Fear No Fear

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

Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also makes us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 3:5-6

We don’t need to get full of ourselves, because we are nothing in and of ourselves. We don’t need to worry about how dark and dingy the world is getting. We don’t need to keep our eyes purely on a reward coming to us in the advent of our ceasing to wear this meat suit. We are not agents of death. We are not agents of future fulfillment. We are ministers of LIFE and we are partnered with the power that brings that life to ALL who believe (Romans 8:11). We are made what we are in and through Jesus, as ministers who embody the ministry of His Ruach. Religious thinking brings death, but the ministry of Ruach HaKodesh brings LIFE.

I don’t know WHY churches and individual believers want to be so gloomy. It’s like they warn people of the hardships of believing when they ‘witness’. You’ll have to give up that. You can’t do this. When you’re a churchgoer you won’t. Always negative. As if the things of the world could compare in ANY way with the abundant life available in and through Jesus. We have more freedom as believers than we ever even COULD have had without Him. It only seems like a restriction when you focus on items. When you decide that what you think about the thing you like is more important than what Adonai says about the thing you like, that’s when a believer’s life gets gloomy. It becomes about what you do NOT have. What you do NOT get to enjoy. What you EVENTUALLY will have in Heaven, because that’s when all the ‘self-denial’ and ‘hardship’ is rewarded. It’s the viewpoint that here on Earth we lose constantly, but in Heaven we FINALLY overcome. That is NOT what Jesus taught and you will NOT hear that from Ruach HaKodesh. That’s HUMAN thinking. To be honest, it is BROKEN thinking.

We have the honour and the privilege of being more than who we are. For example, we can turn joy on like it was a faucet. “You will make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forever” (Psalm 16:11). You want joy? Praise your way into His presence. Don’t FEEL like it? When we perform a behaviour, our attitude will align with it. People who choose to smile more, whether they feel like it or not, end up feeling happy. When we praise, we will end up joyful as a result of being in His presence. When we feel that joy, we’ll be stronger and more able to kick bad thinking to the curb (like depression) by CHOICE (Nehemiah 8:10). I’m not perfect at it, but I have used praise to get joyful to be stronger and last until the job was done or to stay awake on a drive home. It WORKS because it is the Word and Adonai said it (Jeremiah 1:12). We literally can engage ANY of Ruach’s Fruit ANYTIME we want if we will align with His attitude. Easiest way to do that is to praise Him (Psalm 100:4).

Jesus said that we are in Him and He is in us, right? That’s John 14:20. If He overcame the world (John 16:33), then we have world-overcoming power inside of us. That doesn’t mean we won’t experience persecution. Jesus Himself was prevented from performing miracles in His hometown (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5), even though He wanted to. Jesus had to leave areas completely because of persecution. But that didn’t prevent Him from fulfilling His calling. Or owning a house. Or not needing to borrow money. Or having all His needs met. Jesus had a very successful life. But it was also full of persecution. Mostly because He was having a very successful life and talking about Adonai as if Jesus was His Son. It ruffled religious feathers. It’s still doing that today. What is so ruffling about living as if Jesus had overcome the world and is living in us? The idea isn’t to be Blessed and hoard things. The idea is to be Blessed with what He gives you until it’s time to bless someone else with it. To bless those around us, because we ourselves are Blessed. A revolving, ever-growing circle that will eradicate lack and want. What a great way to live, right? Yet so many people are afraid to embrace that life. It isn’t selfish. It isn’t greedy. It isn’t coveting. And it’s completely led and controlled by Jesus through Ruach HaKodesh. Why does truly godly living challenge people so?

Jesus is using Ruach HaKodesh to give us His adequacy. HIS, not ours. And He’s an overcomer. We’re getting it through HIS Spirit, NOT ours. So we have the life available to us that was available to Him. Jesus was able to touch lepers and REMAIN CLEAN. He could touch disease and REMAIN HEALTHY. Life and healing power flowed from Ruach HaKodesh to those who needed healing WITHOUT JESUS’ INVOLVEMENT (Luke 8:45-47). That’s the level of trust-activated life and power that is living within us. The Father gives like through Ruach HaKodesh – period. The Word is life to body and bones – period. That’s what is inside us. Not because of our merits, but because Adonai has taken up residence within us in the person of Ruach HaKodesh (Romans 8:9). Stop living less. Live larger than life. Live like Adonai is inside you. Because He is.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: 2 Corinthians 3:7-8

“But if the ministry of death in letters carved on stone came with glory, so that the sons of Israel were not able to look intently into the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was transitory, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be even more with glory?” Moses saw Adonai and glowed. His flesh reflected the light of Adonai for all to see. We are called to be the same way. Except we’re not limited to facial shine. Almost all of us don’t submit ourselves to that kind of trust anyway. We COULD – Adonai is no respecter of persons – but we generally do not. What we CAN do and SHOULD do is shine from our spirit. That is something Moses couldn’t do because he didn’t have a renewed spirit. That is ONLY possible in Jesus. But with our new spirit – HIS Spirit – we should be aligning ourselves to Him so well that we can’t HELP but shine (Matthew 5:14-16). It’s our calling. To be lights in the darkness. Night-lights to a world afraid of the monsters under the bed (real and imagined). Our ministry is not transitory. He is with us ALL THE TIME (Hebrews 13:8). We can shine His light and His love to everyone. They will be able to TELL there’s something different about us. It will break ice and start conversations that we would NEVER be able to start. Just because we’re letting Him shine through us. It is a ministry of LIFE, not regulations to restrict. It’s a relationship of LOVE. It’s a glory and a wonder and should make you want to shout Hallelujah and worship Him every time you think about it. 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