Fear No Fear

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

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:17–18 (emphasis added)

What is wisdom? Knowledge is great, but if you don’t have good judgment in order to apply that knowledge, it won’t do you much good. You can know all the ins and outs of combustion engines. You can also be an expert in tires and body work. You can be a genius with fuel. But if you don’t realise you shouldn’t step in front of a bus, your knowledge won’t do you much good. Knowledge is the gathering of information. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. How do things work? Why do they work? Where do they work? How does it all fit together? How can we manipulate that or arrange that or mesh that? It’s the UNDERSTANDING that gives use to the knowledge.

There are people — and I have been one of them — that know all the bible stories. Know the biggest of the major ideas. Can find verses by chapter and verse in a short period of time. Recognise the major teachings. Comfortable in the Christian environment. Probably know a few hymns and children’s songs too. They might even have read through the bible a time or two. Knowledge. Information. Cold. Hard. Facts. In other words, religion. Religion is all about knowledge. Knowing the rules. Knowing how to dot your i’s and cross your t’s. Rattling off the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. Church every Sunday — morning and evening — and at least one night during the week for bible study or choir. What good does it do?

It can be said that they live nicely. They’re pretty good to other people. Generally nice. Mostly have a good spin on things. Cheerful. Tip when they eat out. Give to the poor. Food bank on holidays. Put up lights. Salute the flag. Honour veterans. Toys to tots at Christmas. But what IS that? Nothing! Unbelieving people do that. Take a dart and throw it at a map of the world. Wherever it hits, go there. Within ten miles is someone with an Aunt who is GOLD. Excellent woman. Makes a good pound cake. And the soul of charity. They are all over the world. But are they — or anyone else — saved? Does the stuff they do make a difference in their hearts, or is it all motions and traditions and basic human kindness and knowledge?

It doesn’t matter how nice they are. It doesn’t matter what they do. Kindness doesn’t get you saved. Works don’t get you saved. And neither of them bring you peace. Neither of them protect you from fear. Nice people still fear sickness. Nice people still worry about their bills, their groceries, the gas for their vehicle, their property taxes. Being a good church attender doesn’t mean you aren’t sneering behind your smile. Judging that guy two pews over for the way he treats his kids and wife. It doesn’t stop you from drinking yourself senseless on Friday night. Or gambling away your bonus. Or swearing a blue streak. Or watching porn to get yourself in the mood. Or the latest assassin movie to unwind because the action pieces look good and some of the lines are hilarious. Having knowledge — secular or religious — does NOTHING without wisdom.

Wisdom can turn all that knowledge into something special. Special because it WON’T be just a bunch of rules. Wisdom can turn an understanding of INFORMATION to a RELATIONSHIP that exists WITHIN the information. All that information comes AFTER the relationship. We learn ABOUT God, we MEET God, we get UNDERSTANDING from God, and then we know what the information is all ABOUT. We get to glimpse the WHY. “He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding shall find good” (Proverbs 19:8). Jesus took this up with the Pharisees His ENTIRE ministry. They went on and on about how they even tithe on the herbs from their garden. Jesus pointed out they were ignoring the needs of the people (Matthew 23:23). Information isn’t enough. Religion isn’t anything to hope for. Seeking the LORD is where it all starts. Seeking the LORD is how we take all the words and see Him turn them into something spectacular. “But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

“Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16). So how do we understand what wisdom is? Next verses. Though they are not always popular. “Therefore, don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always concerning all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ” (Ephesians 5:17–21). We need to know the will of God. Not clouding our minds with drink or other influences. For ANY reason. It’s all fleshly foolishness. I’m not saying it’s a sin. I’m saying it is UNWISE. If we clear our minds by singing to the Lord, praising the Lord, and encouraging one another. When we do that, we will have our eyes on HIM. When we seek Him with reverence and awe, in humble submission, we will be at the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). The threshold of learning the will of the Lord God Almighty.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). This is where we find it. Wisdom. But it isn’t as simple as asking. There is a condition. And that is faith. EVERYTHING in the Kingdom is faith-based. “But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6–8). Ask for wisdom with faith and do not doubt while you are asking. Sound familiar? “Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done. All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive”” (Matthew 21:21–22). Doubt kills faith. Strife kills faith. Fear is the parent of both. Love is the antidote and peace follows on its heels. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

