He Helps

Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of His word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to His perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org 1 Chronicles 12.18 Then the Spirit came on Amassi, who was chief of the thirty, and he said, We are yours, David, and on your side, you son of Jesse. Peace, peace be to you, and peace be to your helpers, for your God helps you. Then David received them and made them captains of the band. When God helps us, we do not fear. When God helps us, we have peace. Now, the Hebrew here, for the Spirit came on, doesn't mean the Holy Spirit descended on him. Rather, it refers to a talent, a will, or desire, not a spirit of prophecy. So, he felt this. It was so fervent within him that he leapt up to declare this. He was eager to let David know that they were here to help, that they wished and declared to him nothing but peace, and that no thanks were needed because it was the Lord God who sent them. They weren't there on their own strength. They were there because God told them to come, and they were there in his might as his servants. David acknowledged it, thanked God for them, and placed them in charge of his forces. David didn't need to fear for what was before him because God was providing for him. David didn't need to fear because peace was on him and his forces. David didn't need to fear because God was there to help him. In Islam, you need to pray five times a day, declare your faith, give alms, fast during Ramadan, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca, submitting to a universal God and serving God above all, an impersonal, genderless, and unaffected by any human things God who created creation to worship the Creator. In Taoism, you change your behavior to embrace a selfless, balanced life in harmony with nature in order to gain happiness. In Confucianism, which is more of a philosophy than a religion, you strive for peace and order within yourself in order to imbue society around you with peace and order. In Hinduism, life is a cycle of life and death and rebirth through karma, which is cause and effect, with a universal but multiple manifestation God being in everything and everyone and able to, if you complete the right training, be experienced in everything. In Buddhism, which is also more of a philosophy than a religion, you strive to purge yourself through meditation in order to achieve enlightenment, developing peace and love in yourself to achieve nirvana, where you are released from the cycle of life and karma, which again is cause and effect. These are all bare-bones, broad-stroke descriptions without any nuance, but in none of these is God a person or personage eager to interact with humanity. In all of these, it is human effort that produces an effect. It is human effort that improves yourself. Most of them see God as having many names, many manifestations, and some, many paths to get to God. Some see humanity as God, there being a divine spark or piece of the divine in all things so that we are all God and so is everything around you so you can see God in that cup or that image and worship that because you're worshiping the God in it, not it. All of them are very self-centric. What you are doing, what you are achieving, what you are changing, what your behavior is, what you are perfecting. Now Yahweh God is deserving of worship, but he did not create us to worship him. He created us to fellowship with him, and worship is an integral part of that. He created us to partner with him to work the creation he created, and worship is an integral part of that, too. Now after we rejected him, Genesis 3, Yahweh God refocused our attention on him so he could protect us, shepherd us, and ultimately redeem us in and through Jesus. Jesus being the sacrifice for us so that in him we renew relationship with Yahweh. Jesus doing the work so that we can, through him, do the work. Jesus being present in all aspects of our life so that in him we live righteously. Not to get, or purge, or perfect, or balance, or gain happiness but because we love him and want him happy, a form of worship. We are not created to mindlessly serve him, but to serve in fellowship, which is full of worship. We are called to partner with Yahweh God. But in our current state, we're kind of hampered. We're unable to succeed. We need Jesus. In him and by him we can achieve because it is him, not us, that achieves. We abide in Jesus and by grace, through faith, can do what the Father says to do and say what the Father says to say and overcome because Jesus overcame for us. It is Jesus-centric, Jesus-focused, and all about Jesus. He retrains and renews our minds. His Spirit gives us the fruit and the attributes we need to live righteously. His Spirit given to us, not us developing, us using what he has under his guidance and instruction. We are not a part of the solution. We are the vehicle the solution uses to manifest. God helps us. With God, nothing is impossible. Doing nothing except by the will of the Father. Getting favor from Yahweh. These are themes and statements that occur again and again and again throughout the Bible. There are some that take the stance that the Bible has changed over the years and centuries