Yesterday's Rant received this response, "If this is true, why did Jesus have to die?" Which is a fair question. And it's actually one I hear a lot. Especially when there's preaching about the revelation of our true identity. And there are a lot of theories on why Jesus had to die. I'm not saying this is the iron-clad one and only reason, because I don't think there IS an iron-clad one and only reason. But I'm willing to address the issue. And the short version of MY answer is... Jesus died so we could die. We needed a second death so that we could have a new birth. The first death was when Adam ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and died. The second death was when Jesus drew us into Himself and died on the cross. The old man had to die so that the New Man could come forth. Romans 6:6 says it like this, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Which, when you consider that Romans is the sixth book of the New Testament, is the REAL 666. The REAL number of man. NEW man. All things NEW. Free from the bondage of sin and death. Free to live and love. Jesus died so that He could rise again. So that He could break the power of death. Death took it's best shot, and came up short. So we no longer have to fear death. In the Young's Literal Translation of the Bible 1 Corinthians 15:26 reads like this, "the last enemy is done away--death." Romans 5:14 says, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." Ephesians 2:1 says, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." We were already dead in Adam. The walking dead. But God wanted so much more for us. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. And not just any life. HIS life. Abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. He drew us out of Adam and into Himself. Out of death and into life. That's HOW He made all things new. Just like the story of the flood that we mentioned in an earlier Rant; He washed the world clean. And Jesus said as much in John 3:3, "...Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." But before we could be born again, we needed to die again. Die to sin. Die to death. Remember, God didn't make all new things. He didn't give up on you. He made all things new. He did what needed to be done in order for you to be able to partake of the Divine Nature. In order for you to be able to live His life as He lives it in you, and through you, and as you. One more Bible verse for today: "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again" (John 10:17). Jesus died to show us the greatest expression of love a man can have. He died so that we could die. So that when He rose again... we might rise again. And in rising, walk in newness of life. He died so the old could pass away. And He rose again so the new could come forth. He died because there had to be an end before there could be a new beginning. He died so we could die. And He rose again so we could live. Not as it was before the cross, where we had to try to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow, but so that we could live in the light of the New Covenant. So we might BE who we are because we KNOW who we are. Because we know who HE is. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body!

When, in the beginning, God was creating things, He would always say, "It is good." Which is why I can say with confidence that God doesn't make mistakes. He never created something and then went, "Whoops!" And look at what happened after He created man (in His own image), "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31). Which is to say, "It's ALL good." We were not--ARE not--scumbags who need to change from evil to good. Now don't get me wrong, man had some issues. Specifically, some heart issues. "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). But this heart condition didn't sneak up on God. He knew what we were all about when He created us. But here's how WE felt about it, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). We KNEW there was something... off. But we couldn't do anything about it. And I think that's how we still feel a lot of the time. That's why we make New Years resolutions. That's why we constantly try to "turn over a new leaf." Self-help. Self-improvement. To go back to the beginning, it's like this: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). That's the mind and the body. That's you and me. But, "...the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). We felt like something was missing, because it was too dark to see. We didn't know who WE were, because we didn't know who GOD was. But He was there. Hovering over us. Waiting until the appointed time. Which in Genesis is the very next verse, and in fulness was on the cross. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). God stepped into our darkness with the light of the world. He gave us His only begotten Son so that we might know that we ARE His beloved Son! So that we might BE who we ARE instead of trying to be someone we're not. You can't be who you are unless you know who you are. And if you're not good enough to begin with--the lie that the sepent hissed into Eve's ear--you'll never be able to jump through enough hoops to earn something that can't be earned. Luckily, as I mentioned, that was a LIE. We ARE good enough. Complete in Him. And when God answered that prayer in Psalm chapter 51, He did it by circumcising our hearts. By cutting away the flesh of human effort. By showing us that what we do doesn't make us who we are. Who we are dictates what we do. It's not external. It's internal. Living from the inside-out. Filling ourselves to overflowing with what is already--and always has been--true about ourselves. So that it comes out. Naturally. A new heart is simply the revelation that it is God's heart beating in our chests. It was always there, it was just buried by the world, and by the flesh, and by our human effort to try to DO in order to BE. God has, and is, and will, make all things new. Starting with you. Starting with the heart that beats with love in your chest. Starting with the Holy Spirit dwelling in your body. The Spirit of truth. The Spirit of love. A new love. An agape love. A God love!