We love God because God loved us first (1 John 4:19). When we love the Lord God, we will obey what He says. We will obey His commandments (John 14:15). Not because we HAVE TO. Because we LOVE HIM. Because we want to see Him smiling at us. We like to please those we love. To get them little gifts and treats. It isn’t like we can give Him a dozen cookies. A lemon cake. A coffee card. No. But we can be obedient. We can see Him smile. We can hear His ‘well done’. That love brings peace. We can let our minds be renewed to the things of the Lord (Romans 12:2). We can let Him bring His peace because when we get close to Him, He gets close to us (James 4:8). We can ask Him for wisdom KNOWING that we will receive it because it is according to the Word. The Word IS the will of the Father. In Jesus’ name we can ask the Father according to His will and KNOW we will get it. Ask for wisdom, believing. We’ll get it.

God is PURE righteousness. He will share that purity with us. It’s hard for us to hang onto it. To keep it in our soul instead of leaving it in our spirit. Our soul (mind, heart, etc) can get that spirit truth and bring it into our flesh. It takes Jesus, but it can be done. Jesus does the work (Philippians 2:13). That purity births peace. Gentleness. Mercy. Good fruit. The fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). ANYONE can have it when we are humbly submitted to Yahweh in obedience. Loving Him and believing that what He says IS. That if He says it, we can have it. It takes faith. Simple faith. “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). “let’s hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

ANYONE. “Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34–35). If you are acceptable to the Lord, if you are submitted to Him, if you are obedient, if you are asking in faith, you WILL receive wisdom to apply your knowledge AND THE FRUIT will be available to you as well. I don’t care if you’re an evangelist with a worldwide ministry or a plumber or housewife or teacher or ditch digger or funeral director. ANYONE can have it. ANYONE can operate in these things and have the wisdom to do so effectively. THIS IS THE BODY OF CHRIST. Not saying one thing on Sunday and living a different way the rest of the week. No. Believing, having wisdom, and living it 24/7 every day of the year.

Sure, we’ll miss it here and there. But it will NOT be because He isn’t faithful. It will be because of OUR poor choices. When we do what He says, when He says, in the totality of what He says, then we will be in a position for Jesus to do mighty things. You will see the Father move. Move here on earth like He does in heaven. It will happen to us the same way it happened to Jesus (Acts 10:38) and look what HE did. He was MAN. But He was humble. He was submitted. He was obedient. And He asked for wisdom — which He applied instead of ignoring. He applied instead of thinking ‘naw, I got this’. He did WHAT the Father said WHEN He said and HOW He said to do it (John 5:19).

Ask for wisdom. Use wisdom. Spread the seeds of peace. Not worldly peace. HIS peace. Kingdom peace. Supernatural peace beyond the understanding of humanity (Philippians 4:5–7). God’s peace. The peace that is for all of us. That’s why Jesus came. He was the PRINCE of peace! “For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). He came that we might HAVE peace (Luke 1:76). Don’t turn your back on it. Accept it. Seek it. Get wisdom. It turns life on like DeLuxe did for colour film — but in a way more glorious than you can understand without experiencing it first. It’s for ANYONE. YOU are an anyone. Believe. Ask. Receive. It’s that simple. It’s that good. It’s PURE.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Luke 1:78

We don’t deserve ANYTHING. Let’s face it. It’s a challenge for us to keep to the speed limits. Look at everything ELSE we do. Society is all about shutting our mouths. Don’t talk about abortion. Don’t talk about gender. Don’t talk about sexual preferences. Don’t talk about…. on it goes. Why? Because people feel uncomfortable when YOUR view doesn’t exactly match THEIR view. Why? Because somewhere inside, they feel that it is wrong. Not all the time. Only when they hear the truth. So they want to shut it down. People go along with it. Why? Because we ALL have something that we don’t want to hear the TRUTH on. Why? Because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And the cost of that is our death (Romans 6:23). Without anyone doing anything, we’ll burn. It is JUST. It is TRUE. We were born in darkness and darkness will be cast out because there is NO DARKNESS IN GOD (1 John 1:5). When we leave this mortal creation, we CANNOT be with God when we are dark. BUT. That’s a great word here. BUT because of HIS tender mercy, Jesus came that dawn might hit our soul and wash us clean. No darkness. As bright as He is because HE is in US. Any of us that believe. THAT is mercy. THAT is love. THAT is peace you can believe for (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.