Fear No Fear

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

So God created humankind in his image, in the likeness of God he created him, male and female he created them

Genesis 1:27

We as human beings – male and female – were made in Yahweh’s image and likeness. When Jesus was resurrected to life, He became the model that we can enter into and become like Him. “for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). We are in His image. We are in Yahweh’s image (1 Peter 2:21). We have put on the character of Adonai Himself (1 John 2:6). In our inner selves, we become like Jesus (Philippians 2:5). We aren’t Jesus in perfection yet, but we WILL be (1 John 3:2). That does not change that we have access to Adonai’s character and have the ability to choose to embrace it and engage it and make HIS character OUR character. But what happens next?

We were not made to simply LOOK like Jesus. Not JUST to imitate Him (which is godly and good – Ephesians 5:1-2; 1 Corinthians 11:1). We have been given access to the character of Jesus Himself. The question is, what do we do with it? We have His IMAGE, but what about His LIKENESS? “if indeed you have heard about him, and you were taught by him (just as truth is in Jesus), that you take off, according to your former way of life, the old man, who is being destroyed according to deceitful desires, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man (in accordance with God), who is created in righteousness and holiness from the truth” (Ephesians 4:21-24). To be righteous and holy? That is the likeness of Jesus, but not the WHOLE likeness. Jesus told us Himself what it was. “And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18-20). The character of Jesus was in service to Jesus’ mission. Jesus’ mission was only possible because of Jesus’ character. Because WE are in HIM, we can accept His mission and continue it – in cooperation with Him (John 15:5).

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). This is OUR mission because Jesus passed it into OUR hands. It has been laid out before us since before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 2:10). We are meant to COOPERATE with Him. Adonai doesn’t need our PERMISSION, Adonai seeks our COOPERATION. THAT is how He operates on this Earth. Cooperating WITH males and females. “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). We have Jesus’ IMAGE because we are in Him, we have Jesus’ LIKENESS because we have taken up His character, and we have Jesus’ MISSION because that’s why we were given His image and likeness. We were ALWAYS meant to be like Adonai and to do what He wanted to do here on Earth with Him (Genesis 2:15; Genesis 1:26-27).

Ruach HaKodesh is our guidepost. He helps us to recognize where the boundaries of our lives in Jesus are (Acts 16:6). They can be physical boundaries, but they don’t have to be. We HAVE to rely on Ruach to tell what we are supposed to be because HE is Adonai too. Not just Jesus. Not just the Father. All three. But Ruach HaKodesh is inside of us. Where we can hear Him ALWAYS. He KNOWS His character. He KNOWS what aligns with it and what does not. He KNOWS His mind and Jesus’ mind. He KNOWS what aligns with it. He can guide us in a way nothing else and no one else can. It is a UNIQUE position. And it is NOT to punish us. It is NOT to limit us. It is NOT to keep things from us. It is meant to FREE us to walk AS Jesus did, THINKING like Jesus did, TALKING like Jesus did, and DOING what Jesus did. To be like Jesus IS, NOW in this Earth (1 John 4:17). HAVING His character isn’t enough. We need to utilize it to navigate His mission, which is ours. Ruach Hakodesh is our signpost, our boundary line, and our guide. He can correct more than a misstep. He can also correct our course, and we should ALWAYS be listening to His guidance. He’s better than any map anywhere. Because He IS Truth. Listen to Him, obey Him, and walk the Way the way we were meant to. Image AND likeness.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Psalm 37:4

“Take pleasure in Yahweh as well, and he will give to you the requests of your heart” We have been given an AWESOME privilege. We – the only species in the world that can – WE can take pleasure in Yahweh. His character and personality meshes with ours in a way that is unique and almost unbelievable. We can fellowship with Him. We can talk to Him. Listen to Him. We can walk beside Him, hand in hand. Adonai is DESPERATE to get to us. To make a connection. He WANTS us. ALL of us matter. Each and every one. He cries over you, sings over you, talks to you, hugs you, watches you, thinks about you, and makes plans to be with you. He is ENAMOURED of you. You MATTER to Him. What are WE to YAHWEH? His BELOVED children. We can take pleasure in our relationship. We can enjoy each other. What a wonderful reality we can have. That someone of pure righteousness seeks to make us righteous too. So that we can stand beside Him and be worthy because we are in Jesus and HE is worthy. What a great way to spend our days. What a great gift. 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