Fear No Fear

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

She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Proverbs 31:21 (emphasis added)

“For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you”” (Exodus 24:8). “He sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry in the same way with the blood. According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:19-22).

Be prepared has been a watchword of scouts all over the world for decades. There’s a lot of money to be made selling preparedness kits of various kinds – earthquake kits for example. Even the multi-billion dollar military budgets of the world’s nations can be put down to being prepared. All of it runs on fear. Almost no one approaches these things saying, ‘It’s wise to be prepared, so I’ll make sure I am ready.’ Almost every person, nation, and situation approaches preparing so that something doesn’t happen to you instead of being ready in case it does.

All over the world terrible things are happening. Real ones and imagined. People are being oppressed for simply being in a given location. Others are being oppressed because of their choices — whether they see them as choices or not. In both cases terrible things are being done. Human rights are an arbitrary thing. We as humans have decided we have rights and we have told each other we have them. That isn’t the truth. The truth is we have no more rights in the natural world than an animal does — because of sin. We lost our authority. We gave it up. We fell from our position to being the same as those around us. And the enemy has worked overtime to reinforce this message. So that we classify ourselves as animals. We look at our passions and emotions in the light of the animal kingdom. Our feelings have become king because those without a spirit only look at body and soul. Those without a spirit are simply part of the natural order.

But we aren’t really in the natural. We are spiritual beings. We don’t have animal kingdom rights. But because we are spiritual beings we were given something better. We were given authority. God gave us this world and everything in it. We had dominion. We gave that away and became just like everything else on the planet. No better than animals and in fact, were suddenly in danger from some of them. No rights. But once you have something, you find it hard to walk away. When you’re used to something, you don’t like being without it. We no longer had authority, so we made up rights. We decided on a series of things that our ‘ours’ as people. And we are constantly changing what they are and taking them away from each other. Which is a terrible thing that the enemy loves because it feeds into our dehumanisation. It is a terrible cycle. And it is full of fear.

But THIS woman is not afraid. She is full of confidence. Her household is covered in righteousness and grace. By the Lord’s Grace we were given the Faith to believe in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). To believe in His death for our sins and His rising from the dead to be our Living Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). Not only that it HAPPENED, but very much how it AFFECTS us. By His Grace we have been given His righteous nature which holds the authority of this world and we are given permission to use it (2 Peter 1:2-4, Matthew 28:19-20). So she did. She claimed prosperity. Her family has the right clothes to survive a winter (Matthew 7:9-11). Her family has the spiritual tools to survive a tribulation — whether it is bullets and bombs or name calling and rights (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). God has her covered (Isaiah 43:1-2). She and her family have gone to Jesus and gotten hold of the Word and read it and read it. They’ve praised and praised. They have spent time with Jesus and made a relationship with the Lord. They have the Word of God on their hearts, and minds, and tongues (Colossians 3:2-5). They are ready. And they will pray.

“You also as living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” 1 Peter 2:5. Priesthood is tied to sacrifices. We have been made priests (Revelation 1:6) and part of the jurisdiction of our priestly ministry requires offering up sacrifices unto God (Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4 and Psalm 141:2). The primary medium for offering the sacrifice of priesthood for the believer is prayer (Philippians 4:6). It is a powerful tool when strife comes our way. ”Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). This doesn’t mean heaven where the Lord dwells, but the heavens where the principalities and powers we fight dwell (Ephesians 6:12).

Binding and loosing doesn’t have to be about binding/loosing a personality. It isn’t chains to permanently keep something away, either — think of it as more of a restraining order covering a specific set of circumstances. After all, Jesus told Satan to get behind Him on more than one occasion and if anyone could bind Satan it was Jesus. But binding and loosing can be about something more than a single entity. It can be about the circumstance you are in. It can be about the situation, not the agents bringing it. The event itself. More than that, but about the RESULT. We can choose what we experience (Deuteronomy 30:15-19, John 10:10, and Romans 12:12). Prayer is the only avenue by which we — in Jesus — achieve it. Which is why prayer MUST be according to the will of God (Romans 8:15, Matthew 6:5-15).

Our weapons are not natural. Our armour isn’t natural. It’s all spiritual. Because our battle is spiritual. That is why we are helpless. We have nothing on our own (John 15:4-5). Jesus was in the same boat before He was resurrected (John 5:19). Man fell. We gave up our position. Only Jesus can give it back. Only Jesus is fully man walking in His full spirit potential (Hebrews 1:3-4). Jesus by doing what He did, becoming man, dying for sins He didn’t commit, and being resurrected again back into his godhood as a man, paid the price for sin and took back the authority we lost. Jesus has it (Matthew 28:18). We have access to it ONLY through Jesus. And Jesus? He ONLY does what His Father shows Him to do (John 5:19-20, 12:49-50). It was HIS choice and it can be OUR choice.

Since we are in Him, we ALSO can choose to only do what the Father shows us. We can pray that His will is done – and MEAN it. That what has been accomplished in Heaven through Calvary comes to pass, manifesting on the Earth. That’s what the Lord’s prayer is all about. Finding the will of God through the Word, finding out what the Lord has already done, and praying that it comes to pass on earth. That we accept it and live it. We plant that seed and stand in praise as the Lord grows it into our harvest of reality (2 Corinthians 4:18). Why do we have to fight and stand and keep our eyes on the Word and what it promises? Because Satan comes against us to try and get us to not do that (1 Thessalonians 2:18). This is why we pray and pray according to the Will and the Word of the Lord God Almighty. There are powers here to delay and come against us. Ephesians is a book that gives us the strategy by which we pray. Satan is bold. He will challenge every word God speaks to us. Only by Jesus can we hope to stand against the assault. But stand we can. Hope we can have (1 Peter 1:21) because Jesus already won the victory. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.””

The woman of our verse is not afraid. She and her household are covered by the blood of the lamb and ready to face the world in Jesus. Are you? When sickness knocks, will you fear it and worry about it and dwell on it and give into it? Or will you kick it in the teeth with scripture after scripture until it gives up and runs away? Leaving you whole and healthy and content basking in the presence of Jesus? We abide in Him so that our spirits prosper. And when our spirits prosper, all things follow including health, peace, and joy (3 John 1:2, Psalm 24:3-4, Ephesians 4:17-32). Don’t be afraid of tribulations. Be ready. Be prepared. Abide in the Word. Abide in the Lord. Walk hand in hand with Jesus. Jesus has the victory. It brings you peace. Such wonderful peace.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Hosea 11

God is more than a Father who knows how to give good gifts (Matthew 7:11). He is also a Father who participates with us. He teaches us to walk. He bends down and loosens us when we get tangled. He feeds us and He frees us from the yokes to bondage we’re tied up in before we accept Jesus. And He does it from the background. Verse 3 tells us “but they didn’t know that I healed them“. He doesn’t always tell us that He is there, but we KNOW that He NEVER leaves us (Genesis 28:15; Deuteronomy 31:8; Hebrews 13:5). He is right there. Holding our hand. Picking us up. Giving us our food. Healing our boo boos. He is a GOOD Father. Sometimes our perceptions are coloured by our own earthly Fathers or those we see portrayed in the media (news and entertainment). But the Heavenly Father isn’t bound by our broken ways. His ways are perfect and how He interacts with us is also perfect. Break free of the mould of human thinking and start seeing how He portrays Himself. He is the GOOD Father who is always there, always helping, always protecting, and always restoring. He is a good Father.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.