Fear No Fear

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

“‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
(Numbers 35:29)

“Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth“
(John 17:17-19)

The Israelites were given commandments to cover all the circumstances that might come up. Whenever something new came up, something not covered by the given commandments, they could seek the Lord through the prophet or high priest and get an answer. Those answers became their standard for how to treat one another. They didn’t need to rely on the laws of the nations around them. They didn’t have to make it up themselves. They didn’t have to strive and wrestle with weighty matters – and then amend them as times changed. They had a firm foundation on which to base every judgment they gave. God’s commands became the backbone of their way of life.

Jesus prayed for all those who followed Him (the disciples and all the believers who came after them). He prayed that we would be founded in the Word. That the Word would set us all apart for holiness through its truth. That through the Word we could develop a baseline for our lives. For our thoughts, our words, and our actions. That if we would believe what He said, trust in Him, and obey what He says to us in the Word, we would see our lives transformed. That we would see an increase in holiness in all aspects and areas of our lives. The Word would and should become the backbone of everything we are and everything we do.

Summary

The Word is Truth and it promotes holy living. The more we choose to obey it by submitting to it. The more it teaches us God’s moral character and we choose to emulate it, the more we will be renewed in our thinking. God’s Word never restricts, it always frees. That which we are told to abstain from and avoid is that which is harmful to us in some way. We might not see it, but we can believe Him and trust Him. That is what pleases Him. Our willingness to choose to obey what we hear from Him. Our willingness to humbly submit to His point of view. Our willingness to follow Jesus and so what He told us to do. This needs to be the foundation of our lives so that God becomes the Source for everything we need, everything we want, and everything we say and do. He empowers that lifestyle in and through the Word. And in Jesus, we can live that way.