Fear No Fear

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

If then your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark, it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
Luke 11:36 (emphasis added)

According to the National Eye Institute (www.nei.nih.gov), light passes through the cornea (the clear front layer of the eye). The cornea is shaped like a dome and bends light to help the eye focus. Some of this light enters the eye through an opening called the pupil (PYOO-pul). The iris (the coloured part of the eye) controls how much light the pupil lets in. Without a receptive eye, light isn’t going to get in. It doesn’t matter how bright the light. If the eye isn’t letting it in, it isn’t coming in. What the eye lets in, fills ALL the receptors.

“Turn my eyes away from what is worthless. Revive me with your word” (Psalm 119:37). “You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith, for they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3). “This law scroll must not leave your lips. You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper and be successful” (Joshua 1:8). When we have a singular focus on Adonai, there is nothing that cannot come to pass. Not regarding His Will. Not regarding things on earth. When we are FOCUSED on Him, we are ready to move. Ready to receive. Eager in our listening. And loyal in our trusting. Adonai inhabits in our life His proper place. All things functioning and working as they should. This is NOT something we can do on our own strength. It is from Grace. It is from Mercy. And it ONLY happens in Jesus.

“So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance as a servant and witness to the things you have seen and to the things in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:15-18). “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, will give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him,—since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened—so that you can know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength” (Ephesians 1:17-19). “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. He is THE Way. He is how we see the Father. “Jesus replied, “Have I been with you for so long and yet you have not known me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, believe because of the miraculous deeds themselves. I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:9-14). If we are going to operate in Jesus, we MUST operate as He did. We have to do things how He did. We MUST. His entire ministry is an example of how we should act, what we should teach, and how we should go about it. We do what the FATHER says. We say what the FATHER says we should say. And we do NOTHING ELSE. We operate in EVERY way based on our trust in Adonai. ANYTHING ELSE is sin because ANYTHING ELSE is NOT the will of the Father (Romans 14:23).

Singular focus. That’s what Jesus was about. “For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). The JOY set out for Him. THAT was His focus. Jesus had had a LONG time to consider it. He was spiritually slain from before creation was created (Revelation 13:8). He did not let the horror of the cross dominate His thinking. Jesus didn’t dwell on THAT until the Garden of Gethsemane. And it hit Him HARD (Matthew 26:36-45; Mark 14:32-52; Luke 22:39-53). But His whole ministry wasn’t dwelling on that moment. No. His FOCUS was on the JOY which was the WILL of the Father – peace between Himself and humanity (Luke 2:14). Jesus let NOTHING in but the Word. The Light of the Father. Consequently, there was nothing else that could get in. It wasn’t that there wasn’t OPPORTUNITY for it too. But Jesus didn’t take it. Not one of them. Jesus STAYED focused on the Father. He often went to spent time ALONE with His Father (Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46–47; John 6:15). Singular focus, full of Adonai’s Light. Such a simple formula.

The opposite is also true. If we look on the things that are NOT Adonai, we give opportunity for darkness to set up shop inside us. Does that mean don’t watch sports? Does that mean don’t go to movies? Don’t read murder mysteries? Don’t get on social media? Not necessarily no. Don’t do ANYTHING that moves Adonai out of His position. “Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6). “Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37). We are to WHOLLY follow Him. You let ANYTHING get between your Adonai-time and you? That’s an idol. Toss it. If you enjoy things, but you DON’T let them get between you and Adonai? That thing isn’t a burden to you. It isn’t a chain. You could toss it and it wouldn’t matter. That’s where we want to be about everything. Adonai first. Everything else second. When you do it the other way? It can SERIOUSLY impact your walk with Him. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever” (1 John 2:15-17). It isn’t just pretty words. It’s VERY serious (2 Timothy 4:10).

Let the Light burn. Let it shine. Be LIT. “You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Let the light in. Let it ALL in. Don’t try and stop it. Don’t let darkness in. It will stop the flow of Spirit so fast it isn’t funny. If the Spirit suddenly stops, halt, go back, and take a good look at what you just did. Get it gone, repent, do whatever you need to. Let the Light flow. Keep your eyes on Jesus. It’s how we see the Father.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 44:5

“One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’ and another will use the name ‘Jacob.’ One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and use the name ‘Israel.’”” Rabbinical teaching [Avoth d’Rabbi Nathan (36:1)] is that the first are the perfectly righteous, the second are the children (the sons of the wicked), the third are the repentant, and the fourth are the proselytes. It was also the custom of the times to mark the slave with the name of the owner. “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘In those days 10 people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of—indeed, grab—the robe of one Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” (Zechariah 8:23). The Messiah will send the Spirit of Elohim. It would be Elohim’s Ruach that would CALL to the people and enable them to BE righteous, to BE repentant, to BREAK from the parents and walk a better path, to grab a Jew and say ‘take me to where Adonai dwells’. It is Ruach HaKodesh that makes it happen. “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you . . . But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears and will tell you what is to come” (John 16:7, 13). Jesus talk the NEED for Ruach HaKodesh. Jesus PROMISED His coming. And He CAME. “Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them” (Acts 2:1-3). Jesus is TRUSTWORTHY. Jesus SENT Ruach HaKodesh. Jesus IS Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b