Fear No Fear

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

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants, to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
(Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

“In the fear of Yahweh is a secure fortress,
    and he will be a refuge for his children.
The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life,
    turning people from the snares of death.”
(Proverbs 14:26-27)

From the VERY beginning, we have had a CHOICE (Genesis 2:16-17). That choice is NOT going away. We can choose to OBEY and we can choose to DISOBEY. Anytime we do something that is not directed by God’s moral character, God’s instructions, and God’s Word, we are SINNING (Romans 14:23). Everything about what we do should be based on our trust in the Lord. It is NOT complicated. It is SIMPLE. The Israelites were given a lot of rules and guidance for conduct. It all came down to this: love God, obey God, stick close to God. That’s it. If they stuck to those three things and put those foremost in their hearts and minds, they would keep all the other things – not perfectly for NONE of us are perfect (Romans 3:23), but there is provision in the Law to cover sins. The Law wouldn’t SAVE them, but obedience to God would PROTECT and enable them to receive their PROVISION. They had a CHOICE.

Choosing LIFE is the only real choice. Why would you choose to die? Choose to be sick, diseased, broken, and shackled? It makes NO SENSE. Reverence for the Lord, giving Him the importance that His nature commands and the obedience to His words that follows. THAT is what keeps us in the blessing zone. THAT is what gives us security. Because under His wings we have healing, protection, security, blessing, and all good things. We are RENEWED when we are under the protection of the Lord. Yes, we age. But we don’t have to DETERIORATE. We don’t need to wither. We can rise up under His wings and do what He has called us to do with His power, His authority, and His might. We need to choose whether or not we want to truly SEEK Him or not. It is a CHOICE and it is OURS.

Summary

The Earth itself and everything in the heavens are WITNESSES to our choice. It is a simple choice. It SHOULD be an easy choice. Life versus death. Health versus sickness. Sustenance versus lack. Obedience verses rebellion. Safety versus peril. This doesn’t mean no persecution. It doesn’t mean no fight. It doesn’t mean easy street. But it means no danger of LASTING peril, LASTING danger, and LASTING defeat. Jesus OVERCAME and in Him WE can overcome. In HIM we have life. In HIM we have eternal security. In HIM we have ABUNDANT LIFE. It is a choice we ALL need to make and we need to make it EVERY day. Love Him enough to LISTEN to Him, trust Him enough to OBEY.