Fear No Fear

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

For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6 (emphasis added)

Adonai Elohim is a God of MOTION (Genesis 1:1). He doesn’t HOLD. He doesn’t REVERSE. He goes forward. And He calls US to go forward. Our relationship is a forward facing, forward moving relationship. We should see and experience CONSTANT improvement in our lives – the size of them doesn’t matter. And we will get it, too. Exactly as much as we TRUST Him for. People who are demonstrating a cooperation with Ruach HaKodesh’s leading for their lives WILL receive completion in the good things that Adonai has begun in them. Those who aren’t? Who aren’t there yet? Who haven’t left the realm of selfishness? Who haven’t demonstrated the love of Jesus by showing love toward others through their giving (time, money, support, etc)? Those people are stagnant. They’re not progressing. They might not receive completion on this side of Heaven.

Believers HAVE to cooperate with what Adonai is and wants to do with their lives. We HAVE to be obedient. Adonai is faithful. One hundred percent. What He starts He WILL complete. When we receive it is what’s in question. OUR faithfulness has been suspect right from the beginning. We have not always obeyed. We have not always submitted. It is because of THAT that death got in. Death is a byproduct of sin. Sin is a byproduct of disobedience. The spirit of disobedience (evil inclination) is part of our flesh. We have NO say in it. We get it when we’re born. The spirit of obedience (righteous inclination) is part of Jesus. We get it when we are born into Him (1 John 4:17). It REPLACES the evil inclination (1 Corinthians 6:17). We are no longer sinners. Righteous conduct is a byproduct of obedience. Life is a byproduct of righteous conduct. On our own: disobedience, sin, death. In Jesus: obedience, righteous conduct, life. In Jesus, the completion of what Adonai started in us and our salvation secure until Jesus comes again – when we will receive the fullness of the promise (1 John 3:2-3).

Righteousness is right standing with Adonai. HIS point of view. Has NOTHING to do with us, our laws, our opinions, our feelings, our senses, or our understanding. If we OBEY we enjoy right standing with Adonai – moving forward in what He has for us. If we have right standing, we are conducting our life according to His point of view. It will be counted to us as righteousness. That’s how Abraham got it (Genesis 15:6). He listened to Adonai. He obeyed. Not perfectly, but he corrected himself whenever he was able. He obeyed. It showed he valued Adonai. It showed he loved Adonai. It showed a willingness to sacrifice Self to Elohim. He obeyed. It made him a FRIEND (James 2:23-24). Moses obeyed. Why was Moses not called a friend? I don’t know. But Abraham’s whole life revolved around his obedience to Adonai. Where he lived, how he lived, where he went, what he challenged, what he didn’t. EVERYTHING was about those few commands that we have recorded. He wasn’t perfect, but he strove to DO. We got the Law of Moses because we got convinced we could do like Abraham and that would be enough. Adonai doesn’t want ‘enough’. Adonai is PURE righteousness. Adonai requires PURE obedience – complete compliance in all ways in all things. We can’t do that. The Law of Moses proves it to us beyond a shadow of a doubt (James 2:10). We keep trying to perfect that LAW and only continually prove His point – but gain NOTHING toward righteousness. When we’re trying to DO, we’re treading water. We are going nowhere. Which is exactly where humanity went for hundreds of years.

Then Jesus came and restored the Law of Life through PERFECT obedience (Matthew 5:17-20). He did it. In Him, we get the BENEFIT of perfect obedience without the complete compliance of OUR effort (Romans 6:23). That’s Grace. However, we must stay in Jesus or be under Law (Galatians 3:19-22). Our choice then is not to sin or not sin. Our choice is stand under the Grace of completed Law or stand under Law that needs keeping. In Jesus, we become HIS completed Law. What then does He say? Obey because you love me (John 14:21). Stay where you are protected. Stay under Life where there is no death. What do we obey? Adonai first and foremost so that we do what He says is right from His point of view (Matthew 22:36-37). Next, love others like Jesus loved us (Matthew 22:39-40). Model Life, model obedience, and strive to share it so they can see the benefits of Life over the consequences of death (John 13:35). Put Adonai first. Move where He says to move. Forward motion, deeper into Him. Model Life.

