Fear No Fear

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

““How can I give you up, Ephraim?
    How can I hand you over, Israel?
    How can I make you like Admah?
    How can I make you like Zeboiim?
My heart is turned within me,
    my compassion is aroused.
I will not execute the fierceness of my anger.
    I will not return to destroy Ephraim,
    for I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you.
    I will not come in wrath.
They will walk after Yahweh,
    who will roar like a lion;
    for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
They will come trembling like a bird out of Egypt,
    and like a dove out of the land of Assyria;
and I will settle them in their houses,” says Yahweh.
Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood,
    and the house of Israel with deceit.
    Judah still strays from God,
    and is unfaithful to the Holy One.”
(Hosea 11:8-12)

  “Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. For I say through the grace that was given me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith. For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another, having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us: if prophecy, let’s prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; or service, let’s give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching; or he who exhorts, to his exhorting; he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
(Romans 12:1-8)

They were warned. They were going to reap what they sowed. If they were determined to be corrupt, they would receive corruption. If they were determined to make false oaths and offer up the trappings of worship without any real worship in their hearts, they would reap a broken covenant. They could not blaspheme God to His face and assume that they weren’t bringing on themselves the consequences of rebellion. God isn’t going to be mocked. You’re not getting away with it just because nothing has happened to you yet. The price is always paid. If you reap a storm, you’ll get a hurricane.

It is in and through Jesus that the cycle of human rebellion can be broken. It is in and through Jesus that we can lay a hold of the better things of life. The Fruit of His Spirit that we are encouraged to plant in our own hearts. To let the Word teach us about His point of view so that we can choose to change our minds. To accept what He says as what is right and good. To see things from His perspective. To get into the boat with Him so that we are above our problems with His perspective on them, instead of in the storm being tossed around on the waves. To choose kindness and compassion and empathy and hospitality, not me-me-me-me. To sow His seed that He gives us to sow, in order that we can reap His harvest for His glory.

Summary

Choice is a simple thing. A or B. Do this or do not do this. It’s how simple it is. It isn’t easy. It is never easy to deny ourselves. It is never easy to put down what we want – whether it is good for us or not – in order to do something else. To admit that someone else’s thinking is better than what thinking we did. But we need to acknowledge His plans are better. We need to heed His correction. We need to choose the behaviours that He says are good. The attitudes He says are good. The actions and words that He says are good. We need to make sure that we are planting the seeds He gives us so that we can get the harvest He promises. We need to align ourselves with His thinking. Get His point of view so well known to us, that we share it. That we see things how He says they are because He says it. We need to follow Him in all the ways we can. That’s where the blessing lives. That’s where love comes alive. That’s where obedience is not only simple, but easy. We need His love so that we can love Him back.