I'm really stuck on Revelation 21:5, "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." I think it's super important. So today let's look at the phrase, "I make." It is number 4160 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "to make or do." Also, "bring forth, abide, agree, appoint." It is compared to number 4238 in Strong's which means, "to perform repeatedly or habitually." And it comes from the idea of a task that IS accomplished. So basically it's like this: I HAVE made all things new, I AM making all things new, and I WILL make all things new." Which is more or less what 2 Corinthians 1:10 says, "Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us." Past, present, and future all rolled into an old rugged cross. That's how the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, and that's how people can get "saved" in a moment wherever they're at. I once head a question regarding baptism, "If I'm washing away all of my previous sins... what about my future sins? Do I need to get baptized again later on?" And before you chuckle, understand that this was a sincere question from someone trying to turn their life around. And, of course, the short answer is: When JESUS was baptized... when JESUS died on the cross... ALL of your sins were in the future. God wrote the end from the beginning, and He didn't leave anything to chance. But the thing about this finished work is that it doesn't always SEEM finished. And that's why we have sayings like, "I'm not where I need to be, but I'm not where I used to be either." Or, "I may not be perfect yet, but God's not through with me yet." (I actually like the first one a lot and that second one not at all. Because we ARE complete in Him. We are simply on a never-ending life-long journey of discovery. Finding out what it MEANS to be complete in Him. Learning and growing every day.) We seem to understand that a lot of the time we don't act like a finished project. We act like we're under construction. And sometimes that's really frustrating. It feels like one step forward and two steps back. Like we can't get any traction. Like we can't do it on our own no matter how hard we try. Spoiler alert: We can't do it on our own no matter how hard we try! And that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. God doesn't expect us to do it on our own. If we could... where would HE fit in? His strength is made perfect in weakness, right? When we stop trying to do it without Him... that's when He has a chance to show up and show out. When we be still and know that He is God... that's when He has a chance to BE God. And that's when the things (us, specifically) that He has already MADE new... BECOME new. That's when manifestation happens. That's when what's inside comes out. Naturally. Purely and simply because we know and believe it's in there. So instead of trying to MAKE things new, on our own, which is doomed to failure, we can begin to SEE the change that took place 2,000 years ago. The change from death to life. The change from work to rest. Did you notice that He SITS upon the throne? In a posture of rest? He isn't working anymore, and yet He has, and is, and will make all things new!