Death is effective and active because of sin (Genesis 2:16-17). Sin is disobedience. If we restore obedience there is no sin. If there is no sin, death is ineffective and inactive. Obedience generates Life. If you want to remove all effects of death (sickness, disease, deterioration, ailments, mental conditions , negative emotions, shame, toil, unproductiveness, unfruitfulness {not just procreation, but in all areas of life and work}, uncontrolled environments, etc), replace them with all the effects of life (Galatians 5:22-23). Be obedient. Remain in Jesus in order to be able to BE obedient. In Jesus there is life. Not existence. Not getting by. Not waiting until one day when good things will happen. Abundant life (John 10:10). And when our assignment from Adonai is done. When we have accomplished the work He sets before us, we go to heaven (John 19:30). We can consciously and through a decision step out of our flesh suit and go to heaven satisfied with the length of flesh suit functioning that we have had (Psalm 91:16, Philippians 1:21-25). That is what is possible in Jesus. You might have wrinkles. You might have white hair. You might have years on you. But your strength, vigour, mobility, sight, hearing, and voice will be as if you were in your prime because whether you are 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, or more you WILL BE in your prime. In Jesus ALL life is the PRIME of life. It is ABUNDANT life. We’re told we have 120 years as our baseline. Moses went past it, for example. We’re told we can be satisfied with our flesh suit years. So we CAN go beyond 120 according to the Word. We might not WANT to, though. From our timeline perspective that’s a lot of years. We can be satisfied with long life (Psalm 91:16) and the length that is satisfactory will depend on the person. We don’t have to settle for less. The fullness of that promise is what’s available in Jesus: LIFE.

None of this is an issue of wellness. None of this is an issue of sin in and of itself. None of this is an issue of physical conditions or functions. It all comes down to obedience. Perfectly obedient? You will have NONE of the effects of death. But we ALL fall short (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Not in Jesus, though. We seek to stay in Him and we enjoy His Grace to live under Life. Seek first the Kingdom, ALL follows (Matthew 6:33). Jesus is THE Way to Life which is Truth. Objective truth that does not rely on human opinion, knowledge, experience, world-view, feelings, or anything else. If we love Him, we’ll obey Him (John 14:15). If we obey Him, we’ll abide in Him, if we abide in Him, we experience the Grace that brings us Life (John 15:5). Not by US, not by WORKS, but by TRUST in our love of Adonai. Jesus came to remove and destroy the POWER of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Through Jesus’ obedience, in Jesus death is no longer active. It is again on the outside because the boundary of obedience is not violated. It is an outside factor that cannot affect Him. In Him, we can experience the same. Because the POWER of death is SIN, and through Jesus’ sacrifice sin is DONE AWAY WITH. In Jesus, there is NOTHING death can do. No sting. No fear. Death is DONE AWAY WITH. And things done away with aren’t there anymore. If they’re not there, how can they affect you?

If you don’t like how someone is talking, go where you can’t listen to them anymore. If you don’t like how someone is touching you, go where you cannot be touched by them anymore. If you don’t like death and its effects? Go where you cannot be touched by them anymore. Flood your ears with Adonai’s Word and the devil’s roar becomes something you don’t have to listen to anymore (James 4:17). The Resurrection to Life isn’t an event. It is a PERSON. In that person is Abundant Life. If you join Him, you will – by Grace through your Trust in His Words about it – experience what HE did and LIFE will flood your flesh suit from your DNA on up as you are FREE from death and IN life (Romans 8:11). Ever forward into His territory, His tasks, His completion with perfection of us inside of His LIFE.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 48:12

“Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I summoned. I am the one; I am present at the very beginning and at the very end.” Messiah would be and IS the First and the Last. The Alpha-Omega. He was before all things. He will be after all things. “This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’” (John 1:30). ““I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God—the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come—the All-Powerful” (Revelation 1:8). “When I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last” (Revelation 1:17). Jesus holds a unique place. Other people recognised it. He acknowledged it. Those who meet Him today can see it. Jesus IS. Alpha-Omega. Beginning and End. All things made through Him (Colossians 1:13-20). All authority in His Name (Matthew 28:18). Jesus IS Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

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

Matthew 16:16b