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Hope in the Fight Against Fear
Fear held a tight grip on my life. It wasn’t just segmented to one area for me — no, the lies and anxiety of fear spread to so many of my relationships and situations. Pause and think about how fear impacts you. What do you fear specifically, and why does that fear have such power in your life? My own struggle with fear is one of the reasons I wrote Fear and Faith. It’s not a book about a woman who has arrived, rather it’s about how I’ve learned to fight for faith. Fear is ultimately rooted in unbelief, that’s why we need faith. So, Fear and Faith is about God—it’s about his goodness, grace, sovereignty, love, wisdom, and protection. And the book is a reminder that there is One strong enough for all your fears…s
Book Study: Chapter 11, Growing in the Fear of the Lord
We’ve come to the end of what has been an incredible journey through the Bible considering how to fight our fears with faith. But the battle doesn’t end with the end of this book study. It takes the power of God and his grace made available to us through His Spirit to enable us to continue the race. So, how do we fight for faith and, essentially, how do you grow in the fear of the Lord?..
Book Study: Chapter 10, When Our Fears Come True
Read: Genesis 3
The story of the fall is all too familiar, thus this will likely be our shortest study to date. We know what happened. We know that Eve was tempted by the serpent, Adam cowardly stood by his wife and then ate the fruit from his wife, and sin entered the world. They both became completely aware of their nakedness and what was once completely pure now, instead, brought shame. They were ashamed of their nakedness and covered themselves with fig leaves. There’s much more that could be said but for now and the purposes of today’s study, this brief summary should do. But it’s the next few verses that I’d like for us to spend some time on…
Book Study: Chapter 9, The Fear of the Lord
Read Exodus 1-2:10
Quick Background Information
Our study this week looks at the story of the Hebrew midwives in the beginning of the book of Exodus. Although we won’t be able to dive into all of the historical aspects of the book, it is helpful to know the basic context of these first chapters…
Book Study: Chapter 8, Why We Can Trust God
Chapter eight in Fear and Faith is a reflection and study on the various characteristics of God. God is sovereign, wise, loving, and good. Knowing these specific attributes are true of God and that He encompasses all of them completely and perfectly can bring great peace to my heart. However, it’s easy for me to have peace in my heart when my circumstances are rather uneventful. But what happens when life’s trials begin to encroach upon my happily ever after? When I remember the Lord my faith doesn’t wane, but the moment I take my eyes off my firm foundation I begin to crumble…
Book Study: Chapter 7, Fear of Sexual Intimacy
I can’t remember a day that has gone by over the past year or two when I’ve opened my email, jumped on social media, or turned on the television and not seen at least one reference to sexual sin, sexuality, sexual identity, the sexual revolution…you name it, I’ve seen it and I think your experience probably matches my own. It’s the topic of the day, the hour. And it’s an important topic that we must address because it is affecting all aspects of our lives, society and culture. It’s something that cannot be ignored. And thankfully it’s a topic that I am seeing more women tackle as well. (I recently had a chance to answer a question about women and sexual issues at The Gospel Coalition.) Yet, it’s also such a tender, sensitive topic. Sex is deeply personal and if you’ve struggled with fear in this area in any way, you know that fear can be powerful. Today, I’d like to draw our attention to the One who already knows our struggles, invites us to come, and has grace available to us…
Book Study: Chapter 6, Fear of Physical Appearance
We’ve come to Chapter 6, which also means we are halfway through our Fear and Faith Book Study. I’ve loved reading through your comments and also spending time in the stories of the various biblical characters we’ve looked at. Time and time again we’ve seen the faithfulness of God towards unfaithful people. He is amazing!..
Book Study: Chapter 5, Fear of Not Measuring Up
Have you ever felt as if your world was crumbling and all things were stacked against you? That no matter what you do or even could think to do, there was no way to turn things to your favor. You can’t make yourself be smart enough, attain a certain status, receive the desired attention or change your appearance to look a certain way—even when you know that much of these desires are driven by worldliness. In Genesis 29, we’re introduced to the story of Leah and I imagine she felt as if her world was crumbling and all things were stacked against her…
What trumps all our fears?
The headlines are out and they are scary. But our is greater than all our fears and much greater than the headlines that keep us wondering what terrible thing might happen next…
Book Study: Chapter 3, Fear of Other Women
At first glance, you might read the “Fear of Other Women” and think I’m talking about actually being scared of other women. But that’s not what I mean. We can, however, be tempted to compare ourselves to other women, envy their lives, and judge them by distorted standards. This can lead to fearing other women instead of enjoying them as a gift God has given to us…
Book Study: Chapter 2, Fear of the Future
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem when a rich young man ran to him and knelt. The young man was eager. He knew Jesus was important. He also knew the Law. What he didn’t know, we come to find, is the depths of his own heart…
Fear and Faith Study Introduction
We are gearing up to begin the Fear and Faith book study next Tuesday, September 8. Today, I’d like to make sure you are fully prepared to begin. This study can be done alone or with a group. You can find out all the preliminary information here…
Join me for the fall Fear and Faith Study!
One of the things that I’ve repeatedly observed is the danger of isolation in the Christian life. The creeping sense that you’re alone in your struggle, temptation and sin. This is so dangerous because the truth is the exact opposite, you aren’t alone in your struggle, temptation, or sin. We won’t know this if we stay in isolation, as there’s love, strength and grace to be found in a community of believers striving and growing together…
Fear and Faith Releases Today!
Failure, rejection, sickness, losing a loved one, being alone—the fears we carry are many and heavy. Fear can be a tyrant, a bully we can’t hide from. It can paralyze our spirit, damage our relationships, and hinder our faith…
A Conversation about Fear and Faith
Over the past year, I’ve been anticipating the day when I could share more about a project I was working on called, Fear and Faith. This book is written from the perspective of one who struggles with fear and has consistently been comforted by the One who gives peace. In it, I seek to answer how God’s sovereignty, goodness, love, and wisdom affect the way we respond to our temptations to fear…
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