and eons. But the word doesn't change. What changes is our understanding of the word. We learn more, which changes our viewpoint. The word hasn't changed. The word is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13, 8-9 God breathed, not man made. 2 Timothy 3, 16-17 It is there to correct us, teach us, and instruct us in righteousness. Not so that we can change who we are, but so that God can mold us. Not so that we can follow rules or adhere to a moral code, but so that we simply do what he says to do. Imagine being confronted with something you could do. Maybe it's right, maybe it's not. You can turn to Holy Spirit or ask Jesus himself, do you want to do this? And if God says no, then you choose not to do it. It's just like you'd ask a friend on the playground if they wanted to play tag or not. This is partnership. This isn't a rule book. This is a relationship. Where do you want to eat? What do you think of this outfit? Should we buy it here or keep looking? Is this in the budget right now? What do you want to watch? Want to go for a walk? Do you want to read? Do you feel like coloring? How about a hug? These are the kinds of questions we would and do ask those that we're in a relationship with. Why aren't we asking the Lord too? He will answer. We're here to have relationship with him. To worship him with our songs, words, actions, and work. We're here to work with him. Walk with him. Partner with him. In all things, in all ways, face to face through Jesus. Spirit to spirit in him. We're not human beings, you know. We're not bodies. We're not minds. We're spirit beings. We are reflections of and images of God. We are copies of the divine. In how we look, in how we act, in how we operate. We are spirit beings. We're also housed in flesh, connected to it through our minds or souls. Our flesh fell. And through Jesus, we are renewed and being sanctified. The body soul got broken. Jesus fixes it. Jesus helps us. Jesus in us. We are in him. This is partnership. Our God helps us. The voice of God is real and can speak to you like a person could speak to you. But that's not the whole story. Jesus is real and can walk through the door or wall and enter into your room right now and speak to you face to face. But that's not the whole story. God deserves worship and to not worship him is flat out wrong because his very nature inspires worship. But that's not the whole story. The entire point of the Bible, of the word, is to point you to the whole story. The law was given to show mankind that they could not accomplish it alone. That humanity cannot do it. We cannot achieve enlightenment. We cannot save ourselves. Our behavior, attitudes, actions, charity, good works and living according to a moral code is not enough. We can't do it. We can become intelligent, caring, good people. We can achieve what we think is wisdom, but it isn't enough. We cannot cleanse ourselves. Blood must be spilt because it was a high treason capital crime that was committed. And then sin began sin. Fallen man mated with fallen woman and they had fallen babies. Fallen babies perfected our perfect fallen babies. We cannot do it. But our God helps us. Jesus paid the price. He did the time for our crime. He spilt his sinless perfect blood as word made flesh. Word seed not man seed. Joined to woman DNA as a perfect sacrifice. Unfallen man died for us. Took our penalty. Paid for our crime. Wiped the slate clean. And then was resurrected to life. Not reincarnated. Not cycled. Not perfected. Because he was perfect to start with. Resurrected to life as the living one. God man in a perfected righteous sanctified unified body which is able to hold the glory of God. And he offers it to us. Same deal. In him we get all that he is. All he is. We can't hold it all in our unsanctified flesh. But when it is sanctified we will be able to. That's what the father will give us when the new earth comes. Perfected righteous sanctified unified body. Exactly what Jesus is. We are fellow children of God. We are co-heirs with Jesus. We are one step, a little one, below God himself. Hebrews 2.7 and Psalm 8.5. We can't make it happen. Our God helps us. Why do we have peace? Because we don't have to do anything. The responsibility isn't ours. It's like when you're at school or work and there's an issue but it isn't at your level. You're not involved. You're sitting back sipping your coffee watching the fire happen thinking I'm so glad this is not on me. God has done everything so that none of it is on us. It's all on Jesus. Jesus did it. Jesus does it. And Jesus will always do it. Jesus overcame. Jesus is victorious. Jesus heals. Jesus saves. Jesus sanctifies. Jesus renews. Jesus has authority. Jesus is the conduit for the Father to do the work and say the words through Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Jesus helps us. Our job, our only job is to stay where he says to stay. On his path. In his yard. To remain in the place. To receive everything he is holding out. Think of a person giving you a gift. They hold it out to you. They don't hide it or run away with it or throw it across the room. When it is a precious gift, they hand it to you. To keep it unbroken. To make sure you get it in the best condition. And you have to take it. You can't take it from three houses down, across the street, in the driveway, or on the floor. You have to be before them, within arm's reach, and take it. To physically receive it. That is our job. To take from the hand of Yahweh God what he is offering us. We can't do it alone. God doesn't help us because we help ourselves. We are not to rely on ourselves or on our strength. Cursed is the man who trusts in man, relies on the strength of flesh, and whose heart departs from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when good comes, but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness and uninhabited salt land. Jeremiah 17, 5-6 We can't do it. But we aren't abandoned to our own devices, instructions, or strength. