Fear No Fear

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

Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorized.
Isaiah 8:12 (emphasis added)

Is this a verse for our times or is it a verse for our times? Trick question. It is a verse for every time. It doesn’t matter if it is about who shot the sheriff, the president, or Dad’s new paint job. It doesn’t matter if it is about who stole from the payroll, the election, or the cheese in the fridge. It doesn’t matter if it’s about the moon landing, aliens building pyramids, or which of the relics is the real sliver of the cross. It doesn’t matter if the things are true (or have truth in them) or if the things are ridiculously false (or have falseness in them). Why? Because people love to talk and we seem to love to propagate fear. We hide it as gossip, as information, as a newscast, as entertainment, and as scientific discovery. But we love to grasp any and all fear within those conspiracies and run with it. Like very sharp scissors. Pointed at our hearts.

Fear is a perversion of faith (Genesis 2:15-3:24). Adam (male and female) had great faith. They walked with God. Talked with God. And then they decided to pervert the Word (adding to it) and gave the spirit possessing the snake the authority God had invested in Adam. They did it by believing Satan more than they believed God. By looking to Satan as their source. Immediately their faith twisted to fear. They knew shame (fear of humiliation and impropriety). When God came for the usual evening walk they hid (fear of disgrace and disrepute) because they knew they had done something that was going to bring censure and reproach and that they regretted (all shame), but could not undo. Every single time you feel fear it is proof that you were born into sin. As a believer it is not proof that you ARE sinful in nature, but that you WERE sinful in nature. Believers have new nature and it is Jesus’ righteousness, but Satan is always looking to hook you back in and the body we inhabit is hardwired to experience it.

Think about that. You have a NEW nature. One that is of FAITH. That means you never, ever, ever, EVER need to feel fear. Of any kind. Of any duration. For any reason. Ever. Every time we feel fear, we are choosing it. That’s right. You cannot do something without conceiving of it first. That’s how sin works. We conceive it in our minds, then we do it. That is why renewing our minds (Romans 12:2) is so important. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23-26). We can all sin, but do we HAVE to? No. “We know that whoever is born of God doesn’t sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him” (1 John 5:18). That’s good news. “But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies” (Matthew 15:18-19). That’s less good.

If we’re born of God, we don’t sin. But that which is in our hearts comes out of our mouths. In other words, what you think you will do in the right circumstances. That means that if we can control our minds, we can control our actions because whatever we fill ourselves with we will do and say and experience. Our minds think. Hard. Each day we process more than 70,000 thoughts. The human brain is made up of more than 10 billion nerve cells and over 50 billion other cells. It is capable of creating more ideas equivalent to that of the atoms of the universe. It is a powerful tool. How do we control something like that? How do we break the cycle? Break feeling fear and break spreading fear? Choice and words. When fear comes calling, we kick it away. How? The Word of God. With, by, and in Jesus. Period.

We are given a spirit of self-control (2 Timothy 1:7). And we have by Grace, through Faith, the ability to dwell inside Jesus. “Above all things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:14-17). [Note it said to sing with grace. Talent is not a requirement, praise God!] “My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to their whole body. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life. Put away from yourself a perverse mouth. Put corrupt lips far from you” (Proverbs 4:20-24). “These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 and 11:18-21).

If we are reading the Word every day praying for revelation knowledge and listening to what God has to say about everything we read, fear is going to have nothing to grasp. Sin will have no room in our 70,000 thoughts and 60 billion cells. Because there are hundreds of verses we can point to about not fearing. Hundreds about the love of God. Eight thousand promises by God to us. God is present all over the scripture. God is love. Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). We can bask in that love, getting close to God which we do by strengthening our faith and building our spiritual capacity which we do by reading the Word and living it out. We live it out by what we think on. We live it out with our word choices. What we choose to say about things. We hear ‘blah’ on the news and immediately say something like ‘I don’t need to worry, Jesus has me covered.’ Or ‘I was just reading in _ the other day that _ Praise Jesus!’. It doesn’t always make the storm dissipate (though it does happen, read Mark 4), but it brings supernatural peace throughout the storm (Read Psalm 91). We are NOT promised sunshine, puppies, iced cream, and dappled meadows with nuns singing as they dance. We ARE promised peace that you won’t be able to understand why there is peace while you have it and enjoy it and rest in it (Philippians 4:6).

You are going to hear all kinds of things from all kinds of people from neighbours to Internet posters to world leaders to bus drivers. Do not fear what they fear. Do not dread what they dread. Do not spread the words, the fear, or the dread (Proverbs 15:2,4; 16:1; 18:21). We are not in the situation they are. They are in the world and also OF the world. We are in the world, but we are OF the Kingdom of God and we do not experience life as they do (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). They have the curse and natural law. We have Jesus’ righteous nature and supernatural favour (Ephesians 4:22-24). They are (currently) on the losing side. We are on the side that never loses. The one that CANNOT lose. That is full from one end to the other, bottom to top, with winners, winners, winners (John 16:33). When God is for you nothing and no one can stand against you (Romans 8:31). And the great thing? By our example. By our walk of faith. By our light, they can choose to come over to our side. To join the Kingdom of God where we act in harmony toward a common end — The Lord God Almighty’s. Amen.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Ephesians 4:25-31

God loves us. God is truth. God is love. God is righteousness. God is holiness. By Grace through Faith, we have the righteous nature of Jesus. God in Christ has forgiven us. He has loved us. He has marked us as His for all of eternity. That is a beautiful gift. Why are we so scared to share that the way He shared it with us? Why are we so quick to condemn and hold things against people? Do you believe homosexuality is an act of sin? A doctrine of demons? Good! The Word is clear on that. Guess what? The PEOPLE who have been deceived into that darkness are the SAME AS YOU! Love THEM. Speak TRUTH to them our of LOVE, NOT condemnation. Jesus NEVER shoved His opinion on ANYONE. But He NEVER EVER let anything slide. We are called to be LOVING, not judging. Quite the opposite. Speak truth. Speak love. Don’t judge. Let the Holy Spirit lead you in what you do, what you think, and what you SAY. If you say something in hate, repent! When we confess our sin, He forgives us (1 John 1:8-9). He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). That means He will forgive THEM just as He forgives YOU. Truth and LOVE. That is our walk. Walk it by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.