Living Without Fear
Stories
Contents
“Living Without Fear” by Keith Wagner
“Healing the Sick” by Keith Wagner
“Actions and Truth” by John Fitzgerald
Living Without Fear
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 23
If you don’t have enough to worry about, scientists recently added another potential disaster to make us fearful. It seems that on or about April 2, 2018 a Chinese space station will supposedly crash somewhere on the earth. Debris will be traveling about 300 miles an hour and will be scattered over thousands of miles. Where they land is anyone’s guess. (As of this posting, no crash has been reported.)
Life is filled with fear. There are those who are afraid to send their children to school for fear of getting hit by gunfire. Many are purchasing tornado insurance. Very few elderly go out at night because of the possibility of getting robbed or having an automobile accident in the dark. Many folks have quit eating meat for fear of diseases. Some have quit flying and many tourists are avoiding travel to foreign countries because of the lack of protection.
Should we worry? Is society doomed to total destruction? Is there any hope? Is there any way we can live our lives without fear?
The Psalmist said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me.” This is not just a message for the dying. This is a message for everyday living. Too often the 23rd Psalm has been so sentimentalized that we miss the very essence of its message. It can and does speak to our fears today.
One time there was a small town and in the town was a church. The members of the church became very upset when a man decided to build a tavern across the street. The tavern was completed and then opened for business. The congregation decided to pray that God would intervene and remove this evil from their midst. A few months passed and a severe thunderstorm occurred. Lightning struck the tavern and it burned to the ground.
The members of the church couldn’t believe that God had anything to do with it. So, they asked their minister if he believed that God had heard their prayers and destroyed the tavern. The pastor replied, "It was an act of God, and I don’t think that our praying had anything to do with it."
Meanwhile, someone asked the tavern owner why he thought his tavern was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. He replied, "I guess God heard the prayers of the people in the church." Ironically, the tavern owner believed more in the power of God than the congregation.
In his book, Love is Letting Go of Fear, Gerald Jampolsky, tells a story about a man named Joe. It seems that Joe was overrun by a tractor, not once but twice. He suffered from bilateral spastic paralysis. He became blind, mute and motionless. He was basically in a coma and his doctors told his parents that even a miracle wouldn’t help.
His parents, however, did not give up. They trusted in the power of God and lived one day at a time. Joe slowly began to regain his speech and eventually he walked. He even helped others who were in the process of rehabilitation. Through the faith of his parents, Joe saw only the positive side of everything. He refused to be a victim. He chose to see the world through a window of trust not fear.
Psalm 23 invites us to trust not fear. It challenges us to seek light, life, strength, courage and direction from God. David knew the meaning of fear more than anyone. He was a fugitive always hiding from King Saul. At one point his life was threatened and he was the victim of many cruel plots against his life. David, however, was fearless because he learned to overcome fear through faith.
One thing the 23rd Psalm doesn’t do is eliminate the threat that exists for the sheep. It is in fact a wild and dangerous world in which we live. The psalm does not minimize the fact that trouble and danger lurks whereever we go. Try as we do to out maneuver nature or protect our lives with a myriad of security systems, we simply cannot keep every threat at bay. If a shower of debris showers the earth there is nothing we can do to stop it.
Nothing builds our faith more than to look back at the dark times. To see how God has brought us through perilous times, revealing God’s presence and providing for our every need. God has brought us this far, God will take us the rest of the way.
What we learn is that even in the most threatening of situations, God was with us. God was there providing, sheltering, leading, just like the Psalm describes. It is noteworthy to point out the significance of the verb “leads.” The same Hebrew word is found in Exodus l5:l3. There it refers to the Exodus of the Hebrews. They were on their way to a new found freedom and God was leading them.
God is leading us to a life of peace. There are no shortcuts or easy roads to take. The way is through the valleys. To live without fear is to be aware that our journey will consist of winding paths, narrow passages and wild terrain, and yes, space station debris crashing on earth. To live without fear is to have the knowledge that just as we must travel these valleys it is in these same valleys where we will find the essential resources of life. Ultimately, to live without fear is to live with assurance that on every leg of our journey, God is with us.
* * *
Living Without Fear
by Keith Wagner
Acts 4:5-12
One Friday morning at 5:30 a.m., I was called to a hospital to be with a family whose elderly father was dying. It was one of those moments in ministry when I felt very alone and all seemed hopeless. Fortunately, no one expected me to perform a miracle that would save the elderly man from dying. Even his family physician admitted his own limitations. I believe that what gave the family hope in that situation was our presence, not my ability to perform miracles.
