Fear No Fear

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

“My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might be reverent towards me; and he was reverent towards me, and stood in awe of my name.
Malachi 2:5 (emphasis added)

We are not meant to live or dwell in fear. Stress and anxiety were not meant to be part of our psyche. All of that was the heritage of the curse. Now I know that not everyone agrees with that. But it makes logical sense. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow. Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures” (James 1:17-18). God made us to be like Him. More than just act like Him, or kinda sorta do things in a similar vein as Him. “God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).

The Hebrew word for image used in this verse is ‘Tselem’ (zeh-lem). It means shadow, similar to, or in the pattern of. We are shadows of Yahweh (Psalm 91:1). We are a reflection of the soul of the Lord. Intended to take dominion over the world and be the benevolent caretaker of the planet just as He would if He were the one actively doing it. We could have been repositories of the Lord’s heart and thoughts. Image-bearers of the Lord as we lived and behaved just like Him.

We didn’t make it.

We rebelled. We lost the ability to naturally hold the Lord’s heart and thoughts. Our eternal spirit died. Without a living spirit to inform our soul (heart, mind, and emotions) as to proper behaviour, our only sensory input was our flesh – which fell along with the rest of the universe. We are therefore susceptible to sin. As soon as any of us chooses to sin – even once – in our hearts, words, or actions, then we are in sin and under a sentence of death (Genesis 2:17). Jesus died to pay the price for sin. The Father resurrected Jesus from the dead so that we too could be resurrected into Jesus. By Grace, through faith, by believing on and in Jesus, accepting that He died for our sin, and submitting to Him as our Saviour and Lord, confessing that and getting baptised, we are saved and receive His righteous spirit in place of our own dead one.

In Jesus, by Jesus, and through Jesus we are able to once again be images of our Creator, made in His likeness. We need to renew our minds so that we can begin to understand the heart of the Father and the reflection of His thoughts that is the Word of God. It is a sanctification process that takes our whole lives and who knows how much of eternity before we once again will be (in our heavenly bodies) able to be repositories of the Father’s heart and thoughts. All fear and everything bad will be gone, never to return. Because only good things come from God. There is nothing bad in Him. Nothing bad comes from Him. We were meant to be recipients of the Goodness of God. Reflecting His Goodness to the world. In Jesus, we have that opportunity again.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men. You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16). We are to be the salt and the light in this world of bland darkness. They should see us. They should notice us. Because it is Jesus in us that does the shining and the work. It only takes a little light or salt to make a big difference where they are used. If we will be willing to be obedient to the Lord, He will be able to use us to shine. It is part of the covenant that Jesus made with us.

“As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, “All of you drink it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s Kingdom“” (Matthew 26:26-29). It is our agreement with Him. Our entrance into the covenant of Jesus’ blood. The medium of all the covenants that God has made with humanity since the beginning. It isn’t something we earn. It isn’t something we deserve. Like every other covenant with God, it is given by Grace.

The covenant with Levi was established after the incident of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32). Before that, the Lord had set aside the firstborn male of Israel (man and animal) as His own (Exodus 13:2). But the tribe of Levi were the only ones who did not participate in the worship and creation of the Golden Calf (except for Aaron). “Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am Yahweh”” (Numbers 3:11-13). He sanctified them as priests in service to Him. He gave them life and peace in order to foster within them the sense of reverence that they needed in order to give service to Yahweh. To hold Yahweh in reverence and awe. How could they accept all the sacrifices of the people if they didn’t think God was worthy of them? How could they prepare all the implements, cook all the bread, offer the incense, and do all that was necessary to sanctify it all so that it would be accepted by the Lord? How could they do all that work if they didn’t believe in it? In the process itself and the reasons behind it? Of course, they wouldn’t be able to. Just as we are given the faith to believe in the Lord in the first place (Ephesians 2:8-9), the Levites were given what they needed to hold the Lord in the proper reverence.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In the past, you were not a people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (2 Peter 2:9-10). We in the New Covenant are in a priesthood covenant with Yahweh God (albeit of the Melchizedek line, not the Levitical – Hebrews 7:11-22). Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant than the Levites had. He is the sacrifice once for all. We don’t serve offering animal sacrifice, we participate in the blood sacrifice of atonement that Jesus laid on the mercy seat with His own blood. WE are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We are indwelt by Him: “For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:18-21).

