Fear No Fear

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

He enters into peace. They rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness.
Isaiah 57:2 (emphasis added)

Conflict, strife, agitation, and distress follow us in this world wherever we go. Anxiety and depression are becoming such a regular state of being that trauma is assumed in almost every situation. I recently had someone commiserating at me for the trauma my children have been going through with the world the way that it is. They assumed there was trauma. They assumed my children were barely hanging on and struggling to process everything. This is the way the world works. The longer it goes on, the worse it becomes. What hope is there? What rest from all this mental backwash is there? Well, from an Old Covenant viewpoint our verse tells us.

If one walks in uprightness before Yahweh God, then when death occurs they will enter into peace. That isn’t entering into nothingness. That isn’t an end with zero on the other side. Entering into peace cannot be done without consciousness of doing it. If you’re not conscious of it on some level, how can you have peace? How can you rest in your bed? For the righteous, when life ends there is rest and peace. It is the long reward at the end of the road. No sting. No trauma upon leaving. Just rest. But we have a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6).

“But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him! For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:8-11). Jesus died and was resurrected to life. We died in Him and have been resurrected into life in Him. We are dead to sin. We are alive in Christ. “You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. Having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:13-15).

Those two verses completely change how we interact with today’s verse. And it is relevant to us today more than ever. We have already died. We died in Jesus the Anointed One. He took our sin and paid for it. In our sin and our flesh that was not set aside holy to the Lord, we died in Jesus on Calvary. When Jesus was resurrected to life, we were taken with Him. In HIM we are made alive. We have been forgiven. We and our flesh have been set aside holy to the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We are alive in Jesus and we will never, ever see death. Death is done for us. We will never die again. Yes, our meat suit will fall off of us but death is not part of that process. Jesus Himself promised that to us: “Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death”” (John 8:51).

The religious leaders of the Jews didn’t believe Him and sought to kill Him for His statements, but Jesus wasn’t lying (Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 6:18, John 8:14-18). Later, He went on to prove this with the help of His friend. The Father arranged it for Jesus to prove His claims in the most visible way possible. Jesus said ““I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”” (John 11:25-26). Shortly thereafter, He raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus was willing to return from his rest and continue on earth for a little while longer. This amazed the people and infuriated the religious leaders who added Lazarus’ name to their death list right under Jesus’ name (John 12:9-11).

This was not the first person brought to life from the dead. Elisha was instrumental in raising the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:18-37). After he had died and been buried, Elisha was instrumental in raising another man from the dead. 2 Kings 13:20-21 tells the story of men taking their friend to be buried. Raiders came by and fearing for their lives, the mourners tossed the body into the first open tomb they found. The body hit Elisha’s body and he came back to life, the anointing remaining on Elisha was so strong. Elisha had figured he could do it because his mentor Elijah had been instrumental in raising the son of the Zarephath woman from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-22). The religious leaders knew these stories. They knew that being raised to life from the dead was possible. They weren’t denying that as much as they hated the idea that Jesus was that level of a prophet. They preferred Him to be another religious-spouting crackpot. They might have accepted a misguided teacher. And has anything changed? Isn’t that what the world is always doing? What religions do? Jesus was a great teacher, but just a man. Jesus had learned our teachings and was teaching them in a way the Jews would understand. Jesus was a great prophet and teacher, but not the last prophet. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Jesus has a question. For His disciples. For all of us. “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”” (Matthew 16:15). This question will determine whether you think of Jesus as just another teacher, as a misguided fool, or as a truth teller. If you believe He tells the truth, then He IS the Son of God. He DID come to die for sin. He DID provide for you the means of being saved. And you CAN die to sin in Jesus and be resurrected to life in Jesus. This is what salvation means (Romans 10:9). If you’re saved, then you are already done with death. You’ve done all the dying you are going to do. It’s over for you. Well, since we are alive in Jesus and resurrected with Him, guess what? “Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord”” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). That means that He is our righteousness. Which means our spirits have His righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). If we have His righteousness, then spiritually we are upright before Yahweh God.

Why is this all important? Because of today’s verse. The upright person upon death enters into their rest, which is peaceful. In Jesus, we are dead. If we have died, then our life in Jesus IS our rest. If our life in Jesus is our rest, then we are entitled to PEACE. That’s right. We can walk in peace NOW. We can enjoy peace NOW. We can have rest NOW. Because we aren’t looking toward death. Death is behind us. All that is now and all that is ahead of us is our reward. Our REST and PEACE.

These verses are biblical theological proof that the Word tells us that the conditions of this world are not ours by right or entitlement. We are separated from them as we are dead to them. Because we are alive in Jesus, we are co-heirs with Jesus and children of God (Galatians 3:26). Would you let someone else’s children inherit your possessions? Wouldn’t you want your own offspring to get anything that was left when you died? It’s the same with us. We died to this world of sin. We’re heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. We don’t have the right to inherit the things of the flesh. We don’t have the DNA of sinners. We are NOT sinners in any way, shape, or form. We are children of God. We are heirs to the promise. We are a holy nation. A priesthood. Set aside to Yahweh God. We are worshippers of the Lord God Almighty. We are His.