To continue our study of Revelation 21:5, "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful," I want to focus on the part that goes like this: "All things new." And my thought is this: God did not make all new things. He made all things new. It's not about giving up on one thing and starting something different. It's about renewal. Resurrection. It's about giving life to the dead. So when, "...he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee," (Hebrews 13:5) I'm pretty sure that also means, "I willl never give up on thee." God doesn't just throw us away and move on to the next thing. And God doesn't make mistakes. I think if we really understood just how fearfully and wonderfully made we are we wouldn't look at ourselves the way we do. I think we would celebrate the things about ourselves (and each other) that make us who we are. We would stop trying to fit in because we would know that we were made to stand out. And we would stop giving up on ourselves (and each other) and we would just try again. The only true failure is failure to try, right? How many stories are there about inventors who "failed" over and over again before they succeeded? Because it seems to me that most of the time we have to do it wrong before we can do it right. That's called learning and growing. And, listen, some things do come naturally to people. But even still, practice makes perfect, right? (Or, as my Coach of a father might say, "PERFECT practice makes perfect.) The point is, when He that sat upon the throne made all things new--on the cross, 2,000 years ago, all by Himself with no help from you--He didn't just start over. It SEEMS like that's what happened with Noah and the ark and the flood, but really there's a lot more to it than that. The water washed the world clean, if I can say it that way. Or if I can let Jesus say it this way, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3). The Word, of course, being love. Love is what cleanses us. Love is what brings us from death to life. It is literally the difference BETWEEN death and life. Love is what renews us. Love is what makes all things new. Think about a situation. Any situation. Now add love to it. The situation doesn't need to be thrown away. It simply needs to be made new. The same... but not the same. Life... but Resurrection Life. Abundant life. Eternal life. Everlasting life. Jesus' life. A life of knowing (and believing) that you are loved, and loving other with that same love. Receving and releasing the gift of God, and in that way EXPERIENCING and ENJOYING the gift you've been given. You ARE clean because of the Word. Because of love. So stop trying to change. Stop trying to "turn over a new leaf." Stop trying to be someone you're not. Stop trying to clean up your act and just let the perfection that is already in you BE in you. Because if you're focused on "bad behavior," even in an effort to not do it... what you magnify is what manifests. So just let what's inside come out. Let the LOVE inside come out. You ARE clean. You ARE new. God hasn't given up on you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. You are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. He just wants YOU to know that. And in knowing, BE that!

Especially at this time of year we get all caught up with the idea of "new" don't we? "New year, new me." New Years resolutions. "This year is gonna be different. This is gonna be my year." And I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with that. I think God allows--and encourages--U-turns. And if you need the turning of the calendar to motivate you... ok. Whatever works, right? But that's kind of the problem. Because it never seems to actually work. Because we're trying to do it ourselves. And works and labor don't work. Never have, never will. Look at Revelation 21:5, "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." This is my verse for this Rant series, and for the new year. So let's spend some time and really dig into it. Really unravel it. And first things first, I believe the entire book of Revelation--the revelation of Jesus Christ--is an in-depth look at the cross. I've heard people say Revelation is about what's going to happen. But I believe the work is finished. We don't need a move of God. God already moved 2,000 years ago. We need a revelation of Jesus. So that we can understand what the move of God--the cross--was, and what it means for us right now. Ok. So. The One of the throne said HE makes all things new. I really think that's enough to focus on for today. Because when we get in trouble trying to turn over a new leaf... what we need to do is understand that GOD got us into a whole new TREE. The fig tree--the tree of knowledge of good and evil--couldn't produce any fruit, so Jesus cursed it. So whereas in the garden of Eden there were two trees of note, in the New Jerusalem there was only one. Only the Tree of Life. And if you've followed my Rantings for any amount of time you know what the fruit of the Tree of Life is; the fruit of the Spirit. Love. Love is what CHANGED us, and love is what reveals the change that took place TO us. And in us. And through us. And as us. Again--it's not something WE could do. And not something we were expected to do. When the PEOPLE wanted a Law, God gave it to them. But not so that they could try to keep it and in that way earn something that can't be earned. "...the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24). You can't earn a gift. Only by knowing and believing that you've been given a gift can you receive and release it. Can you enjoy it. And that gift of God was eternal life. Jesus gave His life FOR us, but He also gave His life TO us. Because He wanted us to have it. He wanted us to be able to partake of the Divine Nature. To experience His life as He lives it in us, and through us, and as us. So HE did all the work. We couldn't do it, but He still wanted us to have it. He finished the work so that we could enjoy the fruit of HIS labor. Again, the fruit of the Spirit. Again, love. So if WE are trying to make something happen on our own... it's doomed to fail. But if we understand that HE has made all things new, then all we have to do is let Him reveal Himself (I'll say it one more time) to us, and in us, and through us, and as us! We don't need to "make" changes. We need to SEE changes. Changes that have already taken place, and are manifesting right before our eyes!