We cannot sanctify ourselves for service. He needs to do that, and He does through His Word (John 17:17). Jesus prayed that over us. Our part is to get into the Word. To study it, listen to it, read it, think about it. Anything and everything we can so that He can renew our minds (Romans 12:1-2). Start with something, and then build up into serious time in it. Let yourself be led by the Lord, not by arbitrary timelines and guides. Some people start with ten minutes a day. Others listen on the way to work or while doing their exercises. Others do a read through the bible in a year plan. Realistically, if you commit to spending one solid hour a day reading the bible, you can read through the entire thing in ninety days. Whatever level you are comfortable with, whatever you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to, that’s where you should start and the direction you should go. This isn’t an area for performance or to pick up condemnation for missing a day. This is what we do. We abide in Jesus and Jesus is the Word (John 1:14).

If we aren’t renewed, we are going to have trouble walking in the reverence of the Lord. We must stay broken before Him if we are going to be of any use. Not that the Lord needs perfection to use someone – He hasn’t picked a qualified human yet. But if we are not broken before Him we are likely to either not listen to Him or to think that it is us who are doing the things. We are not the ones who do the things. It is the Lord who does the things. Read John 15 and see how Jesus drives the point home. HE is the vine, HE is the source, HE is the one who performs. We are nothing without Him. Dead branches unable to bear fruit. Of course this is a cause for celebration and rejoicing, not sorrow. Oh the condition the world would be in if we were left to do things on our own steam. Half the time I’m happy when I get my pants on straight. I certainly would not want to be responsible for coming up with healing power or wisdom or some other supernatural occurrence. I will tell you the truth: I have enough of a struggle maintaining my hold on the Word, I don’t want to have to do anything else. I mean, we live in a physical world in bodies of flesh. If I didn’t have the Word to build up my faith I would never be able to believe for my healing. Or for blessing. Or for anything. I wouldn’t be able to receive from the Lord because I’d be too consumed by charging up my power or trying to figure out the responsible way to use it or trying not to abuse it. It is so great to let all that be on God. He can handle it. He is all-powerful, He is all-knowing, He is all-merciful, and He knows all there is to know about all there is. I’ll stick with humbling my spirit to stay broken before Him, getting into the Word, and relying on Him.

I need the attitude of submitting to His morals, His guidance, His timing, His tasks, and anything else that comes under obedience. Faith is manifested obedience as much as it is a form of having believed so that we are eagerly expecting things as a fact. Without obedience we cannot hope to please the Lord. He put us here for a reason: worship. Worship in word, music, song, thought, and deed. We are all servants in the body of Christ (John 13:14-16). We cannot serve without worship. Worship is us showing honour and reverence for the Lord. We do that with acts of service, we do that with our words, we do that with our thoughts, we are to do that with everything we are all the time. To love the Lord our God with all our hearts and minds and resources completely, totally, and foremost of all things (Deuteronomy 6:1-6). This is our purpose. This is the one truly moral undertaking that the believer can do that no one else (unbeliever, atheist, worshipper of other gods, witch, diviner, etc) can do. It is the thing that ONLY the believer can do. It is the meaning of life. It is the purpose under which we live, breathe, and move. This is it.

