Fear No Fear

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

We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (emphasis added)

You cannot fear while reconciled. The Kingdom of God is FAITH. The kingdom of darkness is fear. Do NOT fear, have FAITH. That is what these verses say. Not just the command or entreaty, but also the reason why. I have heard it accurately stated by a man of God that we – you and I – are the only Jesus some people are ever going to see. The Jesus in you and the Jesus in me. Paul was reminding the church in Corinth that WE are the only ambassadors of Christ that this world has. You and I. And WE are the ones who are sending the message to the world that they need to turn away from their wickedness. As another man of God reminded me just today: we were born eternal. The only question is where we spend our eternity. The spirit that is within a human being will last forever. It will either be forever WITH the Lord God, or WITHOUT. There are no other choices. There is no other path. Binary. Life or death. Faith or fear. Period.

That is a tremendous thing. It is so much more than clothes, toys, vehicles, jobs, food, children, siblings, friends, or parents. It is so much more than the physical church. More than our money. More than healthcare. More than insurance. More than exercise. More than vacation. More than education. More than any of that. All of that is important to our physical lives on this physical planet. They contribute to the overall wellbeing of the community. They contribute to social, mental, and physical improvement. But this world doesn’t last long. We’re only promised 120 years (Genesis 6:3 – this is the minimum, not the maximum). Most people don’t make it that far, but it’s totally possible – and if you don’t want to believe the Word on it, know that scientists are starting to agree with it and have said that a hundred and FIFTY years for a human is totally within reach (Scientific American, May 25, 2021, article by Emily Willingham). Just look at Jeanne Calment who lived to 122 years old. That is a lot when you’re twelve or twenty or looking at a bad diagnosis. But from the side of eternity, it’s not even a drop from a drip of a drop in a bucket of miniature drops.

We talk to people about better insurance rates. We tell each other when we find a good deal on toilet paper. We tell each other about stocks that are a good buy. We lend each other help books and the latest read that will ‘change our lives’. Gyms that have a deal on. Medications that really made a difference. We have apps to find the best price on gas. We fill social media with announcements and videos and blogs and podcasts. We do all of that, and for what? A blink of an eye. A moment in time. Your moment can be five years, fifty years, or a hundred and twenty-two, but it is still a moment. A single moment in the stretch of eternity. Paul warned Corinth about that too in chapter four verse seventeen: “For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory”. But a moment.
Paul goes on. “while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Everything in this world is but a moment. No matter how long the moment, it is still a moment. During our moment, if we focus on the Lord and the things of the Kingdom of God, then we have the opportunity to put things into their real perspective. To gain a treasure in heaven, which is eternal, instead of worrying about what is here, which is temporal. That’s a great thing. One way that we can build up that treasure is by sharing the Good News that the Lord isn’t angry at people. That He wants them with Him, not apart from Him (1 Timothy 2:3-4). That Jesus paid the price for sin and has become our mediator before the Father. The redemptive sacrifice for humanity.

What does this have to do with today’s verse? Well, Jesus sets us free. Free from the fear that keeps us apart from God. God is love. God is peace. God is faith. Fear is none of those things. When we altar with fear, we invite more of it into our lives. When we altar with God, we invite more of Him into our lives. But we have to sacrifice ourselves. Our SELF. Daily take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus. What is the cross? Our reminder of His victory (1 Corinthians 15:57). Our reminder we are New Creatures in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our reminder that we are overcomers because He overcame (John 16:33). The cross may be where we make sure to stick our flesh (anything not of faith – Hebrews 11:6), but it is also the symbol of all the positives that we have in Jesus. It is something we should heft every day so that we never forget it. When we realise what a great and amazing thing it is that we have freely been given by the Lord Jesus, we will realise that this great and amazing free thing needs to be shared with everyone that we come across. This is a light that we not only should not but CAN NOT keep hidden.

“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 5:14-16). We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. The lights shining to show what can be had in the glory of the Lord. We are the example. We are the witness. We are the question that points to the answer. Why aren’t you upset? Why aren’t you worried? Why do these things seem to not touch you? How can you be so calm? Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. He is the answer to all of that. In HIM we have the victory. In HIM we have peace. In HIM we have victory. In HIM we have it all, because HE is all and HE lives in US.

