Author: reforminus

This may sound overly simplistic, but it’s a heck of a revelation. Do you know why God provided what He provided for you? We talk about WHAT God provided through Jesus — life and immortality, righteousness and rest from your works. But do you know WHY God wanted to provide these things to you? Do you know what his motive was? Here it is:

1 Timothy 6:17 (KJV) …God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy…

As simple as it may sound, God’s only motive in sharing everything that He has with you, through Jesus, was literally just to make you happy. 

I’m not speaking about the happiness that the world can feel (a false happiness) that is based on family members, a new car, people‘s approval, etc. Those are all physical things that we should not take our joy from. I’m talking about the inheritance we have through Jesus.

God shared all of these things with you to simply make you happy. That is truly and genuinely His only motive. It was not self-seeking of Him and it was not for His benefit. It simply pleased God to make you one with Himself, in everything that He owns. So now you get to enjoy it together with Him (John 17:22).

Enjoy your benefits today, loved one of God!

When Jesus is teaching you it’s going to sound a lot different than what the world is saying. But I would rather be sane, with everyone thinking I’m crazy, than to be crazy and the whole world agree with me. 

1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him…

There was a time in the Bible, when Elisha and his servant were surrounded by an opposing army. Here’s what happened:

2 Kings 6:16-17 (NKJV) And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “DO NOT FEAR, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, OPEN HIS EYES that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Elisha’s servant went from being afraid, to no more fear. How did that happen? Did his circumstance change? No, his eyes were merely opened to THE TRUTH of his circumstance. The truth that was already there, but simply wasn’t seen before.

Elisha told him DO NOT FEAR. And what did Elijah pray to remedy his servants fear? He merely said, “Open his eyes.”

You could say it was perfected knowledge that casted out that servants fear. And perfected knowledge of what you have through Jesus will do the same for you.

We don’t sugarcoat the truth of Jesus at Reform Church. It’s already sweeter than any coat we could put on it. Whoever said the truth hurts? Impossible. There’s no bad news with Jesus. 

Psalms 34:4 (NKJV) I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 

If Jesus already delivered us from everything we could ever be afraid of, and yet we still fear something, that fear cannot be based in reality. We are seeing something incorrectly if we are in fear. Both cannot be true at the same time. Jesus cannot have delivered you from all your fears already at the cross and you still have a valid fear. True, people can still fear things, but it is no longer a valid fear. It’s merely something about the cross they aren’t realizing right now.

The perspective from which you are viewing your situation cannot be true if it is causing you fear, because Jesus delivered you from everything you could be afraid of. We only fear because we’re not thinking in reality. When our mind is perfected in the reality of what Jesus has done, there isn’t any room for fear. 

1 John 4:18 (NKJV)
There is no fear in love but perfect love [or rather, “perfected knowledge of love”] casts out fear… but he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Psalms 34:4 (NKJV) I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 

If Jesus has delivered us from everything we could possibly be afraid of, then fear can be defined as simply some absence of the knowledge of what Jesus did. 

It’s like a child being afraid of a monster under their bed. Do they fear because their circumstance is fearful? Or do they fear due to lack of knowledge?

In order to be afraid, you must not be taking something about Jesus into account. If it’s something you don’t know, God can teach you. If it’s something you’ve already learned, the Holy Spirit can remind you. But there is some knowledge of Jesus that can take care of any fear, because there is nothing you fear that Jesus has not already delivered you from. 

When you feel afraid, the Holy Spirit says, “And what about Jesus?“ 

1 John 4:18 (NKJV) There is no fear in love but perfect love [or rather, “perfected knowledge of love”] casts out fear… but he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Psalms 34:4 (NKJV) I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

That verse is referring to what Jesus did when He came. He delivered us from everything that we could possibly fear. So it’s no wonder that when our minds become perfected in what Jesus did, it casts out ALL fear. 

1 John 4:9, 18 (NKJV) In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  18 There is no fear in love [love = Jesus’ finished work] but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Jesus already delivered us from all of our fears. And so, 1 John is just telling us that when your mind catches up to what Jesus actually did, there isn’t any more room for fear.