Fear No Fear

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

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.“

Luke 6:36

I have been seeing stories across social media lately that are not a new story. This is not a new narrative. This is something that has been around a LONG time in various formats, on various platforms, right across the board. What is this genre of story? Revenge. Not always active. Sometimes it is, but most of the time it’s the gentle, quiet, letting people destroying themselves because they don’t understand how it really is. It’s the fiance who is shamed, but it turns out they own their company. It’s the secretary who has worked hard for years who they try to push aside, but who actually owns the intellectual property of the company’s big project. It’s the spouse who is betrayed, but saw the signs years ago and prepared a nuclear response that ruins the life of the person who was trying to steal everything. Revenge. Very few of them seem to be a justified response. Almost all of them are cold revenge with the attitude you get what you deserve. It is the ultimate demonic attitude.

Jesus isn’t about revenge. Jesus isn’t about giving humanity what it deserves. Jesus is also not about being a doormat. He isn’t about letting others destroy you. What He IS about is MERCY. He is ALSO about the Father rewarding us. The focus isn’t about what we deserve. The focus is about whenever possible helping other people. The world doesn’t like that narrative. They like fights for what they have a ‘right’ to. It’s been around since the garden of Eden. Yes, you are allowed to have every fruit tree in the entire world except for two (currently approximately 7,500 varieties). Yet we Fell when we focused on what we DIDN’T have. Two. Two trees out of all the other lush and vibrant trees. Why did we take the bait? Because we let ourselves focus on what we thought we deserved.

We are blessed that Jesus DOESN’T give us what we deserve. We deserve nothing good. By our very nature, we are worth nothing without Jesus. Imagine a country that is worthless. Defaulted on all their loans. Total trash. The world decides it’s going to cut it off from everything. People are never getting out of that country. Ever. Everyone born in that country, just because they were born, were now guilty and imprisoned. That is Sin. We were born in Sin. It’s genetic. You can’t self-identify out of it. You can claim to be anything you want, but nothing will have changed. You will still be you. Because it is both physically and spiritually in your DNA you can’t EVER change it. No cosmetic surgery, no new outfit, no tattoos, no dye, no piercings, no ANYTHING can EVER change it. It is you until you die. Which is why Jesus came to die FOR US. We enter into Jesus, DIE with Him, and then get resurrected in Him to NEW LIFE. Jesus can change us. Nothing else in or out of Creation can.

“Therefore thus says Yahweh, “If you turn back, then I will take you back. You will stand before me. And if you utter what is precious and not what is worthless, you will be as my mouth. They will turn back to you, and you will not turn back to them. And I will make you to this people a wall of fortified bronze, and they will fight against you, but they will not prevail over you, for I am with you, to save you, and to deliver you,” declares Yahweh. “And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the hand of the tyrant.”” (Jeremiah 15:15-21). Adonai will do it for us. He’ll do the heavy lifting. All WE need to do is obey. To be where He wants us, saying what He wants us to say, when He wants us to do it. If we obey, He takes care of EVERYTHING. THAT is what we get. Not because WE deserve it, but because that is what JESUS deserves. We get what JESUS deserves. Straight from His account in Heaven to ours. “And my God will fulfill your every need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). It’s where we find our help: in Heaven because of Jesus. “Therefore let us approach with confidence to the throne of grace, in order that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Everything we have coming to us is because of Jesus.

What we need to do is not forget that (Matthew 18:21-35). What we need to do is actively let Ruach HaKodesh instruct us in what we should do and how we should act. What words to use with people and how to have a heart set on mercy and showing His goodness. It’s easy to forget. It’s easy to look at our lives and see what we have accomplished – while forgetting it is because of Jesus that we managed to accomplish it in the first place. We are selfish in our thinking unless we renew it to generous thinking (Romans 12:2). It’s the habit of our old selves and we need to make NEW habits for our NEW selves (2 Corinthians 5:17). There is no other way to do it. You can’t spend a lifetime doing things one way, following the patterns that the world has established, listening to the devil and agreeing with him, and then SUDDENLY be one hundred percent different in all your thinking, acting, and speaking. We ARE renewed into something NEW, but we have the same MIND. And the ruts of broken thinking run deep. We need to consciously replace broken thinking with Jesus thinking (1 Corinthians 2:16).

One of the hardest things to renew is the idea that WE are not the most important person (Luke 9:46-48). We get the clearest teaching on it in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus never called the Samaritan good. Jesus only mentioned that he was a Samaritan. A group the average Jew would cross the street to avoid. A looked down on people. A LOATHED people. But this Samaritan was the ONLY good person there that day. The injured man had gotten tangled up with bandits (no honour among thieves). The priest avoided him. The Levite avoided him. Only the person who by all social norms should have spurned the injured Jew helped him. He showed mercy. He was gracious. He left no trap. He wasn’t concerned about being paid back. He wasn’t out for revenge against a Jew or letting the injured Jew reap what he had sowed. He simply did the morally correct thing and helped someone who needed help. That is HARD for us. Most of the time, we fail in some way. We generally do it very imperfectly when we do it at all. It is ONLY through Jesus and His character (Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23) that we can accomplish it. We need Jesus to enact His policy on people.

These aren’t suggestions. These aren’t maybe we should, maybe we shouldn’t advice column pieces. These are commands. Show mercy. Be a blessing. It’s how the kingdom of Adonai works. Basically, if we aren’t operating this way, we aren’t operating in the Kingdom. EVERYBODY SERVES. EVERYBODY. The least are first, and the first are least. We don’t seek position. We don’t lord things over people. We aren’t trying to dominate people. We are trying to shepherd Creation, not dominate it. Dominion is over Creation. Building up and encouraging is with/between people. We NEVER try to subjugate another’s WILL. The gospel message is not about control. It’s about servanthood in mercy because WE have been shown mercy. By and through GRACE not our own merits. We are who we are because of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Full stop. Period.

Be a neighbour. You don’t have to agree with them. You don’t have to enable them. You don’t get to judge them. You don’t get to tell them what to do. You be a neighbour. In Jesus, through Jesus, and in full communication with Ruach HaKodesh who will tell you how, when, and where to do and say what He says. Let yourself be guided in this. It isn’t complicated (Matthew 11:28-30). He knows what EVERYONE needs (Matthew 6:8). Be the reason He can meet the need, not the reason He’s still looking for a neighbour (Psalm 78:41). Be the neighbour He calls and enables you to be.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Romans 8:38-39

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” Adonai doesn’t give up on us. No matter what is happening. No matter what is coming against us. No matter how hard we’re trying and still not getting it. Jesus doesn’t give up. He offers us wisdom. Ruach HaKodesh corrects us where we are stepping wrong. He warns us and He paints our boundaries clearly. He meets our needs and tries to help us in spite of our self-sabotaging ways. Adonai doesn’t give up. Not on us. Not on the unbeliever. Not on ANY of us. He is always looking for those who will be a neighbour. If not us, He’ll go to the next person. But that also means that when WE need a neighbour He won’t stop looking until He finds someone to be a neighbour for us. He does ALL that He can. He loves us THAT much. What a GOOD God He is!

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