Fear No Fear

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

“Therefore, if you have been raised together with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things on earth“

Colossians 3:1-2

Environment makes more difference in our lives than genetics. In a study of nearly half a million people, the influence of environment on mortality, age-related diseases and aging (socioeconomic conditions, smoking habits and physical exercise) had more influence than genetics in every aspect studied. Our genes provide the foundation, but the environment we find ourselves in often determines how genetic predispositions manifest. What is true of the physical body is also true of our mental landscape. Where we find ourselves, what we surround ourselves with, who we interact with, and what we consume (what we see, hear, and read), determine who we are as people. Hang around bad people and you’re more likely to be bad. Hang around good people, and you’re more likely to be good. What you sow is what you reap. Jesus takes the whole thing one step further.

In Jesus, we are born again. We are new creations and new creatures IN HIM. Jesus – in a very real sense – becomes our environment. We are supposed to be resting in Him. We are supposed to be eating and drinking Him through His Word. “Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves! The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who eats me—that one will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:53-58). Jesus provides us with His Fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus is our lifeblood in every aspect of our lives (John 15:5). If we truly embrace this, Jesus becomes our environment. When that is true, our lives become transformed.

Our spiritual genes (being in the image and likeness of God – Genesis 1:26-27) will naturally start to express themselves (Genesis 1:28; John 14:15). We won’t have to WORK to make it happen. It will just HAPPEN. It will be the harvest we receive from sowing Jesus into every corner of our lives. On our own, we wouldn’t be able to manage it. No one ever has. But in Jesus we can rely on Jesus in a way we cannot by ourselves. Because of HIM, we can walk after His example. Because of HIM, we can do what He says we can do. Because of HIM we can become physically what He says we already are spiritually: “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin on our behalf, in order that we could become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). That is the journey we are on. Making Jesus our environment. It takes self-control, but Adonai gave us that (2 Timothy 1:7). We can choose to keep our eyes on Him. We can choose to listen to Him and Word-based teaching preaching the gospel message. We can choose to read the Word, not as words on a page, but as a conversation with Adonai about His moral character and will. We can surround ourselves, almost effortlessly, with Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It can be a sacrifice to give up things we like or that feel good, but it is never a burden (Matthew 11:28-30). It is in every way the opposite of a burden. It is true freedom.

Ruach HaKodesh is a VITAL part of this. He is all about the things above. The things of the Kingdom. The righteousness that IS Adonai Almighty. He is the pedestal upon which we can set our minds. It is a solid place to rest. It is a balanced place to stand. It keeps us up off the floor. It keeps us thinking about all that we can see from a loftier place in Him. He gives us the perspective we need to appreciate what we hear, and see, and read. He is so much more than just a blanket to wrap ourselves up in (comfort). He is so much more than that sense you get that you’ve stepped off the path (correction). He is so much more than the light that shows you where to step (guidance). He is the firm place we can perch as we examine all that Adonai brings to us. Jesus is our foundation and Ruach HaKodesh builds on that every day. The revelation of who Jesus really is and how Jesus really feels about us. That is the revelation that Ruach HaKodesh rests on. That’s what He’s trying to show us. The depth and length and breadth of Jesus love for us and what that really means. We need to saturate ourselves with Jesus and we need Ruach HaKodesh to really appreciate what it is we are seeing from the high places that Jesus placed us in (Ephesians 2:6). From up here we can see for miles and miles – and each one is full of Jesus’ love for us.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Hebrews 13:20-21

“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with every good thing to do his will, carrying out in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.” We are meant to rest in Jesus. To trust Him to provide what we need. To trust Him to equip us. To trust Him to feed and clothe us. To trust Him to provide us with His strength. The list goes on. We can do NOTHING outside Jesus because Jesus is completely and totally hooked up to everything we are. We are called to this kind of life. We are called, but we are also provided. This is the abundant life He promised us (John 10:10). To have every good thing so that we can do His will. Things that don’t enable us to do His will, we don’t need. And when we use what He gave us, we please the Father. By living in Jesus and using what He gives us how He asks us to, we please Adonai. How great is that? We have a desire deep within all of us to please our creator. Our creator made the Way open for us to do just that AND gave us everything we need on top of it. Everything from Jesus and in Jesus so that we can operate through Jesus as He operates through us. 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