The elderly man later died, nevertheless hope is experienced when someone cares enough to listen to our physical complaints. In this case, as sometimes happens, the medical community could do no more. The man’s life was in the hands of God.
Wholeness is not based on perfect health. Wholeness is based on faith in the ultimate power of God to be present in all circumstances. As it reads in Acts, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” Attitudes of hopelessness prevent healing and wholeness from happening. God wants to make his presence known but anxious people don’t experience God in crisis situations.
For Peter, the presence of Jesus Christ made all the difference to the man who was healed. I believe that at the heart of this passage are the words; “The one who was rejected has become the cornerstone.” In other words, the power of Christ was his faith to overcome rejection and remain steadfast. Ultimately the very stone that was rejected became the cornerstone of faith.
In the book, Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul, there is a story about Robert Miller, who lived in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Miller was a young boy who liked to play Superman. He would dress up as Clark Kent, disappear into a nearby phone booth and announce that he was Superman. One day, he stepped from the phone booth and cried out that Superman was about to take on an impossible task. Then some neighborhood kids replied, "Hey, Superman, when are you going to learn to ride a bike?" They taunted him and said, "The man of steel still uses training wheels."
Miller realized that once again he would be left behind as his friends rode off on their bicycles. He enlisted his Dad for help and after ten mishaps, he finally succeeded. He was riding, free of training wheels for the first time. But, soon the words, "You are going to fall" began to creep in and get louder and louder until sure enough, he took another spill. His father replied, "You almost had it, until you listened to fear and you fell." Frustrated by the experience, Miller said, "I quit, I don’t want to learn to ride." The caped crusader had given up. As the days passed he would glance at his bicycle parked by the garage.
One afternoon he got the notion that he could do it. He was going to ride that bike. As he grasped the handlebars, fear came over him again. He thought, "Maybe tomorrow." But, then all of the sudden he heard the laughter of his friends riding their bikes through the neighborhood. If they could do it, so could he. He gripped the handlebars with renewed determination and pushed off. He took a deep breath and began to pedal. He started out the driveway with his Superman cape flapping in the breeze. As his father stepped out the door he said, "Look dad, I’m riding." Miller had now been empowered to overcome his rejection. The breath of God propelled him and it gave him the confidence to move forward.
Those who have overcome rejection have embraced Jesus, the cornerstone of our faith. We can’t control the outcome but we can control whether or not we can face the challenges that confront us.
* * *
Action and Truth
by John Fitzgerald
1 John 3:16-24
A SERMON THAT REALLY SPEAKS
I’d rather see a sermon
Than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me
Than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil
And more willing than the ear;
Fine counsel is confusing,
But example’s always clear.
And the best of all the preachers
Are the men who live their creeds;
For to see good put in action
Is what everybody needs.
-- Edgar A. Guest
It is true as the poem suggests that words without actions are pointless. The best sermon any of us can give is an example of Christian living.
We need to remember this in face of a secular society. The main reason why Christian religion is declining in America remains that too few people live their faith.
The Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, and Love Chapter from 1 Corinthians 13 are wonderful testaments from scripture. However, if we fail to put these biblical teachings into daily living there is no reason to read them.
People want to know what a true Christian looks like in midst of a complicated and complex world. Scripture makes clear that the main challenge is being obedient to God’s commands in our walk.
Our Bible lesson from 1 John 3 articulates this task of being faithful in actions and truth. Verse 18 is our key to understanding: Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
We can be elegant in our language, but what really counts is love expressed through action. Our family, school, church, community and country would be a lot better off if Christians would practice kind deeds and loving expression. America has become a rude and crude nation on account of too many of us forgetting this lesson.
Our scripture gives an accounting of what loving action involves in Verse 17: If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
There is a large gap between rich and poor folks in our country. This gap would shrink if Christians were to heed this biblical command to share material possessions. Scripture demands of us conduct which testifies to God’s love.
The Bible says Jesus Christ laid down his life for us (Verse 16). It follows from this we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters (Verse 16). There is a statement found in many church bulletins which makes for a fitting conclusion. This statement is: Enter to worship -- depart to serve.”
