Slippery Steps

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 Luke 12.22 He said to his disciples, Therefore I tell you, don't be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear. This has been a theme in the lives of the Israelites for centuries at the point that this was said. It was ingrained in them back in Isaiah's time. For the Lord spoke this to me with a strong hand and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, Don't call a conspiracy, all that this people call a conspiracy. Don't fear their threats, or be terrorized. The Lord of armies is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread. Isaiah 8.11-13 The Lord was declaring himself a sanctuary, but in a couple of verses he is also declaring that he will be a stumbling block for both Israel and Judea, both of whom were fallen away from the Lord and not following his statutes. Jesus was the same stumbling block for the unrepentant religious leaders of his day and their followers. Matthew 21.42-44 and 1 Corinthians 1.23 But wait, you say. Threat from without is totally different than threat from daily life. Is it, though? We as a species have a great fear of the loss of our lives, a terrible fear. There is a lot of horrific things that have been done by people trying to save their lives. It doesn't matter if the looming death is from a bullet or from starving. At many times and in many places, the social standing of people and their way of life has been destroyed by what their bodies look like or what clothes they are or are not wearing. Yes, it is silly when you really think about it. Tell that to a teenager whose peers are all wearing a certain style of jeans, shoe or hoodie. Tell that to a socialite who arrives in the same dress as her hostess. Tell that to a young person wearing the colors of an opposing gang. Tell that to soldiers wearing opposite uniforms. The trappings and symbols of our lives are often as serious and detrimental to our lives as whether or not we have enough food to eat or whether we are being threatened by force. When it comes to monitoring and managing our lives, what we eat or wear, it is often social conditioning. Manly men these days are trouser-wearing, tie-tying, suit-draped or denim-encased burly mountains of testosterone. A couple hundred years ago it was silk stockings, satin pantaloons, wigs and makeup. A couple thousand years ago it was linen tunic dresses, almost like robes, and nearly identical to what women wore at the time. These days, male and female clothing has been more clearly separate, though there is a shift starting towards something new. What society says is acceptable for men and women to wear is always shifting and moving. But within a given system, we put a lot of effort into it. We place a lot of weight on it. And scorn, laughter, bullying and shunning is waiting for those who color outside the lines. To be clear here, I am speaking only of style of clothes and not the roles that the sexes inhabit. Clothes don't make a man a man any more than a dress gives birth. But we waste a lot of time and thought on these things and making sure that we are acceptable to those around us. Now food anxiety falls into two categories, serious and silly. Serious food anxiety is all about whether you have enough. Do you have food in your cupboards? Will you be facing hungry children tomorrow morning or today after schooling and you have nothing? Do you only have access to prefabricated food and drink that you know is damaging yourself and your family, but you are in a food desert and have no access to fresh fruit and vegetables or anything that doesn't come in a box? That doesn't even touch on whether you were ever given the skills to cook. These are real things that affect too many very real people. There's another kind of food anxiety that comes from being a spoiled area of the world with too many choices. Do we want pizza or pasta, burgers or chicken, tacos or shawarma, sushi or sashimi, healthy or not, dessert or dinner? Seem like nothing to you? What's the stereotype? The man looks at his date or partner and asks, what do you want to eat and the drama ensues. People fight over this stuff. They argue about it. Some even break up over this. Silly? Yes. Real? Also yes. The pressure to eat a certain way or appear to eat a certain way or not eat that way. Food allergies, which barely existed a hundred years ago, are rampant in this age of engineered food. We've even changed the food sources to the point that a person from a hundred years ago would not recognize what we call a chicken. We eat ourselves into the grave, but also spend hours worried about what is going into our mouths. If you were to go on a fast for 48 hours, it is staggering the amount of time that would be freed up because you weren't spending time on food or food preparation. Theoretically, the human race on the whole has been freed from the toil of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. In practice, I wonder how much easier life would have been for those who had to hunt and gather in order to reach the minimum requirements of nutrition for survival. I mean, we've made the collection and consumption of food so much easier. It's improved the standard of living and extended our lifespan along with health and medicine advancement. But