If we are not part of sin, flesh, or this world, then we don’t have to choose them. We can choose to abide in Jesus, remain in Jesus, and stay away from all else. It is a choice. “Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he can’t sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother” (1 John 3:7-10). Which will you choose? Will you abide in Jesus or will you dabble in the world? Where will your focus be? Your focus will determine your reality.

I have fought off sickness with the Word. Seen infection and growth reduce and fade away literally overnight. Without medication. Without changing diet or routine. By applying the Word and keeping my focus on what I have been given in Jesus. Am I perfect at that? By no means. Do I walk in victory every moment of every day? Absolutely not. Do I still struggle with aches, pains, sickness, and other such things? Yes, they come at me. I am attacked like anyone else. But I only struggle when I approach them with things other than the Word. Does this mean doctors have no place in my life? That I don’t follow health regulations and recommendations? That I have weird, untreated, hay-chewing children? No. Doctors have a use — I certainly don’t have the knowledge they have. I pray the Lord gives them wisdom in their diagnosis and recommendations every time we see them. But we don’t see them very often. We follow the rules, we are cognisant of health, and we stay abreast of public recommendations. But the Word has priority. Who we are in Jesus comes before where we are in the world.

I don’t have to be anxious or depressed. I’ve fought both of those in my life, but Jesus was victorious. He says I don’t have to be (Matthew 6:25). Jesus says I can put my energy into trust in Him (Luke 24:38). Jesus was victorious and overcame the world (John 16:33). In Jesus, we can overcome it too (1 John 5:1-5). Do you believe Jesus? Are you willing to try? Spend time in the Word every day. Don’t wait until your life settles. Don’t wait until you have a handle on things. That will never happen because the world is a tumultuous place. There is no peace in it, only pauses. Jesus has the only real peace that there is. Rest in Him. You can’t rest in Him if you aren’t charged. You get charged by reading the Word. You need faith to rest because it hinges on belief in Jesus and what He said. Our faith is strengthened by reading the Word. Don’t have time, the inclination, or the ability to read words on pages easily? Listen to the Word! Get an audio bible. The Word is the number one thing that will change your life around and bring you peace.

The Word helps life settle. The Word helps depression flee. The Word helps anxiety evaporate. The Word drives sickness out. The Word prevents sickness from coming on us. The Word restores us, renews us, and remakes us into something else. The Word is Jesus and Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-14). The Word is life to us. In every way. Take the Word and hear it. Take the Word and pray it. Prayer is the vehicle that brings the Word from our renewed, righteous, just-like-Jesus spirit into our souls and into our bodies. Praise your way into prayer and pray your way through the Word. This is an unbeatable combination. It will bring you the faith to believe what you’ve been offered and are offered freely by Jesus. It IS your rest. Your reward. Your inheritance by declaration of Yahweh God. It is your legal right of inheritance (Isaiah 54:17). Claim it. Believe it. Receive it. Walk in it today.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: John 16:31-33

Hey, terrible things are going to happen and you’re going to freak out and run away and hide and be scared and cry a lot, but cheer up! This is the essential message Jesus was giving in this verse. The disciples were about to face the worst time in their lives. Think about that. Almost all of them were killed for their belief in Jesus as the years passed. Some of them in pretty brutal ways. But these three days were the worst they ever experienced. Worse than crucifixion. Worse than being boiled alive. Worse than being shot with arrows all over their bodies until they were a pincushion. Worse than being sawed in half. Being without Jesus was the worst thing that ever happened to them. When Jesus ascended to heaven a month or so later, He left them with His Spirit. Since the resurrection, we have never been without Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the Word (Genesis 1:3 — because the sun wasn’t created until 1:14-19). Without Him we are in darkness. Without Him we are in ignorance. Without Him we are lost, alone, and frightened. Without Him we are susceptible to all the things of this world. But cheer up! We are NOT without Him. Jesus has overcome the world. He is victorious! And we don’t have to submit to the world or anything of the world. We can rise above it. We can live above it. We can be overcomers in Jesus because Jesus is THE overcomer. We don’t ignore the world, flaunt its rules, or become little tinpot dictators of our own will. Jesus was a servant of His Father and we are called to be the exact same. But we will be untouched by the world and its cares. We will see victory in all situations. Jesus IS our victory. He came to give us that. To enable us to have that. That is love. He loves you. He loved you so much He won this for you. Don’t be afraid to take it. It is a love gift. There are no strings attached. It is freely given to all who follow Him and freely offered to all who don’t. Accept it. Accept Him. He loves you SO much.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.