Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

About the time of her death the woman who stood by her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer, neither did she regard it.
1 Samuel 4:20 (emphasis added)

The end of an era. That is what this birth was heralding. The woman was the wife of Phinehas, a son of the priest Eli. She was far along in her pregnancy, ready to birth any time. Then the news started coming in. The ark of the covenant had been captured by the Philistines. Taken from Israel. Her husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law were all dead. The trauma of it was so great she went into labour. Her labour did not go well. She gave birth, but was dying. She did have a son (an important thing since it meant the family line was continuing.), but she named him ‘Ichabod’ which means: the glory has departed from Israel. In fact, her last words were: “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured” (1 Samuel 4:22).

The priests of God had not been behaving as they should. Her husband and his brother. The favoured sons of Eli, the High Priest. They were ignoring God and doing whatever they felt like. They were being immoral. They were taking advantage of their position. And God wasn’t happy. Eli hadn’t done anything to reign them in. He’d said a few things to them, but not enforced what he said. Empty words. And God wasn’t happy. God lowered the boom. Every time I read of something like this in the Old Testament I am so very, very, VERY thankful for God’s Grace and Jesus’ sacrifice which paid the price for sin.

How often do we not do what the Lord tells us? How often do we agree with the world and not with the Word? Not with the moral guidelines laid down by Yahweh Lord God Most High? How often do we side with our feelings and the importance of our own thoughts? But God is merciful. God is gracious. The Holy Spirit speaks to us constantly. And if we listen, if we seek the Lord in the Word, if we realise our error and truly repent of it, we will be forgiven. No lowered boom, but a spirit broken before the Lord. Humbled and repentant. Willing to deal with the consequences of our actions and to take steps not to do it again. This is possible because Jesus paid for sin.

Sin = Punishment. That’s why Jesus came and died for us. He paid the price. Jesus’ Sacrifice = No Punishment for us. Sin’s price needed paying. Jesus paid it. That is the most beautiful thing ever done ever anywhere. We can almost read 1 Samuel 4:20 as “don’t be afraid for the Father has borne a Son”. Jesus is God’s first born son. Born to die. Born for us. Our era doesn’t have to end. Instead, we can step into HIS era. The eternal era without judgment. Born into Jesus as sons and daughters of the Father.

That sounds nice, doesn’t it? We can’t get there without Jesus. He is the ONLY way. Think that’s wrong? He said it was so. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6) Do not believe anything or anyone else. This is it. The only way. The only path. Jesus died for us. He ended the era of sin. Accept that. Enter the new era of righteousness. Without fear. Without judgment. Because Jesus paid the price. He took on the judgment.

But what about the thousands of people who died before He came? The ones who never even heard of Yahweh, God of the Jews, much less Jesus? Is that a god of love? I hear it a lot. Another excuse not to believe, right? Well, Romans 4:15 says “For the law works wrath, for where there is no law, neither is there disobedience“. And Romans 5:13 says “For until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not charged when there is no law.” What’s that? That is a Just God. That is an Honest God. That is a God of Love. If there was no way for a person to know God, know of God, or know how God wanted them to behave; they didn’t have their sins counted against them. How does that work? I have no idea. But Jesus died to pay the price of sin. All sin. Past, present, and future. All sin. Period. Jesus is the only way into Heaven. But the only people going to Hell are those who choose to be there. It’s a bit of a mystery, but the Lord God knows what He’s doing. And He is more merciful than we ever could be.

What we need to focus on is what we know. Our walk. Our responsibility. There is an age that we all come to where we know good from evil and it is different for all of us. Spiritually, there is a time where we know the truth of Jesus — and we either believe it, or not. If you have heard and believe, you have been redeemed — and should help get the message to others. If you’ve heard and reject it, well… we can only hope that you’re listening. Because God never stops whispering. He never stops bringing people across your path. He never stops the message from being proclaimed. God wants you into Heaven more than you could ever want to get there. Because He loves you more than you can possibly imagine.

Humans rejected God. God never rejected humanity. He was there counselling Cain, warning him of what he was doing. He was there with Noah, encouraging him to have less wine. He was there with David, telling him to get off the roof and go to work. He is with us today, encouraging us in many ways. God meets us where we are with all that we will accept from Him. But He doesn’t stop there. He tells us to seek His Word so that we can be renewed in our minds. Retrained. So that we will accept more from Him. And then more. That He can show Himself in ever larger ways. Deeper ways. He wants fellowship with us. He wants to protect us. It is what He has always done. It is what He will always do. We can trust in the consistency of the Lord.

God was merciful and had a plan. Jesus was the plan. His sacrifice paid for sin. His resurrection removed death’s sting. No sin. No death. All that’s left is Love and Peace. His love. His peace. Enjoy them. Choose them. Choose Christ. Now and forever. God doesn’t care so much about specific, doctrinal wording. He cares very much about the heart and what is in it. The process is simple. Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and paid the price. Believe in your heart that the Father resurrected Jesus to life. Confess out loud with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord God, the Saviour, the Anointed One of God. And you WILL be saved.

Remember, you were not born a sinner. You were born spiritually dead. Without any spiritual guidance you chose to sin. You gave yourself over to it piece by piece. By choice. In ignorance. Jesus can give you an eternal living spirit. The Holy Spirit can provide you guidance and knowledge. You can give yourself to the Lord completely and let the Word start sanctifying you day by day by day. Until you’re standing before the Father smiling, worshipping, and ready to fellowship face to face. Sin kept you from this peace. Jesus is holding it out to you today. Accept Jesus and start your discipleship. Start the journey of truly knowing Him. Pray:

‘Lord Jesus, I have heard your word. Create in me a new beginning. I declare that you are my Lord, you are my Saviour, you are my King. I declare that the power of sin, Satan, hell, and the grave is broken over my life. From now and forever, I declare that I am a child of God. In the Name of Jesus.’

Now that you have made a decision, take up your cross and follow Him. Take up the Word and read it. See what it has to say to you. Turn to it instead of turning to your habits of thought. The Holy Spirit is in you, speaking to you now out of your peace. Listen. These are the first steps into the greatest adventure there ever will be: a disciple of Jesus. Amen.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Psalm 63

God grips us. The tight and encompassing hug of a loved one is nothing compared to the grip God has on us. We are His lovers, His friends, His Bride, His body, His sons & daughters all rolled into one. He dances with us. Rejoices in us. He teaches and corrects us. He doesn’t leave us on our own floundering in left field. What parent does that? He feeds us. Cleans us. Cares for us. He instructs us. He asks for obedience. He sanctifies us. He opens the door to the Kingdom and lays before it all the mystery, majesty, and wonder. We must step through. We must use the Word to bring it into our lives. But we can’t do it from arrogance. Or greed. Humble and broken before the Lord. Knowing we can’t rely on what we think. Or what we feel. Knowing that we need the guidance of the Lord. The wisdom of the Father. Knowing there will be things that need to be cut out. Things we need to walk away from. That our constant God will help us as we step further and further down His path. We can rely on Him to care for us in trouble. Care for us in need. We can trust what the bible says. We can take it as truth. As written. Verbatim. There is so much we need to understand, and He is there for that journey. Ever present, never leaving, never forsaking. Our God. With a grip like that, how can we fear? He won’t drop us, leave us, lose us, hurt us, or forget us. Ever. EVER. He has us.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.