we've taken it and we've mentalized it. We've taken body image and shoved it into a standardized box and added social pressures not seen on the planet before. People are taking their lives from their inability to meet the completely fabricated standard of beauty that exists nowhere but fevered imaginations and the Internet. If we took it all away, would we die? Decidedly not. But society would be unrecognizable. Well, maybe not. Look at the popular media and any time you see a set-in-the-future drama where our multitude of choices has been streamlined or reduced in any way, and you see bland, totalitarian uniforms seeming to proliferate, that or everything devolves into a unisex leotard onesie, we spend more time worried about food and clothing than we do fearing physical harm. And we don't live in a world without violence. Really, it comes down to what part of the world in which you live. The privileged foolishness of the West isn't reflected in many places in the rest of the world, or all the places in the West. In other places, whether you live through the walk to school is a lot more real than whether or not you're wearing the latest trends. Or the fear of a knock on the door in the middle of the night is greater than whether you'll be laughed at when you get to work. But that fear of ridicule is as real to a privileged Westerner as the guns of the drug runners in cocaine country. As crazy as that sounds. Physical violence, after all, is real. The rest is social constructs that we have created. The chains we bind ourselves with after forging them, and often then complaining about being bound. All of it is something that the believer can confidently stand against. No weapon formed against us will prosper, after all, Isaiah 54, 17. So why are we warned against it in the New Testament, against violence and persecution, if we can stand against it? If we can claim victory and an overcoming over the world and all this foolishness that it has created, why are we taught to? Because there's two categories of persecution. The world toward the world, and the world toward the believer. One is people slapping around people. One is the world trying to remove Jesus from the equation. The first is effective, but we can stand against it. It is a storm that cannot touch us in the boat that is the sanctuary of the Lord. The other is what we're called to endure, because we are the physical piece that they can attack and appear to gain victory over, while never even approaching their goal. It is futility for them and reward for us. But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. Don't fear what they fear, neither be troubled, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear, having a good conscience. Thus, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ. For it is better, if it is God's will, that you suffer for doing what is right, than for doing evil. Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, in whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. This is the symbol of baptism, which now saves you, not putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him. 1 Peter 3, 14-22 We are called to be like Jesus. He warns us that we will be persecuted. He warns us that it will come. He tells us not to be anxious for it. He tells us not to worry about what to say when we are called up before those who direct the persecution. In the end, it is not us who are on trial, but Jesus. Against us, they may seem to gain a victory, but the Word tells us it is a hollow one. We are set aside, sealed, and sanctified by the Lord himself. Our hope is in Jesus, and by the Father, we will be rewarded for staying steadfast in our faith. It is clear it has been happening for thousands of years, and it will continue to happen. No matter how untouchable the West thinks they are, it will happen. Until that time of such a clear choice, what are we to do? Because as you can see from what I read in 1 Peter, it is simple to be persecuted for Jesus. It isn't fun. There's physical suffering to it. But it's simple. Cut and dried. Simple. It's the other that causes much more harm. You may not believe me, but it is the small things that take us away from where we want to stand. It is easy to take a stand when there's a gun pointed at your head. When you're asked for a black and white choice, Jesus or not. But what about the small things? The little pricks that you may not even feel. It's just a movie. It's only a TV show, and look how neat it is. How well done. What about that comedian you like, whose delivery makes everything so funny? Does it really matter whether or not they're foul-mouthed? Whether they're mocking the Lord or church? Whether they're promoting immorality or not? They're just poking at society. It's their job. Does it matter if you date like everyone else? If you get a little physical? I mean, we're not prudes. After all, we're not bound by our puritanical roots covering up ankles. Things have loosened up quite a bit. And it isn't sin, right? It's just doing a few things. We're not talking about going all the way or being really immoral, but we all have needs, right? There are a myriad of things I could mention. Hours of material. There's a lot that depends on how we're raised, what denomination we are, how much we've read the Bible, what particular society we've been exposed to, and what the common to the world around us is culturally, racially, and class. Who's to say what is and isn't immoral? Who's to say what will and what won't be the first step of that slippery slope away from the Lord? There's a reason that on Passover the Jews remove all the leaven, yeast, from their homes. The yeast itself and anything that contains yeast. It was a symbol of sin, of how sin can get into everything. How it can be innocuous, but that it will be a part of everything sooner or later. It spreads not just in bread, but in fluids and in the air itself. It's only by being this picky that we have any hope of achieving the righteousness that the Lord calls us to. And don't be deceived. We are called to righteousness. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21.3 Every scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness that each person who belongs to God may be complete. Thoroughly equipped for every good work. 1 Timothy 3.16-17 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him. 1 John 2.29 Luckily, Jesus did the work for us on the cross. We don't have to make ourselves righteous. This is good because nobody can. We've all sinned at one point or another. We've all given in to the evil influence. If you do it even once, you're not righteous. It's only in and through Jesus that true righteousness can inhabit our spirits. Therefore, don't let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lusts. Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin will not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Don't you know that when you present yourselves as servants and obey someone, you are the servants of whomever you obey, whether of sin to death or of obedience to righteousness? But thanks be to God that whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered. Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness. Romans 6, 12-18 To be clear, Paul is not talking about the law given by Yahweh God Almighty, but the laws of men, the rules and traditions and additions that we've created to help us keep the law. If the law said don't move more than 20 miles, we'd have a dozen rules about not going past 18, that 19 is truly evil, and that those who go more than 15 are to be shunned. Why do we add all that stuff? Because we convince ourselves that it is needed for us to truly master ourselves and keep from sinning. But it is human foolishness and we make something that is simple, complex. We make a light yoke, burdensome. We get so caught up in rules and regulations that we forget the law and its purpose. What are we to do if we are to keep God's law? To abide in Jesus so that inside and out we can inhabit His righteousness and perform righteousness in our lives. How do we remain true and not full of anxiety about all the foolishness of this world? How do we keep from slipping in small little things which can lead to major separation of ourselves from God? Like always, God does not leave us hanging. He gives us a roadmap. Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4.8 We are called to the good, not to be boring. With everything we do, with everything we look at, listen to, read, watch, hear, say, and do, with everything we are to focus on the good. Well, what is good? Anything worthy of praise. Anything of virtue. Not human virtue. Virtue is shown by the Word. In other words, it doesn't matter if the production value is through the roof. It doesn't matter if the acting is superb and worthy of awards and recognition. It doesn't matter if it's exciting, dramatic, and gripping. It doesn't matter if it's modern, a remake, or a classic. If the storyline or the lifestyle of the characters promotes anything that is not worthy of praise or of virtue as defined by the Lord God Most High, then it is not for you. Whether we see it as good in and of itself or not on the God scale, it is not for you. Why? Because a little that is wrong in the eyes of the Lord leads to more that is wrong in the eyes of the Lord, which leads to all that is wrong in the eyes of the Lord. It only takes a small amount to poison the entire amount. And what that will be will change as you get closer to the Lord. The more righteous your behavior, the more righteous your standards are. It is a shifting line on the human side. It does not shift on the Lord's side. It stays exactly the same place always. And why is that okay? Because He is Almighty God. He created the universe. He is so far above us, it makes it unfathomable that anyone would think that He doesn't have the right to say what is and is not righteous. That is how far above us He is. And it doesn't matter if it's a lot or just a speck. Anything that isn't righteous is unrighteous, wrong, and should be plucked out. Strong words maybe, but they're not mine. A little yeast grows through the whole lump. Galatians 5.9 God so wanted Israel to take in this lesson, so wanted them to understand and realize how prevalent sin could be in even small amounts that these were His commands. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. Exodus 12.15 No yeast shall be seen with you in all your borders seven days. Neither shall any of the meat which you sacrificed the first day at evening remain all night until the morning. Deuteronomy 16.4 That's pretty strong, and it's hard to get wrong. He wanted it all out of all their territory. Since leaven represents sin, what does that say about how God views sin? He wants the bad out, no matter how humanly good it is, and the good of Himself in. Sin out, righteousness in. Simple. We accomplish this in Jesus, by Jesus, and through Jesus. There is no other way. There is no other ability. There is nothing else that works. Jesus managed it. Jesus paid for it. Jesus, by grace through faith, imparts it to us, period. We can walk in it only if we are always and ever bringing everything to the throne of grace. If we are weighing everything by the word in all things. When we do this, we can reject anxiety, reject worry, reject fear. If everything is modulated by the Lord, then we know that we will have all things we need, because He cares for us like a loving father his child. If we are truly not going to be anxious for what we eat and what we wear. If we are truly not going to be anxious about our lives, or any persecution that comes our way. If we are truly going to walk in the righteousness that we are not only called to, but gifted by the Lord God Almighty. If we are going to do these things that the Lord wants us to do, then we need Jesus. We need the power of the cross, and the self-control that He has granted to us to obey, crucify ourselves, and follow Him. The Lord does it for us. The Lord does it in us. And the Lord does it with us, and with God. That hand in hand, side by side, working together for His glory, with God, nothing at all whatsoever is impossible. And fear, anxiety, and worry will be nothing more than spots on the horizon, far behind where you are with Him. Amen. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Mark 14, 22-25. Communion is a mystery and a celebration. It's hard to understand without the Holy Spirit leading our spirits and our souls. It's hard to understand without renewed mind revelation. But if we will take the time to read it, study it, and meditate on it, communion becomes so much more than a once a month ritual from our childhood. The cross of Christ is the reason for communion, and the fulfillment of all our covenant rites. This is the celebration of communion, celebrating redemption, righteousness, wisdom, and sanctification, making the resurrection, ascension, seated position, and the presence of the Holy Spirit possible in your life all the time. Communion mirrors the Passover's Seder meal. Within that meal that the Jews have been performing for thousands upon thousands of years, a piece of unleavened bread, symbolizing a sinless object, is broken into pieces as Jesus broke His body seven times, wrapped in white linen as Jesus was wrapped after His death, and hidden in the house as Jesus was laid in the tomb and shut away from human eyes. Later in the feast meal, the children are sent to spy out the wrapped bread and return it to the One who was guiding the meal, where it is symbolically redeemed and consumed as Jesus was resurrected to life and returned to the side of His Father. Jesus is magnified. Not on His throne, not beside His Father. Jesus is magnified in our lives, in us. He is the living, breathing, word-made flesh who is in heaven beside His Father as well as in each and every one of us. It is a mystery and a celebration. The redemption of mankind, of all humanity, every man and woman, boy and girl, male and female, is a release from the bondage of ignorance and rebirth into the light of the revelation of His knowledge. We learned in the garden that there was a difference between good and evil. We gained the knowledge that there was good and that there was evil, but we stole the knowledge. It was not revealed to us. We stole the broad stroke, hey, it exists, and missed all the nuance, instruction, and guidance that would have enabled us to know it without falling prey to it. It has taken thousands of years to get us to the point that we were willing to listen, to get us to the point where we could handle seeing Jesus on the cross, realize what was happening, and accept that, yes, we need God. We need Jesus. We cannot do it without Him. Yes, we can be free from sin and from the price of sin, death. What kind of love did that take? What kind of love would be willing to wait thousands of years, literal multiple eons of human time, before we were willing to accept Him? What kind of love is still waiting, still embracing, and still wanting us? Can you imagine it? Probably none. But Jesus is there to faithfully reveal the depths of His love for us. With every taste of yeast you ever have in your entire life, take a moment to think, God loves me. He loves you enough to correct you. He loves you enough to work with you. He loves you enough to help you choose righteous behavior. It is not in an instant that our bodies and souls are sanctified, but it is in a moment that our spirits are sealed and we begin the journey to get the rest of us as sanctified as our spirits. It is by and through the love of God that the sanctification journey is accomplished, by Jesus, in Jesus, and through Jesus. Take a moment and love on Him today. As we close, remember that you have birth. 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 and 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.