Blessed Believer Series

In 1973, producers hired 26-year-old director Steven Spielberg to make a movie based on Peter Benchley's novel about shark attacks called Jaws. The movie was so scary that even to this day millions of Americans panic when they get wind that a shark might be present in their beach area. A persistent shark phobia keeps people away from the beach.

But an article in Foreign Policy magazine several years ago (2012) claims that on average less than one American (0.92 people) dies each year from a shark attack. So just in case you really need something better to worry about, here's a list of some items more likely than sharks to cause your death while living in the United States:

• Trampolines account for an average of 1.1 deaths per year.

• Roller coasters take 1.15 lives per year. So the article advises, “Keep your hands inside the car; your next thrill-ride could be to the coroner's office.”

• Vending machines account for 2.06 deaths per year. The article states, “So if those high-fat snacks don't take your life prematurely, rock or tilt that machine while looking for a freebie, and you'll be sleeping with the Pepperidge Farm goldfishes.”

• Fireworks cause 6.6 deaths per year. Although, technically, these deaths were caused more by careless and impatient people who peered into the PVC piping because the fireworks didn't seem to be igniting.

• Skydiving accidents account for 21.2 deaths per year.

• Getting crushed by a television or furniture causes an average of 26.44 deaths every year in the United States. This statistic led the comedian Stephen Colbert to issue a warning against the perils of “terrorist furniture.”

The article concludes with a challenge to face our fears and take action. After reminding us that the risk factors of smoking, poor diet, lack of physical activity, and alcohol kill 87 percent of Americans prematurely, the article urges us to get off the couch, turn off Jaws, and go for a swim (Micah Zenko, “There's Nothing in the Water…,” Foreign Policy, 8-10-12; www.PreachingToday.com).

That’s good advice, but just how do you do that? How do you face your fears and take action? How do you overcome the anxiety especially when you face more legitimate threats? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to John 20, John 20, where Jesus addresses His disciples hiding in a locked room.

They cower in fear that the authorities might arrest and execute them just like they did their Master and Teacher two nights before. A couple of Jesus’ followers earlier that day discovered His tomb empty, after which Mary told them that she saw Jesus alive. Jesus’ disciples are full of doubt and fear, not knowing what to think. Then…

John 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you” (ESV).

The resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, in His glorified body, passes through a locked door and greets them. It’s the standard greeting of the day, but pregnant with meaning in this context—“Peace be with you.” Jesus will repeat that greeting two more times in this chapter, in verse 21 and 26, which tells me He means more than just a simple “Hello!” or “Shalom.” He wants His disciples to replace their fear with His peace.

Two nights previously, as they shared their last meal together, Jesus told them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

Jesus had just won that peace for them on the cross. It’s where He defeated their greatest enemy, that old devil himself. And it’s where He paid the price to bring them peace with God. Now, He’s alive to announce that peace to the world—to you and to me!

John 20:20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord (ESV).

Joy has replaced their fear all because, Jesus came and showed them the wounds in His hands and side. He was no ghost or imposter. He was the same man the authorities had hung on a cross, now standing before them alive.

John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (ESV).

Jesus came, and now He commissions them to represent Him in the world. He sends His followers to share His message of forgiveness in the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 20:22-23 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (ESV).