It is a unique relationship. It was instigated by the Lord before Creation was created. Mapped out, prepared for, and eagerly anticipated. Not all the negative things, but the relationship part. The beloved children coming to their loving father in worship. To live according to it. To dream according to it. To walk in it. Not just in His ways, following after the path that Jesus laid out for us, carrying our cross in imitation of Him. But to walk WITH Him (Micah 6:8). We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Obedient to His instructions regardless of what we see around us, what we ‘know’ to be true, or what we think is possible. If He says it, then it is so. No matter what your feelings tell you, what emotions you’ve chosen to have, what rises up inside you, what you’re told, or what comes at you. God’s Word is TRUTH. Absolute, unvarnished, literal, eternal, unchanging truth. He prepared these things so that we can walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). He lights the path so that we can find our way (Psalm 119:105). We walk IN Jesus (Colossians 2:6) and with Jesus in the agreement of faith (Amos 3:3). There is nothing like it. It IS abundant life everlasting (Psalm 5:12).

If we’ve been baptised into Jesus we’ve done all the dying that we are ever going to do. We are living our eternal lives now. Our body will swap up, but it will be in the twinkle of an eye with no physical sensation at all. We are unique among all the beings that have ever been. The Lord God Almighty is waiting for you. Yes, YOU. If you draw near to Him – and you can because He has covenanted with you to give you life and peace – if you truly seek His face, then He will draw near to you (James 4:8). By rejecting fear and embracing faith, by refusing disobedience and choosing obedience, by crucifying ego and kneeling broken before Him, we are drawing near to God. God will draw near to us. Walk with us. Walk before us. Walk behind us. Hold us in His hands, write His Word in our hearts and minds, and satisfy us with abundant and long life. Is there anything better than that? Could there be? It is His gift to us. Don’t leave it unwrapped. Get it open and get seeking. Take Him up on His offer. You will never, ever, EVER regret it.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Hebrews 11:5-6

How’d you like to go straight to heaven, do not pass go, no death required, nothing left behind, straight through the pearly gates? It’s possible. Enoch did it and God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). Thing is, though, you have to do the same thing to get the same thing. The thing with Enoch was pleasing God. He was known for pleasing God. That isn’t said lightly. Enoch pleased God. David’s young heart was pleasing to God by implication, but it doesn’t say it outright. Abraham pleased God because he held nothing dearer to his heart than the Lord – willing to obey him no matter what (James 2:21-26). That’s about it. I can’t think of any more. Couldn’t find any in a quick search either. There might be one though. Several men and women of faith. Several people who walked with God as a habitual thing. That’s not the same as pleasing Him, though. Faith pleases Him, but think of the level of obedience on a daily level – not just in how you act, but what is in your heart – to surpass the people of faith in the bible and get on the list of people who pleased God. God doesn’t take it lightly. He is sparing with His praise in this area. But it is achievable. For believers today, it should be easier. We have the Holy Spirit living in us. We have the living eternal spirit of Jesus grafted onto us. The old testament believers in God never had that. Not in the way we do. Not in the not-quite-fullness-of-fullness-but-still-pretty-full way we do. It should be easy street for us. But it is not. It is hard. Even for us. The problem is that we are not – on the whole – crafting habits. We are not making a habit and then a love of habit, and then an addiction to that habit kind of habit of it. These guys started small too. One of them started as a heathen. They had the Holy Spirit resting on them, but not living in them. We have the advantage. In Jesus we abide. Why won’t we fight our flesh harder? We can, you know. Why don’t we submit in all things? We can, you know. Why do we struggle so much? Jesus told us the yoke was easy. The burden is light. When will we believe Him? When will we put in the time and the heartfelt intent to know Him? If we do, nothing will be beyond us relationship-wise. He’ll talk to us and walk with us. Spirit to spirit, mind to mind. Us and the Creator. Can you imagine? I hope so. Because that is the first step. Now take the second. Open the Word and spend some time with Him today. Read it to receive revelation, to meet Jesus on every page, to hear what He says, and to submit to what you find there. It’s not complex. You can take the Word literally. It’s okay. He’ll help you with the rest. He is eager to meet you. To be near to you. To walk WITH you. Trust me. Trust Him. Take the Word for a test toast today.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.