Prompt Response: Faith is the Answer
How do you handle fear and self-doubt?
I’m not sure where I learned the two acronyms in the image above, but I know they weren’t together when I learned them. The idea of the first part is to see fear as nothing to fear. But, in truth, sometimes it really is something that can harm us or those we love, and being in fear is the normal response we need to activate our “fight or flight” response.
Whether it’s a real, worthy of fighting or evasive maneuvers, fear, or the weight of tossing our troubles around in our minds until they harm us whether they come to fruition or not, FAITH is still an answer. Faith may give you the wisdom you need for a proper fight or the direction to run for a good getaway. Or, faith may just tell you to stand your ground and be still because the battle belongs to The Lord. The hardest and easiest part is when faith tells you that nothing will change but that nothing changing also means God is still on His throne taking care of what we can’t control and of our eternity.
On that last part, I can tell you honestly that the idea of losing anyone I love and care for from this Earth is hard. Thinking of my own passage into eternity is hard. And I need statements like the one above to remind me that God’s got it all in His hands.
Still, it’s totally human to fear and doubt. In Psalm 56:3, King David didn’t say he would not fear but rather …
Psalm 56:3 BSB
[3] When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.56.3.BSB
Though, once he acknowledged that he could be afraid, he strengthened himself in The Lord and went on in verse 4 to say …
Psalm 56:4 BSB
[4] In God, whose word I praise — in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.56.4.BSB
When the roots of our fears and doubts are of our own making, they can harm us at least as much as real dangers. Recently, I spent an entire night with my lessons, blog, and sleep all negatively affected because I feared an unknown scenario where I’d received a subpoena. Not being a person who likes to defend myself even when I know I’m innocent, that postal note on a certified letter let my mind wander to many possible scenarios. The next day, I thought of better possibilities (like an old family parcel with water rights finally becoming worth something), but oh how the wandering mind can torture us until we know the truth. And at the end, not one thing I imagined matched the real reason for the letter.
So, did I put those weights of the world on a tray and hand them over to The Lord? Unfortunately, not. And He might have been extending His arms, ready to take over, the whole time. As many times as I’ve written about fear and shared miraculous testimonies, wouldn’t you think I’d know better by now? But alas, I am human and have a lot of experience that has set me up for fear and doubt—probably like everyone who reads this post.
I hope that sharing this helps someone to get through a fearful event or time a little more easily, even if it’s because you now know you’re not alone in being a person who loves and trusts God but still gives in to your fears at times. And I hope creating a visual of someone passing the weight of the world to the waiting hands of God will stay with me (and you) for the next time fear becomes a battle.
I wrote the poem below for my sister in 2015 as we both maneuvered life after losing our mom. You can find it to download in its largest size on my Flickr page at https://flic.kr/p/ybqdqj where I’ve listed a regular copyright but am happy to let people use it for personal and non-commercial purposes. Since I’ve placed it on items for sale at Zazzle, I must protect my copyright to make sure no one comes and says I took it from them, but I’m a big believer in freely I have received, so freely I will give.
(Both the image and words are by Crystal A Murray © 2015)
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🎵 Not Comfortless
![A digital image of a parchment scroll nailed to wooden planks as created by Wombo Dream AI. On the scroll are the following Bible verses: John 14:16, 18, 23 BSB
[16] And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever —
[18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
[23] Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
With a link to the Bible website at... https://bible.com/bible/3034/jhn.14.16-23.BSB I have listed this image as Creative Commons Zero (CC0) so people can share it freely since the Bible version used is also public domain.](https://crystal-writes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/image_editor_output_image-1423944457-177961460619373770593684482955.jpg?w=900)
Creation by Crystal A Murray (CC0 Use Freely)
Because we are in the midst of Shavuot (Pentecost following The Feast of Weeks), I wanted to unpack this major promise from YahShua about not leaving His disciples as comfortless orphans. When read all together, these 3 verses from John 14 say so much about who YahShua actually is, and how He revealed Himself to the disciples (and to us through the Word we have now).
