Happy Monday

Present Fear or Present Faith! 

(I Samuel 27-31)

Those who trust in the Lord are like mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore. - Psalm 125:1-2

There's something interesting about fear. While you'd think it would diminish with age and maturity, it seems to grow bigger. Maybe it's because we're more aware of all the things that COULD happen.Take the young guy careening around the streets in his automobile. He doesn't have a fear in the world. Before I get in the car, I make sure I've got the insurance paid up, I fasten my seat belt, and I take a lot of time and trouble to make sure everything is okay.

Today's Scripture passage begins with David under the control of unwarranted fear. I can hear you saying, Unwarranted?  Wasn't King Saul out to slay him?  Yes. Wasn't Saul's army much greater in number than the men around David?  Yes.  Did not Saul's jealousy and anger burn night and day against David?  Yes.

Here's why I say his fear was unwarranted:  Didn't God choose David to be king, and didn't Samuel, under the direction of God, anoint him to be king?  Of course he did.  And that fact gives clear assurance that David would be preserved until the time came for him to ascend the throne.  He had no reason to trust Saul, but he certainly could trust the Lord.  His fear stemmed from his weakened faith. David didn't consult the Lord, he consulted his own heart, which in this instance led him astray. Young David faced Goliath with a slingshot, while Saul and the rest of the army cringed in fear.  Now David had fallen victim to the same kind of dread.

Past faith is no answer to present fear.  If we are to finish the race and end well, we can't trust our feelings, we must trust the word of the Lord.

Prayer"Lord, renew my faith in Your presence in my life today".  Amen.

When fear overtakes us, we can rest in the assurance that God has promised to be with us always -- and God never breaks a promise.

Daily Smile:
Three visitors to London climb up the tower that houses Big Ben and decide to have a contest. They're going to throw their watches off the top, run down the stairs and try to catch the watches before they hit the ground.
The first tourist throws his watch, takes three steps and hears his watch crash. The second throws his watch and takes only two steps when he hears his watch shatter.
The third tosses his watch off the tower, jogs down the stairs, goes to a candy store, buys a snack, walks back to Big Ben and catches his watch. "How did you do that?" asks one of his friends.
"My watch is 30 minutes slow."

In The News:
Massachusetts Schools to Allow Boys in Girls' Restrooms
Under a sweeping directive issued by the Massachusetts Department of Education, boys and girls who identify as the opposite sex are now allowed to use whichever school bathroom and locker room they feel most comfortable in, and schools are discouraged from using gender-based clothes and from conducting gender-based practices such as lining up children based on their sex, Baptist Press reports. The 11-page directive to the state's public schools was issued Feb. 15, supposedly in light of a new Massachusetts law that adds "gender identity" to the state's nondiscrimination code. Traditional groups argue the new law did not require such a wide-sweeping directive from the education department, but say it demonstrates the repercussions of passing any law that adds gender identity to state non-discrimination policies. "Transgenderism is only part of what same-sex marriage is plowing the way for," said Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family. Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, says the new policy puts students -- particularly girls -- in harm's way: "The School Commissioner's first duty is to protect all students ... not endanger them. The overriding issue with this new policy is that opening girls' bathrooms to boys is an invasion of privacy and a threat to all students' safety."


California Bill Seeks to Punish Boy Scouts for Prohibiting Gay Leaders, Members
A bill proposed in the California legislature seeks to punish the local chapters of the Boy Scouts of America for prohibiting homosexual leaders and members from joining the organization, the Christian News Network reports. Senate Bill 323, introduced last week by Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara, serves to revoke the tax-exempt status of any youth organization that excludes homosexuals. If passed, the bill would also keep the group from obtaining sales tax and corporate tax exemptions. Lara said he had planned to propose the bill earlier, but held off because it seemed the national headquarters of the Boy Scouts would make a decision first on whether to lift the organization's ban on homosexuals. However, when the Boy Scouts postponed the decision until May, Lara decided to step in on the state level. The gay-rights group Equality California had a part to play in pushing the bill onward; however, the Pacific Justice Institute, a Christian legal organization in Sacramento, has vowed to vigorously oppose it. "We have been warning for years that the gay lobby would eventually use tax exemptions to force non-profits to capitulate to their demands, but it's still shocking to see it actually in print and on its way to becoming law," said Brad Dacus, PJI president.


Obama Administration Urges Supreme Court to Rethink DOMA
In a legal brief submitted late last Friday, the Obama administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, WORLD reports. "The law denies to tens of thousands of same-sex couples who are legally married under state law an array of important federal benefits that are available to legally married opposite-sex couples," government lawyers wrote. DOMA does not forbid states from approving same-sex "marriage," but it prevents the federal government from recognizing those unions. In its brief, the administration also described sexual orientation as a core aspect of human identity: "Its expression, particularly in loving and committed relationships, is an 'integral part of human freedom.'" The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on DOMA on March 27, the day after it considers a challenge to California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved measure that defined marriage in the state as between one man and one woman. The Obama administration also indicated possibly weighing in on Prop 8; government lawyers have until Thursday to file a "friend of the court" brief in the case.

India: Attack on Revival Meeting Sends Christians Underground
As police looked on, militants attacked a Christian church in central India earlier this month, causing severe injuries to some and sending the pastor into hiding, World Watch Monitor reports. The assault took place during the second day of a Feb. 7-9 revival meeting at India Christian Assembly of God Church in the city of Rajnandgaon, in the overwhelmingly Hindu state of Chhattisgarh. The revival meeting included a graduation ceremony of 14 students who attended a short Bible-training program, and around 300 Christians had gathered for the event. Around 3 p.m. on the second day, a group of more than 30 young men from several Hindu nationalist groups disrupted the meeting and started to interrogate the pastor and other church leaders. "They started to manhandle and beat people, tear Bibles, abused the God of Christians and strode over children," witnesses said. More attackers joined in, beating men, women and children with sticks and iron rods and damaging church property and vehicles. "There was chaos and Christians started to flee for their lives in whichever direction they could," witnesses said. Police were summoned, but they did not intervene and "played the role of mere spectators." Attacks continued until 6 p.m., and some Christians were admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Christian leaders approached the police superintendent, who came to the scene and began an investigation. He was stymied, however, because pastor Thomas Abraham had disappeared. Police are watching the church building and are still searching for Abraham.