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, right? Which means reverence of love is the beginning of knowing the truth. Because God is love. And the Father loving the Son (you) is the ultimate truth of the universe. But it's so easy to get caught up in other things that we seem to miss this truth completely. 2 Corinthians 11:3 says it like this, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." Now THAT is something to fear. Don't fear God. Fear losing the simplicity that is in Christ. Fear being beguiled. Fear trying to earn something that can't be earned, and in that way rob yourself from the gift you've already been given. Fear looking for love in all the wrong places instead of going straight to the source. Look at Hebrews 4:16, "Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time." Simple, right? In order to find grace we approach the throne of grace. Where else could it possibly be found? Noah found it in the eyes of the Lord because he was looking God in the face. That's what happens when we look in the mirror with an unveiled face--with the veil, or the stone, of the Law rolled away. We don't see a sinner. We see the glory of God. And what we behold is what we become. So we are changed into that same image FROM glory TO glory. I say this all the time: If you believe in the idea of "a sinner saved by grace" then you need to understand that you are NOT a sinner anymore. If you've been saved by grace, then you've been transformed FROM sinner TO saint. And, by the way, that transformation took place 2,000 years ago on the cross when the body of sin was destroyed. When the Old Man died and the New Man came forth to walk in newness of life. When Jesus gave His life FOR us and gave His life TO us. When Jesus took up abode IN us. And if the perfect One lives inside you... that makes you perfect. If you have been born of God--and you have--then you CANNOT sin because His seed remains in you. And if you CANNOT sin... then what is there to be afraid of? If God will never leave you nor forsake you--if He moved into the neighborhood and is never moving out--then you don't ever need to be afraid. You don't need to be afraid OF Him, because He would literally rather die than be without you, and you don't need to be afraid of anything else either because He is your strong refuge. Jesus said it like this, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). You WILL go through things. We all do. That's part and parcel to life. In other words, life happens. But be of good cheer. Don't worry. Don't let your heart be troubled. Because Jesus gave us HIS peace. A peace that comes--not from overcoming but--from the truth that Jesus has ALREADY overcome. There is nothing left TO overcome. We aren't conquerors. We are MORE than conquerors through Him that loved us. HE finished the work and we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Love. Knowing and believing that Jesus loves us is what allows US to love. To live!

God does not want you to be afraid of Him. He never has wanted that and He never will want that. Religion tries to control you through fear and intimidation. "Get left or get right." "Straighten up and fly right or you're going to hell." All of that nonsense. Which CAN be scary. But that's not God. That's not the relationship between Father and Son that we see in Matthew 3:17, "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." That's not... love. And love isn't just what God does. Love is who God is. Which means love is who WE are. Because as He is, so are we in this world. Jesus said it like this, "When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." That's what happened when Jesus gave His life FOR us and TO us. He gave us His nature. The love nature. He gave us His name. His Spirit. Himself. There is no separation between God and man. How could there be when God lives IN man? That's who Jesus is. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. YOU are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. I said all that to say this: When we know who we really are, and who God really is--who we are in Christ, and who Christ is in us--what in the world is there to possibly be afraid of? Certainly not God Himself. And look at Romans 8:39 in the NLT, "No power in the sky above or in the earth below--indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." In other words, there is NOTHING to be afraid of. Nothing at all. Because our heavenly Father has our backs. One hundred percent. All of the time. He will never leave us nor forsake us. For any reason. No matter what we do. Stumbles and falls do not disqualify us. Mistakes happen so that we can learn from them. Learning and growing is part of the maturation process. We go through something, and even if we don't do it very well, God reveals Himself to us, and in us, and through us. So that we can do better next time. So that we can help someone else through the same thing. Because we all go through the same things. We're all afraid of the same things. But when fear--in the sense of being afraid--turns into reverence for God... that's when our love becomes perfect. And perfect love casts out fear. There is no fear in love. Just as there is no darkness in the light. And we ARE the light of the world. Even as Jesus is the light of the world. It's the same light. The light spoken of in John 1:4, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." Where there is light there CANNOT be darkness. Where there is love there CANNOT be fear. His LIFE is the light of men. God is not something to fear. God is our very life. He's not out to get us. 2,000 years ago on the cross He got us. Not in a negative sense, but in a positive sense. The judgment of God was not a death sentence. Jesus sacrificed Himself when he died on the cross. The judgment of God was an everlasting, eternal, abundant, Resurrection LIFE sentence. And that's means there is nothing to fear. That means we can let our hearts NOT be troubled. We can live and love. We can live BY loving. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. We can love fearlessly. Live fearlessly.

