“Words” is a song written by the Bee Gees that came out in 1968. One of the lines states, “This world has lost its glory.” It reminds me of the many situations that arise that will take the wind out of life. The only good that can come from such experiences is that it can be an impetus to draw us to God.

John 14:1 

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.

Psalm 34:6 

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

1 Peter 5:7 

Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

 Trouble can have a purpose. Give it some thought.

Gary

The fear of opening one’s eyes is called optophobia. This phobia can be debilitating, as it makes it difficult for an individual to perform everyday tasks that require vision. The physical illustrates the spiritual as we examine Scripture.

Psalm 119:18 

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.

Mark 8:25 

Then Jesus laid His hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Don’t go through life with your eyes closed. Take a good look at Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. Give it some thought, for He said, “In the volume of the book, it is written of Me.”

Gary

Homilophobia is the fear of sermons. I don’t know who these folks are because they never show up for church. Do you have this phobia? Give me a call and I’ll run you through my twelve-step program. Here are some sermons to test you:

Acts 2:40 

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Acts 17:30-31 

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.”

I knew you could overcome this debilitating malady. Thanks for giving it some thought.

Gary

Aphenphosmphobia is the fear of being touched. Now that is a bad one. How did you handle that one after the birthing experience? Being touched is a very necessary part of living on this planet and certainly in preparation for eternity.

1 Kings 19:7

And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

Isaiah 6:7

And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”

Oh, how we need to be touched. Give it some thought.

Gary

The fear of books is called bibliophobia. It’s a specific phobia, a type of anxiety disorder, where individuals experience intense fear and anxiety related to books. Now, if you are afraid of the Bible, there is no hope for you because of the following verses.

Ephesians 2:12 

Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Romans 15:4 

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Hope is found in the Scriptures, so please overcome this dreaded phobia.

Give it some thought.

Gary

In the past when I looked across the confluence of two rivers, I often stared at the majesty of the mountain beyond. I always wanted to go over there and climb to its peak just to see what was on the other side. My brother felt the same way about it, and we planned that some day we would do it together. But time passed and we didn’t.  He died, and now it remains only one of so many regrets that clutter up the past.

My belief is that a multitude look at Scripture the same way. They are drawn to it, but will they make the move before the opportunity vanishes?

Jeremiah 29:13 

You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.

Matthew 6:33 

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Give it some consideration before it is too late.

Gary

ILLUSTRATION: In the popular comic strip “Peanuts,” Lucy asks Charlie Brown, “Why are we here on earth?”
He replies, “To make others happy.”
She ponders this for a moment and then asks, “Then why are the others here?”

Philippians 2:3 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Luke 6:31 

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Give it some thought, Lucy.

Gary