SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2017
of experience as an educator,
writer and performer, she
brings her talents to the UU
Fellowship.
The UU Fellowship, 87738
Highway 101 at Heceta Beach
Road, is wheelchair accessi-
ble. Each service concludes
with refreshments and a dia-
logue circle to explore the
questions that come up during
each service.
541-999-5083
Let Paul show you a new car or truck.
Stop by today!
2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence
(541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475
It’s amazing how many
things people can be afraid of.
There’s the fear of sickness,
job loss, failure, commitment
and public speaking. Some
people are afraid of things like
taking tests, swimming, ani-
mals, insects, heights or even
what the future holds — and
the list goes on.
Whatever the fear may be,
it’s important to know that it
does not come from God. In
fact, fear is one of the primary
weapons Satan uses to keep
people from fulfilling God’s
destiny for their lives.
So I ask you: What are you
afraid of today? Is there a situ-
ation or circumstance that
threatens to overwhelm you?
Is something stealing your
peace and causing you to
worry?
If so, I want to encourage
you to know that God sees
you, He loves you, and He
wants you to trust Him to help
you.
First John 4:18 says, “There
is no fear in love [dread does
not exist]. But perfect (com-
plete, full-grown) love drives
out fear…” (AMP).
Understanding how much
God loves us and desires to
help us is the antidote for fear.
When I think of my own
children — especially when
they were younger — there’s
almost nothing I wouldn’t do
to help them if they were in
trouble.
Or if someone tried to harm
them, they better watch out...
because no one gets between a
mom and her kids.
If we feel this way about
our children, then how do you
think God feels about us? And
unlike us, He has no limita-
tions. Nothing is impossible
with Him — He can help us in
every situation, on every occa-
sion.
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NLT) says:
“...For God has said, ‘I will
never fail you. I will never
abandon you.’ So we can say
with confidence, ‘The Lord is
my helper, so I will have no
fear. What can mere people do
to me?’”
God wants you to know that
He’s always going to take care
of you as you place Your trust
in Him — always. You don’t
have to know His exact timing
or how He will do it, but you
can be assured that He will
always meet your needs.
“Do It Afraid!”
We need to understand that
when the Lord tells us to “fear
not,” He’s not saying we will
never feel fear. We will all feel
afraid at various times in our
lives. However, He is telling
us not to allow fear to control
us and prevent us from mov-
ing forward.
True courage is moving for-
ward in the face of fear. You
still feel fear, but you are
determined — with God’s help
— to move forward anyway.
When we feel fear, we have
a choice — we can do it
afraid.
I will never forget an expe-
rience I had in the early days
of my ministry when I was
invited to speak at a confer-
ence. One of the speakers had
canceled, and I was their
replacement. Now, I wasn’t
one of the primary speakers —
they asked me to conduct one
of the smaller workshops on
the side.
When the day came, all of
the workshop speakers had to
get up on stage and share what
they would talk about the next
day. I remember the other
speakers having impressive
titles like “pastor,” “reverend,”
and so forth. But I was just
Joyce, from Fenton, Missouri
— a nobody from nowhere.
When it was my turn to
talk, I was absolutely petrified.
The 900 people in the audi-
ence looked like nine million
to me. I was so scared that
when I opened my mouth, I
couldn’t get my voice to work;
nothing came out but a
squeak.
Right then, I wanted to run
off the stage. I could hear the
enemy’s thoughts running
through my mind: What do
you think you’re doing here?
You need to go back to
Fenton!
But somehow, I managed to
begin talking and shared what
my workshop was about. The
next day, to my surprise, a lot
of people came to hear me
speak. I thank God I didn’t run
from fear that day, because I
would have forfeited the bless-
ings He had in store for me.
You see, Satan wants us to
shrink back in fear and live
tiny, useless lives. But God
desires for us to live free from
the effects of fear and live big,
fulfilling lives. He wants us to
enjoy freedom and creativity,
unhampered by fear and anxi-
ety.
In John 14:27, Jesus says,
“Peace I leave with you; My
[perfect] peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I
give to you. Do not let your
heart be troubled, nor let it be
afraid. [Let My perfect peace
calm you in every circum-
stance and give you courage
and strength for every chal-
lenge]” (AMP).
This is both a promise and a
command.
Through Jesus Christ, we
can enjoy supernatural peace
that goes beyond anything the
world can offer. But we also
have a part to play. God is say-
ing, “Don’t allow yourself to
be paralyzed with fear. Refuse
to let the enemy stop you!”
Remember, whatever you’re
facing today, God is bigger
than your worries, your prob-
lems and your fears. He knows
every one of your needs before
you ever have them, and He
delights in taking care of you.
So you can confidently say,
“The Lord is my Helper — I
will not fear!”
Spirituali-Tea to discuss spiritual past of Zoroaster
On Monday, Feb. 20, at 6:30
p.m., everyone is invited to join
a group from varied spiritual
paths to discuss Zoroaster.
Moses and Zoroaster are
universally regarded as the
fathers of (universal) monothe-
ism.
Zoroaster (the Greek name
for Zarathuctra), was probably
the younger contemporary of
Moses.
Scholarship has reached a
near consensus in rejecting the
traditional date of Zoroaster in
favour of a date between 1200
and 1000 BCE. Zoroaster, the
ancient Persian prophet, was by
profession a priest, and by call-
ing a prophet, who taught
monotheism alongside ethical
dualism.
While Moses proclaimed the
uniqueness and transcendence
of the one, true God, Zoroaster,
in the few authentic hymns of
his that have survived, vivified
the attributes of God by per-
sonifying them.
Bring any information or
thoughts about Zoroaster.
The gathering will end at 8
p.m. with prayers for the
requests left in the Prayer Pole
in the garden of the Florence
Playhouse and those shared by
the group.
For more information, call
541-590-0779.
Shoreline Christian School to host open house
Shoreline Christian School
of Florence will host an open
house for the community to
learn more about its programs
on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 5:30
p.m.
It will be a student-centered
evening with games, snacks
and an opportunity to meet
teachers and see the facility.
Enrollment is open for next
term for grades 1-8. Transfers
are easy. Shoreline Christian is
also accepting applications for
next school year for kinder-
garten through 8th grade.
Shoreline Christian is fully
accredited and is open to peo-
ple of all faiths. Students are
also welcome to sign up for a
free day of classes so they can
experience the multi-grade
environment for themselves.
Shoreline Christian School
offers individualized instruc-
tion, strong academics, mean-
ingful community service,
interactive partnerships with
other children in the communi-
ty, relevant Bible lessons and
educational field trips that inte-
grate elements of science, his-
tory, English composition and
art.
For more information on the
school and its programs, or to
register for the open house, call
principal Karen Nelson at 541-
997-5909.
The school is at 4445
Highway 101 in Florence, at
the Florence Seventh-day
Adventist Church, across from
Napa Auto Parts.
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You can be free from fear
Rabbi Podis to speak
at UU service Sunday
On Sunday, Feb. 19, at the
Florence
Unitarian
Universalist
Fellowship
(FUUF), from 10 to 11 a.m.,
Rabbi Batya Podos will deliv-
er a worship service titled: “I
Am a Stranger in a Strange
Land.”
Rabbi Podos is an ordained
maggid, a storyteller, preacher
and teacher in the Jewish tradi-
tion. With more than 30 years
9 A