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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

 

Crossroads

Almost every time we arrive at a crossroad in our lives, fear awaits us. Because, when confronted with a crossroad, we must choose between continuing on the same road or choosing a new direction for our lives, and the unpredictability of the future produces fear. Perhaps you have reached a crossroad in your job and you have to decide between staying and moving on. Maybe you are at a crossroad in a relationship and you have to decide whether to stay or leave. Regardless of the crossroad you are facing, there is that fear of missing out on something or losing what you must leave behind. There is also the fear of what lies ahead.

Paralyzed with Fear

In our lives, as followers of Jesus, we will be lead to many crossroads, and when we face these crossroads, fear will be there waiting for us. You might want out of a relationship but God is leading you to stay. Maybe you are in a relationship, but God is leading you out, and the uncertainty of the future is paralyzing you with fear. Maybe you are in a job that you know God does not want to be at but you are parallelized with fear, because you do not know if you will be able to make ends meet without that job. We are followers of Jesus, and as such, we will face many crossroads and when we find ourselves at these crossroads, the question before us will be whether we should continue following Jesus or become paralyzed with fear.

Dealing with Fear

After Jesus resurrected He presented Himself to His followers and sent them out to be His witnesses in a very hostile environment. He sent them out to testify of Himself to the same people that only weeks earlier had Him crucified. During the early stages of this endeavor, Peter and John are arrested and they are warned to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. I reiterate, they were warned by the same people that just had Jesus executed. The Bible says that Peter and John full of the Holy Spirit replied by telling them that they would not stop witnessing about what they heard and saw Jesus do. However, the rest of the disciples, who had not been arrested, became paralyzed with fear. These disciples were at a crossroad in their lives. At that moment of paralysis, they did something that every one of us should do when we find ourselves at a crossroad and we are paralyzed with fear; they gathered and they prayed.

Acts 4:31 NIV

 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

 Boldness

 Initially, when they began to pray they were paralyzed with fear. After they prayed however, they went out and spoke the word of God with boldness. The reason they suddenly went from being afraid to being bold was that just as had been the case with Peter and John, God filled them with His Spirit. The fear they felt before praying, that fear that had them paralyzed disappeared when the Spirit of God filled their lives. When you follow Jesus, He will lead you to many crossroads but if you keep your life full of His Spirit, fear will never paralyze you.

 Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

 In The book of Acts, we see two occasions in which the followers of Jesus are filled with the Holy Spirit, and on both these occasions, they were together praying. I have no doubt that God fills us with His Spirit as we maintain a personal relationship with Him. However, I am also convinced that meeting and gathering as believers to pray is “a must” if we are going to maintain that filling in our lives. Therefore, let us make it a top priority in our lives to pray together with other believers. Because at the crossroads of life, we will be paralyzed, either with fear or we will be charged with boldness by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

If you are part of Casa De Alabanza Miami, I want to strongly encourage you to join us this Friday, July 31for an evening of worship and prayer. I am sure that we are all going to leave charged by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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