Apologies, True Believers - my protracted respite lapsed a bit beyond the intent of reconciling my time to my energies... in other words, "I'm ba-ack!"
Fe-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman
Be he live, or be he dead
I'll crush his bones to make my bread
Giants - shudders - the one thing that, as a child, freaked me out to no end. Sorta makes you hope the whole thing about the Nephilim (Gen.6.4; Num.13.33.esv) was blown a little outta proportion, eh?
So, fear's down the hall, moving towards the door - coming for you.
Checking under your bed, leaving the closet light on, putting away anything that reminds you of Pennywise the Clown deep into a drawer, burrowing beneath the pillows and blankets and any other stuffed animal so the Clown would eat them first... getting your brother to either sing a song or whistle so that it would preserve your own sense of safety (that way "IT" would eat him first).
Nevertheless, fear creeps in.
As children, our imaginations are laced with it (fear) - there's SO much we do not (yet, or ever?) understand. Our renderings of our fears become realized on television, in school and (sometimes) in our own homes. But, regardless of the bastions we build... fear is still there.
Then fear grows up.
As an adult - older, not necessarily wiser - our irrational childlike fears are explained away and more intense (or sublime) ones become entrenched in our day-to-day mantras. Some are as unfounded as the ones from our youth (or "utes" for "yoose guys" - ya' don' know? fahgedaboudit!). Others, albeit founded, are often blown out of proportion to our reality.
Fear wears a mask.
Fear spawns so many other emotions; and, as adults (snicker, snort), we let our fears dictate the type of person we are or are to be. It's the whole "cause-and-effect" model. Let me explain...
1) Fear that a person won't be loved could result in uncontrollable rage (anger), clingy-ness (jealousy), or low self-esteem (self-loathing).
2) Fear that a person might lose his/her job may result in the individual preferring isolation to (withdrawing from) the company of others, depression (sadness), or even lead them to manifest a false image of peace/hope (deceit or fooling one's self).
3) Fear of injury or illness would - in most cases - makes the following (more) evident: worry (anxiety), a feeling of weakness to help (helplessness), and a constant feeling of isolation (loneliness).
We don't have to be enslaved to fear (Rom.8.15.esv), to continue down that slippery slope like we have no choice - we do (sorry Calvinists). Fear does not come from God (2.Tim.1.7.esv) - fear is the absence of faith. Faith overcomes fear (Heb.11.1.esv), faith frees us to please God (Heb.11.6.esv). Remember it this way...
Folks found freed, finally find fear falls face-first for faith, for faith the Father fixed on followers of Christ forces fear to flee. MMLIA
Fe-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman
Be he live, or be he dead
I'll crush his bones to make my bread
Giants - shudders - the one thing that, as a child, freaked me out to no end. Sorta makes you hope the whole thing about the Nephilim (Gen.6.4; Num.13.33.esv) was blown a little outta proportion, eh?
So, fear's down the hall, moving towards the door - coming for you.
Checking under your bed, leaving the closet light on, putting away anything that reminds you of Pennywise the Clown deep into a drawer, burrowing beneath the pillows and blankets and any other stuffed animal so the Clown would eat them first... getting your brother to either sing a song or whistle so that it would preserve your own sense of safety (that way "IT" would eat him first).
Nevertheless, fear creeps in.
As children, our imaginations are laced with it (fear) - there's SO much we do not (yet, or ever?) understand. Our renderings of our fears become realized on television, in school and (sometimes) in our own homes. But, regardless of the bastions we build... fear is still there.
Then fear grows up.
As an adult - older, not necessarily wiser - our irrational childlike fears are explained away and more intense (or sublime) ones become entrenched in our day-to-day mantras. Some are as unfounded as the ones from our youth (or "utes" for "yoose guys" - ya' don' know? fahgedaboudit!). Others, albeit founded, are often blown out of proportion to our reality.
Fear wears a mask.
Fear spawns so many other emotions; and, as adults (snicker, snort), we let our fears dictate the type of person we are or are to be. It's the whole "cause-and-effect" model. Let me explain...
1) Fear that a person won't be loved could result in uncontrollable rage (anger), clingy-ness (jealousy), or low self-esteem (self-loathing).
2) Fear that a person might lose his/her job may result in the individual preferring isolation to (withdrawing from) the company of others, depression (sadness), or even lead them to manifest a false image of peace/hope (deceit or fooling one's self).
3) Fear of injury or illness would - in most cases - makes the following (more) evident: worry (anxiety), a feeling of weakness to help (helplessness), and a constant feeling of isolation (loneliness).
We don't have to be enslaved to fear (Rom.8.15.esv), to continue down that slippery slope like we have no choice - we do (sorry Calvinists). Fear does not come from God (2.Tim.1.7.esv) - fear is the absence of faith. Faith overcomes fear (Heb.11.1.esv), faith frees us to please God (Heb.11.6.esv). Remember it this way...
Folks found freed, finally find fear falls face-first for faith, for faith the Father fixed on followers of Christ forces fear to flee. MMLIA
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