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Enjoying Life Part II

Over 13,000 people view the introduction this way each month and find it to be a helpful beginning.

Luke 18:36-38

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice “of the truth,” the ability to recognize Jesus as God’s Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, our Messiah). 

Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

At times Jesus’ words make no sense to a casual reader. To understand Him, one must understand His reason for coming. Without that as the basis, His words can become confusing. He came to bare witness to the Truth. As in Pilates day, so is Truth today. It’s a moving target if you reject Jesus’s words, who spoke the Truth because He spoke of Himself. There is no truth regarding Life, our purpose in Life, and the future of our life apart from Him. Pilate’s words “What is truth” points to his emptiness, a war-hardened man whose “Truth” was his sword. Rome had conquered many nations and the gods of those nations, so much for their gods and their truth. 

Yet he would learn through some painful and soul-searching experiences with Christ that Truth is not the sword but the peaceful person of Christ. Christ was unlike any man he had ever questioned or met. Would he later regret killing an innocent man when he had the power to free Him? He feared the Jew’s report to Caesar; therefore, who he really cared about was himself and his position, not the innocent man standing before him. Christ was and is a King from another world that Pilate’s heart was blind to even though his wife said to him “that she had suffered much in a dream and that he was to have nothing to do with that innocent man (Matt.27:19).” Would he come to understand this after Christ’s resurrection? The centurion who oversaw the Crucifixion came to believe.  

Why would Jesus answer Pilate, “Thou sayest that I am a king”? Pilate never said Jesus was a King; Pilate asked if He was. Yet behind Pilate’s questioning of Jesus was the concern that Jesus might be a threat to Rome since he had such a large following. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, Nicodemus knew Jesus came from God because of His miracles, but he never asked Jesus about salvation; being a Jew, he assumed he had it. However, Jesus knowing that Nicodemus was blind to the Truth of Salvation, spoke to him, saying that he needed to be born again. 

At times Jesus’s comments do not make sense. They do not follow the dialogue that is occurring. Yet Jesus, by speaking as such, creates the dialogue that needs to occur. He did it with Pilate and with Nicodemus. God allows situations to occur, sometimes very painful, so that we press into Him and ask hard questions that make us uncomfortable asking. Desperate needs give rise to desperate questions, which causes us to be uncomfortable, but cause us to seek Him with greater earnestness. 

It makes us push aside our daily routines, comforts, and shallow living and seek Him. He longs to answer, but not always then and there. At times, time has to pass. Like water that runs over jagged rocks are smoothed, so pain has a way of humbling us, helping us to get our priorities straight, and now, He has our full attention. As we continue to search and seek, we position ourselves to be loved by Him. He can love us, teach us, and in time we may get the answer, or we no longer need the answer because we know He loves us (Amen). 

Next question, what would you consider the Christian Faith’s biggest objection? Is it not because of its one-way “one-way” stance? That there is only One Way to be saved, to have Eternal Life, that there is only One True King, only One Truth, One True Confession, and only One Name in which we must be saved “under Heaven” (no other faith, no other name) no other teaching, doctrine or belief, One Name for the forgiveness of sin and only One Way to live life. There’s only ONE. Those statements are offensive statements to most people. 

Equally offensive is that Christianity absolutely denies that all religions lead to God, and it denies that all faiths lead to the same place (Heaven). Also, the statement, ” It doesn’t matter what you believe, it just matters that you believe,” is probably one of the most ignorant statements I’ve heard. It’s just another lie that is so ridiculous that it sounds profound—one of many from satan’s bag of lies. Just think how many soldiers died in wars for their belief in this nation. Their beliefs were specific. 

Therefore the posture of Christianity is all religions are just that, a religion. They are a way of belief, codes of conduct, means of thought, and ways of interpreting life and living life, but none of them can actually “grant” Eternal Life, forgiveness of sin, or the Abiding Presence of the Holy Spirit, which seals the deal when it comes to Salvation. That is the guarantee that one’s faith is genuine and authentic and has been honored by God Himself. 

