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Mar 28, 2023 18:30pm

Put Aside Your Fears and Worries

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Hand sanitizer has an expiration date, just like many medications and even salt.
Jesus used salt as a subject in His teaching, describing the character of a Christian to be useful.
A Christian that doesn’t fulfill his or her purpose is not useful.
Every person who calls themselves a Christian should be prepared for the work the Father has for him/her here on earth.
A Christian’s purpose is to be as Christ was, loving the Father and people in words and actions, and serving God with a wholesome attitude and true desire.
Those who ask the Lord to save them but do not fulfill their purpose are not useful.
It is important to have a deeper relationship with God and to be used by Him to further His kingdom.
The Holy Spirit came to live within believers at the moment of salvation and has gifted them in a special way to be used for God’s glory.
Christians should learn what it means to follow Jesus and teach others to do the same.
Christians should be the salt of the earth and share His name with the world.

Click, click, click… the sound of the coaster going up the track made my heart beat faster – thump, thump, thump…

With a deep breath and a smile at my husband, I tried to keep my mind from the direction I knew it would go.

“This is fun! Enjoy yourself! Everything’s fine! You love roller coasters!” my little internal pep talk continued.

“Look over the side! Wow! We are so high up here!” my husband exclaimed.

No thanks. Eyes are straight forward. Enjoy this. It’s safe.

We reach the peak. My instinct is to grab ahold of his lap bar and mine, just in case one comes undone. I roll my eyes. Like my strength could match the force of the coaster moving at top speed if something should go wrong. But somehow it makes me feel in control and better about doing this.

I try to stop the flashes that run through my head of my bar coming loose and my body being flung through the air, through the tree tops to my death below. I laugh and try to remember this is fun instead of the news anchor reporting on the death of a woman as she fell from a coaster three years ago.

Shaun laughs, enjoying the ride, and I push everything out of my mind and as we make the descent, I throw my hands in the air, letting go of the fear and scream at the top of my lungs.

When I was a kid, man, nothing bothered me! I wasn’t afraid of any of those things! I just had fun, enjoying the ride.

“And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” (Mark 10:13-16)

What does it mean to come to Jesus as a little child? Does it mean that you can only be saved at a young age?

No. Jesus was speaking to their attitudes and their ability to have faith. As children, we look to our parents for protection, provision and love. We don’t doubt them, we trust them, and we are forgiving. But as we grow, life experiences start to change our view of things. What was once innocent is now defiled. What was once fun is now full of anxiety. We begin to play through every scenario that could go wrong instead of just enjoying the moment.

To come to Jesus as an adult, we have to humble ourselves in a mighty way. We have trust issues and worries of what others think. We fear judgment and ridicule and we foresee life changes as scary and overwhelming. We have to push all of that aside and come to the Father with trust like a child.

Yesterday, a young man in my middle school class made the decision to follow Jesus. He asked his mom if he could talk to the preacher after church. Tears filled my eyes as I watched him walk down the aisle with our pastor and kneel at the altar. I prayed that his heart would be ready and willing for the Lord to save him. We stood in the foyer with his family and he came out smiling from ear to ear and hugged his mom and dad in the biggest way. We all congratulated him and shared our praises.

And then, we saw his dad grab our pastor and head to that same altar. We prayed he would surrender, just like his son had.

Moments later, he and our pastor came out to the lobby and our pastor exclaimed, “Well, there’s number 2!”

Cheers and praises were shouted and hugs and congrats ensued. But it was the hug from him to his son that was truly moving. He realized that he had to have faith, just like his son, in order to receive Jesus. All of his life experiences, worries and fears had to be put aside in that moment.

Friends, we can’t earn our way to heaven. No amount of good works will get you there (Ephesians 2:8-9). And we can’t trust that the fact that our family goes to church is enough either. There has to be complete surrender to the Lord. We must be ready and willing to completely trust that God is able to save us by His Holy Spirit.

Put aside your fears and worries that have come from life. Trust Jesus. Run to the Father, His arms are open wide and He’s ready to save you!