*****************************************
StoryShare, April 22, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
“Living Without Fear” by Keith Wagner
“Healing the Sick” by Keith Wagner
“Actions and Truth” by John Fitzgerald
Living Without Fear
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 23
If you don’t have enough to worry about, scientists recently added another potential disaster to make us fearful. It seems that on or about April 2, 2018 a Chinese space station will supposedly crash somewhere on the earth. Debris will be traveling about 300 miles an hour and will be scattered over thousands of miles. Where they land is anyone’s guess. (As of this posting, no crash has been reported.)
Life is filled with fear. There are those who are afraid to send their children to school for fear of getting hit by gunfire. Many are purchasing tornado insurance. Very few elderly go out at night because of the possibility of getting robbed or having an automobile accident in the dark. Many folks have quit eating meat for fear of diseases. Some have quit flying and many tourists are avoiding travel to foreign countries because of the lack of protection.
Should we worry? Is society doomed to total destruction? Is there any hope? Is there any way we can live our lives without fear?
The Psalmist said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me.” This is not just a message for the dying. This is a message for everyday living. Too often the 23rd Psalm has been so sentimentalized that we miss the very essence of its message. It can and does speak to our fears today.
One time there was a small town and in the town was a church. The members of the church became very upset when a man decided to build a tavern across the street. The tavern was completed and then opened for business. The congregation decided to pray that God would intervene and remove this evil from their midst. A few months passed and a severe thunderstorm occurred. Lightning struck the tavern and it burned to the ground.
The members of the church couldn’t believe that God had anything to do with it. So, they asked their minister if he believed that God had heard their prayers and destroyed the tavern. The pastor replied, "It was an act of God, and I don’t think that our praying had anything to do with it."
Meanwhile, someone asked the tavern owner why he thought his tavern was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. He replied, "I guess God heard the prayers of the people in the church." Ironically, the tavern owner believed more in the power of God than the congregation.
In his book, Love is Letting Go of Fear, Gerald Jampolsky, tells a story about a man named Joe. It seems that Joe was overrun by a tractor, not once but twice. He suffered from bilateral spastic paralysis. He became blind, mute and motionless. He was basically in a coma and his doctors told his parents that even a miracle wouldn’t help.
His parents, however, did not give up. They trusted in the power of God and lived one day at a time. Joe slowly began to regain his speech and eventually he walked. He even helped others who were in the process of rehabilitation. Through the faith of his parents, Joe saw only the positive side of everything. He refused to be a victim. He chose to see the world through a window of trust not fear.
Psalm 23 invites us to trust not fear. It challenges us to seek light, life, strength, courage and direction from God. David knew the meaning of fear more than anyone. He was a fugitive always hiding from King Saul. At one point his life was threatened and he was the victim of many cruel plots against his life. David, however, was fearless because he learned to overcome fear through faith.
One thing the 23rd Psalm doesn’t do is eliminate the threat that exists for the sheep. It is in fact a wild and dangerous world in which we live. The psalm does not minimize the fact that trouble and danger lurks whereever we go. Try as we do to out maneuver nature or protect our lives with a myriad of security systems, we simply cannot keep every threat at bay. If a shower of debris showers the earth there is nothing we can do to stop it.
Nothing builds our faith more than to look back at the dark times. To see how God has brought us through perilous times, revealing God’s presence and providing for our every need. God has brought us this far, God will take us the rest of the way.
What we learn is that even in the most threatening of situations, God was with us. God was there providing, sheltering, leading, just like the Psalm describes. It is noteworthy to point out the significance of the verb “leads.” The same Hebrew word is found in Exodus l5:l3. There it refers to the Exodus of the Hebrews. They were on their way to a new found freedom and God was leading them.
God is leading us to a life of peace. There are no shortcuts or easy roads to take. The way is through the valleys. To live without fear is to be aware that our journey will consist of winding paths, narrow passages and wild terrain, and yes, space station debris crashing on earth. To live without fear is to have the knowledge that just as we must travel these valleys it is in these same valleys where we will find the essential resources of life. Ultimately, to live without fear is to live with assurance that on every leg of our journey, God is with us.
* * *
Living Without Fear
by Keith Wagner
Acts 4:5-12
One Friday morning at 5:30 a.m., I was called to a hospital to be with a family whose elderly father was dying. It was one of those moments in ministry when I felt very alone and all seemed hopeless. Fortunately, no one expected me to perform a miracle that would save the elderly man from dying. Even his family physician admitted his own limitations. I believe that what gave the family hope in that situation was our presence, not my ability to perform miracles.
