ICEMANforChrist

Matthew, Chapter 8, Verse 26 He (Christ) said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. In many respects I can identify with the apostles in this verse. I have been in the sea of tribulation for the last four years. I am terrified. In the first reading of today; I feel much like Lot.  My livelihood has been taken from me and my wife’s love toward me has died; she has become a pillar of salt toward me just as Lots wife did when she looked back. My working years are behind me and I struggle for my daily bread.   Yet I know the Lord although sleeping, is in the boat with me.  I wait for the L ORD , my soul waits and I hope for his word. (Psalm 130:5)

Psalm 34, Verse 12 Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you fear of the L ORD . Today is the Feast of Peter and Paul; let us listen to church they helped establish for Christ. Be at peace and in stillness listen to what the Lord is asking you to do for Him through His church.

Mark, Chapter 5, Verse 33 The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell  down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. The woman in the chapter had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years and was ritually unclean by Jewish laws. An unclean person in general had to avoid that which was holy and take steps to return to a state of cleanness. Uncleanness placed a person in a "dangerous" condition under threat of divine retribution, even death, if the person approached the sanctuary. Uncleanness could lead to expulsion of the land's inhabitants and its peril lingered upon those who did not undergo purification. Bodily discharges (blood for women, semen for men) represented a temporary loss of strength and life and movement toward death. Because decaying corpses discharged, so natural bodily discharges were reminders of sin and death. Physical imperfections representing a movement from "life" toward "d...

Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verse 21 Indeed, so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.”

Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 27 By faith he (Moses) left Egypt, not fearing the king’s fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one  who is invisible.

Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw  that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. Moses parents must have had a great enjoyment of life for how else could they have refused to kill a beautiful child of God and be not afraid of the king’s edict. Their fear was set aside by their love and by the faith they had in the love of their God. Christ advices us in today’s gospel that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord, ‘will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Mathew 7:21) The will of the Father is that we be filled with love. God is love therefore if we are to have a covenant with God the highest and holiest point of this relationship and the very condition for eternal life is the union of the soul to God by love. Christ was reiterating that life cannot exist where the love of God is not, and the love of...

Luke, Chapter 1,Verse 65 Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.

Psalm 15, Verse 1-5 1 LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain? 2 Whoever walks without blame, doing what is right, speaking truth from the heart; 3 Who does not slander with his tongue, does no harm to a friend, never defames a neighbor; 4 Who disdains the wicked, but honors those who fear the LORD; Who keeps an oath despite the cost, 5 lends no money at interest, accepts no bribe against the innocent. In life we are always moving toward the future. Our destination is life eternal with our creator. In our little sailboat of life we tend to be either moving toward God by taking advantage of His graces which provide the wind for our sails or we do nothing but drift. Napoleon Hill noted in his manuscript on a book he never published entitled “Outwitting the devil” stated drifting was one of the tools the devil uses to keep us off tack and not sailing towards God’s mountain. A Protection against drifting lies within easy reach of every hu...

Hebrews, Chapter 10, Verse 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Psalm 34, Verse 10 Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you fear of the L ORD .

Psalm 34, Verse 10 Fear the L ORD , you his holy ones; nothing is lacking to those who fear him.

Psalm 34, Verse 8 The angel of the L ORD encamps around those who fear him, and he saves them.

Hebrews, Chapter 10, Verse 26-27 26 If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins 27 but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries.

Psalm 112, Verse 7-8 7 He shall not fear an ill report; his heart is steadfast, trusting the LORD. 8 His heart is tranquil, without fear , till at last he looks down on his foes. Today this verse was balm to my heart. I have a blended family and after the death of my former wife our children and my current spouse are at war with each other and I am trapped in the middle. I am in a situation where I am being picked apart by both parties and I am left feeling helpless, frustrated and without hope. Yet, I must continue the Lord is asking me not to fear and have a steadfast heart. I must put the matter before Him, trust Him and have a tranquil heart. The Lord asks me to realize that my foes are neither my daughters nor my wife but my foes are fear and frustration.  I need to trust him and not give into the emotional meltdowns of those around me and pray for them. Turn to the Lord in all things.

Hebrews, Chapter 2, Verse 14-15 14 Now since the children share in blood and flesh, he likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life. The devil is the author of fear. The opposite of fear is not bravery but love. Christ showed his love for us by breaking the power of the devil by overcoming death.  He showed us His love by sharing our human nature. He asks us in today’s gospel to love as He loved. ”I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34) Christ therefore restores Gods original intend to give man life eternal and voiding the death that the devil had brought into the world. The fear of death is a fear based on the false conception that death marks the end of a person’s kindred with God. Jesus deliberately allied himself with us in order to be a merciful and faithful high p...

1 Timothy, Chapter 5, Verse 20 Reprimand publicly those who do sin, so that the rest also will be afraid . It is better to scorn a child than to let them walk into real danger. If we follow the advice of Timothy we may wound someone’s pride in order to save their soul. The priest sandal that has so wounded our church is because we failed to follow this advice. Nothing ever gets better if it is ignored and left to fester. If we see someone who we know is trapped in sin out of love we must help them.   From a personal standpoint I remember I used to have a young soldier who worked for me who’s breath smelled bad and I ignored it for months. Finally my boss came to me and told me that he smelled it and told me to advise the soldier to see the dentist as it could indicate a serious dental problem. I did and the young soldier lost 4 teeth from infection that I failed to correct out of a lack of courage. If you correct someone they may hate you but they will still have th...

Colossians, Chapter 3, Verse 22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but in simplicity of heart, fearing the Lord. Paul reminds the Colossians as he did the Ephesians that we serve Christ not the rulers of this world but because the rulers are also sons of God we should obey them. Today is Flag Day; it is the day we honor the flag of our country. In the military of which I was a member for 22 years all flags fly below the US flag except the church flag on Sundays which was raised as a basic reminder to us that we owe our highest loyalty to God. I served my country with simplicity of heart and put all my efforts up to Christ as an offering using the frame of mind that ultimately I worked for Him. One of my greatest challenges mentally and physically was when I was a member of a crew of engineers that finished the construction of the South Pole Station.  I recorded my service there in a book entitled, “The Ice is Nice ...

Psalm 103, Verse 15-18 15 As for man, his days are like the grass; he blossoms like a flower in the field. 16 A wind sweeps over it and it is gone; its place knows it no more. 17 But the L ORD ’s mercy is from age to age, toward those who fear him. His salvation is for the children’s children 18 of those who keep his covenant, and remember to carry out his precepts.