I’m no biblical scholar. Just an average guy. But with all that has been taking place in this world recently it does make one commiserate about things that can’t be seen with the eyes.

The trouble in our skies. The solar eclipse that crossed our country a couple years ago. The blood moons in our recent past. Earthquakes. Swarms of locusts in Africa. Now there’s a pandemic crawling slowly around the planet.

It seems like all of my childhood was filled with being terrorized by old people telling me about the end of time. I heard it so much that it ceased to alarm me anymore. Just acts of nature, I’d rationalize. Things happen every day, don’t they?

But something seems different now. Perhaps it’s the magnitude of it all.

It appears He’s trying very hard to get our attention. As far as I’m concerned, it’s working.

We have a box of rubber gloves in both vehicles. Yesterday my wife made a mask for me out of a pair of her old pajamas. She, too, is concerned.

Here it is Palm Sunday, I am studying my lesson and worshiping online. A congregation of two. Just me and my wife. Spanky doesn’t seem to be paying attention. Yeah, these are strange times.

But I’m not afraid. I am ready, not afraid. Did you realize 365 times in the Bible we’re told not to be scared. 365 “Fear Nots.” One fear not for each day of the year. Gosh, if we could just put’em in a bottle and pass one around to everybody! Wouldn’t that be something.

To get your attention most speakers will repeat something three times. If they do that it means that they are saying something they want you to remember. It’s important.

Now, the Bible (Basic Information Before Leaving Earth) tells us 365 times not to be afraid. He’s saying, “I’ve got this.”

That doesn’t mean we aren’t supposed to be stupid. He gave us a brain for a reason. We are to think. We are to be cautious. We are to be prepared.

But we are not to fear. Trust Him. He’s got this.

It’s the beginning of another week, so grab a bottle opener and pop the top on another bottle of Fear Not. There’s no reason to stay thirsty my friend.

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Rick Algood
April 5, 2020