Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

You may say in your heart, “How shall we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?” When a prophet speaks in Yahweh’s name, if the thing doesn’t follow, nor happen, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomy 18:22 (emphasis added)

We’re always trying to put God into a box. To build ourselves into the image of OUR God. The God WE imagine. We want Him to work OUR way. We want Him to be OUR way. We want to be secure in who we are in the Him we imagine. But that isn’t how it works. Not with Yahweh God.

One of the main purposes of all the gods and mythology of the world is to lower expectations. The Greek gods lied, cheated, were petty, were immoral, and were petulant children. Same as the Roman gods. Across the world you find deities modelled on man. They talk like us, act like us, and enable us — good and bad. If the gods are like this, how can I be any different? Even the stories of mighty deeds are tinged with the bad. Creation myths based on personality A stealing something from personality B. Lofty entities. Not deigning to give us their attention. Or personalities desperate for our worship, adoration, and gifts. I can understand how you can get sucked into that, but really… who wants a god like that?

These beings and stories were invented to explain the world around us. To give meaning to the cold realities of science before they were understood to be a science. They were there as teaching tools to impart a society’s values, morals, and conduct into the next generation. They were cautionary tales — much like fairy tales — to keep people from harming themselves and others. But Yahweh God doesn’t fit in with that framework.

Yahweh God IS. Always was. Always will be. In that respect, we don’t matter. Whether we are here or not, survive or not, continue or not, He Is. The gods and objects of worship of humanity fade as their culture fades. There are innumerable gods who have ceased to be. No longer called by their names and no longer sacrificed to or worshipped. Yahweh isn’t like that. He doesn’t need us to exist. But we need Him very much (Job 12:10, Acts 17:28).

The Lord created us from dirt (Psalm 103:14). He breathed the breath of lives into us (Genesis 2:7) and established a relationship with us. We betrayed that (Genesis 3) and have been moving further and further away from Him since. And when looking back at events and commandments within the Old Testament in particular, we like to filter them through a modern moral lens and use them as a justification of human interpretation. Okay, that sounded very philosophical. Let’s look at a single idea that many struggle with. God tells the Israelites to eradicate the Canaanites.

We see this is a horrific thing. We question whether any true deity would command this. We question whether a God of love could condone such killing. And frequently, we decide that the command was more of a wordless revelation (to take the land as their own) and the humans interpreted that in the worst way. But the scripture says differently. It is clear that the Lord had a hand in bringing all the people who inhabited Canaan to that place (Amos 9:7). Those people turned away from God and embraced immoral behaviour and idols (Leviticus 18:24). This was the time of Law. Do and be blessed, do not and be cursed, remember? This was the teaching time so that humanity could take in that the price of sin was death — that blood was required to be redeemed. The people that turned away and defiled themselves with behaviour that had nothing to do with the righteousness of the Lord sinned. They were there hundreds of years being dealt with by the Lord (Genesis 15:16), but they didn’t turn back to Him. And they paid the penalty for it: “The land was defiled. Therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants. You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives as a foreigner amongst you (for the men of the land that were before you had done all these abominations, and the land became defiled), that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you” (Leviticus 18:25-28).

Sin is a disease. A curse. When you allow a disease into a body unchecked, it will slowly but inevitably take over that body. We know this. Why do you think cancer treatment is so harsh? One can argue that the cure is worse than the disease. Cancer treatments can kill you. I would say they will kill you, but we do survive them. Not because we are strong, but because we stop them once the cancer looks dead. We stop them because they are harsh and will kill you if you don’t stop them at some point. Why do we do this? Because the disease is a guaranteed killer. What would you rather do? Lose part of yourself or all of yourself? Part, of course. It is a standard human idea and has been for untold millennia. Sin is the same. Cut it out, or get it all infected. This was a principle of the Law. It looked at the spiritual whole, not the natural individual. Because the Law was about the spiritual nation, not a single person. If you were a threat to the spiritual whole, you were toast. Don’t think of this as just an Old Testament idea. Jesus agreed with this one hundred percent: “If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna” (Matthew 5:29-30).

The people of Canaan consistently and continuously were against Yahweh. So they lost their opportunity to continue in the Land of Promise. They had to be cut out because they had become defiled and defilers. This wasn’t the act of a bloodthirsty God. This was a sorrowful judgment out of love for the rest of humanity. To get rid of the thing that caused defilement to protect the innocent. We accept this kind of thinking in our modern day. An individual who accepts that they are an alcoholic does not keep alcohol in their house. God warned the Israelites in the same way. If you don’t get rid of that which defiles and have no part in it in any way, you will be defiled. It was truth. It is truth. And it is proved in scripture. The Israelites did not follow all their instructions. They ended up being defiled through association and absorption of bad morals. They ended up punished as well.

