Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

You must put away all bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and slanderous talk—indeed all malice. Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31-32 (emphasis added)

What about the bitterness of bad brotherhood? Have you ever imagined the HUGE impact this makes on our lives? Can we EVER hope to curb it? And does Adonai really care in the first place? I mean, does it matter what I say to myself about the driver who cut me off? Does it matter if I am reporting the truth about what happened with my mother-in-law? Does it matter what I say to my kids when they know I love them and am only trying to raise them with a set of behaviours and values that will serve them well in their lives? It will be a bitter drink we have to swallow when it comes to standing before the Throne if we haven’t spent some time thinking about these things while we had a chance.
“I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37). Let me tell you, this verse has given me pause more than once. I am a word person and have spent a quarter of a century wielding them. It is the absolute truth that I have not always wielded well. In fact, I have been downright cruel and bullying. Not always on purpose, but sometimes on purpose. For example, I enjoy sarcasm. But it can be biting as well as funny. What may be a perfectly poised sarcastic touchdown may also be a comment that truly offends, hurts, and stays with someone for YEARS. I know that there have been people even from my childhood that I know I should have treated better. Here is the question for me then: am I sorry because I know it’s wrong? Or am I repentant because I am embracing the Father’s view about it? Just like if you are meditating, exploring your inner landscape, or attempting manifestation outside the person of Jesus (John 14:6), you’re in the weeds of the spiritual world and in real trouble; when we are wielding words without love, we’re in ragweed country.

When ragweed begins to bloom it produces pollen. The pollen travels through air in a fine dust and causes allergic reactions in those sensitive to it. Symptoms can include sneezing, nasal congestion, watery eyes, chronic sinusitis and even asthma. Ragweed grows well in poor soil. That’s interesting because the Word does NOT grow well in poor soil. “Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered . . . The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21). Our idle words are like ragweed. And they are a symptom of us not having enough root because we have not prepared our soil (our heart). We sing in church and say Amen under our breath, but get into traffic and the Word withers. We start pollinating the wrong thing. Every idle word. Whether WE feel we’re justified or not. It doesn’t matter. It has never been about the exact syllables we say, but our heart’s intent. You can say the sweetest thing with a bitter heart and be poisoned. You can say the nastiest thing, tag on a ‘bless their heart’ and have it be acceptable. This is why they weren’t told not to lie in the Ten Commandments but not to speak a falsehood – it covers everything that isn’t true including white lies, lies of opportunity, and lies of omission. Anything but the absolute heart-level truth is wrong. But even there we can speak in love.

Peter got told he was the devil, from a certain point of view. We have two thousand years of expository examination and the advantage of not being Peter. But Jesus said words that are on the face of them downright COLD. “But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”” (Matthew 16:23). Who was Jesus talking to? And how was He saying it? Was it kind? Firm? Or did Peter go crying outside the circle of disciples, hurt, embarrassed, and nursing a grudge? No. Jesus was firm with the devil and kind with Peter. Or exclamatory with the devil and gentle to Peter. He spoke in love. He had to, it was the only way He spoke unless it was to the devil – and even then He was polite because it isn’t the devil’s time yet – polite as in not calling names, making arbitrary demands, or being rude (There are a few direct instances of dialogue between the two and Jesus is always firm, direct, authoritative, and clear. Jesus knew who He was and what He was.). No matter what we are saying or to which human we are saying it, there is never a call to speak in anything but love.

This is not trivial. This is vital. And there is very little WE can do about it. “But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” James 3:8. “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6). How do we bridge those two verses? Jesus. It HAS to be Jesus. We just can’t do it on our own. We can train ourselves not to speak, but without Jesus we’ll never be able to remap our thinking so those words aren’t appearing inside. This is one of the values of the Word. It helps us relearn how to be people. It helps us speak like He spoke. It helps us remember to love because it keeps us focused on His love – how could it do anything else when it is THE love story of all time? Only in Jesus can we curb the tongue. Only in Jesus does the substance behind our words change. It takes time and it is a process, but every day we can get more and more like Him. Every day we can bring a new area unto submission to Jesus. Every day we can get His light shining on a new aspect of ourselves. We can bring His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5) by receiving what Adonai is pouring. By opening ourselves to Him. Being willing to be changed. To be made into what He wants. Acknowledging we are the clay and He the potter (Isaiah 64:8-12).

No matter how successful we are and envisioning His promises, we shoot ourselves in the foot if we don’t let Him heal our tongues. If we’re talking trash, bitterness, and strife twenty hours of the day, it doesn’t matter what we do in the remaining four. We’ll be picking up trash off our lawn only to dump it in our kitchen. We need to discipline ourselves to listen, and then love Him enough to obey. To get that trash to the curb, and not hoard it. It isn’t easy, but it is right and good. Jesus is bigger than our vocabulary. He is bigger than our anger management. He is bigger than our gossip. He is bigger than all our hot air. If we let Him, He’ll renew our minds. If we’ll apply that renewal, engage what He’s provided and done for us, He’ll lift us higher than who we used to be (1 Corinthians 6:14). We don’t need to be death dealers. We can be encouragement enforcers. Building up all around us, and being built up in turn. We’re meant to love one another (John 13:34-35) not just on Tuesdays while sharing tacos. But all the days of all the years. Let the Word iron out your wrinkles with Jesus. Leave behind lousy talk. Embrace Jesus and let Him shine into every area of your life. Starting with your heart and your mouth. Bring them into harmony with the Father’s way of doing things. Let them be a help to you, and not a hindrance.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Amos 8:9

“In that day,” says the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon and make the earth dark in the middle of the day.” In the day of Messiah the sun would be darkened. This is not something we can ‘interpret’. It will LITERALLY happen and will be a sign of Messiah here on the Earth. ““Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29). “The sun will be changed to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes” (Acts 2:20). “Then I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became blood red;” (Revelation 6:12). This day of darkening is on the way. How do we know it will be when JESUS returns? There has already been a darkening of the sun because of Jesus’ presence – His presence as a sacrifice. “Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land” (Matthew 27:45). It was recorded by historians Thallus, Phlegon of Trallus, Tertullian, Rufinus, the Greek Phlegon (different guy), and Julius Africanus – among others. It was also referenced in the History of the Latter Han Dynasty in China. Darkness accompanied Jesus’ death. Darkness will accompany His return. Jesus IS the Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b