Living in the Unless

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear and champion faith. It emphasizes the importance of passing on the love of God to the next generation. It explores the concept of God being God and our need to trust and obey Him. It also discusses the power of selfless love and the choice we have to either follow God or choose self. It concludes with the reminder that God loves us unconditionally and that we have worth and value in His eyes. 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 24.38-39 He said to them, Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and feet? That is truly me. Touch me and see, for a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones as you see I have. Thomas gets the short end of the stick, literally, if accounts of his martyrdom in India are accurate. Here is Jesus appearing to the disciples, except Thomas who was elsewhere, and they don't believe. He's right there, and they don't believe. He is chastising them gently for their unbelief. What is the difference with Thomas? Why, if the other eleven aren't believing while looking at Jesus face to face, is Thomas the doubting one when told of Jesus appearing alive but not seeing Jesus himself? The heart. The difference is the heart. The disciples couldn't believe their eyes. Thomas chose not to believe unless. Oh, how we relate. We live in the unless. It is not a good place to be. Forty long years I was grieved with that generation, and said, They are a people who err in their heart. They have not known my ways. Therefore, I swore in my wrath, they won't enter into my rest. Psalm 95, 10-11 The Lord's angel came up from Gilgal to Boshim, and he said, I brought you out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to give your fathers. I said, I will never break my covenant with you. You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall break down their altars. But you have not listened to my voice. Why have you done this? Therefore, I also said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you. Judges 2, 1-3 These are the Israelites. First, those brought up out of Egypt by signs and miracles. Then those who were miraculously sustained in the desert forty years, clothing not wearing out, manna from heaven, and drinkable water when they needed it. After that rose the grandchildren of those who were brought up out of Egypt, and children of those who were sustained in the desert. Did they learn? After all that generation were gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who didn't know the Lord, nor the work which He had done for Israel. Judges 2, 10 So, no, they did not. This, however, is the key lesson to learn in life. Not just to serve the Lord God Almighty yourself, but to pass on that love of God and love of service to the next generation. It's not an easy thing. Eli was a priest and judge, but he did not teach his sons to walk in his ways. They were priests, but they were wicked men who abused their office terribly. 1 Samuel 2 Samuel replaced Eli as judge. He ministered for years and was powerful in his love and devotion to God. When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. Now, the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah. And they were judges in Beersheba. His sons didn't walk in his ways, but turned after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8, 1-3 Samuel didn't pass on his love of the Lord to his sons either. Contrast this with Abraham. The Lord said, Genesis 18, 17-19 Abraham was chosen of God because God knew Abraham would teach the next generation reverence for Yahweh. This might not seem a lot, but it is a big deal. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22, 6 This isn't a verse about brainwashing. This is instruction in how to pass on what is important in life. It is during childhood that we are full of questions, testing everything that comes our way to see how it is. Ever seen a baby? It literally takes everything in the world that it encounters and puts it in its mouth. Not to spread drool, but to test it. And anything good, it keeps in a vice grip. What does Jesus say to us? Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18, 3 We should test every word of the Lord, and then fiercely hold to all that we find as good. We don't seem to do that. We don't test everything, we don't hold to the good, and we don't train up the next generation into reverence. It is because we live in the land of unless. Unless I see evidence, I will not believe. Unless this works out, I won't do it. Unless I can see the benefit, I won't bother. Unless this pays my bills, why should I? Unless I understand. Unless I can stay dignified. Unless I get something new. Unless I don't lose. Unless I don't miss out. Unless my friends are doing it. Unless my family approves. Unless my boss says it's okay. Unless my wife agrees. Unless my kids like it. Unless I feel. Unless you give me. Unless, unless, unless. The list is endless, and it is always selfish. God isn't about the unless. God is about if, then. A relationship. A covenant of actions and trust. We are not. We are all about contracts. As those who broke faith, we are obsessed with what we get out of things. It is not the way to live. It is not the Lord's way. It is all too easy to pass on to our children, grandchildren, and everyone around us. God is not a God of our understanding. And why should he be? Regardless of what some humanists will tell you, we did not make God. He made us. He doesn't need to conform to our way of thinking. He does not have to do what we say. He doesn't have to be understood by us. He has