Wednesday Festival - Don't Be Afraid

One of the myths about the Bible that I have a soft-spot for suggests that we are instructed 365 times in the Bible to "be not afraid" - one for every day of the year!  While there seems to be no scholarly evidence for this claim (and some rather creative mathematics to prove it true), it seems certain that God and God's messengers spend a lot of time encouraging humans not to be afraid.

Around the RevGals ring more than a few of us are writing about fear.

Joanna has posted an excerpt from her sermon 'We will not Fear?' in which she invites us to let go of our foreboding joy and the cushions we put on the floor in case we fall.

Martha is writing about spirituality and fear of the Lord.  You can read her thoughts about honoring God who loves even those we find difficult here.  Here's a taste:

There may be days, occasionally, when I wish I believed in that God, believed my Lord and Savior would strike down the homophobes and the racists, the pedophiles and the kidnappers, the parents who buy rifles for their kindergartners, the depravedly indifferent legislators who sell their souls to the gun lobby, and the gun lobbyists, too. 

But just as I don’t believe their God will smite me for loving another woman, I don’t believe my God will smite them. I believe our God, whose angels repeatedly tell us to NOT fear, reigns over all of us with a love so deep and wide and high that no one falls outside of it.

Angie is exploring our fear of the dark and where God might be in spiritual darkness.  It is the third in a series that she has been writing for 'Gifted for Leadership' so click through to read the whole series.

Jennifer writes about her anxiety about whether she's doing her sabbatical "right" and what is helping those voices subside.

MaryAnn writes about her recent experience of going to an Improv class.  She says she went in feeling trepidation and fear and came out feeling fizzy and alive!  It is definitely worth clicking through to the full article where she shares how what she learnt in the class relates to church life.

Life in ministry brings us up close to the sorrows and losses of many in our communities.  With generosity and courage Jennifer at View from the Rafters is sharing her current experience of losing her daughter to miscarriage.  Please stop by to offer her, her husband and family your love, prayers and presence.

If you've written something that you'd like to draw our attention to, please use the comments.  To learn how to make a link please check here