The Holy Spirit is the Heavenly down payment of His presence now and of much better things to come – so cool. And there is no middle ground; you have been given the Holy Spirit, or you haven’t, you are not “half saved,” and there are no negotiations. It’s either you have believed and confessed Christ as your Savior and repented of your sins, or you haven’t (we have all sinned and often need forgiveness). Is God being mean by having such strict requirements? Does He have the right to require a One Way belief; “It’s His way or it’s no way?”

John 3:14-18

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

(I love story pictures to explain the truth. Man’s drowning in his ocean of sin, the ship’s captain called Salvation, sees us drowning and throws a Life Saver to us named Jesus. Is the Captain throwing us His Life Saver condemning or trying to save us? And if we do not grab unto His Life Saver and drown, whose decision was that, His or ours?) 

**So God does not force anyone to believe, but He has the absolute right to establish the standards to which one can have a relationship. He absolutely has that right. If we have requirements for people to be our friends, how much more does a Holy God, Creator of the Universe, have? We make God into “our image” when we question Him or judge Him as if He was one of us. If we got one glimpse of His Majesty, we would pass out as dead men or tremble in fear (28:1-4). 

Only Christianity leads to Eternal Life, other faiths proclaim Eternal Life, but only Christianity “lays the groundwork for it.” Why? Because Christ paved the way via His death. Only in Christianity is God Exalted, “High and Lifted Up” a Holy God, Pure and Righteous, and cannot look on sin or be approached by a man in his natural state. Still, because He (Jesus) took on my sin and your sin and paid the penalty for it on the Cross (death), He, God, can now engage with us (all other faiths emphasize our good deeds as if we could earn or gain our salvation). 

Therefore because of what Christ has suffered on our behalf, He does have every right to set a standard of Holiness, “You are to be Holy as I am Holy ( Lev.11:44).” However, His Holiness is impossible for us, it’s unattainable, but it is in Christ, the sinless Lamb of God and His Holiness is “imputed” to us when we confess Him as our Savior and receive forgiveness for our sins (that’s the definition of Grace, God’s unmerited favor, just as an orphan adopted by the King becomes heir to the throne). 

Another word picture. I have a nursery background, and part of my experience dealt with grafting specialty trees such as Japanese Maples. We would use the seedling for the “host” and graft on our tree (a tiny branch or bud). The two would become one as the cells of the two healed. The minerals and water from the rootstock would flow into the graft giving it life. This is precisely what happens when we abide in Christ.

John 15:4

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

It’s incredible, this invitation is from God Himself!! Hence the reason why the Gospel is called the Good News. We now have 24-7 access to Him. It’s beautiful, beyond words to describe and comprehend. To have a relationship with The Father is Thee Pinnacle of this Life, there is nothing better, period! If you disagree, that’s okay for now, for we have all felt that way; however, it is wrong, and you need to mature in Him.

***We fail at ever being pure enough EVER to approach a Holy God on our merits; therefore, He has instituted Grace. Grace is very costly to God because it cost Him the death of His son, but because of that, He can grant us His Atonement, “the payment for my sin.” Grace then comes, and through years of trials and victories, growth occurs, and I begin to take on His likeness. Yet we all know that I’m not righteous and that you are not, but via His Grace, His Presence with us, we are given a most beautiful gift called Sanctification (just as if I’ve never sinned). It’s somewhat challenging to explain, but here’s a simple explanation. It’s when you take a street child (me, you), poor and dirty, uneducated in the ways of the Kingdom, and the King adopts us for no reason other than He has chosen to love us. We did nothing to deserve it, nor could we. It’s a gift from the King, and it is given to us when the Holy Spirit is sent upon confessing Christ as our Savior. The Holy Spirit is the proof of our adoption.