a right to choose his own pronouns. He has a right to stay aloof and watch the universe tick along. He has a right to pay attention and change what he wants when he wants. He has a right to intervene. He has a right to end things. He has a right to say what is and is not right. He is God. There is no other. We don't like hearing that as a species. We want things to go how we like them to. What feels good. What we decide is right and wrong based on what we understand and how we feel. In fact, almost everything I just said about God is looked down on and scorned and spurned. It is very interesting, though, to see just how much like that description of God we act when it is our stuff we're talking about. Our home. Our possessions. Our family. Our country. Go to a gun owner in the United States and suggest that the government has a right to take away their weapons and you're going to get some harsh words back. The government isn't talking about doing that. They can't even mention common sense changes to existing gun laws without having some groups of people ready to have another war of independence. Suggest to almost any human on this planet that the things that they have cherished as their possessions are not theirs or will be taken away and you will have a fight on your hands. We want to do what we want, when we want, and how we want with our things. If you don't think the human species thinks like that, visit a preschool at playtime. Those little ones have opinions about ownership. Why are we so against God being God? Why do we struggle so much with the idea that perhaps the universe does not in fact revolve around our feelings? I think part of it was that fruit of knowledge. We weren't ready for the burden of it. We weren't ready for knowing things above our pay grade. But we bought into the lie that we had a right to it. That's one of the funny things about us. Our idea of rights. Because if the world is correct and we're just another classification of mammal, a creature, then we have no rights. We only talk about animal rights in the context of how we feel that they should be treated by us. If you actually enter the animal kingdom, you'll realize no one has rights. It is a kill or be killed horror show of doing whatever it is you want, whenever it is you want and only altering that for social groups of mostly your own kind in order to help each other survive the orgy of death that defines the life of non-humans on this earth. In and of ourselves, we have no right but those we give to each other. Like always, we as humans aggrandize ourselves and attempt to bring our ideas of order and reason to the world. We classify and name and tell ourselves that we are making sense of everything, which is why the idea of God being God bothers so many people. He defies boxes. He is a vine. He is bread. He is life. He is a shepherd. He is truth. He is the way. He is a door. He is a light. He is a father. He is a son. He is a Holy Spirit. He is one. He is unique. He cannot be explained, only described. The description will only be the piece you saw just now, not the whole, not the piece next to it. He can be a pillar of cloud one moment and a pillar of smokeless fire the next. He can move mountains, spread seas, flood worlds, keep flame from consuming. He can stop time and He can ignore it. He can let plagues do what they do and He can keep areas from being affected by them. He can create with a word. Thomas was faced with God as the Resurrector. Thomas had been there when Lazarus was raised from the dead. John 11, 1-44. In fact, in verse 16, it's Thomas who is ready to follow Jesus into the territory of those who hated him. Thomas was willing to die for Jesus. He knew the centurion's servant was dying and was healed. Luke 7, 1-10. He saw the widow's son raised to life during the boy's funeral. Luke 7, 11-17. He knew Jairus' daughter was raised to life. Matthew 9, 18-26. He was familiar with the idea that God could raise the dead to life. But this time, he wasn't sure. He'd seen Jesus beaten and broken, almost unrecognizable as human. That was more than he had seen in Jesus' ministry. It wasn't some stranger's relative. This was the man he'd followed intimately for three years, believed in, left everything for, and watched die. But Thomas made a choice. He chose unless. When we put limits on God, it never goes well. God doesn't deal in limits. He also doesn't deal in unless. That has the tone of an ultimatum, as if we in our reason and will and strength have the ability to do or say anything of true import. We can't alter our height by our willpower. We worry and sometimes kill ourselves over frivolous things. We have issues agreeing on anything. We even let corporations decide what is and is not considered a human right, all motivated by and determined by the prophets. If man was so wise and great, then humanity would agree on something, at least the basics. Even church denominations, some of the most rabid fanatics that ever walked the earth, agree on the basics. But we don't. Our values change as the weather. We bow to whomever has the most strength. Look at daylight savings. It may once have served a purpose, but is ridiculous in the modern world. Recently I heard that a province in Canada was considering abolishing it, but chose not to because the United States, with whom they share a border, was keeping it. Why is this a factor? The U.S. is a whole other country. Why do they have a say in what happens in Canada about an arbitrary human timekeeping practice? Even funnier, some of the states don't have it. If Arizona can get along with the rest of their own country, with whom they share three borders, and a foreign country with whom they share one, then a whole separate country should do just fine. But the U.S. has a big saber they rattle, and this is the way that the world works. God's kingdom works on a different principle. It works on the principle of the servant. Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come, that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, the devil, having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he came from God and was going to God, arose from supper and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel and wrapped a towel around his waist, and he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13, 1-5. Jesus doing the job of a servant, serving others, blessing them. God is a God of selfless love. He loved us before there was a reason to. He loved us knowing that there would be a reason not to. He sacrificed himself out of love for us as a service. To do what we could not and cannot. What can we do to help? How can we bless you? Wouldn't that be a great way to answer the phone? How can I bless you today? If we all did that and meant it, the world would alter almost overnight. Jesus asked Thomas why he chose to doubt, why he hadn't chosen to believe. It was a choice. The other disciples had it, Thomas had it, and we have it. Nothing has changed. We've been told Jesus died and resurrected for us. We've been told there is a God and he loves you. We've been told that in loving God back, we will want to do what he says, keep his commandments, to keep his statutes, to follow those things that don't just make sense to us, but to follow all of the things. Because God said it was correct, right, righteous. It is a choice, one we all have. It is the choice. We have it presented to us in a thousand different ways. If we then he, will we believe or will we choose to believe what we understand? Will we follow in love or will we unless him? Will we love one another or will we unless each other? Unless we dress right, unless we say the right things, unless we look the right way, unless we behave the exact perfect way, unless, unless, unless. Yet we're called to be one body made up of many parts, 1 Corinthians 12, 12-27. Will we believe that or will we let it trouble us? Will we let it raise doubts in our mind? There is only one unless that matters. Unless you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and was resurrected to life, confess with your mouth, your honest, heart-held belief that Jesus is Lord, you will not be saved. That is scripture, Romans 10, 8-11. Jesus told us to make disciples of the world and baptize them, Matthew 28, 19-20, which symbolizes our death to self and resurrection into life in Jesus. But that is a symbol of the decision, not the decision itself. It is a do, not an unless. The unless will keep you out of death, temporary and permanent death. It is the way you go when you are self-oriented. Your tomb will either be empty of Jesus or full of yourself. Unless you choose Jesus, if you choose self, you'll get you. This can be argued, picked apart, denominated, but it cannot be denied. It is truth. Avoid the land of unless. Stay out of it. Choose to pick up the Word. Let it retrain your mind to the things of God. You won't understand Him, but you'll know Him. You won't be able to explain Him, but you'll be able to obey Him. You'll love Him because He loved you first. The kingdom of God is about selfless love. The land of unless is about death. Choose which one you want. Choose life. I encourage you to choose life. It is the only choice that wins. It is the only one with God. And why would you want to be anywhere else? Our daily affirmation of God's love is Psalm 93. I recently read that when God Almighty made us, Genesis 126, He did so in His image. That means we look similar. Two hands, two feet, rough proportions, male and female, a gender binary to establish lines of communication and chains of command. But that isn't all that happened. We were also made according to His likeness, which was the interesting thing I read, that in order to be in His likeness, we have to have the character that He has within us. The fall of man was the decision to act contrary to that nature, to replace Yahweh nature with Adam nature, to replace Savior with self. Jesus died to enable us to choose the other way. Humanity has to act against its own better sense in order to sin. We know when something is wrong. We could choose not to. We all of us have a dozen reasons that we do something, trying to justify our behavior. Or we like to say that we had no choice, that we were forced. If that doesn't work, we were tricked. But it is all a choice. We have to choose to do something. Chemical signals have to be created in our mind and travel to the appropriate places of our body to transfer that decision's chemical reactions to the body and make it do what we have decided. You don't make a sound unless you tell yourself to do it, unless you choose. We can train ourselves so that those choices are automatic and unconscious. But your mind decided on each and every thing you have ever done or you will ever do. We are to love the Lord our God first and foremost, above all else, and giving Him glory in each and every thing we do or say. Today, ask yourself whether you are or not. What have you chosen? Are you standing on His statutes or are you wallowing in self? Savior or sadness? Choose wisely. Commit to selfless love. God does. And that's a pretty good example to follow. As we close, remember that you have worth. 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.