Confront Your Fears
'God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.' 2 Timothy 1:7
'You are the light of the world! But if that light is under a bushel, it's lost something kind of crucial. You got to stay bright to be the light of the world.' You may not be familiar with the lyrics of the psychedelic 60s musical 'Godspell', but it's full of God's Word, based on Matthew's gospel.
The point is that if you're in the dark, you don't get a light to then just hide it away. If you've been given talents (and you have been), you've been given them by God to be used for His glory.
You'll probably be familiar with the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25:14-18, involving three servants each given different amounts to invest wisely.
When the master returns, the first two servants have doubled their investments. But the last servant who'd only been entrusted with the least amount had buried it. When asked what the deal was, he could only reply, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money.'
The master was not best pleased, to say the least: 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! Get rid of this 'play-it-safe' who won't go out on a limb' (v 24-25, 26-29 TM). Conquering the fear of failure begins with believing: 'If God is for us, who can ever be against us?' (Romans 8:31 NLT).
written by Bob Gass
'God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.' 2 Timothy 1:7
'You are the light of the world! But if that light is under a bushel, it's lost something kind of crucial. You got to stay bright to be the light of the world.' You may not be familiar with the lyrics of the psychedelic 60s musical 'Godspell', but it's full of God's Word, based on Matthew's gospel.
The point is that if you're in the dark, you don't get a light to then just hide it away. If you've been given talents (and you have been), you've been given them by God to be used for His glory.
You'll probably be familiar with the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25:14-18, involving three servants each given different amounts to invest wisely.
When the master returns, the first two servants have doubled their investments. But the last servant who'd only been entrusted with the least amount had buried it. When asked what the deal was, he could only reply, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money.'
The master was not best pleased, to say the least: 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! Get rid of this 'play-it-safe' who won't go out on a limb' (v 24-25, 26-29 TM). Conquering the fear of failure begins with believing: 'If God is for us, who can ever be against us?' (Romans 8:31 NLT).
written by Bob Gass