I don’t know that I could ever give the amount and quality of information they have at the Hebrew for Christians website, so I’ll refer you to them for all the details on the Feast of Pentecost that happened 50 days after the Passover. I learned while studying for this that Shavuot in Judaism is kept to remember when Moses was given the Torah (Law) on Mt. Sinai. One site suggested the sound of rushing mighty wind in Acts 2:2 would’ve been like the roaring and thunder they heard on the mountain while Moses was up there, so those gathered in the upper room and Jerusalem that day may have understood the deeper meaning in it.
Acts 2:2 BSB
[2] Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/act.2.2.BSB
Whatever that sound meant to those gathered for the festival, we know what it meant to the 120 believers gathered in the Upper Room that day. It was the fulfillment of the John 14 promises, and it gave them the boldness they needed to proclaim the Gospel of Messiah YahShua from that point forward. Peter himself went from one who denied Christ in front of a few people to one who stood and boldly proclaimed His salvation to many thousands all at once. That’s what real comfort can do.
YahShua (Jesus) told the disciples that if two or three gathered in His name, He would be in the midst of them. Most of us who have followed Him for any amount of time can point to at least one instance where a gathering, small or large, included moments much like the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:32 where our hearts “burned within us” and we knew the Presence of The Lord was there. In those moments, we did not see a body with us, so that confirms the Spirit of Christ who said He would not leave us comfortless but that HE would come to us. The fullness of The Godhead dwelt in the human body of YahShua…
Colossians 2:9 BSB
[9] For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/col.2.9.BSB
… AND, the fullness of that One Spirit (from John 14:23) shows unity with The Holy Spirit even though YahShua said of Himself and The Father, “We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (Emphasis mine.)
Ephesians 4:4-6 BSB
[4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/eph.4.4-6.BSB
See, we do not have a God or High Priest that is “somewhere out there” and unable to be touched by our needs. We have a very real Savior who longs to be real to us and not just a mystery we cannot know, even though exactly how He does it may be a mystery like it says in 1 Timothy 3:16, which I really like from The Complete Jewish Bible…
1 Timothy (1 Ti) 3:16 CJB
[16] Great beyond all question is the formerly hidden truth underlying our faith: He was manifested physically and proved righteous spiritually, seen by angels and proclaimed among the nations, trusted throughout the world and raised up in glory to heaven.
https://bible.com/bible/1275/1ti.3.16.CJB
Hebrews 4:15 BSB
[15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.4.15.BSB
But one day, when every knee bows and confesses that Jesus (YahShua) is Lord (Adonai is the actual word translated to Lord here), we will be able to say, “He did not leave us comfortless, but He kept His promises to come to us whenever we called on Him.”
Philippians (Php) 2:10-11 CJB
[10] that in honor of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow — in heaven, on earth and under the earth — [11] and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai — to the glory of God the Father.
https://bible.com/bible/1275/php.2.10-11.CJB
I’ll close with this very upbeat song from way back when I was learning to follow Him as a new believer…
And one more video of a song I’ve never heard before, but I really like it, and I like the images they used …
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🎵No Fear Invited
Well, this one is turning out to be a much bigger presentation and study than I planned, so I’m not going to do the whole thing just yet. But let the Scripture above (placed on a real Indiana sunset) be an encouragement for you.
1 John 2:24, 27 BSB
[24] As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father.
[27] And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1jn.2.24-27.BSB
Remember what you have been taught from God’s Word. Search your heart for those truths God Himself has hidden there by His Spirit. Do not be misled, either in knowledge or emotion, by fearful words being shared in the name of Christ. Ask for, and practice, discernment. Paul reminds us that practicing discernment makes us better at it.
Hebrews 5:14 BSB
[14] But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.5.14.BSB
If you’ve begun to hear the fearful whispers about UFO/UAP “secrets” being revealed that will challenge your beliefs in God, plan now to not be overwhelmed by the news. Do not invite the fear to dwell in your heart. Know that God is The Creator of the WHOLE universe, so that includes any and all entities that may be outside our visual realm here on Earth. Trust The Lord and do not doubt that He has everything in His hands and in His control. He has already been to the future and nothing takes Him by surprise. No matter how anointed someone says they are or seems to be, they do not have more knowledge (gnosticism) than God or His Word, so keep your heart in The Lord, and send fear on down the road.
