Fear No Fear

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

Not that I have already attained this—that is, I have not already been perfected—but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard that we have already attained.
Philippians 3:12-16 (emphasis added)

It is not a sin to have counselling or therapy. It’s not a sin to want an apology or to need to give one. It’s not a sin to have a bad day, a series of bad days, or a crisis. These are real things. They are not sins. But in a believing marriage, they are not the best way. Again, they are NOT wrong, but we have something BETTER. It’s kind of like the Old Covenant. The Law was not WRONG. But the covenant between Jesus and His Father? It’s something BETTER. We serve a forward looking God. We serve a God of MOTION. Of GROWTH. We should ALWAYS be looking for the next BETTER that He has planned.

None of us are perfect (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). Anyone who is a believer should be being PERFECTED. It is the state where the Word is getting into us so that the Father can renew our minds back to pre-sin thinking (Romans 12:2), so that we can make the choice to put our foot on sin’s neck (Genesis 4:7), submit to what we find in the Word with JOY, resist the devil (James 4:7), and remain victorious in Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:57). If you’re a believer, around this time you’ll be thinking ‘I know all this’. You probably do.

We as believers are exposed to a LOT of commentary on the Word. Books, teaching tapes, mp3s, mp4s, seminars, getaways, retreats, conferences, sermons, bible studies, various bible formats and translations, and Apps. We know a LOT about a LOT of subjects. Recently I have particularly noticed two things. A lack of Jesus in a lot of the ‘advice’, and that knowledge doesn’t mean a lot. Sometimes BELIEF doesn’t mean a lot. “You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear” (James 2:19). The devil knows a lot and believes it. But he doesn’t submit and he doesn’t obey. Obedience is key.

Obedience to whom? Our marriage counsellor? On one level, yes. If you don’t work with the professionals you go to there isn’t a point to going (Always go to spirit-filled professionals. Harder to find, always worth it). To those self-help books? Is Jesus in them? If not, then no. I’m serious about this. I don’t care if you are dealing with relationship issues, parenting issues, or sex/intimacy issues. If Jesus isn’t a major part of the therapy, it will be almost useless. Human thinking tells us a lot of neat and functional things. But Jesus tells us truth. You can’t say that Adonai isn’t interested in the details of our lives. The Father has our hands written on His palm (Isaiah 49:16). Jesus DIED for us so that we didn’t have to be judged. I think they care about the little things.

I was recently changing the bathroom floor because of water damage. I got half the subfloor done. Everything was fine. Level. But there was a tiny discrepancy on height between one half and the other. I was willing to leave it and use the next level to even it out. Ruach HaKodesh told my partner: ‘He won’t be happy. Don’t let him stop.’ My bathroom floor is next to nothing in the big scope of things. It’s on the bottom half of nothing, in fact. But He cared about what I would think and feel about that less than nothing. “O Lord, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do. Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it” (Psalm 139:1-4). Adonai cares about every aspect of our lives. Even the intimate stuff. It doesn’t matter if it is something you’re okay talking to a counsellor about or not. The Lord can handle it. He made us. He knows how we work. And He made it all to be GOOD.

We need to get Jesus into everything and then HOLD FAST to Him. Remember this isn’t a knowing about it thing. This is an obedience to it thing. What can take something from belief and turn it into inbelief is a lack of moving on it. When we are not obedient to Jesus and moving forward, we’re stationary. When we are stationary, doubt breeds. It’s a spiritual fungus or mould. Stay in one place, unbelief starts to grow. Why does Ruach HaKodesh always move (Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:2)? He’s always looking for areas of opportunity for growth. Growth for us, growth for Jesus, and growth for the Father. The Father’s will is GROWTH. We should always be eager for growth in every aspect of our lives and our relationships. Growth is frequently painful, but it doesn’t have to be. If we are relying on Jesus, resting in Jesus, then course corrections – while they can shake us up and stretch us – won’t be a big deal. We shouldn’t be about the specific thing (job, town, house, human), and all about obedience to Jesus.

Remember those demons who tremble in fear at what they know to be true? We don’t have to be like that. We can hold onto the things we have ALREADY worked through with Jesus. We don’t have to revisit them. We don’t need to remember them. Jesus can help us to forget. The thing itself and the emotions we chose in the moment AND afterward. I have never felt so hurt and cried so hard for so long as when I lost my baby. I was devastated. I killed a burgeoning career. I changed personality. Anxiety came on me. Depression came on me. Dependence on mementos came on me. Jesus has taken it ALL away. I had to be willing to deal with it. To let HIM cleanse me. I resisted for a long time. When I was ready to submit to Him and His Word (for example Psalm 30:5), He wiped me clean. I have memories, but no grief. Moments of sadness, but it doesn’t tear at my insides because they are ‘awww I miss that’ no ‘oh no she’s lost’. No anxiety. No depression. Clean. Only possible because of Jesus. I can choose Joy in Him. I can. He makes it possible. It’s a Fruit He gave me (Galatians 5:22-23).

