we just need to be careful to not let them trap us in our comfort zone.

There’re also tool barricades. I tell myself that this new tool, gadget, program, system or process, will make me better prepared to confront the big scary unknown outside of this place of comfort.

Here’s what I do know. If I don’t go out there and do that thing that I’m scared of, I’ll never accomplish the thing that God wants me to.

Okay, okay, I’ll do it.

I’ll start working on a proposal for making a proposal system for VB Homes.

Last week I wrote that I was rethinking how my proposal system could be more helpful to contractors. I know of a couple of local contractors who got my proposal system and then didn’t use it. Why not…

I developed a system that works so well at efficiently preparing consistently accurate proposals.

Why wouldn’t every contractor want to use it?

Back to last week’s post.

After being connected with Chris Ettel of VB Homes by a mutual friend. Chris and I met a few times discussing my proposal system and I began to see that there might be some things in my system that could be changed to work better in their business.

I realized…not every contractor is the same.

At our last meeting we discussed the possibility of me designing and developing a modified version of my system that would work for them and their specific needs. He was very receptive to this idea…

Now comes the big scary, outside of my comfort zone thing.

Just like when I started doing construction, I didn’t know how to do proposals, this is the same thing. I made it through that scary thing I can make it through this one.

Here I go stepping out of my comfort zone.

I’ll let you know how that goes.

Have Faith, God is Bigger Than This

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It Doesn’t Matter What “This” Is

Life can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. Being scared or not is a choice. Nobody said it would be easy.

Choosing not to be scared is bigger than we are.

Not being scared is about having faith in God and knowing that He has our back if we’re doing things He approves of. I’m constantly reminding myself of this. It’s easy for me to get scared when attempting to do something I’m uncomfortable with. Things that are outside my comfort zone are what God is calling me to do. These are the things that make us better.

Just like Matthew 14:25-33, when the disciples were afraid in the boat during a storm. They saw Jesus walking toward them on the water, Peter said to Jesus, “if it really is You, then command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus’ answer was, “Come”. Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. When Peter’s focus left Jesus and he started thinking about the wind and the waves, he became frightened and began to sink. Peter shouted, “Lord save me!” Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. Jesus told Peter, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?” We are so much like Peter.

Peter let his faith be overcome by fear.

This doesn’t mean we should do crazy dangerous things. Before Peter stepped out on faith, he asked Jesus and got His approval. He did fine until he took his eyes off Jesus and got scared. We are so much like Peter.

Having faith doesn’t mean everything is going to go wonderfully. It means that the outcome will be. The troubles along the way make us stronger and prepare us for the future problems. In Romans 5:1-11 we’re told to enjoy our troubles, because troubles produce patience, character and hope. And hope will never disappoint us.

We are not supposed to be afraid.

God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, 2 Timothy 1:7. Don’t worry or be afraid, because God is with you, Isaiah 41:10. Where God’s love is there is no fear, 1 John 4:18.

When fighting a war, the losing side is either defeated or surrenders. If we’re fighting on God’s side, we’re going to win. There’s nothing out there that God can’t defeat. He’s bigger than everything.

The more we focus on Jesus the less we’ll be scared.