Stay in the Yard

This series of devotions and meditations rejects fear and promotes faith. It emphasizes the importance of positioning oneself in the right place in order to receive blessings and deliverance from God. It explains that God remembers His promises and His love for humanity, and that He blots out our sins. Staying within the boundaries set by God and obeying His commandments allows us to remain in His love and receive His deliverance. It highlights the benefits of staying in the "yard" of God's presence, where He provides solutions to our problems and fulfills our needs. It encourages us to choose to enter and remain in the yard, even though it may not always be easy. 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 2 Kings 17.37-39 The statutes and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall observe to do forevermore. You shall not fear other gods. You shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, but you shall fear the Lord your God, and He will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. Location, location, location. That's what real estate is all about, right? Are you in the right place at the right time for that promotion, job opportunity, or other bonus event? Sometimes we attribute it to luck. Other times to good planning. But in every case, it's all about positioning. Position seems to determine the end result. If we are in the right position, positive things happen. If we are in the wrong position, negative things happen. If it is true in the world, it is truer in the spirit, because all things on earth are mirrors of the spiritual realm. Anything the world brings is a pale imitation of the kingdom of heaven. But as children of Yahweh God, we are in the kingdom of God and straddle two worlds. In the world, but not of the world. John 17, 14. Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love. Even as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in His love. John 15, 9-10. Position. It's so important. To remain is to stay in the same place with the same people or group. That means you aren't moving. It doesn't mean He is throwing us away. It's a shift of our thinking, but it opens us up to the Lord's love in an amazing way. It's taking to heart 2 Peter 3, 9. The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but He is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Yahweh God loves everyone, wants to see no one perish, and isn't doing anything to cast any of us away, even when we are doing sinful things. It is we who are moving. We who are choosing hell. He has already reconciled Himself to humanity. Jesus accomplished that on the cross. Done deal. Once and for all time. Peace. Goodwill toward men. God and man reconciled. Period. His part is done. Offering it out to us. We take it or not. We abide in Him or not. We enter heaven with Him or not. See, the Lord remembers things. He knows every word He ever said to every person ever. He remembers every promise, and He keeps them. He remembers His covenants and honors them. Scripture tells us in Titus 1, 2 and Numbers 23, 19 that God is not a man that He should lie, that He speaks and makes it good. It could also say that God is not a man that He should forget. Because God never forgets. Oh, what did you say? What about sin? It says in Isaiah 43, 25, He won't remember our sins. It does say that there and in other places as well. But look at the wording. I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. He isn't forgetting our sin. As much as He is blotting it out, make it as if it doesn't exist and never has. That isn't forgetting. That is annihilation, people. As if it didn't exist. How can He remember something that didn't exist? You know, there's not a lot that we're to do in this agreement. I mean, it can get complex and crazy because of this world we've built up. There's nuance and striving and working and constant watchdogging, but that's because of the failures of the flesh, which is why He made it so simple, so that we're to remember the boundaries. Now, they aren't a series of do's and do nots. That's a terrible way of looking at it. They are the boundary lines where He declares, this is the kingdom of God. Here, in this area. This is where my blessing lives. This is where my presence is bountiful and multiplied. This is where I thrive and grow and cultivate. We stay in that boundary by obeying. And that's about as simple as it gets. He says, stay in the art, and then we stay in the art. We do it by reverencing Him. You see, no one likes rules. Well, okay, some quote-unquote weird people like rules. Like my older brother. I think he likes rules. But generally, we don't, as a species, like rules. We don't like to be told what to do. We don't like having to obey. But you'll find that if we like someone, if we respect them, if there's something about them that we honor, we are more likely to be willing to obey them, to not break their rules out of respect. Not necessarily because we agree, but we put our us on hold in favor of whatever their deal is. Now, if we reverenced the Lord, we would feel the same way, but more. Because it wouldn't be about the rules. It wouldn't be about the giving up or the not doing, the okay, well, if it's for you. No, this would be a reverence for the Lord and what He has done for us. And having that knowledge revealed to us, sparking off the honest, deep down, nothing more important, desire to make Him smile, to obey because we want to please Him, because we reverence Him, because we remember our agreement. When we got saved, we made Jesus Lord over our lives. Romans 10, 9. That is a covenant agreement. That stands. That is real and bare bones truth. He is Lord. We acknowledge that. We believe that. Consequently, we let Him be Lord of us, since He is Lord of all. Philippines 2, 9-11. That means we consent willingly to His rules, to His guidance, to His morals. We've acknowledged Him as Lord. He has the right to say what is right and wrong. God is the source