Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

There is still medicinal ointment available in Gilead! There is still a physician there! Why then have my dear people not been restored to health?
Jeremiah 8:22 (emphasis added)

Adonai does exactly what He says He is going to do. There is scientific precision to it. If you, then He. It is clear from the front to the back. If we do what is right from HIS point of view, we will get the benefit of it. Period. There is no fine print. There are no secret terms and conditions. There is simple, straight-forward, detailed explanation. If we are with Him, He will be with us (2 Timothy 2:11-14) and NOTHING will be able to break that (Romans 8:31-39). Except US.

“God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. He met Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him. If you seek him, he will respond to you, but if you reject him, he will reject you. For a long time Israel had not sought the one true God, or a priest to instruct them, or the law. Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him, and he responded to them. In those days no one could travel safely, for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands. One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil. But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged, for your work will be rewarded.”” (2 Chronicles 15:1-7). This is the setting for today’s verse. Clear instructions and promises. If you are with me, I will be with you. Hard to misinterpret that. Hard to misunderstand. You kinda have to do that one on purpose. Which they did.

The people sinned. Individually and collectively. Adonai has always been clear about the effects of sin (Genesis 4:7). He hasn’t stopped being clear. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Everyone sins and falls short (Romans 3:23), so we need to maintain a lifestyle of repentance (Acts 3:19; 1 John 1:9). Whenever they sinned, there was a separation between the Old Covenant believer and Elohim (Isaiah 59:2). These were not surprises. Tack onto that Adonai’s CLEAR instruction to stick with Him and you have to shake your head. Why would these people DO that? Why would they turn away? Well, before we call the kettle black, we need to look at our own lives. “If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). No one is perfect. We ALL miss it. The difference is that a New Covenant believer has a righteous spirit sealed so that it cannot be touched (Ephesians 1:13-14). When WE sin, our salvation isn’t in jeopardy. BUT there are still consequences to sin.

“But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters” (James 1:14-16). If we move from the place of blessing – the Will of the Father – then we will have to deal with the consequences. This is NOT Adonai bringing punishment on us. This is us dealing with exposure to deadly things. Think of it like a freeway. There is the one who can start and stop traffic sitting high up like a lifeguard. We are told NOT to cross because it isn’t safe. Suddenly, we run across the road and get hit. That lifeguard didn’t SEND the car that hit us. He didn’t do it to teach us not to cross. He didn’t do it so we can learn to rely on others through our physiotherapy recovery. He didn’t do it to give the doctors work. It was not MEANT to happen, but it was the consequence of our disregarding the clear instruction NOT to cross the freeway.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). If we do things that are wrong from HIS point of view, we are not being obedient. If we are not being obedient, we are being sinful. If we are being sinful, we are placing our bodies and our souls OUT of the Will of the Father and putting our bodies and our souls (NOT our righteous spirit which are sealed against sin) at risk of consequences.

Are we going to miss it? YES. Will we be disobedient? YES. But Adonai is merciful and quick to accept our honest heart-felt repentance. Adonai is STILL the balm of Gilead. He is STILL the One who Blesses. We as New Covenant believers will never be abandoned by Adonai (Hebrews 13:5). But everything on this planet is seed and harvest (Genesis 8:22). Sow to the flesh, reap corruption. “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit” (Galatians 6:7-8). Sow the Word? Reap blessing, benefit, and LIFE. “My child, pay attention to my words; listen attentively to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; guard them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and healing to one’s entire body. Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it are the sources of life” (Proverbs 4:20-23).

If we would stick with Adonai and take the time to live lives of repentance, humbly submitted to what He says is wrong – regardless of what WE think – then we would be in a place to receive healing. We would have nothing blocking it. We would be restored to health because there is healing in the very wings of Adonai. “But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication will rise with healing wings, and you will skip about like calves released from the stall” (Malachi 4:2). When we stick with Adonai like He says to, there is NOTHING that is impossible. We will reap His harvest and there is NOTHING bad about that (James 1:17).

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Psalm 72:17

“May there be an abundance of grain in the earth; on the tops of the mountains may it sway. May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon. May its crops be as abundant as the grass of the earth. May his fame endure. May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky. May they use his name when they formulate their blessings. May all nations consider him to be favored by God.” All nations shall be blessed by Messiah. Through Him alone are we able to experience the blessings the Father has for humanity. “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”” (Galatians 3:8). It is by Grace through trust (faith) in what Jesus did that we get justified before the Throne. The Law does not bestow righteousness. The Law does not justify it. The Law stirs up sin – the evil inclination fallen flesh has to do what is wrong in the eyes of Yahweh – so that we can see how desperately we need a saviour. We are all justified by Adonai alone – not through our works or our bloodline (Romans 3:30). We are justified through Jesus, who was our sacrifice (Romans 3:24-25). Jesus, through the cross, did it all. Through Him for all humanity, we are able to be blessed because He paid the price for sin, removing it as a hurdle for right standing with Yahweh (Hebrews 12:24). Jesus IS the Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b