Early on, I thought, as many do, that I could earn God’s favor by being good. I never took to heart that I already had His favor, and now all He wanted was for me to spend time with Him in prayer and reading the Bible, getting to know Him. This proves how blind and ignorant I was; we are of God. As soon as we accept that He loves us just because He loves us (which is problematic because it’s very humbling, we want to be loved for something), we then become more submissive to His will. His love changes us. As clay in the potter’s hand, He seeks to form His nature in us. And I did say clay, moist dirt, not gold, silver, no precious metal, just moist dirt, but what He can do with moist dirt in His hands is amazing! 

Isaiah 57:15

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the “contrite ones” (crushed into dust, pulverized). 

Isaiah 66:1-2

Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is — the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest?

For — all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (poor, contrite and trembleth at my word; to walk and exist in Awe of God, to be consumed with wanting to please Him. To this man or woman will God “look,” which means “looking somewhat intensely in a focused way at something;” to regard or watch).

He gave up His life for us because we could NEVER be good enough, holy enough, or pure enough ever to merit seeing the face of God, which means we stood condemned. Yet He could not have that, why? John 3:16 

“For God so loved the world that HE sent His only son.” Question, how much love would you need to sacrifice your only son or daughter for someone else?

It’s way beyond me. I could not conceive of sacrificing either of my daughters for someone else. Therefore since He did, it only stands to reason the following; God sets the standard, the requirements for us to know Him. Of that small group of people (narrow is the gate and few there be that find it…Matt.7:13&14), no man or woman can meet the standard without the intervention of the Holy Spirit. So then, where does that leave all the other beliefs and good deeds and actions of good men and women? THEY ALL FALL SHORT because there is no deed done and no heart pure enough that can ever be equal to the Holiness of God. WE must repent, for only judgment awaits if we don’t, but it all can change. Once we understand our sinful state before a Holy God and see His love for us, we have hope.

John 14:23-24

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him ( we are not just anybody now we become God’s Temple! Amazing!

**He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the

Father’s which sent me.** (in that day of judgment, no one can stand before GOD and say that GOD did not do all to save them). 

John 10:14-15

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

As the Father knoweth me, even so, know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 10:27-30

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand (talking about being security). My Father and I are one (Jesus is not “A” God, He is GOD, part of the Trinity). 

We are so well protected when we come under God’s righteousness. Trials and hard times don’t stop, they are just part of Life, but they teach us to trust Him, and we learn that He is Big enough to make all things work for our good.

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are called according to his purpose (many times it doesn’t seem like it, but that is where trust/faith comes in and understanding the Cross, He paid way too much to fail us. It may take time to see “behind the curtain,” but as we trust Him, we mature our faith. And as we mature, we may come to understand the purposes of our hardship, or we may never understand, but knowing that He loves us is all we need to know.

John 14:26

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (there is perfect harmony in the Trinity of God). And similar when we are right with God, abiding in Him. 

Father God, 

Thank you for these words. They are hard to read, but they are Life and said in love and for our good. Removing cancer is painful, but it is necessary to save a life. If we are willing to go through so much pain to save our temporal life, should we not care the more to pursue Christ for our Eternal Life? Cause us to heed Your words and follow in Your way. Help us to say no to our flesh and pride and understand that it is my honor to forsake the wants of this life to pursue You, my Savior. Nobody loves me like You. My greatest satisfaction comes from being in a relationship with You and doing Your will. Nothing can touch that. 

Thank you, 

Your son by Grace, 

Arthur

Author’s note – I was sharing with my friend who edits Vida that this Vida reminds me of searching for crawfish with my grandson. We walk along the edge of streams, especially where there is a collection of rocks, and begin to turn them over. As we do, all the dirt and muck trapped under the rocks get washed away by the stream, and when we put the rock back down, it’s all clean. God wants to do the same, turn us over, expose all the sin and shame we are hiding, allow His Holy Spirit to clean us, and then set us down clean and pure. Please allow Him to, there is nothing He does not already know about me or you.

