The headlines, “Fear Grips the Market”, help us recognize the window of opportunity. Fear is a very interesting subject. Fear will render us impotent and  you do not realize much of it is subconscious until you try to put it in words and try to analyze it!  Although fear is a psychological phenomenon it has some very real manifestations in our daily live. Fear is today's No.1 killer! Believe it or not, fear causes more sickness and more mental illness and more premature deaths than anything else on Earth! Doctors have discovered that heart muscle is actually destroyed when people are subject to great fear.

People today are afraid! They're afraid of the future, they're afraid of what's going to happen in the World, they're afraid of each other, they're afraid of social pressures, afraid of failing in school or work, afraid of being unemployed.--Afraid that they won't have enough money for their families. They worry about so many things!

Much of this type of fear,  stems from being overly concerned about one's self, one's self-preservation, self-image, what the future holds for one's self. There are many different types of worries and fears, and two of the most common concern the past and the future: Regret over the past and fear of the future.

 A lesson on how to keep such fears from affecting us can be learned from modern ocean liners: They are constructed so that the captain can press a button and lower steel doors that separate one watertight bulkhead (compartment) from another, so if the hull is pierced in a disaster it can be sealed off and the ship can stay afloat. So it should be in the "ship" of our own lives; we have to learn how to make doors come down and shut out our worries about yesterday with its mistakes and failures, and also lower another door that shuts out our needless fears of the future, so we can live for just this day alone.--Otherwise our worries may cause us to go under!

Freedom from fear

One of the greatest of all liberations for anyone is to be free from fear. And the window of opportunity is open now as we see the emptiness of pursing only material gains which crumble before our very eyes. How much better is to be set free from every type of fear, Fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, fear of enemies, fear of failure and fear of death.

Freedom from fear is Faith. Fear is the opposite of faith and without faith we can have no power. Faith and fear cannot totally occupy your mind and heart at the same time.--It's just impossible! It's like the natural law of physics that states, "Two bodies cannot occupy the same place at the same time."--And the same holds true in the spiritual. Faith is the opposite of fear, and when you have faith, you cannot fear!

Turning on the faith in your heart is like turning on the light in a room! If you go into a room and its dark, how do you get rid of the darkness? Do you try to shoo the darkness out? Do you go in with your fists and fight it? No, when you don't want darkness in the room you just turn on the light, right? You just let the light in!--And the darkness turns tail and runs! "Chase away the shades of night, by letting in God's love and light!"

 And that's how you get rid of fear!--By turning on faith! And how do you get faith?--

The source of Faith

"Faith comes by hearing the word of god!"--Romans 10:17. Faith comes and grows as you faithfully read and hear God's Word! It's the word that will strengthen you and give you more faith. So the more you read the word, the more faith you will have and the less fear you will have!

If you trust god, then you have faith and not fear. You know your heavenly father loves you and is going to take care of you and yours--your family, your future, your job, your wife, your children, your everything, if you do your best to love, obey and follow him!

The Apostle John wrote, "Perfect love casts out fear, for fear has torment."--1John 4:18. When that "perfect love" that comes from Jesus fills our lives, it crowds out this type of selfish worry and fear, and when our hearts are filled with love for others, then we don't think and worry about ourselves so much.

it's faith in Jesus that keeps us from fear. Faith in god is the best cure for fear in the world! "The lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind! For perfect love casts out all fear!"--psalm 27:1; 2timothy 1:7; 1john 4:18.

A remarkable Book

Whether you accept & believe in its teachings or not, it cannot be denied that the Bible is the most remarkable, amazing & absolutely unique book that has ever been written! of course, many people today sort of pooh-pooh & dismiss it because they cannot help but associate the bible with the largely do-nothing Christianity that they have seen, and they figure, "if that's the kind of religion the bible teaches, then no thanks!--it's not for me!"

