Fear No Fear

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

They will no more be a prey to the nations, neither will the animals of the earth devour them; but they will dwell securely, and no one will make them afraid.
Ezekiel 34:28 (emphasis added)

This is the moment. This is the stuff you’ve been waiting for. This is it. You’ve got your journals. You’ve listened to your tapes. This is IT. Theology has been waded through. Conservative doctrine has been memorised. You’ve dabbled in holy giggles. You’ve subscribed to the prosperity newsletter and now the day has come. You’ve going to dwell securely. You’re not going to be a prey to those around you. And you’ve going to get all the things that the Word says you’re going to get. Especially since your favourite verse is Romans 6:14 “For sin will not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” Grace is the best. You get what you don’t deserve, so you don’t have to worry that you were a sinner. You don’t have to worry that you sometimes miss it. You don’t want to miss it, you’re sorry when you do, and Grace has you covered when you repent and avoid the behaviour, right? You don’t have to memorise commandments and rules. You don’t have to worry about whether slacks are a sin or if you can watch Netflix as long as you don’t chill. You can have what you say (Mark 11:23) so it’s time to start saying and reap what God says you can have, right?

Well, you can have what you say but you’re not supposed to say anything that isn’t given to you by the Father and in line with His Will and Word (John 5:19). And we are under Grace. We cannot do anything to earn heaven (Romans 3:10). It is only in Jesus and by Jesus that we are saved (Acts 4:12). We are free from the Law’s rules and regulations as a way of gaining right standing before the Lord. We have a better Covenant (Hebrews 8:6) where Jesus paid for sin and in Him we can have right standing before the Father (Hebrews 10:19). This is all Truth. But the thing that might keep you from the full blessings and position promised by the Word is Matthew 5:17-20:

“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfil. For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

What does this mean? Well, we know from other things Jesus said and from other scriptures that we are free of the requirements of the Law to gain our right standing. It isn’t about following the rules. No, It is about what is behind the rules. It isn’t enough to keep the Law with our actions, so we don’t have to. We do however need to keep the spirit of the law in our hearts. If I never sleep with my neighbour’s wife, I am following the Law. But if every time I see her I am mentally undressing her. Imagining what she might do to me or let me do to her? Jesus said that I have committed adultery with her in my heart and it is a sin (Matthew 5:27-28). It is the state of our heart and the thoughts of our inner selves that determines where we stand, not stipulations of behaviour that can mask how we really are.

That is important because of the commandment that Jesus gave us. He said we are free from the Law. There are 613 commandments or ‘mitzvot’ in the Law of Moses. We are free from them. But Jesus said that if we do two things we will keep them all. That if our motivation and intentions are based on these two things, we keep the rest. The second is to love your neighbour as yourself. Any law about cheating, stealing, coveting, adultery, abuse, hatred, anger, insult, or anything that isn’t for the benefit and blessing of those who are not us is covered under that commandment. And yes, Jesus meant for us to be sincere in our inner selves regarding those who are not us. We can’t smile to their faces and then curse at them silently. This isn’t about any of those things being infractions on the sin scale. The fact is we were commanded to love others and that is what loving others looks like. We were commanded to obey. Obedience means loving others. Loving others means not doing any of those things. If you do any of them, you’re not operating in faith. Anything not done if faith is a sin (Romans 14:23). So the sanctification process of our lives in Jesus is alive and well and we are all guilty of not being like Jesus (1 John 1:8), but thank the Father there is Grace. Under the correction and guidance of the Holy Spirit we can all move closer and closer to the Lord every day.

Whew, you say. That’s a load off. I need to love others like Jesus did. I won’t always achieve, but if I am repentant and work at listening and obeying what I am told by the Holy Spirit, the Word, Jesus, and the Father I will always be on the path of renewal. I will always be getting a little more like Jesus. It’s a lifetime of sanctification and denial of the flesh, but in Jesus and by Jesus I can do it. Great. So bring on the blessings?

Let’s see. What does the Word say we can have? Large and fine cities. Houses full of all sorts of good things. Deep wells. Vineyards and olive groves. Eating our fill. Multiplied in all we do. Blessed with children, produce, grain, wine, olive oil, and livestock. No one succeeding against us. Kings given into our hands. Abundant fresh and flowing water; wheat and barley; vines; fig, pomegranate, and olive trees; honey, iron, and copper; food without scarcity, and being satisfied with our lives. Now granting that some of those might not be literal specifics, that is a pretty good list of things that we can reach out expecting to receive. I like that, don’t you? But we don’t get them by Grace. We don’t get them by deed. We don’t get them because we declare them. We get them by Covenant.

Covenant like marriage covenant, but covenant with the Lord. “Hear, Israel: the LORD is our God. The LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). It goes on. We are to reverence God, serve Him, avoid other gods — actual worshipping deities or putting others in His place in our lives — do what is morally right and good in HIS eyes (not our own), keeping things that are bad away from us and our houses, being broken before Him, letting Him humble us so that we rely on Him and Him alone, remembering all that He has done for us and not forgetting Him OR His commandments, and acknowledging that He is our source and the provider of all that we have, need, or could want.