And we get to share that. What a privilege. Now, we all have different opportunities. For example, I have the great privilege of writing and recording this on a daily basis. Some people don’t get that. They get to do it on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis, or on some other kind of roving schedule. But it doesn’t stop there. Are we connecting with the people we KNOW? Yes, Jesus went from town to town in Galilee. And yes, he travelled down to Jerusalem. But He also dealt with people He knew. The ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum, where Jesus had a home (Luke 8:40-56, Matthew 9:18-26). The people in His childhood town (Mark 6:4). Mary, Martha, and Lazarus from Bethany (Luke 10:38-42). A centurion with a sick servant in Capernaum (Luke 7:1-10). The woman who anointed Him in the home of the Pharisee Simon (Luke 7:36-50).

Wherever Jesus went, He spoke of His Father and the Kingdom of God. He answered questions with the truth about people’s lives and what was and wasn’t righteous behaviour. He didn’t volunteer a lot, but always answered. He only answered with honesty and truth. Never with malice. We’re called to the same calling. Sharing. If we are living as we should — and in Jesus we can — then people should see a difference. We don’t talk the same way. We don’t look the same way. There’s SOMETHING different about us. We love, we don’t hate. We treat all people with respect. We bless. We assist. We have peace. We have joy. In JESUS, all these things are a reality. When we look to the Kingdom of God and let the principles, instructions, and commandments in the Word direct our path, we WILL have these things. It’s a promise (John 8:31-32, Matthew 6:33). Jesus doesn’t lie.

When we are abiding in Jesus, putting Him first, praying, reading the Word, and meditating on what the Holy Spirit has said, we are in the spot where the blessing is. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us the fruit of that blessing: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These aren’t things we need to learn, they’re things we HAVE. What we need to learn is how to operate in them. We do that by sticking close to Jesus “seeing his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue, by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). When we walk in FAITH, everything comes together the way the Lord wants it so. When we walk in FAITH we are empowered to accomplish all the things He set before us. When we walk in FAITH, we’re walking in the victory of the cross every step of the way.

God empowers us to be ambassadors for Him. Walking His walk. Talking His talk. Working His miracles (the ones He sets before us, not whatever ones we think we want). As examples and evidence that God is real. He exists and rewards those who seek him (Mark 16:17-18, Hebrews 11:16). We need to walk the reminder of the cross every day. We need to focus on Him and what He wants every day. We need to be in faith every day. It’s the way the Kingdom works, the way we’ve been tasked to spread the news of God’s sacrifice, and the way in which our ambassadorship will be fulfilled. Remember, it is all just for a moment. You don’t want anyone to be lost because they blinked. Shine your light, they’ll come and ask what it’s all about. It’s a privilege to be called. It’s a privilege to serve. It’s a privilege to know Jesus personally. Let’s help others to know Him too.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Matthew 16:24-25

The cross can be a burden. Not in the sense of something to pick up and carry around. There is a spiritual hauling that we indeed must do. But it’s the knowledge of it. It can be a burden. The only person in a crowd not drinking. The only person not salivating at the chance to see the latest pop star when they roll into town. The only person not watching porn. The only person not dating, or dating but not sleeping with their partner. It can be a burden. But ONLY if we aren’t sharing it. The cross is a sign of victory. A symbol of freedom. A representation of getting to rid yourself of all the bad, all the icky, and all the sad parts of yourself that you don’t need. It is a symbol of hope. A reminder that eternity is now. Why would we want to keep that a secret? Why would we want to be a goose amidst the ducks? The cross wasn’t designed to be a secret. The grave wasn’t opened so that no one would look in. The Word wasn’t written so that short tables everywhere could stop wobbling. These things are precious promises (2 Peter 1:2-4). Too precious to keep to ourselves. The burden of the cross is only a burden if you let it be. If you let it be, the cross can be a joy. A resting place. A triumph. If you let it, it can be to you what it was to Jesus because it is in and through Jesus that we get our access to the cross. He loved us too much to keep it a secret. Follow His footsteps and love one another. Share the cross. Share the joy. Share the victory. Share Christ.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.