The elderly man later died, nevertheless hope is experienced when someone cares enough to listen to our physical complaints. In this case, as sometimes happens, the medical community could do no more. The man’s life was in the hands of God.
Wholeness is not based on perfect health. Wholeness is based on faith in the ultimate power of God to be present in all circumstances. As it reads in Acts, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” Attitudes of hopelessness prevent healing and wholeness from happening. God wants to make his presence known but anxious people don’t experience God in crisis situations.
For Peter, the presence of Jesus Christ made all the difference to the man who was healed. I believe that at the heart of this passage are the words; “The one who was rejected has become the cornerstone.” In other words, the power of Christ was his faith to overcome rejection and remain steadfast. Ultimately the very stone that was rejected became the cornerstone of faith.
In the book, Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul, there is a story about Robert Miller, who lived in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Miller was a young boy who liked to play Superman. He would dress up as Clark Kent, disappear into a nearby phone booth and announce that he was Superman. One day, he stepped from the phone booth and cried out that Superman was about to take on an impossible task. Then some neighborhood kids replied, "Hey, Superman, when are you going to learn to ride a bike?" They taunted him and said, "The man of steel still uses training wheels."
Miller realized that once again he would be left behind as his friends rode off on their bicycles. He enlisted his Dad for help and after ten mishaps, he finally succeeded. He was riding, free of training wheels for the first time. But, soon the words, "You are going to fall" began to creep in and get louder and louder until sure enough, he took another spill. His father replied, "You almost had it, until you listened to fear and you fell." Frustrated by the experience, Miller said, "I quit, I don’t want to learn to ride." The caped crusader had given up. As the days passed he would glance at his bicycle parked by the garage.
One afternoon he got the notion that he could do it. He was going to ride that bike. As he grasped the handlebars, fear came over him again. He thought, "Maybe tomorrow." But, then all of the sudden he heard the laughter of his friends riding their bikes through the neighborhood. If they could do it, so could he. He gripped the handlebars with renewed determination and pushed off. He took a deep breath and began to pedal. He started out the driveway with his Superman cape flapping in the breeze. As his father stepped out the door he said, "Look dad, I’m riding." Miller had now been empowered to overcome his rejection. The breath of God propelled him and it gave him the confidence to move forward.
Those who have overcome rejection have embraced Jesus, the cornerstone of our faith. We can’t control the outcome but we can control whether or not we can face the challenges that confront us.
* * *
Action and Truth
by John Fitzgerald
1 John 3:16-24
A SERMON THAT REALLY SPEAKS
I’d rather see a sermon
Than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me
Than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil
And more willing than the ear;
Fine counsel is confusing,
But example’s always clear.
And the best of all the preachers
Are the men who live their creeds;
For to see good put in action
Is what everybody needs.
-- Edgar A. Guest
It is true as the poem suggests that words without actions are pointless. The best sermon any of us can give is an example of Christian living.
We need to remember this in face of a secular society. The main reason why Christian religion is declining in America remains that too few people live their faith.
The Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, and Love Chapter from 1 Corinthians 13 are wonderful testaments from scripture. However, if we fail to put these biblical teachings into daily living there is no reason to read them.
People want to know what a true Christian looks like in midst of a complicated and complex world. Scripture makes clear that the main challenge is being obedient to God’s commands in our walk.
Our Bible lesson from 1 John 3 articulates this task of being faithful in actions and truth. Verse 18 is our key to understanding: Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
We can be elegant in our language, but what really counts is love expressed through action. Our family, school, church, community and country would be a lot better off if Christians would practice kind deeds and loving expression. America has become a rude and crude nation on account of too many of us forgetting this lesson.
Our scripture gives an accounting of what loving action involves in Verse 17: If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
There is a large gap between rich and poor folks in our country. This gap would shrink if Christians were to heed this biblical command to share material possessions. Scripture demands of us conduct which testifies to God’s love.
The Bible says Jesus Christ laid down his life for us (Verse 16). It follows from this we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters (Verse 16). There is a statement found in many church bulletins which makes for a fitting conclusion. This statement is: Enter to worship -- depart to serve.”
*****************************************
StoryShare, April 22, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