Arthur Navarrette

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Vida4U.com is the website where all past Vida’s are archived. In addition to the weekly devotionals, the yearly inspirational writings featured in December’s House2Home Magazine are archived under “Faith Talk.”  Please use this site for your benefit and refer your friends to it as well. If they would like the weekly series emailed to them, they can send their requests to Arthur@Vida4U.com.

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Getting Out the Roadblocks Part IV

Welcome to this month’s Vida and the final chapter on Getting the Roadblocks Out.

Can a Christian be oppressed? Note that I said “oppressed,” not processed. If you are a born-again Christian, you cannot be processed, for Christ abides in you via the Holy Spirit, but oppressed, yes. That means you are born again, seeking to love Jesus, but specific triggers go off, and then like a puppet, you do things that you hate. You don’t have the power to defeat it. 

Crash and burn is another way to put it, and then the devil is there or our guilt, and this pervasive lie goes through our head, “What’s the point of trying to be a Christian, when it really counts, I blow it.” We become so discouraged and feel like giving up, yet the only one that is surprised is us, not the Lord. That’s good news; our sins and shortcomings have all been accounted for on the Cross. It’s not good news that we sin. Sinning is never good news. However, it is good news that we cannot disappoint our Dad. He is such a good Father and forgives us all our sins; we want to do everything to not sin.

Romans 8:13-15

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live (for every temptation we face, there is an equal and more significant promise of God for us to defeat it. He has not left us Fatherless, He’s there via His Word). For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear (or to fail); but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father (all these verses need to go deep inside of us, they should be memorized).

“The Spirit of Adoption;” The concept of adoption is a beautiful thought. He picked us, and that’s wonderful. In picking us, we had to agree; we had to say yes to Him picking us, and in so doing, we become His child with full rights. Just as a naturally born son or daughter would have, and yet He is under no obligation to have us. He is choosing to be our parent, and in so choosing, He chooses to love us, and correction and discipline are part of that, just as we do with our kids. If they stray and rebel, they will receive the consequences of their action, just like the Prodigal. He lost all his inheritance… but regained his relationship with his father. God is represented as the Father in this story.

Luke 15:16-22

And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him (the Father spent time daily looking at the horizon in hopes that he would see the familiar figure of his son. His heart yearned for his son) and had compassion, and ran (the Father ran to him, very undignified for the father to run but the father did not care), and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

Luke 15:24

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to make merry. 

The Father could not have been more overjoyed because he understood that his son was back on his terms. He learned the lessons needed; when we repent, it’s like a homecoming. Repentance is the way home from whatever crime, sin, or evil we have done. 

The son could not be more repentant, requesting to be a servant, willing to give up his sonship rights because of how ashamed he was of his behavior, but his Father would have none of it. We must understand this, our view of our Heavenly Father is critical to our relationship with Him and how we live life. If you struggle in seeing God this way because you had a harsh father or maybe lack of a father, I would strongly suggest that you meditate on this parable. Meditate until your heart warms up and believes that your Heavenly Father is exactly like the Father in the parable. To see our Heavenly Father as Jesus portrays him will revolutionize your walk with Him. You will fear less, be more consistent in your devotional time, have greater joy and self-confidence, and overall enjoy life more and respond with more confidence to life’s problems. You will begin to become a beacon of His love. You are receiving His love for you and now will find in yourself the ability to love others (this is a crucial truth).

We are never worthy of His Love and Grace, but it is given to us. To not receive it is pride. Pride works two ways; I’m too good to stoop that low and apologize is one example of pride, or I can’t get off that easy; I need to do something to earn my way back is often an unrecognized example of pride. To believe I can do something to right my wrong before God is pride, but it is also a blindness, an ignorance of the Holiness of God. To understand that there is nothing I can do to cancel my sins but repent is to understand that “God is High and Lifted up,” Holy and completely unapproachable except by Grace, to begin to understand His Holiness and Greatness. 

Isaiah 57:15

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (contrite, picture a clay vessel crushed so that all that remains of it is the dust from which it was made from and now in the hands of God will be made anew).