It seems to me that there are basically two choices: 1. You can trust the Holy Spirit to "change" people from the inside out by revealing the change that took place on the cross to them, and in them, and through them. Or 2. You can try to control people and make them fit in a box through fear and intimidation. And, unfortunately, it seems as though most of the church world has opted for choice number two. I think I had it easy though. Because when I started my ministry my pastor told me, "You can't make people do ANYTHING. And that's ok, because it's not your job to make people do anything." All I ever try to do is listen to what my heavenly Father is telling me and say it in the best way that I can. In other words, I try to obey the New Commandment. I try to love others as Jesus loves me. I try to receive and release the gift I've been given. And I say "try" not because I'm doing it through my own works and labor. I say "try" because sometimes I mess up. Sometimes I say things I shouldn't. Sometimes I do things I shouldn't. Shocking, I know. But even when I "try" and "fail" I know that the only true failure is giving up. Disqualifying myself, or falling from grace (putting myself back up under the Law), would count as failing. Making mistakes simply means I can learn from my mistakes. I don't have to be afraid of my heavenly Father because He's not out to get me. On the cross... He got me. He lifts me up when I fall, and more often than not He KEEPS me from falling. So this idea of a scary God... I'll pass on that. This idea of controlling people by making them so afraid of an angry God--scaring them straight--is for the birds. If the Holy Spirit can't do what it has set out to do, then what chance do I have? Which brings me to my verse for today. Philippians 2:12, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Now I know this verse SEEMS to go against everything I've just said. But look at another verse that deals with "fear and trembling." Psalm 2:11, "Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling." It's not about being afraid. It's about being in awe. It's about reverence. It's about something so GOOD that you can't hardly stand it. And look at the very next verse in Philippians, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). It's GOD working IN us that lets US work OUT what HE put in! It's being filled to overflowing, and then filling ourselves with what we've been filled with. It's apprehending what we've been apprehended of. It's receiving the gift we've been given. Laying hold of eternal life. We already have it. We simply have to LET the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. To me, "work out your own salvation" is almost more like, "figure out your own salvation." Get a handle on what you've got instead of always looking for love in all the wrong places. Don't be afraid of love. Don't be afraid to let God--or other people--love you... and don't be afraid to love them back. But love God (by loving people) with fear and trembling. Be NOT afraid. Let NOT your heart be trouble. But do everything you do with awe and reverence of God. Of love!

