Good day my friend 🙂 Let me begin by saying I hope and pray that all is going well with you in the Lord at this time.  Fall has finally come upon us and I don’t know about you but I am ready for some cooler weather. As much as I hate being cold, I am ready to wear some different type of clothes other than just shorts and a shirt everyday.

The beginning of Fall also reminds me that Halloween is just around the corner. I remember as a young boy when I used to go trick or treating and back then it was all about how much candy you were going have to eat when it was all over. I seem to remember always coming home with a pillow case full of a bunch of good stuff after trick or treating that at times seemed to last way into the New Year. The scariest costumes I recall seeing back when I went trick or treating at Halloween were people dressed up as ghosts and a few vampires, but the costume I remember seeing the most was a lot of hobo costumes.

I am amazed at how many Christians today actually celebrate Halloween. I am more amazed at the fascination Christians have today of either being frightened, or causing others to be afraid.  I listen to Christians who tell me they actually look forward going to watch movies they hope will scare them out of their minds; and it’s sad to say but those are the same people who go into counselor’s offices seeking counsel on why they are  having so many nightmares.

The scariest movies I remember watching as a child were Abbott and Costello meet either Frankenstein, the Werewolf, or the Mummy and let me tell you, they messed me up for a long time. I would rather go and watch a good ol’ Three Stooges movie or a Bugs Bunny cartoon any day than watch something that will give me nightmares for a long time and cause me to be afraid of the dark; which I am sad to say I struggle with even today.

Whether we like to admit it or not, all of us struggle with some type of fear. It may be the fear of failing, the fear of not being accepted, the fear of dying or many other types of fears.

Having something in our life that we fear is not nothing to laugh at but we can overcome our fears as we place our complete trust and hope in the Lord. Psalm 46:1-2 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” 

The Werewolf, Frankenstein, the Blob and the Mummy were some of the many things that were created by man in Hollywood studios to cause us to be fearful, and in many cases they succeeded in doing so. Because of our modern technology Hollywood is able to create even more gruesome and seemingly real things to bring fear to our lives. Jesus says in Luke 12:4-5  “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

Hollywood is now even using the things of the occult in the movies they make to bring fear into the hearts of many and hear me when I say this: the things of the occult are not something that we as Christians should play with nor take lightly. Yes, we are overcomers in the Lord and because of that we have been given the powers over the evil one, but let’s not forget that in our own strength we are no match for him.

The Apostle Paul says in Colossians 3:2 that we are to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. That being the case, why is it that as believers we also try to set or fill our minds with things that will bring us fear, fill our minds with the lusts of the flesh or cause us to envy our fellow brothers and sisters, just to name a few. 

The opposite of fear is to be brave or courageous. In Deuteronomy 31 when Moses was ready to go home to be with the Lord, he summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel he said, “Be strong and courageous. For the Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Since that promise still holds true for you and me today as believers, can we not see that it does us no good to fill our minds with things which will bring fear to our hearts and minds, for that kind of fear only brings with it discouragement and lack of hope.

Fear is a tool the enemy uses in the life of the believer to bring them to a place of defeat, a place of doubt; that is not the fear we are to have.  As believers we are to have a healthy fear of the Lord in our hearts out of our love and reverence for Him for He is God. and His love covers a multitude of sins.  The Lord would ask you and me today, what kind of fear are we looking to nurture in our lives?