Fear No Fear

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

“for which reason also I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know in whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted until that day“

2 Timothy 1:12

I believe things. You believe things. The Church as a whole believes things. Individual denominations believe things. The list of things we believe is very long. It doesn’t always match up. That’s okay though. There are a lot of things that we can have differing opinions about as we lean into Adonai for the truth and for revelation about them. They’re minor points that don’t really have any effect on our lives or our salvation. They’re just interesting questions and issues. Some of them are important to agree upon, and for the most part we do. All of them are beliefs. Things we have studied and intellectually know. We can be passionate about them. But beliefs do not transform lives. They inform our lives, but do not transform our lives. It is only KNOWING that accomplishes that.

Paul uses VERY clear language here. He is not ashamed because of WHAT he believes. Paul is not ashamed because of IN WHOM he believes. The person behind the Gospel message is the person OF the Gospel message. This is what separates discipleship in Jesus from the religions of the world. Religion needs belief. It does not require or generate power. Discipleship is a one on one relationship where we know Him and He knows us. This generates power because the power is in Him. When He is in us, the power is in us. Not OUR power, but HIS power. Things don’t work because WE manifest anything or WE control anything. Things work because we align with HIM. We cooperate with HIM. We choose to agree with Him and perform for His glory. In other words, we do what He asks us to, when He asks us to, and how He asks us to. We connect the plug to the socket so that His power flows as He directs. We’re cooperators. We’re the gardeners following the instructions of the owner bringing the garden to life. This has ALWAYS been our given task and our prescribed methodology (Genesis 2:8).

While it is possible to work remotely without real contact with your employer, it is not an effective way of properly producing anything. Remote work ONLY works when there is contact with our employers – whether that is face to face or via online conferencing. Anyone can fake an email. Anyone can fake a text. There are thousands of prank email and texts sent every day. People grab a buddy’s phone and send something they find amusing. It happens. There can be a loss of nuance with black and white. Yes, it leaves a record that is easy to follow and hard to deny, but the TONE can often be lost. Just look at the history of the thumbs-up emoji and how most young people take it vs how every older person takes it. Face to face communication in some way is necessary for a truly productive working relationship. The more consistent it is, the better the relationship is. Yet somehow we’ve accepted the idea that all we need is a belief to prosper with Adonai.

Belief are good things. They’re based on what our minds know. I could tell you things about my younger brother that I ‘know’. I’ve been exposed to him his entire life. But what I ‘know’ may not be the right down to the line truth. He tends to hold his cards close and doesn’t always tell you the NUANCE of himself. What I BELIEVE may not be how he really IS. If I wanted to really know him, we’d need to spend more time together. Face to face. Throwing words around until the fluff escapes in the breeze and we’re left with the whole grain truth. That’s how we know someone. It takes time. And willingness to open yourself. It also takes a willingness to let your beliefs about someone evolve or change. To transform into a better, closer image of who they really are. Since communication is a two-way street, that can be scary. It’s hard to expose ourselves to other people. We get concerned it’s going to be weaponized against us. But with Adonai that isn’t a possibility. Adonai is love and doesn’t hold us against ourselves. He holds us up to Jesus so that we can see what He sees in us. So that WE can get a better idea of who we can be in Him. So we can get the revelation past our mind and into our heart of who we ALREADY ARE in Him. That is BEYOND belief.

Our personal and intimate knowledge of who Jesus is and who we are in Him is what transforms lives. Our beliefs are a starting point (Romans 12:2). We need to KNOW Jesus so that we KNOW the Father (John 14:9). The intimacy we need in order to transform is through Ruach HaKodesh. He is ALWAYS pointing to Jesus. He is ALWAYS opening communication lines. He is ALWAYS making us available to each other. He’s the matchmaker who knows the PERFECT match: us and Jesus. He never stops facilitating that. It takes guidance, correction, teaching, and leading. He does ALL of that. When we respond to Ruach HaKodesh with BELIEFS, we’re short changing ourselves. There is more to be had. More than an email. More than a thinking-of-you text. More than a friendly wave as we pass the front desk. There is intimacy. Like the intimacy of two spouses who have lived together and been around each other every day for decades. All the words. All the sharing. All the seeing everything from every angle. All the building together, working together, and going in the same direction. All the closeness fostered out of real honesty. No games. No hiding things. THAT kind of intimacy. That’s what Ruach HaKodesh offers us with Jesus. A real match which was made in Heaven (Revelation 13:8).

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: John 14:23

“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and will take up residence with him” Jesus isn’t hiding in the woods waiting for us to follow the clues, escape the room we’re in, and track Him down. Jesus comes to where WE are. Jesus knocks on OUR door. Jesus is eager for us to open so that He can come in and fellowship with us. To join with us. Not just Him, but the Father too. And since Ruach HaKodesh was already given to us, that will be the ENTIRETY of Adonai dwelling within us and fellowshipping with us. It isn’t a struggle. We don’t have to EARN it. We get it by LOVE. We LOVE Him and He LOVES us and that love induces the humble submission we need to let Him in. To let Him love us in the best and perfect way. His Way. What GRACE. What MERCY. 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