A contrite heart is a gift, something every serious believer should pray for. It is the best security and armor against the wiles of the devil. All the devil’s schemes and temptations are embedded in our human pride, and to fear God as such is to give the enemy very little to work with. Amen

Isaiah 6:1-5

God Calls Isaiah

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also — the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled — the temple.

Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen — the King, the LORD of hosts.

Now hold that and interject the Cross. The Great King, the Second Person of the Trinity, coming down from His throne, as a babe in the womb of Mary, to be born and to live a normal life and then to dwell, teach and suffer and die on the Cross for His creation.

This then is choosing to live in the Truth and allow the Truth to change us. And in His love for us, He changes us into His image, and we begin to get the victory over sin, depression, hopelessness, temptation, fear, etc., all the disorders common to man and all a result of the fall. All this is contrary to God’s purpose for us, for His Word says that…

Nehemiah 8:10

Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry (depressed, or fretful) for the joy of the Lord is your strength (refuge, shelter, or a place of safety, a stronghold which the human soul craves and requires). 

***This verse brings out a critical comment about the human soul. When sin entered, God’s Spirit left man. God made no provision for man to live absent of His presence, the connection that brought us joy. Therefore, in place of His joy came all the disorders we just mentioned, fear, insecurities, worries, anger, hatred, greed, jealousy, envy, etc., all resulting from disobedience. However, now because of Christ, we can respond with trust and choose joy because God is our refuge, shelter, and place of safety*** (let that sink in). 

*(*), What example did Jesus leave us in dealing with satan’s lies and temptations, and are we in the Word enough to know when we are being lied to? Our two enemies are our flesh and satan, and the good news is they lessen as we become more connected to Jesus and know the Word. We can identify the lies more readily. Here are three key verses to memorize that fortify our intimacy with Him.

John 14:23

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (the same security we had before the fall).,

John 14:26-27

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 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 (fearful or fretful, so if this a direct promise from Jesus, why are so many of us absent of His peace? Peace arises and is kept by purposely meditating upon His promises). 

As we reconcile with God, a sense of divine favor is felt. 

John 15:7-8

If ye abide (dwell with or in) in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

So when temptation or trials become manifested in our emotions, we feel depression or temptation or anger, but then we have the choice to believe our fear, etc., or defeat them with God’s Truth. We use our minds to recall His Words. This is the battleground; it starts in the soul as the flesh seeks one thing and our mind seeks another. We must defeat it before it controls us, just as Jesus did.

Matthew 4:3-4

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

And King David said

Psalms 119:11

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Therefore reading or not reading the scriptures is not an option. It is a necessity.

The struggle is real and complex, especially early on as we grow to trust Him. 

Romans 7:14-18 (this is the most brutal truth for us to grasp. If and when we forget it, then guilt plagues us).

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I

If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. 

Paul, the apostle, is being so candidly honest that we may not fully grasp what he is saying. He is simply saying I struggle with sin, and sometimes I lose. I do things or think things that I don’t want to do. Paul wrote half the New Testament, and the flesh was a struggle for him. Why is the flesh such a struggle? We can see it in our children, even the youngest ones. We do not need to teach them to take for themselves, to put themselves first; that comes naturally. Teaching them to share or be considerate of others needs to be learned. 

Since man’s fall, we have dwelt with a self-aware nature called pride. Pride’s chief and foremost concern is to take care of number one. It is entirely against the laws of God to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself… It’s impossible without a changed nature, and even so, it takes time to mature and grow to that point. Have you ever worked with food color? You put several drops in a glass of water, and shortly after stirring, the water has thoroughly become the color of the dye. There is no part of the water that has remained clear. That is our sinful nature, it completely taints us, but we are never without hope, ever. 

Psalms 119:9-12

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse — his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statues ( the power of God’s Word to listening ears and a yielding heart is undeniable).

