Fear No Fear

“It shall come to pass that after I have plucked them out, I will again have compassion on them, and will bring them back, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land” (Jeremiah 12:15, MEV). We live in and enjoy a better covenant in Jesus that the one that was the Law (Hebrews 8:6). It wasn’t that Jesus did away with the Law, but rather He took all the punishment onto Himself so that in HIM we have a total fulfillment of the Law, in HIM we have the true Sabbath Rest, and in HIM we have access to the FULLNESS of the Blessing (Ephesians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Why is it we are still hung up on judgment by God? That is NOT what Jesus’ ministry is about (John 3:16-18). Will judgment come? Yes. Total judgment on the wicked and those who reject Jesus. Judgment to rewards to the faithful in Jesus. There is no smiting until the wicked are judged. The righteous NEVER get Smite Night. Their every action and every word get weighed to see if they brought glory to God and they get rewarded accordingly – some having nothing left after the purifying fire and get into heaven with smoking coattails (1 Corinthians 3:15). But if we look back at the Old Testament of Judgment under the Law, we STILL see His mercy. He didn’t punish them according to what they deserved. He always had compassion on them (He IS love) and saved a remnant of the people to bring back into the Blessing. He was ALWAYS being merciful, even in judgment. As believers joined with Jesus (John 15:5), we are Blessed in Him, given Grace in Him, given correction in Him, led through honest and complete repentance for everything we do wrong in Him, and taught to love as Jesus loves. It is a gospel of PEACE and a gospel of GRACE and a gospel of LOVE and a gospel of MERCY. We need to see His love for us. We need to understand it and LISTEN to Him when He speaks of what we should do. That is how we are to live. That is how we escape what is coming for the wicked, no matter WHAT it looks like to the world around us. He LOVES His children and we should be shouting that from the hilltops, not warning of coming judgment. First a chance to lovingly accept Jesus. That’s what we all need. The divine hug and correction He offers daily. What a GOOD God!