“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:18‬ ‭ESV

‬‬This has been a go to scripture for me for sometime now. I actually remember the first time that the Lord spoke it into my life. It was July 2002. I was at a youth conference in Maryland and the preaching was quite intense. I didn’t take issue with the preaching per se but how the preacher was encouraging us to step out in faith and really minister to people, people that we didn’t even know, people on the street. Anyone who knows me knows that was a super scary idea for me. That was when the Lord began to talk to me about fear and trusting Him, being confident in Him. There have been many other times that scripture has proved relevant in my life. And I can’t seem to get away from it now. I see so much fear in the world today, both in and out of the Church. “These things ought not to be brethren.”