Day 53 - Do Not Fear:  God's Word of Hope for Every Day!

Our verse for today is in the Do Not Fear category of the 365 in the Bible, but it's not totally exactly one that uses the Do Not Fear words.  Nonetheless, it's in the same category.  It's Romans 5:1:

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, 

we have peace with God (we should not fear),

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And it fits into the larger context of some of the wonderfully comforting words of Paul in Romans 5:1-5, which talks about suffering, endurance, character, and hope - all the things we need to face exactly what we're facing right now!

Listen in to the video:

And Edward Mote wrote the wonderful song, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less that I talk about at the end of the video, and it's a good one to sing along with today!

Day 52 - Do Not Fear:  God's Word of Hope for Every Day!

Today's Do Not Fear is from Acts 27:24 which is a part of a larger story of Paul being brought to Rome for trial.  He and those in the ship were caught in a huge storm, even after Paul had encouraged them not to sail into the storm.  Nonetheless, they did.  And the storm was huge and they feared for their lives.  Even so, an angel appeared to Paul in the night and said these words:

Do not be afraid, Paul;

you must stand before the emperor; and indeed,

God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.

It's a great story of being in a boat in a storm if you'd like to read Acts chapter 27!  Because we, too, are in a storm right now and can learn from what Paul did!

Here's the video:

And here's a great song, "Praise You In This Storm", sung by Natalie Grant:

Day 51 - Do Not Fear:  God's Word of Hope for Every Day!

In today's Do Not Fear reading we're introduced to Eutychus, the Patron Saint of Sermon Sleepers!  It's from Acts 20:5-12.

He was a young lad, and was in an crowded upper room while Paul was preaching late into the evening, and the poor guy fell asleep and fell out of the third story window!  Suffice it to say, it almost (well, maybe it did) kill him, but then our Do Not Fear verse kicks in:

But Paul went down, and bending over him 

took him in his arms, and said,

 “Do not fear, for his life is in him.” 

Listen in to the video for more details!

Here's a very sweet video of a 93 year old gal singing One Day At a Time.  Don't you wish you could sing that well?

Day 50 - Do Not Fear:  God's Word of Hope for Every Day!

Today our Do Not Fear comes to us from Acts 18:5-11, which I encourage you to read before listening to the video.  Paul had just arrived in Corinth and was preaching in the synagogues but was having no success at all, in fact, he was so frustrated with them that he told them he was sick of them and was going to go to the Gentiles!  But in his frustration, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said these encouraging words:

"Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent;

for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you,

for there are many in this city who are my people."

The angel encouraged Paul to be brave, speak up, don't give up, because God is with him.  Really good words for us to hear today!  Here's the video:

And here's a great video, "Listen To Our Hearts" by Casting Crowns.  Enjoy!

Day 49 - Do Not Fear:  God's Word of Hope for Every Day!

Today's Do Not Fear is a wonderful verse from Daniel 10:19-20.  Verse 19 is one to be memorized!  Here it is:

"Do not be afraid, greatly beloved, you are safe. 

Be strong and courageous."

When he spoke to me I was strengthened and said,

"Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me!"

Tomorrow we go back to the New Testament for the final 10 days, but this is a wonderful verse with which to leave the Old Testament.  One to be memorized!  "Do not be afraid, greatly beloved, you are safe. Be strong and courageous.

Here's the video:

Here's a familiar song from Matt Maher called, "Lord I Need You."  I hope you enjoy singing along!

Day 48 - Do Not Fear:  God's Word of Hope for Every Day!

Today's verse is from Daniel 10:12, which reads in this way:

Do not be afraid, Daniel.  

Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding 

and to humble yourself before your God, 

your words were heard, 

and I have come in response to them.

Such great words of promise, and so much there!  Think about how we pray today, and listen to the video for some thoughts on that!

And here's a very familiar song to us at Zion - Wonderful, Merciful Savior, so sing along!

Day 47 - Do Not Fear:  God's Word of Hope for Every Day!

Our verse for today is Jeremiah 42:11, set within the context of the leaders of Judah coming to Jeremiah to confirm something they had decided that they wanted God's confirmation on.  Hmmmm...it's usually best to ask God about something before you decide about it, don't you think?  Listen in, and read the first 17 verses of Jeremiah 42 to get an idea of what's going on!

Here's our verse:

Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, 

as you have been; do not be afraid of him, says the Lord, 

for I am with you, to save you 

and to rescue you from his hand.

Here's the video:

And here's a wonderful old-time version of  Great is Thy Faithfulness by Austin Stone Worship: