Fear No Fear

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

Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (emphasis added)

Adonai is concerned about ALL of us. Not just all the people of the world that were, are, and will be (2 Peter 3:9). He ALSO is concerned about all that makes up the you that is you. The you that you used to be, the you that you are now, and the you He is calling you to be. Whether it is putting on your socks, deciding to accept the gender you were born with, taking a test, seeking a promotion, getting married, or trying to raise your kids. It ALL matters to Him. It’s like the old relationship adage: what’s important to you, is important to me.

In context, this verse is talking about our redemption. It includes more than just salvation, though salvation is part of it. Here they are talking about being redeemed, but being kept holy afterward. A lot of people get ‘saved’ but fall off the wagon. They get saved, but get convinced that they have to ‘renew’ it every day. They get saved, but believe that if you commit just one little sin you’ve got to get forgiveness for it or you won’t get into heaven. They get saved as children and figure they’re set for life. They can do anything they want because they have a shoo-in. It’s all a confusing mass of religious thinking. Paul is clearly saying it is Jesus who will do the work in you – all you need to do us be obedient to Ruach HaKodesh’s promptings – and will keep you holy until you get to heaven and don’t need it anymore.

We don’t need to do anything to get holy except to obey Adonai. It works the same as when we were saved. He shows us Grace, He shows us mercy, He gives us His trust to believe in the whole process. It is a God-given, God-ordained, God-led process. WE can’t earn it. WE don’t deserve it. We are thoroughly and totally dependent on HIM. It isn’t a two way street. It’s His street. It works His way, on His steam, by His power. We’re just the folks who say yes. Who agree. Who do what we are told, when and how we are told to do it, and then rejoice for the result that we didn’t get. Seems like a dicey proposition, sitting back and letting someone else do every single thing.

But how could WE do it? Really? No matter how good you are, you will NEVER be perfect (James 2:10). “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed— namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-24). We’re not perfect. None of us are. “If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10). Because we were born with free choice, we can CHOOSE to obey or CHOOSE to disobey. It is our choice, but we will be forced to consume the fruit of what we sow with our words, actions, and thoughts – spirit, soul, and body.

In JESUS, we are the righteousness of Elohim in Messiah Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are that way because Jesus who didn’t know ANY sin, BECAME sin for us. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. For you were going astray like sheep but now you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls” (1 Peter 2:24-25). We were lost. We were going the wrong way. We were treading farther from Adonai, not getting there another way on another path – all paths do NOT lead to Elohim (John 14:6). Because Jesus came and got us, we are redeemed. Redeemed from what? “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith” (Galatians 3:13-14). We were redeemed from the curse so that we could be part of Elohim’s family in Messiah Jesus (2 Corinthians 6:16–18).

The curse (Deuteronomy 28) are reversed blessings. Adonai wants to bless us with EVERY good thing (James 1:7). Adonai wants us to be SHALOM – nothing missing and nothing broken. “May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice. May they continually say, “May the Lord be praised, for he wants his servant to be secure.”” (Psalm 35:27). In Hebrew it reads “May the Lord be praised, the one who desires the SHALOM of his servant.” Adonai wants it so much that He took bruises, stripes, and wounds to make sure YOU got it (Isaiah 53, especially vs 5). Everything in the curse section is there because it is the OPPOSITE of what Adonai wants for us. Sickness is there. Lack is there. Disease is there. Sorrow is there. It covers everything in scripture and then Adonai makes it clear (Deuteronomy 28:61) that EVERY sickness and EVERY disease on this planet has its source in the curse. What causes the curse to come upon you? Two reasons. First, no redeemer (Job is an excellent example). Second, disobedience. We do NOT get the fullness of the blessing if we are not obeying. If we read the Word and don’t humbly submit to what we find there we will be walking in DISobedience. There are NO two ways about it. Either we are walking in trust with Adonai and seeking always to do His will, or we are not. Anything not of trust is distrust. There is no neutral.

Our part is to obey Jesus. We don’t have to worry about the rest. Jesus is trustworthy. Healing was released for EVERYONE who commands it in Jesus’ Name (Luke 4:38-39; John 14:13). Blessing is available for anyone who wants it. Listen and obey Him. Nothing is done outside the Father’s will. So find it and follow His Word. Listen. Test it against the Word. Obey. It’s that simple. We don’t need to get hung up on everything. We KNOW His voice (John 10:27). If we know it and we’ll obey it, nothing will be beyond us. We can put our trust in Messiah Jesus.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 9:6

“For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called Wonderful Adviser, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The Messiah would be the Mighty God (El Gibohr). The Power of the Most High would rest on Him. He would have the authority to use it and show that He WAS the Mighty God made flesh. “Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done many of his miracles because they did not repent” (Matthew 11:20). Jesus called them ‘woes’ and they really were. Imagine witnessing a miracle (Acts 2:22), wrought with the power of Elohim Almighty, done through a man calling for repentance (Matthew 4:17), and then not repenting. Your eyes will have just seen the miracles occurring, your ears heard the words spoken, but you refuse to see. Jesus lamented that even some of the most godless places would STILL have repented when hearing and seeing Jesus’ miracles. The Mighty God moving on earth before humanity. 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