However, I think it is essential that we understand the cloth we have been cut from. We must all appreciate the victory Christ paid for us, especially as we celebrate Easter. Without His sacrifice, the Word of God would not have the power it has. It has this power over us because we have accepted Christ as our Savior, and now the Holy Spirit, the power for all changes, can indwell us, the reason for the change. So we must cling to God’s provision for us. Our weaknesses and concerns may vary, but in our flesh, it all exalts our sinful nature, not God’s sinless nature. 

Romans 7:23-25

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

How do we serve God with our minds by choosing to be obedient to what the Word says? Agree with God that whatever conviction He’s bringing to mind is a sin, don’t justify it. That’s the worst thing you can do. God knows the why and how, but the response God wants is for you to agree with His Word that it is a sin and ask for forgiveness. And why is it a sin? As with all sins, it creates a divide between Him and us. Our sin seeks to replace Him, which He doesn’t want. Maybe initially, it isn’t a big deal, but sin is like a small fire, always seeking to consume more, grow, and become more dominant. 

In our hearts, we have a throne (as in a king), and our sins seek to sit there, but no one must sit there except God Alone. If anything or anyone sits there, then that’s the definition of an idol. It can be a thought, a belief, a person or our jobs, or anything we put before Christ. That is what a stronghold is made of, and it needs to come down. As the walls of Jericho had to come down, so do any walls around our hearts that keep Him out and the lie in. 

And with each idol torn down, we gain more freedom as we confess. He may take the desire right away and heal the hurt or the weakness that gave it permission into your life, or once repented of, He may use it as a means to drive you into the Word to build up your faith or both. I’ve had both things happen to me, had the issue instantly gone, and have memorized specific verses for my concerns and found it chip away at the stronghold till it was gone. It’s like lifting weights; you are putting on spiritual muscle with each new verse learned. Soon saying no is not tricky. The yoke of bondage doesn’t fit anymore because of our growth. We are overcoming the weaknesses and lies that have held us captive( Amen).

Galatians 5:1

Stand fast (steady, anchored, rooted, unmovable) in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled (to be ensnared) again with the yoke of bondage. 

Another translation says

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, therefore stand-fast being not entangled again with the yoke of slavery.  

Sometimes we can feel like a marionette puppet with all its strings tangled. We need to have an urgency in dealing with known sins. We can’t be kind to it but decided to break its influence over us before it affects us more than our home. Just as physical characteristics come from our parents, so do specific sins. I may be bulletproof against a hundred different sins, but there is one or two that always get me, and more than likely, my parents struggled with them as well. Repentance is critical, for it brings God’s power to our defense.

James 4:6-8

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded (to have one foot on the dock and one foot in the boat, very unstable, and as long as we maintain that stance, we are ineffective for either side. That’s double-minded, two minds opposing the other).

In reading the above verse, if you are like me, I see the word resist and emphasize that but the power to resist is found in submission. Submission speaks of our union with Christ, of our relationship and fellowship with Him, without which we have no power. In Greek, submit is Hupotasso; it means to place myself under, to become subject to. Therefore my job is to walk in union with God by placing myself under His authority, and then I can receive His Grace, and the Word becomes powerful in my life and in my mouth, defeating the lies and temptations of the world and my flesh. This is my position of strength, and I can, we can wrestle and defeat anything in me or outside of me. The rebellion is my carnal nature, and it won’t change until I get a glorified body. Therefore it must continually be defeated via my mind. 

Romans 8:7-9

Because the carnal mind (or the flesh as it is known in other areas of The Word) is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God d0well in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

This is where it can get confusing; let me explain. Believing in Christ is like having three people in the same body. Just like God is a Triune Being, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we too are a triune being when we have Christ in us. It is God the Holy Spirit, our soul (our person), and the flesh, or the carnal man who, as we just read, cannot please God. It is unable to subject itself to Him, and hence our battle. It is impossible to train the flesh to love Jesus, period. 