But if you realize that the religion of love that Jesus taught, and the religious traditions that many Christians today practice have little or nothing to do with each other, then you can approach the bible without prejudice. If you have an open mind & are sincerely searching for the truth, you can sweep away all of man's false preconceived interpretations & you can delve down to the beautiful foundation of the bible & see the true plan & how things are supposed to be! you will then discover that the bible is not merely some kind of religious rulebook, but that it is the most wonderful, supernatural, miraculous, amazing, marvelous book in the whole world!--which has the answers to everything!--where we came from, how we got here, why we're here, how to survive & be happy while here, & how to love & have happiness forever!

What an amazing & remarkable book! Yet so many people today, who consider themselves so smart & so knowledgeable, ignore the bible completely! time & time again we talk to people who've been through years of college & university & have read hundreds & hundreds of books--huge tomes & volumes of textbooks, religious books, philosophical books & all kinds of books--yet have never even cracked open the bible, the most fascinating book in the world!--in which you can find almost anything: drama, love, hate, peace, war, romance, poetry, prophecy, history, mystery, etc., etc.!

Just think about it: words of wisdom from thousands of years ago, from the days before mosses! It’s such an important book & one of the oldest books in the world, yet a lot of "educated" people don't even bother to read it! They waste time on all of their complicated & confused theories while neglecting the very words of life!

 if you were going on a long journey & didn't already know the way, you would bring along a map, wouldn't you?--well, you are on a long journey, & the one who knows the way has instructed some of his men to draw a detailed map so you won't get lost & so you can make it safely to your final destina tion! To say you don't have time to read god's map, the bible, is like saying, "well, i'm in such a hurry to get there I don't have time to look at the map!"--but if you'll just take the bible & simply read it, believe it & follow it, you will be on the right road & wind up at the right place!

 And that is actually the greatest proof that the bible really is the miraculous, supernatural word of god himself--it works! So why not try it!--it's the greatest, most enduring, wisest, most truthful book in the whole world that you can really trust! I’m sure that you will find it an absolutely inexhaustible source of wisdom & knowledge, out of which you will constantly find "treasures new & old"!--beautiful! (mt.13:52)

Of course the most wonderful thing about the bible is that, through its words, we can get to know its author!--for the bible is god's great love letter to us! its life-giving words make it the greatest book in the world, with the only author in the world that can guarantee life & love & happiness & heaven forever through simply reading it & believing in its main character, the one who loved us so much that he gave his own life to save us--Jesus Christ, the son of god!

 So take the bible & sincerely pray, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy word!" (ps.119:18)--but don't get bogged down in the "begets" & genealogies of genesis, nor the Jewish history & ancient past of much of the old testament that is over & done with! Read the New Testament & the wonderful words of Jesus in the gospels--not as fairytales of the past, but as god's word for you today--& see how inspiring, uplifting, feeding & encouraging the truth of the word of god can be! In the beautiful gospel of john particularly, you will find the spiritual depths of the love of god & his salvation for you!

 Have you received god's love through Jesus? Have you tasted the wonderful, soul satisfying waters of his wonderful word? if not, receive Jesus into your heart personally by simply asking him to come into your life, to forgive you of all your sins & give you his love & peace & free gift of eternal life!--then you can not only read his word with understanding, but you'll have the love & the strength to obey it & to share his truth & love with others who need them too!

The Future

Free from uncertainty and fear we can face the future with confidence and trust. Does that mean things will get better? It sure doesn't seem like it, does it? Economic, political and social conditions appear to be rapidly deteriorating and getting worse day by day, and it is becoming more and more apparent that we face very difficult and trying days ahead! Time is running out, not just for some nations, but for the entire world!

But as bad as the present global situation is, with wars, famines, pollution, social upheavals, crime, the collapse of moral standards in countless  nations, it is reassuring to know that all these things were predicted in detail in the BIBLE thousands of years ago. We have nothing to fear even though the immediate future of the World is growing darker and blacker, and in fact is getting worse all the time, there IS hope! The near future is not so hopeful, but the future just beyond is glorious. We are in the Autum of man’s history and while its true that winter is coming and we must prepare, spring will also come with its promise of rebirth.