Fear No Fear

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

And Yahweh passed over before him, and he proclaimed, “Yahweh, Yahweh, God, who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding with loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love to the thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and he does not leave utterly unpunished, punishing the guilt of fathers on sons and on sons of sons on third and fourth generations.”

Exodus 34:6-7

Adonai shows us mercy. Mercy toward sinners and mercy toward the repentant. Ruach HaKodesh is a carrier of that mercy. But there is another kind of mercy that is an attribute of Adonai: Abundant Mercy. “The thief comes only so that he can steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Just as Jesus embodies the abundant life that is possible IN Him, Ruach HaKodesh embodies the abundant mercy that is possible THROUGH Jesus. Ruach HaKodesh is a conduit of the power of the Father which comes to us through what Jesus did for us. We have life and ALL it entails IN, THROUGH, WITH, and FOR Jesus. The Father’s will, administered by Jesus, through Ruach HaKodesh. This is what happened during Creation (Genesis 1) and it is still the way by which Adonai operates.

Why the mercy that has no end? We need it. There’s no other way to say it. We NEED it. The law was given to teach us that we cannot be saved on our own merits. That we NEEDED a substitutionary sacrifice. That we needed an offering that was pure, that was blood, and that was acceptable for payment. We couldn’t use just ANYTHING. And it had to be offered with a heart for repentance. If the heart attitude wasn’t right, it didn’t work. It was all symbology for the REAL thing. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 4:10). David agreed: “A sacrifice and offering you do not desire. My ears you have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not demanded” (Psalm 40:6). We need a saviour and we need the mercy of that saviour. First, to get forgiveness for our sin and sins (sin itself, our old nature; and then our individual and personal sins). Second, once sin has been removed, mercy for repentance for whenever we rebel by not trusting Jesus – manifested by choosing to sin. This abundant mercy which is ever-flowing is there to show us/teach us the idea that trust in Jesus is the only way to maintain a relationship with the Father. Our understanding of this opens the door for us to reach out and take the trust (His trust) that He offers us (Mark 11:22). When we do, we’re freed to love Him through obedience. We couldn’t manage that without the mercies of Adonai.

How do we know they are abundant mercies and don’t stop? Because mercy is loyal love, and Adonai IS love (1 John 4:8). We have His Word that says they don’t end. “The loyal love of Yahweh does not cease; his compassions do not come to an end. They are new in the morning, great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). “But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, and we being dead in trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). His mercy is freely available to us at the Throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16). Flatout, the Father is MERCIFUL (Luke 6:36). If we call on Him, we will find Him responding with love and mercy (Psalm 86:5). We were offered the chance of salvation in the first place BECAUSE of His mercy (Titus 3:5).

There is a HUGE comfort in knowing that Adonai is ALWAYS merciful. That we NEVER get what WE deserve, but what JESUS deserves because we are joint heirs together in the Kingdom. Because of this, we should have NO consciousness of our sin(s) – how can we when we KNOW they are taken care of because of His mercy (Hebrews 10:2)? We get to focus on our trust in Jesus. Exercising it, stretching it, building it, deepening it. We get to focus on real relationship, humbly submitting ourselves to Him and His Word and building our interactions from that godly position. Guilt and condemnation has NO PLACE in our lives (Romans 8:1). Ruach HaKodesh is our constant companion, our constant conversationalist. And the conversation is always about trusting in Jesus, who is EVER merciful to us. Amen.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Romans 3:20

“For by the works of the law no person will be declared righteous before him, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Tests suck. Full of pressure. Stress. And your worth seems to hinge on them. That’s the way it seems, isn’t it? Well, the Law came so that we could apply it and realise that we are not worthy. Not even one of us (Romans 3:10-12). But when we accept that and start looking for a Saviour, Jesus is there to be found. And once He is found, we can engage what He offers us in order to live in relationship with Adonai. We’re not held to the standards of the Law. Jesus took the test, but when He handed it in, He put our name at the top. He didn’t do it surreptitiously or by cheating. He did it fully, honestly, and totally above board. He swapped tests with the permission of the examiner. Because of that, WE don’t have to face the Law. WE don’t have to pay the price. He did it all, but for OUR gain and not His. The Law has no hold on us, even as the righteous commands are the ideal of behaviour we strive for. We share in the Blessings, and never EVER need worry about the curses. 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