We can’t let go of our victories in Him. We need to remind ourselves, or minds, our bodies, our spouses, our doctors, and every thought that shows up that we have victory in Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:57). We don’t need to doubt it. We don’t need to challenge it. We only need to believe and then act accordingly. To walk out our obedience to Him. To hold fast to what He has done in our lives and in our marriage unit. To ALWAYS – hand in hand – press forward to the task that has been set before you and your spouse. It’s what we are here for.

If we – as a marriage unit – are constantly on the prowl through our pasts, we’re not looking forward. It doesn’t have to be blame. If we are trying to ride our successes. If we are trying to recapture ‘the excitement’. If we’re trying to live like we did. If we are doing any of that, we’re choosing a style of behaviour that is not beneficial. The ‘honeymoon’ doesn’t need to end. We can live in that first blush of the marriage. Our marriages can be carefree and happy, full of lots of laughs, intimacy, and fun dates – by ourselves AND with kids. Instead of thinking like the world where the ‘full picture’ of your partner with all the quirks, foibles, and failings ends the honeymoon; we can live in the honeymoon for the ENTIRE MARRIAGE. Not because we are blind to faults and failings, but because we cast those on Jesus and HE takes care of them (1 Peter 5:6-7). Why should WE have to deal with them when we can’t really do anything about them anyway?

Each care dealt with is a victory. It’s a step forward. Every time we use the Fruit of the Spirit to get past a bump. Every time we use the Word as the basis of our viewpoint differences (submitting to Adonai’s and NOT taking ours as THE ONE). Since we are able to choose Joy, choose Peace, choose Gentleness, choose Kindness, choose Faithfulness, and more like them, we can choose to live an easy marriage. Life together doesn’t HAVE to be hard. It can be simple and easy. To maintain that mindset, we HAVE to get Jesus on board. My honeymoon has lasted fourteen years so far. There is still passion, fun, excitement, exploration of minds, longing when they’re gone (or near, really), an insatiable desire to know every facet of each other, and all the other blissful stuff. We build our lives from that blissful TOGETHERNESS. It isn’t that negative things don’t come on us, it’s that we choose not to keep them. We slough them off like winter coats we don’t need in the warmer weather. Sometimes the sloughing takes longer than at other times, but we can choose to live pleasant lives. We can choose not to have fights. We can choose not to nitpick. We can choose not to talk trash. We can choose not to let feelings determine our emotions.

My partner did and said two things the other day that could have caused a problem. What they said didn’t bother me. What they did hurt my feelings. It lasted about 45 seconds. Because Ruach HaKodesh was right there reminding me that MY feelings weren’t anything more than information. I looked at the information and decided NOT to base anything on them. I based my emotions on the Word – Romans 15:13 and Philippians 4:4 specifically. The negative dropped off, it was a blip, I was smiling and we enjoyed the rest of the evening. They had done nothing WRONG. My FEELINGS got hurt, but I chose not to take them in. I took in HIS feelings and stood on HIS Word, and my emotions remained content and happy. Guess what? My feelings followed suit. Feelings are inconstant. They change. Choose positive emotions based on real, objective Truth, and your feelings will rapidly follow suit.

If we are choosing our emotions, bringing Jesus into EVERY ASPECT of our lives together, spending time seeking the Father’s will and submitting to what we find, grabbing each victory like the rung of a ladder and pulling ourselves forward toward the goal He set (first our assignment and then heaven), we will have victorious marriages. We don’t have to play stereotypes. We don’t have to follow the traditional patterns. We can have great marriages full of life and love. Problems don’t need to derail you. Life doesn’t need to derail you. Tragedy doesn’t need to derail you. Mistakes don’t need to derail you. Elohim is LOVE (1 John 4:16). Elohim’s love is CONSTANT (Psalm 136:26). And HIS love conquers ALL THINGS (1 Corinthians 13:7).

We can have it all in Jesus. Growing forward. Living together with ease. Loving Him, loving our spouses, and loving our lives. It IS possible. IF Jesus has your cares, Jesus has your focus, Jesus has your confidence, Jesus has your trust, and Jesus is the Lord of ALL of your lives. Grab each victory He gives you and always keep pulling each other forward in encouragement and blessing. You can have a healed, whole marriage, with nothing missing and NOTHING broken. Amen.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 52:4-5

“How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains the feet of a messenger who announces peace, a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” Messiah would come to publish Good Tidings of Peace between Yahweh and humanity. He would walk the country of Israel and Judah and proclaim the Good News of great Joy that the war between Elohim and sin is over. That we can ALL repent and be saved. That the Kingdom of Elohim is not far off, but close and for NOW. “Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the surrounding countryside. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by all” (Luke 4:14-15). Jesus walked the country and He proclaimed the Good News of His Father. He sent out His Twelve Disciples. He sent out His Seventy Disciples. He spoke His message consistently and near constantly. Jesus publish the news wherever He went. Jesus IS Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

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

Matthew 16:16b