Fear No Fear

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


For if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:13

When you’re allergic to gluten, you avoid it. You go out of your way to make sure that you aren’t ingesting it and that not even your cooking utensils are touching things with gluten. If you’re allergic to dairy, you go out of your way to make sure nothing you eat even touched a cow. If you’re diabetic, you watch your sugar intake. If you’re an alcoholic you avoid alcohol. If you’re a glutton, you try to limit opportunities for eating. We learn to avoid the things that hurt us. Sometimes it is hard. Sometimes we’ve let them program us and sometimes our flesh can’t SEEM to help itself (chemical imbalances, addictive chemistry altering our brains, etc). It can be treated in various ways, but it is flesh helping flesh to not… well… be flesh. Naturally, when you look around you can clearly see that it doesn’t work. The world is a mess. We learn to cope, but it’s putting bandaids on a leaking canoe heading for a waterfall.

There is no HUMAN answer. We don’t have the strength. We don’t have the brain power. We don’t have the willpower. We don’t have the ability. It is beyond us. Like I said, we can learn to cope, but that is all. We never truly defeat anything. We replace it with something else – human strategy #1. But there is another way. To purge those things from ourselves. Purging is to rid ourselves of an unwanted quality, condition, or feeling. To remove something in an abrupt and violent way. Essentially purging is laxative in action. WE can’t do this in our own strength. But through Ruach HaKodesh, we can.

The closer I get to Ruach HaKodesh, the less I enjoy other things that are not Adonai’s idea of good. Let me be clear. Adonai has a WIDE range of what is good. And the things we find good will differ to one extent or another based on how well we know Jesus and Jesus’ love for us. That doesn’t mean we’ll all say no to the same things (look at Romans 14:1-18). But I have noticed that things I used to like, I don’t necessarily like anymore. I might not find something funny. I might dislike an underlying concept. Or the emotional tone may feel oppressive. Other things I still enjoy, but for different reasons than I used to. It’s quite interesting. I have really noticed that I am WAY more sensitive to material that emboldens those things I’m looking to remove. I notice even a HINT of it. Ruach HaKodesh stirs my spirit up so I can avoid even the appearance of that thing. Because until I master it and put my foot on its neck (Genesis 4:7), it’s a danger to me. Once it’s broken off, it’s nothing to me. I don’t fear it. I don’t seek it. If it pops up, I dismiss it while being thankful I was saved from that. When Jesus helps you purge something and Ruach HaKodesh helps you purge it from your heart, it’s gone. Gone as if it never was with no ability to hurt you, tempt you, or infect you ever again – unless you choose to spend your mental time on it on purpose (the height of stupidity).

When we live by His Ruach, we learn to take life from Him. To focus on Him. To bring Him into every aspect of our lives – no matter how small. Adonai was just speaking to my son yesterday about his video game. That’s right. Jesus gave my son an answer to his video game problem. You may scoff, but my boy KNOWS the voice of Jesus. And Jesus? He cares about ALL of our life, not just the churchy parts. We can bring Ruach HaKodesh into every part of our day. Into our chores, our relationships, our sexuality, our careers, our bank accounts, everything. We NEED to renew our minds to the life of Ruach (Romans 12:2). That is being a living sacrifice. Humbly obedient to what Adonai says. It’s not a big deal, but it has to be done with INTENT which means we need His strength to do it.

Adonai is MORE than enough. His Word is MORE than enough. Ruach HaKodesh is MORE than enough. What Jesus did is MORE than enough. If Adonai is supplying all our needs, then all our stuff is His. He bought it. He got it to us. He’s showing us how to use it. He’s telling us when to get it and when to let it go. He’s got it all going on. It’s ALL Him. We need to remember that so that we give the proper place to His opinion about it. And if we’re doing that, it means bringing Him into ALL of everything. Living from HIS point of view. Living by Ruach HaKodesh’s leading. It is the Way that we engage abundant life (John 10:10).

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: 2 Peter 1:3

“because his divine power has bestowed on us all things that are necessary for life and godliness, through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence of character“. You want to live godly? For real and not just an act you put on for Sundays or when friends come over? Truly godly throughout your day even when the kids are ragging on you? Or the neighbours? Your boss? The public? Even if they’re named Karen? Through your knowledge of Adonai. It’s the ONLY way to do it. It’s the ONLY way that it can be done. Every other way is a waste of time because it cannot accomplish it. But Adonai made the Way. He gave us His Word. He gave us Ruach HaKodesh. He speaks to us 24/7/365.25. He NEVER stops. He is ALWAYS working to get our attention on Him so that we can get to know Him. So that we can come to understand Him. So that we can choose to accept what He has for us and be transformed more and more each day into who He says we can be. What a great toolbox He’s given us to truly KNOW Him. And through that knowledge we become what we never could be: all He imagined when He made us. What a GOOD God!

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