Fear and Truth
The peace Jesus promises does not come from the power of positive thinking but from trusting Him.
The peace Jesus promises does not come from the power of positive thinking but from trusting Him.
Chuck Swindoll has four simple words of advice for dealing with fear and they all have to do with choosing to trust the Lord instead of running scared.
God gives us wisdom so we can view life with objectivity and handle it with stability. When we place our faith in Christ we have access to wisdom through the Holy Spirit.
We live in a world where the majority is heading the wrong way. As Christians we swim upstream, against the flow who are moving away from God.
We have come to the fourth and final mental picture—a productive vine—another vivid analogy preserved for us in the Word of God. In fact, this one comes to us from the lips of Jesus as He left His disciples words of encouragement just before He was crucified. They have been recorded for us in the 15th chapter of John, a chapter that centres attention on three vital relationships the Christian must maintain.
Acceptance means you don’t make people jump through hoops—you take them as they are.
One of Jesus’ most vivid metaphors is of a vine and branches found in John 15:1–11. Pastor Chuck Swindoll unfolds the symbolism of the Father as the vinedresser, Jesus as the sustaining vine, and believers as the branches.
Like the branch of a grapevine should bear grapes, a believer should bear the fruit of a Christlike character.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” He set the ultimate example of love when He died on the cross to pay for our sins and have eternal fellowship with us. Jesus is our bridge over troubled water.
When you accept Christ as your Saviour you have someone who is always your advocate; always in your corner. And when you forgive those who hurt you, you model Christ. And you become a little more like Him.