This is what the Law was about. To retrain their thinking to God’s way. Because God doesn’t do things to fit us. He lays out what is and we need to adjust. A good chunk of it was to make them rethink what was important in order to save them from penalty and separation from the Lord. For example, it says in Leviticus 15:18 “If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening.” Not a biggie. Unless you needed to enter or present yourself at the Tent of Meeting to give a sacrifice to be cleansed of a sin. Or attend a Feast. Or anything else that had to do with the Lord. That meant they needed to think things through. There were very appropriate times for passion. There were inappropriate times for passion. We are NOT animals. We are NOT subject to the whims of the flesh. In the Law they were challenged to think of the consequences of their actions and be mindful of their actions. You weren’t going to sleep with everything that moved if you were ritually unclean because of it. They were called to participate with the tabernacle, after all. You don’t give in to the flesh if you’re focused on the Lord. The trick is to stay focused, which was a tool of the Law. Naturally there is more to it and all that, but this is an example of one of the ideas of it.

That puts a large focus on revelation. The revealed morality of Yahweh God. Because only by getting in line with the Lord will we be able to fellowship with the Lord and stay right with Him. In the Old Testament they had two tools: the Law and prophets. The Law laid down conduct, guidelines, and commands. Prophets revealed the Word of the Lord both in relation to the Law and in relation to events occurring or soon to occur. That put a potential weapon into the hands of humanity.

That revelation office could be usurped. Someone could say things to get selfish events to come to pass. They could be bribed for a favourable word. They could try to control those around them. So God gave checks and balances. Test the Word, He said. You see, the Word of Yahweh God never fails (Luke 1:37). It never returns to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). And He watches over it (Jeremiah 1:12). It can be relied on. God told His people to test the prophets. If the words came true, you’d know God spoke them. If they didn’t, you didn’t have to fear the doom and gloom message of the prophet because God wasn’t backing them up.

Today we have three tools of revelation and ours are superior. We still have the Word, but the Spirit speaks to us about what we read and gives us confirmation, revelation, and communion in our spirit about what He says in His. We have prophets, but the Spirit speaks to us about what we hear and gives us confirmation not only by seeing the words of the prophet come to pass, but also confirmation in our spirits about the validity of the prophet’s message. We also have Jesus. He abides in us and we in Him (John 15:1-7). We are NEW creatures in Him (2 Corinthians 5:14-19). We have a new spirit, new thoughts, and new impulses. We can be in a house full of alcohol and not worry about relapsing. Why? Because the Spirit will guide us to good things and away from bad things in order that we be healthy and happy (Proverbs 4:20-27 and Isaiah 55:2).

Yahweh God IS . His ways are Righteous. His ways are perfect. His ways are Love. We don’t get to choose who He is. We don’t get to say How He operates. He does what He does. Truth is truth. Right morals are right morals. We can follow Him and believe Him. We can reject Him and continue in our own way. The choice is ours. But remember: we didn’t create Him. We can’t change Him to fit our ideas, wants, and perceptions. We can only submit to His will and do what He says we should. The onus is on us to listen and apply. It is not on Him to change and deal as we want. The responsibility of prophesy is to be honest. Honest to His Spirit. Honest to His Teaching. Our responsibility is to listen and test. Because Truth is Truth. His Word will come to pass. Our words come to nothing unless they are founded and grounded in His.

Yahweh God IS. He Lives and Breathes. Accept Him as is, and walk with Him today. In His steps, on His path, in His way. No fear. Love. Peace. And fellowship with the merciful, loving, Father. The Good Father. Our Father. God Almighty. Believe it. Receive it. Walk in it. Amen.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Psalm 45:5-7

The greatness of the New Covenant, that which makes it a better promise (Hebrews 8:6), is that the Lord God Almighty indwells us. How can you fear or be anxious or depressed or sad or worried? The Word by which all was made; the Living One who went to the cross and was resurrected again to life; the Spirit of Truth who comforts, counsels, instructs, and corrects; I AM, the Almighty lives WITHIN YOU! The Name that is Above All Names is formed and imprinted on your insides. It shines forth bright and glorious. It fills you with power and love and self-control. How can you be sick or weak or hurting when the power that raised people from the dead resides inside you? How can you be poor or lacking when the Spirit which enables growth flows in, on, and through you? You are a beacon of mercy and love in a dark storm of ignorance. You may be just a person, a human, a regular ronnie. But inside of you is the Authority, Power, Mercy, Love, Joy, and Peace of the Father. It cannot be contained. It cannot be shut down. It cannot be denied. But it can be ignored by you. You have free will. You can let it loose by giving Him permission to work in your life as He sees fit. You can enjoy all its benefits. You can walk Redeemed. He loves you too much to leave you lacking. He loves you too much to see you defeated. The voice that melted the earth itself is in you and you will NOT be moved. God loves you and is here to help you. Let Him be your refuge today.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.