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose confidence is in the Lord. For he will be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes. But its leaf will be green and will not be concerned in the year of drought. It won't cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17, 7-8 Our God helps us. And we stay in that place through worship. We stay in that place through reading the Word and examining it and thinking about it. We stay in that place by talking with the Lord. We stay in that place by asking His opinion. We stay in that place by listening to His voice, verbal, spirit, and written voice. We stay in that place by abiding in Jesus. Jesus is that place. By staying focused on Him, we stay in Him. Staying in Him, we are in the place. That's it. We stay, we get. It's that simple. The flesh doesn't want to. We need to make it through worshiping God, reading the Word, and exercising our dominion over our bodies. But our flesh will comply. Everything bows to Jesus. Philippians 2, 9 Our bodies are no exception, but thank the Lord, God helps us. What do we get? Peace, peace, and more peace. No fear, no anxiety, no depression, no disease, no sickness, no lack, no problems, only circumstances. That's not a trial-free life, that's a problem-free life. In a boat saying, this is fine, God has us, instead of we're all going to die. Same circumstance, totally different perspective. Jesus tells us we will suffer for His name, 1 Peter 4, 12-19, and John 15, 21. But it won't be a problem, it will be a privilege. It won't be an occasion for tears and sorrow, but joy and singing, Acts 16, 16-40. We can't do it on our own. We must have Jesus, John 15. Our God helps us. Our God does it for us. Our God gives it to us because we didn't earn it and don't deserve it. Our God extends to us grace. Our God gives us the faith to accept His grace. Jesus does it all. Jesus holds it out. We only need to take it to get peace and peace and peace and more. For us and for those around us, why? Because God is perfect love. And perfect love casts out all fear. 1 John 4, 18-19. God loves us. He loved us before we were here. He loved us before we did anything. He loves us and loves us and loves us some more. Peace to mankind, peace on earth, goodwill toward humanity. Our God helps us. Let Him help you today. You don't need to do anything. He does it for you and gives it to you. Receive it today. Let Him place it in your hand. Yahweh God, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit help you. Let Him give you peace. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Psalm 91, 14-16. The secret to life? We love Him. That's it. We set our love on Him. Consciously, on purpose, without deluding it and with everything we have. When you start to love someone, you want to know about them. You want to be around them. You want to drink them in. The object of your desire, thoughts, and passions becomes the center around which you orbit. That is what we are to do. In word, deed, thought, and dreams. We are to set our love on Him. We don't have to train to do it. Babies can do it. We don't need to give anything away. That comes because we're loving Him, not in order to love Him. We don't need to abase ourselves. We worship out of love, not obligation or fear. We don't need to purge anything. We'll change because we love. It isn't us doing anything. It's us loving. God does the doing. God helps, delivers, honors, satisfies, shows, lifts up, and smiles on us. When we set our love on Yahweh God, the heavens open to us and we are welcomed in as adored and treasured children. Our Father who we serve from love, not obligation. Who we love because He loves us. Fellowshiping with our Father from His lap, not from afar. Within His embrace. Within the circle of love and peace. With Him. Because He loves us so much, this is all possible. Love Him today. Never stop. Heaven is opening to you right now. A personal, intimate, and very real connection with God Almighty. Take part in it. As we close, remember that you have Earth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love. There is no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you. Just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us. That God has sent His only born Son into the world. That we might live through Him. And this is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us. And sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin. And it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.