Holy Hormones Bible Study: Teaching — not Entertainment
PAYING ATTENTION IS BETTER THAN THINKING
While your thinking you may miss something important
Who owns the Intellectual Rights for this Library? No mortal ever has, that’s for sure.
An apologist for Judaism once told an audience of Christians, “You spend too much time thinking ABOUT the Bible when you should be thinking WITH the Bible.” Well said, Rabbi.
The trigger for this post
In his post, The Dove stablemate, Ross Thompson, mentioned that the Saints have been given a reflex action to not fear.
It is a gift that each Saint must grasp and exercise individually. The phrase is used a multitude of times through the Scriptures in both a positive and negative sense. In the positive sense, the words unspoken are, “You are My Child, therefore My Responsibility. Don’t worry. I’ve got this. Those children of the Devil (John 8:44) who are giving you grief? Now they have a problem — perhaps they don’t know it yet.” Or words to that effect.
It comes as part of the Gift Pack the Lord has given us but we must use it. The Saints waste too much time and emotional energy praying for what we have already been given. In James 1:2–8, James is telling converted Jews the same as Paul is telling converted Gentiles in Galatians 5:22. After conversion, the only request the Saint has to make is for manifestation of the in-dwelling Holy Spirit (which God is eager to give you — as much as you want), then you have everything you need to live in this World you were not designed for.
You have been given the in-dwelling Holy Spirit — you have the Fruit of the Spirit. I see no mention of fear on that list. Today’s church is besotted by financial blessing to the neglect of blessings having real worth. I’m open to correction but I see that we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Ask an insomniac how much a good night’s sleep is worth.
But can we do it in our own strength?
No. It is written in John 15:5 || “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” The converse is that what we do without Him is nothing. The key word is abides. It is a continuing action that the Saint chooses to do. The figure demonstrates trying to “follow the teachings of Jesus” without the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:15–16 describes what happens to those who try to do it in there own strength, ‘And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.’ There were 9 or 10 of them.
The secret is obedience.
The Hebrew word, “Shamar,” unlocks the door.
In Deuteronomy 6:4–5 Yehovah gives the Command, “Hear (shamar, H8085), O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Hear: shamar (H8085) has shades of meaning. When God speaks it means, “You will Stop! You will pay attention! You will obey!” There is no argument.
[NOTE: a better English word in this case is the archaic, “hearken/harken” meaning to give respectful attention; to regard; to give heed to what is uttered; to observe or obey. NOT just hear a an instruction and ignore it.]
But when the word is used by mortals?
In Gentile versions of the Bible, Exodus 24:7 is translated, ‘Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient (shamar, H8085).”’
However, in the better Hebrew versions the last sentence is translated, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and will hear (shamar, H8085).”(https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9885) The Hebrew interpretation for this is that, when you obey God’s Command, He will give you the revelation why it should be done. The sequence of the two verbs, H6213 — ʿāśâ, “do,” and H8085 — shamar, “hear,” should be self-evident. In case it isn’t, the doing happened before the hearing.
This is the opposite to the Western logic, “Explain to me why I should do it. It makes no sense to me so I won’t.”
There is a post containing more on this topic in Medium. Perhaps you’ll read it — perhaps not.
The practical implication?
In this context: when I am obedient to the command the Lord gives me and exercise the gift of the not-fear reflex, my knees might wobble a bit as I gather my wits, I will be given the revelation why I should exercise not-fear, then rest in the Lord.
Reaffirmation in the NT
James 1:22 || But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
In case you find this so confused that you can’t tell if it’s nonsense.
You have the same Power in you that raised Jesus from the Grave (and will do the same to you, you Saint). Pay attention to it. Remember it. Claim it. Act on it. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! || James 2:19
The forgoing evidence has not been presented to convince any reader but to allow a personal decision to be made. There is much more to know about this subject. Perhaps you’ll pay another visit, sometime.
All Glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
(We all have a plank in our eye. It’s bigger than we think.)
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