of all righteousness. God has a clear idea of what is and is not righteous. He's told us via His word and the revelations and corrections of the Holy Spirit. We need to uphold these morals, honor them, obey them, to walk in that behavior as a way to respect and honor Him, to keep it in our minds and before our eyes, and not to forget it. So what benefit is there to staying in this yard, to making this covenant? Well, He delivers us. Now, is that not the best promise? Is that not something worth staying in the yard for? This world is not righteous. This is a world of problems, issues, selfishness. Everywhere you turn, there is opportunity for something to go not right. To be in the spotlight, to be on the carpet before the boss, to be flagged down by the police, for finances not to work out, for a lack of food security, for anxiety, for not knowing what to do next, to make repairs, to have needs. We turn to others to get help, partners, spouses, friends, co-workers, parents, relatives, government agencies, charities, churches, philanthropists, games of chance, the stock market and the lottery, in every and any avenue we can to get relief, to get a solution. God has a solution. Jesus knows what we're going through, Hebrews 4, 12-16. The Father knows what we need, Matthew 6, 8. And God has plans for us greater and better than our plans could ever be, Jeremiah 29, 11. He is willing, eager and able to deliver us. And He does. He delivers those who walk in His ways. He delivers those who stay in the yard where His deliverance is. Before we're saved, we're locked out of the yard. Jesus stands at the gate. His sacrifice and resurrection to life enable Him to open the gate and invite us in. But we have to choose to go in. And once in, we have to choose to stay, to remain in the yard and under His blessing. It's not always easy. Everyone and everything imaginable is asking us to leave the yard, to come out and play. Small game, hardly noticeable, just for a bit. If we leave, if we leave, we leave the safety He's provided. We leave the joy and peace and fulfillment. And if you weren't experiencing the joy and peace and fulfillment, maybe you weren't inside the yard at all. Maybe you were at the fence, looking in, face pressed against the links and fingers wiggling through the spaces. Psalm 18, 1-14. I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. I call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death surrounded me, the floods of ungodliness made me afraid, the cords of Sheol were around me, the snares of death came on me. In my distress I called on the Lord and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of His temple, my cry before Him came into His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled, the foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken because He was angry. Smoke went out of His nostrils, consuming fire came out of His mouth, coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down. Thick darkness was under His feet. He rode on a sheriff and flew. Yes, He soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding place, His pavilion around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the sky, the Most High uttered His voice, hailstones and coals of fire. He sent His arrows and scattered them, He routed them with great lightning bolts. This is the God we serve. His yoke is light, Matthew 11, 28-30. He is worthy of our praise and obedience, not because He's fearful and about to squash us, but because He's loving and seeks to save us with all that He has, all that majesty and glory and might and that power. If we reverence Him, if we obey His voice, then He will deliver us with all that He has and all that He does. That is nothing to sneeze at. That is the Creator of the universe being on your side. Reverence the Lord and only the Lord. Don't dabble with the supernatural. Don't decide to bring back the customs and practices of your family from years past. Walk in victory in Jesus. Walk in deliverance by Jesus. Walk in the smile and shine of the Father down good paths prepared for us by Him, Proverbs 3, 6. In loving kindness, mercy, goodness, and truth. Remember His covenants and walk in them today and every day to come. Stay in the yard. Our daily affirmation of God's love is 2 Chronicles 6, 14-15. Our God is a God of covenant. Our God is a God of loving kindness. He does not forsake His covenants or let those who follow Him err in their covenants. A great example of this is Abraham and Abimelech. Genesis 21, 22-24. Abraham pledged to do no wrong to Abimelech or to his son or his son's sons. And he didn't. They had nothing to fear from his descendants. But God sent the Israelites to take back the promised land from those who'd squandered their stewardship. It's the book of Joshua. Part of that land had people descended from Abimelech. Didn't it? But that would have been a violation of Abraham's covenant. Deuteronomy 2, 23 tells us that God permitted another people to invade and conquer that territory, eliminating those people. When the Israelites went in and redeemed the land, none of the descendants of Abimelech were harmed by the Israelites. That is a covenant keeping God. And if God is so careful with the people who had rejected Him, the Abime, then won't He much more be careful with the covenants He makes with us? There are five main covenants in the Bible, and God is keeping each and every one, on every side of the covenant, through all generations. His word doesn't change, stumble, fail, or falter. He's a God who can be trusted to be true and faithful, just and pure. His covenants are trustworthy, and His love doubly so. His loving kindness endures forever, Psalm 100 and Psalm 136. He is a good God, and both His love and His faithfulness are extended to you forever. Why fear? Why worry? Why doubt His love? It is as true as truth can be, now and evermore. 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, 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.