There is much more to say on this subject, but I want my presentations to be accurate and truthful, so I will add to this when I have spent more time in prayer and Bible study. But I wanted to get the introduction to you as I’ve been seeing more and more talk of these things, and Christians need to be prepared to carry the banner of God’s Word in comfort and strength to those who do not yet follow our Savior and may be overcome with fear. Keep yourselves in The Word and Spirit, so you will have truthful answers for any who might ask your thoughts on these teachings when they are dispensed to the masses.
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🎵 Whisper A Prayer
Recently, I did a Bible study that had a devotion for each day, and part of that devotion was a daily breath prayer. At first, I was a little concerned about the possibility of mysticism or that it was some new age idea. So, I did some research. Apparently, the idea of breath prayers goes back to at least the 1300s, and it is a way to uphold the Scripture that says to “pray without ceasing.” These prayers are short words that can be spoken with an inhale and an exhale, or in your mind in the same amount of time.
Psalms 150:6 WEBUS
[6] Let everything that has breath praise Yah! Praise Yah!
https://bible.com/bible/206/psa.150.6.WEBUS
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 WEBUS
[16] Always rejoice. [17] Pray without ceasing.
https://bible.com/bible/206/1th.5.16-17.WEBUS
There’s a great article explaining “breath prayers” with history and examples at Christianity dot com written by Mary Oelerich-Meyer. She mentions in her article that the English word inspiration comes from the Latin word ”inspirare” which means “to breathe into.” That makes the verse that says “All Scripture is God-breathed,” have a much deeper and more powerful meaning.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 WEBUS
[16] Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, [17] that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
https://bible.com/bible/206/2ti.3.16-17.WEBUS
It’s easiest to remember breath prayers by praying Scriptures or songs. For example, inhale saying, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and exhale with, “I shall not want.” Or, inhale with, “Thank You, Lord,” and exhale saying, “for saving my soul.” Anything that helps you whisper (breathe) a prayer in the morning, at noon, and in the evening like it says in the old hymn Whisper A Prayer. The song (one of my childhood favorites) reminds us that we can pray all the time, and God will answer all the time to “keep your heart in tune.” And we want to keep our hearts in tune because we know that Jesus may come in the morning, at noon, or in the evening.
So, I wanted a good way to remember some breath prayers for myself, and after trying different memory tricks, I decided to use the letters in my own first name as an acronym. I liked creating them so much that I wrote a bunch of prayers for others as well and now call them Breath Prayer Acronyms. And then I started putting them on pretty backgrounds to send to others who might need “inspiration.” For example, for the friend with cancer I’ve asked readers to pray for and his caregiving wife. The images I made for them are at the bottom after the video. There’s also an image I made using the letters for our writer’s group.
But first, here are the prayers for my own name without using an image background. And if you comment that you’d like me to write a breath prayer acronym for your name, I’ll gladly try. If I don’t know you, I’m not certain how it will come out since personalities and needs have ended up in all the acronyms I’ve written so far, but God could inspire me to write exactly what works for you without knowing anything about you. He does that sometimes. 🙂 Anyway, here’s mine…
C: Inhale: Create in me …
Exhale: A clean heart, Lord.
R: Inhale: Rose of Sharon, …
Exhale: May Your beauty flow through my soul.
Y: inhale: You are worthy, Lord, …
Exhale: Of all my praise.
S: Inhale: Save me, oh God, …
Exhale: For your Divine purpose.
T: Inhale: Teach me Your ways, …
Exhale: Your words and Your will.
A: Inhale: All of me, Jesus, …
Exhale: Wrap in all of You.
L: Inhale: Love is greatest …
Exhale: In who You are.
And here’s a video of Whisper A Prayer…
And here are the promised images…
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A Way (to Play) with Words
Since I’m in a poetry vein for April, I thought I’d create a decorated word tile poem from Magnetic Poetry® and show you how I do it.
