The Berthoud Bugle: Who Do I Fear?
- berthoudfoursquare
- Sep 1
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 17
Volume 2025: Edition 41
Food for thought: Do you fear the world or God?
Hello everyone. We thank you for your love and support for our Church and our family. Please continue to pray for our church, our pastor and his leadership, and our church leaders that we may continue to share the word of God. We are so blessed and grateful for the growth in our church, the ability to share our messages and newsletters with our viewers, and the strengthening of our church family and viewers as a congregation and as individuals. We strive to bring encouragement and connection through this newsletter, which we will continue to post every 1st of the month. So, we hope you will continue to learn and grow in God's word with us.
“Let all the earth fear the LORD,
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
He commanded, and it stood forth.”
(Psalm 33:8-9)
I want to start this monthly newsletter off with an invitation to join us on Wednesday nights on Zoom, or in person, to discuss with other fellow believers on how God left us a manual to help guide our minds, souls, and spirits to reach out to our creator.
We are currently working together through the book of James; And what a blessing it has already been. We as a group are having great discussions and conversations about our inner selves, and that leads us to our topic, our question for this month's newsletter:
What do I fear?
Seems like a pretty straightforward and easy question, but these past few months have opened me up to more self-reflection than ever before. In our bible study on Wednesdays, we have just finished up the book of Galatians and we are now just getting into the book of James; and the discussions and lessons have really hit home. It has made me think about the path I am on with our savior Jesus Christ. And when I pondered my personal life and past, I not only saw how undeserving and how sinful I am, but it made me realize and see that the fear I carry every second of my life was of the world and not of the one who made me.
I could list off hundreds of examples of what I fear and why, but not one of them is our God. I keep saying to myself, “Put God first in everything,” but the truth is: until I can give up control and give myself up to Him completely, I will always live with God in second place. It is sad to say, but God knows my heart and knows my fears. He knows I fear the things of this world first and that my selfish ways continue to get in the way. I know that in order to get closer to Him, I must let go.
I know it’s only human nature to want to control our own surroundings, but the reality is we don’t. That way of thinking I carry with me every day; it slows down my growth spiritually and affects how I live every day life. I let the world and my fears dictate my life instead of living life knowing I am free, because I know Jesus set me free when He paid the ultimate price on the cross for me. Yet I live in fear instead of trusting in God’s promise to me. The best example for me was a message that our Pastor Steve just covered, and during his sermon I just happened to come across the verse that best described me:
“Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
(John 8:1-12)
This story to me is a reflection of so many sins at once. Not just the obvious sin of adultery, but the sin of pride; Pride in yourself. Thinking you are holy and worthy enough to easily point out someone else’s flaws and sin. Judging others so quickly and forgetting the sinful life you live. Quickly condemning that person and thinking you are above them, or in the right for doing so because you are not the one that is being pointed at. In all of this, thinking you were in the right, only to hear the words of our savior reminding us: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7)
What’s also amazing about this story is that it ends with a promise: that in our sin we have hope, we have life, we have him; “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”” (John 8:12)
A promise for us to know that if we let our Lord guide our ways, if we choose His path, if we just follow Him, we can walk away from our sinful life and be free. Free from sin and fear.
I know my fear makes me weak, and that my sin is always a daily reminder to do better. However, knowing this, and knowing how fear controls me, I also see how it makes me see the weakness in others, and that’s where my pride and sin come full circle and stops me from growing. Fear and sin go hand in hand. And as for me, I know it’s not just about doing better and doing good things to make up for it. Afterall, how many good deeds can I do to make up for the bad ones? Not enough. None of that is what matters though. It is the knowledge you gain from your past mistakes and the hard lessons you learn from them that leads you to what truly matters. The true lesson learned, once I let the noise of the world and its grip on me go, is that God is my only salvation, my only hope, my only light in the darkness, the only one I should revere and surrender to.
No matter how many times I try to do better, try to make up for what I’ve done, try to right the wrongs I’ve made and done to others, or try to fight the fears I carry, if the God of the heavens and earth, the savior of all mankind does not come first and I don’t bow down to Him first, and ask for mercy and forgiveness for all my wrongs, and remember that I can’t get into heaven on my behalf, it won’t matter. I must let go of control and I must fear the Lord my God.
“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”
(John 14:1-6 )
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
As this newsletter continues to grow and expand, please don’t be afraid to let us know if you are in need of prayer or support. And feel free to share your stories, your testimony, or just a quick question in the comments section below any of our links. We truly want to hear from you and do what we can to help because we are meant to be here to love, encourage, and support one another.
We are grateful to have you with us as readers, church members, and interested guests and we are always open to any suggestions and volunteers for our website, newsletter, and future activities. We hope to see you at our Sunday service and stay tuned for our coming newsletters and updates at church, at bible study, on Facebook, on our YouTube Channel, on the Wix App, and on the website.
Upcoming Events:
Special Prayers:
Continued prayer for the Salazar Family
Continued prayer for Mario for healing
Pray for Joy that the lord may heal, comfort, and strengthen her as she battles breast cancer
Pray for our Newsletter that we can continue to write through the Holy Spirit
Pray for our Pastor and our church that we may be blessed to continue to grow and share the word of God
Weekly Devotional: No Good Apart from God
Begg, Alistair. Truth for Life- Daily Devotions
Verse of the Week:
" Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
(Matthew 10:28)
Announcements:
We are having a Holiday Craft Show here at the Berthoud Foursquare Church on October 4th from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. There is no application fee to participate; we only ask for a love offering of your choice. If you would like to participate in our craft show as a Vendor, please apply below.
It is Burrito sale season! Please join us in our efforts to fundraise for the church by bringing 2 dozen burritos or baked goods to sell. Weather permitting, we will have a burrito sale every other week from 9 AM to 1:00 PM. For further details, updates, and future dates, please follow us on Facebook.
The fellowship meeting for this month will be taking place on Sunday, September 14th, after service. This meeting is an opportunity to have fun together, break bread together, and get to know one another as a church family. Please sign up to plan and lead a fellowship meeting on the Church Bulletin board.
Get Involved! There are many ways you can support our church inside and outside of service and help us reach out to our community here in Berthoud. You can help us with the newsletter, plan a fellowship meeting, lead a church activity, help keep the church clean, join in on decorating the church seasonally, design and build church floats in the winter and summer parade, play with and teach the little kids that come in, participate in bible studies, sing or play in worship, lead a bake/ craft sale, make burritos for our Burrito Sales, help maintain the church property, etc. " “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (Colossians 3:23)
We would love to send out the newsletter personally to every member and pray for and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries together as a church family. We are asking all of our members to fill out the member information card either in church or through the mail after they've received their mailed newsletter
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Questions?
For any questions or suggestions regarding our newsletter please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com
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