Essentially, we are to keep the first and greatest commandment as laid down by Jesus and also as given to us by Moses from the Father: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’” (Matthew 22:37). That is how we get the blessing. By not caring about the blessing. Sounds like a contradiction. But we aren’t in the race of faith for reward. We aren’t here to earn heaven. We aren’t here to try and get something. It isn’t about riches or possessions or blessing or success or anything like that. It is about in every situation, with every possession, with every THING that crosses our path asking ourselves if it is a benefit to our walk with God or not. Does it promote Godly Morality or does it celebrate that which is not? It is not about giving up the music you enjoy, the shows you enjoy, or anything you enjoy and then sitting alone and bored being restricted in everything you can do.

A thousand times, no! It is about putting God first. It is about loving Jesus above all else. It is about bringing God into every piece of your life. And when something rubs against your spirit. When something finds itself uncomfortable co-existing with the Lord God Almighty, get rid of it. Cast it out. It isn’t worth keeping. The fellowship and landscape that the Lord opens to you will be more fulfilling and more exciting than anything that you gave up. And no, it isn’t always easy. Being broken before the Lord never is. The flesh is really good at finding the things that make IT feel good and holding them out to you. But anything worthwhile in life we get by seeking God first (Matthew 6:33). If the Lord is first, the rest won’t matter. And if the rest doesn’t matter, it can’t get a hook in you. And if it can’t get a hook into you, then as long as it is in line with the values of the Word, there isn’t any reason for you not to have it. And if there isn’t any reason for you not to have it, then the Lord will give it to you without you even seeking it.

The Lord knows what we need and what we like. He knows what is best for us and what will benefit us. He knows what we will take pleasure in. He knows everything that is good. The Lord loves to bless His children. The Lord is the source of all Good Things and all good things come from Him. He won’t hold back. But to be in the place where He blesses, we have to put Him first. That means that we will be willing, able, and eager to give away every single thing that He has given us if He asks us to. He might bless you only to see you blessed. He might bless you so that you can in turn bless others. It might be pass-alongs. The world hoards. The world sees things as ‘mine or yours’. In the Kingdom there is NO ownership. The Lord owns everything. He gives to you for your turn and maybe asks you to pass it along. Maybe not. But if you’re not willing to give up every single thing you own, you have your priorities wrong.

If you’re not bothered by things you see on TV and in movies, you have your priorities wrong. Doesn’t mean everything produced is bad. Puritans weren’t pure, they were just rule followers. Pharisees weren’t righteous, they were just rule followers. We’re called to be like Jesus. We have the Holy Spirit within us. We’re supposed to be focused on Him 110%. The Lord isn’t as the world is. If you’re putting Him first, the world will constantly be bumping against the Lord. But the Holy Spirit will also tell you what to do about it. It might be changing the channel for thirty seconds. It might be switching programs. He’ll tell us. But the fact is that the more pure our lives become by putting the Lord first and only, the richer our rewards will be now and in heaven (Mark 10:30).

Everything we do must be in the service of the ideal of putting the Lord first. If not, we are building a life on something that can’t last. On something that has no real value. “For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burnt, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). It is only in Jesus, putting the Father first, that we have anything lasting or get any blessing at all.

When God is first, it is a witness to the world around us. When God is first, the rest of everything can be. We were designed and built to worship Him. To dwell with Him. When we accomplish that, then we won’t be a prey to those around us. Then we will dwell securely. Then we will have no fear of others. So take up your cross today. Be broken before the Lord and put Him above everything else in your heart. It is a simple decision, but one that has to be made a thousand times a day and more. Love God above all. Always.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: 1 John 4:19

We are capable of love because He loved us. We love period because He loved us. So why don’t we love Him? Why aren’t we faithful? Why isn’t He our utmost? We are spiritual beings living in physical forms. We tend to identify through our physical forms and not through our spirits. But that isn’t the goal or the ideal. It wasn’t the plan, but it is where we find ourselves. Our best is to put God first. No experience or relationship or profession or entertainment or anything should be before Him. He is first and foremost. We shouldn’t tread water waiting for life to settle. For life to get less crazy. For us to get our equilibrium. Don’t wait for the waves to cease. Don’t wait for the perfect economic upturn. Don’t wait for the feelings to catch up or present themselves. Don’t wait for solvency or proper decision making. Love Him now in your turmoil and distress. Love Him now in truth. Accept His love and return it. As words, songs, worship, prayer, and obedience. Give yourself to the Word and let it change you and your thinking. Let it open you up to the possibilities of your imperfections. Each one is a place Jesus can stand and BE. Let Jesus become more of you so that you can be more of Him. Love Him, because He loves you. So very much.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.