First, go visit the Magnetic Poetry® Online website at https://magneticpoetry.com/pages/play-online
Once there, you’ll click one of the boxes to choose the set of tiles you want to work with. They are just like the ones you can get for home except that you won’t drop one and lose it until you find it under the refrigerator years later. 😂 You can choose from “Original Kit,” “Poet Kit,” “Mustache Poet,” or “Nature Poet” on the front page. Once you select your kit and go to the play page, they’ve also added “Love” and “Geek” to the selections.
On that page, you’ll have a myriad of words to play with. In addition to regular words, you’ll also notice the s, ing, r, es, and other endings you may need to create the right tense of your poetic lines. You’ll notice my “you + r” to make “your” in the above image, and the combining of in and to for “into” in one line. It’s a little bit of work lining them up (in real life kits as well), but it’s part of the creative fun. Also, the pile of word tiles you see is not all that’s available. You’ll see a button to add more words at the bottom, and it will give you a whole different batch from the same kit.
After you’ve played and created some fun lines, you can save and share it if you’re willing to give them your name and email address. If you plan to order any poetry tiles for home, you’ll likely give that to them anyway unless you choose to order from another source like Amazon. If you want to do what I did, just screenshot the whole page. But, before you do that, I recommend you move the piles of unused tiles as far away as possible, so you’ll have plenty of room for cropping your final image.
Once I’ve got my screenshot, I open the image in the Photo Studio Pro app. I can’t tell you how other programs/apps work yet because that’s all I’ve played with so far. In the app, I crop out all the extraneous page info and save just the white background with black-on-white words. It’s not bad just like that, but I like pretty papers and stuff, so my next step is to use the app’s blend menu to create a background. They have a lot of gorgeous designs to choose from, or you can choose your own images or browse an online page from Pixabay public domain images. You can even have their AI design a background for you. And then, you’ll just use the slider to make the image as dark or light as you want with your words.
Here is a collage of my screenshot, then cropped, then blended image…
I saved my original cropped image as a “project” in the app, so I can go back and play with different backgrounds if I want. And there you have it; a way to play with words. I’d love to see your creations if this technique works for you. Maybe I can create a group on Flickr (my favorite photo site) just for people doing the online poetry tiles. Now, go play with words.
Here’s one more quick set of small ones I made recently…
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🎵The Closer You Get
We had a pleasant writer’s group meeting with some beautiful poetry to celebrate April as National Poetry Month, and a wonderful devotion by my hubby. He shared a bit of the life and songs of Fanny J Crosby from her autobiography, and we shared some of our own life slices to know how to pray for each other. And since it’s been a long day with all that, I’m going to add one of her songs that goes well with the Scripture on the pretty spring image above and bid you all blessings on your Sunday and upcoming week. May you get closer to The Lord this week, and may you sense Him drawing closer to you.
Psalm 145:18 AMPC
[18] The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.
https://bible.com/bible/8/psa.145.18.AMPC
Hebrews 10:22 YLT98
[22] may we draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having the hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having the body bathed with pure water;
https://bible.com/bible/821/heb.10.22.YLT98
James 4:8 BSB
[8] Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jas.4.8.BSB
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Stained (Glass) Heart
I’m one of those people who can attract stains to my clothing with very little effort. I finally ordered my own set of dental bibs to use when I want to protect what I’m wearing from what I’m eating or drinking. The plastic coating helps a lot, but I still need to be more mindful when I’m moving food to my mouth to hit the target and not the bib. 😁 Coffee doesn’t always make that task too easy, though. ☕
But what do you do to keep your heart from getting stains? God says, through the prophet Isaiah, that He will cleanse our hearts for us…
Isaiah 1:18 WEBUS
[18] “Come now, and let’s reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
https://bible.com/bible/206/isa.1.18.WEBUS
And, though our goal is to remain stain free, when we fail, we have a Friend and Advocate who stands in our place with His own precious blood. I like the way the verse reads in the New Living Translation…
1 John 2:1 NLT
[1] My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.
https://bible.com/bible/116/1jn.2.1.NLT
YahShua can be our bib to protect our hearts from stains, as well as our detergent to cleanse them when necessary, but we are the first line of defense by keeping our own lives free from whatever would stain them. We do that by walking on the road on the other side of the narrow gate mentioned in Matthew 7:13. I made a verse image for that one years ago, but as I was tagging this, I also realized that the word “Bible” starts with the word “bib.” Isn’t that interesting? His entire Word is protection!
