Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)


Or do you think that in vain the scripture says, “The spirit which he caused to dwell in us desires jealously”?

James 4:5

Ruach HaKodesh dwells inside us (1 Corinthians 3:16). He is in us and He is jealous. Elohim is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24; Joshua 24:19; Nahum 1:2; Zechariah 1:14). This is not a negative emotion. We are YEARNED over with jealous love. The word here can also be ZEAL. It refers to an intense enthusiasm or fervor for something good, or a righteous cause. It is Ruach HaKodesh within us intensely enthusiastic about us being devoted to Elohim. It is a highly regarded passionate commitment to Elohim’s covenant and nature. It is the same zeal Jesus had both times that He cleared the Temple of ungodly commerce.

Being friends with the world is a really bad idea from this point of view. Yes, we will find things we like. Yes, we will find things that are pleasurable. But what is the HEART of those things? Is it strife and immorality? Is it simply competition (like sports)? What is the core attitude and morality of the thing? There may be some shared activities, but the world will always seek to spread (consciously or unconsciously) its influence and moral standards (which are INCREDIBLY low). Even when they try to do things that are positive, they are negative. Like calling an STD an STI because the former makes people feel dirty or stigmatised – for having a disease or infection that doesn’t occur naturally (as in two ‘clean’ people don’t spontaneously create the condition). It is always loose morals that expose you to these things. Why not leave the negative stigma and instead teach better morality? Not the way the world does things. If you’re a friend of the world instead of a salmon, you’ll end up going the same direction as everyone else.

Maybe the early followers of Jesus adopted the fish symbol because we should be fish. Going against the stream, against the current, heading upstream to where the reward is. Not downstream where the current flows. Take abortion. The arguments and debates are always about whether or not the child is a child or when conception happens or about whether women have a right to control their bodies. Why do we never switch the narrative back a bit and discuss the rights of the two people who engaged in the behaviour that created the situation? Why isn’t THAT the point of decision or contention instead of at the end result? I guarantee that if we stopped teaching people that sex was a need, a necessary part of the dating process (part of relationships at almost every stage), or part of ‘exploring’ or ‘discovering’ who we are as adult people (a process that starts in our teens), and included a lot of education about rape being wrong and totally unacceptable; the rates of pregnancy would drop drastically. The noise of the abortion debate would decrease. It would completely shift and fewer people would even be clamoring for or considering it. But that is not the direction the flow is going at any point. Since the behaviour that leads to the pregnancy is almost never discussed (whether consensual sex or rape), it’s easy for the issue of morality to be lost in the debate on rights and freedoms. It’s hard to take a moral stance on what is seen as a civic issue. Do you want to be fish and alive in the current, or do you want to be the current: dead water following the landscape.

One reason Ruach HaKodesh is with us is to keep that fire of zeal alive. To fan the coals of our love for Adonai until we can’t help but want to be like Him. Until we can’t help but adopt His morality. His passions. His point of view. To stop seeing the situations and issues we face as ‘just the way it is’. To instead think of how Adonai looks at the situations and His opinion on the behaviour we could indulge in. To inspire us to get closer to Elohim – who then seeks to get close to us. The goal? For US to be jealous of our relationship with Adonai. For us to FIGHT to protect it. To keep things away that might interfere with it. To treasure it as a very special thing to be guarded, nurtured, and grown.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Psalm 33:5

“He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the loyal love of Yahweh.” What is the default condition of our relationship with Elohim? Righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21) and justice (Ephesians 4:32). In Him we have the ability to forgive as we were forgiven, in righteous love toward each other. To spread through the WHOLE EARTH the things of the Kingdom. We can’t do this because of ourselves, but because of what HE did. What He FINISHED. That is a GOOD God right there.

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8