I can't see it. I just can't. There is no scenario where God would want us to be afraid of Him. He's a loving heavenly Father. And no true father wants to rule with an iron fist of fear. He is love. And love casts out, or expells, all fear. There is no fear in love. None. So I guess my question is: What are we so afraid of? Over and over and over in the New Testament Jesus--the true picture of who God is--says, "Fear not." For example, John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." And I think there's a very important key here: Let not your HEART be troubled. Because, as I always quote from Proverbs 23:7, as you think in your HEART so are you. When we begin to understand how important, how central, love is, we will begin to live from the inside-out. From the heart. We will begin to do things because they are in our hearts to do them. Not because we're "supposed" to, or anything like that. Not because the world tells us to--not as the world giveth--but because we know and believe that we are loved by our heavenly Father. Because we have something to give, not because we're trying to get anything. Because we have that peace. The righteousness. And that joy. Which is in the Holy Ghost. Which is the Kingdom of God. When you know who you are, where you are, and why you're here (which is why I wrote the Answer Trilogy) you can live fearlessly. When you know that God IS love and to do anything BUT love would mean He would have to deny His own nature... that's when you can run TO Him instead of running FROM Him. That's when He becomes your safe place. Your refuge. The place where the actually scary things in this world can't get you. Ever since I had a son I started to see everything from a father's point of view. But at the same time, I was able to see things from a son's point of view. And MY son... well, he's super sensitive. He came home from school the other day an absolute wreck because he had accidentally knocked over one of his friends on recess and made them cry. It HURT him to hurt someone else. That's a soft heart. But my point is... when we're small, there's quite a bit to be afraid of. The dark, loud noises, new experiences just to name a few things. And some of that never really goes away. But I know, from the bottom of my heart, that God does NOT want us to be afraid of Him. To continue my father/son theme, the other night Logan asked me if I could promise him that he wouldn't have any bad dreams. And I said, "I can't promise you won't, but I CAN promise I'll be right here with you if you do." And he thought that would be just fine. His heart was no longer troubled. Because he knows that I love him and I've got his back. Kind of like, what the end of Hebrews 13:5 in the NLT says: "...God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." The KJV puts it like this, "...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." That's a promise from the One who CANNOT lie. The One who IS the truth. So we have nothing to be afraid of. Even when it seems scary. But that's where I think I'm headed tomorrow. So for today, peace I leave with you. Let not your heart be troubled, or afraid!

I thought about writing a whole book about this subject called, "Be Afraid!" But, while I'm using that as an ironic title, it is actually how a lot of people seem to see God. I was even watching a TV show the other day and a (former) pastor in the show said he prefered the "Old Testament scary God." And that bothers me. A lot. Because, as I've kind of been trying to show lately, that God doesn't even really exist. That was man's perception of God, but that's not who He really is. And it's only through the Holy Spirit that we can understand who He really is. God is love. And love doesn't need to be scary. I say "doesn't need to be" because if you've ever wanted to tell someone that you love them, you've probaby experienced some degree of fear. Or nerves. Butterflies in your stomach. But I think that kind of fear is more a fear of rejection than a fear of being punished by an angry God. And neither one can hold a candle to true, sacrificial, agape love. "Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love" (1 John 4:18 NLT). There is no fear in love. When you know you're connected to the source, you don't have to be afraid to give it away. It doesn't matter how other people respond to it. You're not trying to get anything. You're simply sharing what you've got. Receiving and releasing. And as far as being scared of an angry God... look at this OLD TESTAMENT verse that I hear all the time: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7). Now look at what the word, "fear," means: It is number 3374 in Strong's Hebrew Concordance and it means, "morally reverence." The Bible wasn't trying to scare us straight. It wasn't telling us to be afraid of God. Because how could THAT be the beginning of knowledge? Knowing God means knowing love. And, again, there is no fear in love. I think sometimes we're more afraid of succeeding than failing, because change of either kind moves us out of our comfort zone. But I KNOW that in order to get the fruit you have to go out on a limb. The fruit of the Spirit is love. And it's on the limbs of the Tree of Life. By the way... WE are the limbs, or the branches. It's already within us. We simply have to know it and believe it. And fear--reverence--of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. That's where it starts. We see Him--as He truly is--and we are in awe of Him. We see something... not something too good to be true, but something so good it must be true... and we forget about anything and everything else. Let me say it this way: When you come to the source you'll stop looking for love in all the wrong places. When you begin to understand that God IS love you'll have no choice but to revere Him. Sometimes I tell people I'm a pastor. And they give me that look. You know, the, "Oh jeeze. Another religious nutjob" look. So then I tell them that God is love. And I'm obsessed with LOVE. And that makes this whole thing a lot less scary. Because no matter what you think about "God" everybody wants love. It's why we were created--to be loved and to love each other. Love is what it's all about. And it's really NOT scary. In fact, it EXPELLS are fear. So you absolutely, positively do NOT need to be afraid!