I’ll close this with a parody I wrote many years ago based on the song Country Roads by John Denver. I’m not sure if any parody bands have even done a song based on this, but I’d love to hear these lyrics done by someone one day…
NARROW ROAD
It's not Heaven,
Where we're livin',
But we're promised,
Someday we will leave here.
No one's old there,
In that land of ease,
Where we'll live forever,
with our Prince of Peace.
Narrow road, lead me home,
To Heaven's gates, where I belong.
My home forever, with my Savior,
Narrow Road, lead me home.
I hear His Voice in the mornings as He calls me, The Bible it reminds me of my home far away. And walking down this narrow road I get a glimpse of paradise and life His way, His best way...
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A Patriotic Heart–Daily Prompt 1850
Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?
The definition of patriot from Merriam-Webster says, “one who loves and supports their country” and includes synonyms of loyalist and nationalist. The “Did You Know” section at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patriot has some interesting history of the word. And, of course, if you’re gonna call yourself patriotic, which means to be a patriot, you should know the meaning of the word.
I wasn’t planning on responding to the prompt today, but it seemed to match the picture I’d already created, so I figured I would try. And in looking at some other responses, maybe it’s necessary. I grew up with a strong respect for our country, our flag, and our leadership–including local law enforcement. I’ve never thought it was okay for someone to flout the law of the land just because they didn’t like it. That doesn’t mean that I’ve been perfect, but it does mean I respect the law and know when I’ve done wrong and deserve consequences (with sequence, or what follows).
As a follower of YahShua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) and His holy written Scripture, I cannot use “love of country” to excuse attitudes, words, or behaviors that don’t obey God’s word. But, I also cannot use my love of God as an excuse to ignore the law of the land. I stop at red lights, and I pay my taxes. And, if I violate the law, I pay the fine or go to traffic school.
To me, patriotism doesn’t mean I love EVERY thing my country does or every decision it makes. But it does mean I stay supportive of the country as my homeland and stay grateful for the decisions I do agree with. If I disagree with something, I can vote for change. If the subject is not on the ballot, I can enlist the help of others to put it on the ballot where my vote can be counted. Violating the laws of the land, like blocking public roads, is neither patriotic nor a good use of freedom. And if consequences follow that don’t feel good, well, that’s what happens. I mean, I absolutely hate the taking of innocent lives via abortion, but I would never bomb one of the clinics that performs them. Why? Because another thing I learned as a child was that two wrongs don’t make a right.
So, yes, I am patriotic, and I’m still grateful to be an American. Years ago, I shocked some people when I went to hear Bill Clinton speak even though he was not my chosen candidate. But I wasn’t going to hear the man, I was going to hear “The President of The United States.” I respect the office and the authority regardless of who occupies the position. Sadly, it wasn’t long after that when I attended some school events for nephews and nieces and saw teachers refuse to place their hands over their hearts in respect for the flag, or our nation’s National Anthem. It was only a matter of time before students stopped learning how to respect the authority of any position from the highest position in the land to the lowest.
That change in respect was shortly before the first major school shooting incident that seemed to set up a pattern of many others. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that disrespect of law and authority, and a lack of value for human life, created that subset of attitudes. I would caution parents and teachers about repeating negative media tropes about The President or our law enforcement to children who can sponge it up and turn it into a bigger monster than anyone wants to deal with. Maybe the little parody my mom used to sing to the tune of the Pepsodent toothpaste jingle isn’t sung anymore, but those words (“You’ll wonder where your father went if he talks against The President”) were a lesson in respect that I think we could all use again.
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