Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, in order that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.“

2 Timothy 3:16-17

You can’t do a job without a toolbox. It doesn’t matter whether those tools are emotional, physical, or mental. We all need the right tools in our toolboxes in order to do the jobs we need to do. Psychology is very big on tools for the toolboxes. Coping mechanisms and ways to express ourselves and little tricks to regulate what is going on in and around us. Often the tools are to deescalate a situation or to help someone else process what they’re going through. There are a few that make me wonder about their efficacy, but the results often speak for themselves. Human thinking has come up with some great tools for things. There are also tools for the believer. Adonai has made sure that we are WELL equipped for what we are called to do and to be.

First, we have Jesus. In HIM we find EVERYTHING we need. Without HIM, the life of the believer is impossible. “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him—this one bears much fruit, for apart from me you are not able to do anything” (John 15:5). In HIM we are righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). In HIM we are prosperous (3 John 2) – and that means spiritually, emotionally, mentally, relationally, physically, and financially. We HAVE to have a focus on Jesus and aligning ourselves with His wants, His desires, His instructions, His heart, and His way of doing things – with no explanation needed. We live by our trust in Him and through our belief that He can do what He says He can do.

Second, we have Ruach HaKodesh. He is our connector. He is our conduit. Instruction, guidance, correction, comfort, it ALL comes through Him. He is the Ruach of Truth that tells us what IS. He points to Jesus and Jesus points to the Father and without them, we would be lost. Through them we can come boldly to the Throne of Grace and receive from the Father (Hebrews 4:16). Ruach HaKodesh is the voice consistently and constantly speaking to us about Jesus and how we could be trusting in Him. He is the pointer out of the possibilities we have in EVERY situation to trust in Jesus. He also is the One who hands us the armour we put on (Ephesians 6:10-18). He grows the Fruit we can use and through His teaching that we can grow in our own hearts (Galatians 5:22-23). He reminds us of all things in the Word and all that Jesus has spoken to us (John 14:26).

Third, we have the Word. Every answer we need is contained in the Word. Every teaching to make us think and ask the correct question is contained in the Word. All instruction we need is contained in the Word. It is a multi-faceted, ever relevant, always producing, living document. It contains no contradictions. It can be believed verbatim exactly as written. And if we listen to Ruach HaKodesh, the author, we will always have the best commentary tailored to our exact needs in every moment. From the begats to the it shall be’s, there is layer upon layer upon layer. Every time I think I have gotten to the bottom of a verse or passage, Ruach HaKodesh will show me something new or I’ll hear a completely different take from an anointed speaker. There is NO END to what the Word can produce in our lives if we will study it, think on it, and model our thinking around it.

These are the tools in our toolbox. These are the people and the textbook by which we can retrain our minds (Romans 12:2). These are the litmus by which we can test everything and prove what is from Adonai and what is not (1 Thessalonians 5:21). We should LOVE the Word. I recently heard a message based all around that. What was recommended was to spend some time in Psalm 119. Longest chapter in the bible and right in the middle of our current configuration of the bible. It was called the HEART of the Word. I’ve been thinking about that for a few weeks now and I agree. It really does capture the love and adoration that we have for Adonai. It showcases everything that Adonai does for us. And it is a great road map to hold up to the Gospels to see just how Jesus LIVED His life. Jesus lived by the Word. Not with slavish adherence to what humanity had taught about the Law, or to the Law itself. Instead, Jesus was dedicated to His love of the Word and the heart of Adonai. It is through the Word that we are instructed about Adonai’s heart. Jesus lived cherishing that heart and never wanting to hurt it. Jesus accomplished that. In HIM, we can too.

“Everyone who is fathered by God does not practice sin, because his seed resides in him, and he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God” (1 John 3:9). This is a true statement. Yet we all have and we all do choose to sin (1 John 1:8-10). Whenever we sin, it is because we have chosen to be independent from Adonai. We have chosen NOT to use His tools. We have chosen NOT to use the Word. Because I tell you, you can praise Adonai or focus on His Word and then IMMEDIATELY do ANYTHING that He approves of. It NEVER kills the mood of obedience to His point of view. But if you praise Adonai or focus on His Word, you will need to turn away from that if you want to sin. If we will do what He told us to do and put Him first, put our focus on Him before our eyes, we will never sin. You cannot truly quote the Word while believing it in your heart and go against it. When we sin we have let go of the Word. We have closed the toolbox. We are choosing OUR thinking and how WE feel and rebelling against Him. It’s what Adam did. It’s what we trained ourselves to do. These are the strongholds that we need to tear down (Ephesians 6:12).

Jesus USED the tools in the toolbox. Jesus fought with the Word. Jesus taught from the Word. Jesus lived according to the Word. Jesus spoke the Word. Jesus BELIEVED and TRUSTED the Word. He based His whole life on it. In HIM, in JESUS, we can do the same thing. Read through the Gospels and you will find Jesus in synagogues everywhere He went. That is where the Word was kept. That’s where the scrolls were read out. Taught from. And Jesus was right there. Jesus surrounded Himself with people who studied the Word too (John 1:43-51). They talked about it. They weren’t perfect in it like He was, but the Word was a part of their lives. Ruach HaKodesh helped them unlock truths of it. Teach about it. Preach about it. Once they had Ruach HaKodesh dwelling in them, there was nothing they couldn’t study out (Acts 6:2). It is the same for ALL believers. We ALL have Ruach HaKodesh living within us. The One who wrote the Word is living within us. He will give commentary on the Word to ALL who ask for it.

We have an amazing toolbox that has been given to us. We have amazing truths and tools and methods and insight available to us. We need these tools to succeed in life. We need these tools to be effective in this life. There is nothing that we cannot do when our hands are joined with Adonai’s and we are listening to our counsellor and corrector – Ruach HaKodesh. In Jesus, we access and use the tools we have been given. With our trust in Jesus, we will always have what we need to overcome every situation, because HE is the overcomer and we are relying in and on Him. In HIM the abundance of life is unlocked. In HIM we have the tools for the job. In HIM we are fulfilled. We all need to get the Word before our eyes and have it on our lips. If we do, if we rely on Ruach HaKodesh for guidance, and if we stay humbly submitted to His will, we will never have the wrong tool in our hands or our hearts.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Colossians 3:16-18

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God, and everything whatever you do in word or in deed, giving thanks for all things in the name of the Lord Jesus to God the Father through him.” Our hearts are a Word-shaped container. They were created with the purpose of holding the Word. They are the rich soil from which good things will grow when we plant the Word inside them. They are the repository that we are to draw from. The well in which His Water rests. Out of our hearts come our words and behaviours. Way more than they come from our heads. Whatever is in our hearts is what will reflect from our hearts. That’s why we are known by our fruit. Our fruit shows what is in our hearts. What we have been planting there. What we have been growing there. What lives there. Jesus encourages us again and again to focus on the Father. To get the Word inside of us so that we will be transformed by it. Adonai gave it to us so that He can sanctify us with and through it. Jesus doesn’t want to leave us withered. Jesus wants to restore us to the lush, full, and productive people that we were created to be. He wants to see us living full and abundant lives based on Him. And He has given us the BEST way for us to do that. He gives us what we need to succeed. What a GOOD God!

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8