Therefore assuming the Spirit of God does dwell in us, the next critical step is to know specific portions of God’s Word that deal with our struggles. We must learn to rethink life. For men, lust towards women may be natural; it’s built into our carnal man, but natural is not Holy, and God wants His men to be Holy. Proverbs 5-8 became my go-to as a younger man. It was so helpful, and I was in it so frequently that I retained a good percentage of it today. For women, jealousy, and insecurities seem to be the main struggles. You must realize your value to Christ and His love for you. Realizing that will minimize your jealousies which are fueled by your insecurities. These will decrease as you increase your knowledge of God’s love for you.

Psalms 139:17-18

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Amen

Father GOD, 

Take this wonderful study and its truths, and as a cowboy brands his Cattle, which is both painful as it impresses its ownership unto the hide of the cow or bull but shows and guarantees ownership and provision, so brand us with a fullness of your Holy Spirit. Let us defeat the strongholds and the oppression the enemy wants to keep us in. With each stronghold that comes down, let your joy increase, a sure sign of your growing presence in our life. 

Love you, 

Arthur and family (brothers and sisters)

P.S.  If you’ve come this far, take a look at my book on Amazon.  It’s a wonderful collection of messages just like these.

Arthur NavarretteVida4U.com is the website where all past Vida’s are archived. In addition to the weekly devotionals, the yearly inspirational writings featured in December’s House2Home Magazine are archived under “Faith Talk.”  Please use this site for your benefit and refer your friends to it as well. If they would like the weekly series emailed to them, they can send their requests to Arthur@Vida4U.com.

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Getting The Roadblocks Out Part II

Please watch the video introduction to my message here:

There can be many roadblocks in our lives and many reasons for them. One roadblock that is not emphasized enough is our disobedience to the scriptures. Some of these actions are purposeful, we choose to ignore God’s commands, and some are because of Biblical ignorance. I believe one that the church has under-emphasized is the teaching of water baptism and being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Both were heavily taught and practiced in the early church and were taught for a reason. The next step after one accepts Christ, and one must accept Christ to be saved (attending church or ascribing to religious beliefs is not sufficient), is water baptism. The best example of this is the Ethiopian eunuch. 

Acts 8:35-37

Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him, Jesus.

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Baptism is a public statement that you want to follow Christ. It gets you out of being a closet Christian. I was not baptized immediately upon my conversion; it was a couple of years later. During the first two years of my conversion, I wandered, being 14, when I came to Christ. My close friend at the time was not Christian and became an obstacle to my Christian growth. I was double-minded or, as the Bible calls it, “lukewarm.” Toward the end of this period, I heard a message from my pastor about being lukewarm. Revelations 3 is the verse, and it scared the lukewarm-ness right out of me. I recommitted my life back to Christ.

Revelation 3:15-16

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou were cold or hot.

So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew (spit) thee out of my mouth.

I did not want to be “spit” in God’s mouth, let alone spit out. I started attending my church’s youth group more and really started listening to Sunday morning messages more intently. Peter and I broke up as friends. He told me I was no longer fun to hang around with. It hurt because we had been good friends for a while, but I could feel the drag on my soul. I had been praying about breaking up with Peter, but his salvation was a concern to me, and I did not know what to do. I was really hoping that he would come to my youth group. However, when he decided to leave, I took that as answered prayer. Without Peter, I began growing in my faith. I was unaware of how much of an influence he was on me, like my non-Christian dad was on my mom. I could now see why the scriptures teach not to be unequally yoked. Not only was I living the effects of that in my home, but also with Peter. From this point on, all relationships close to me were going to be believers.

2 Corinthians 6:14

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

As I became more involved in my church’s youth group, I volunteered to be a church camp counselor. It was the summer of my junior year. I was 16. At camp, I had ten boys between 10 and 12, and I was serious about teaching the scriptures to them. We had church Bible studies taught by my friend’s dad, the camp pastor. After the message, we would break up into our groups and discuss the message. I also had a female partner who had ten girls. The idea was to represent a family structure. This was tough. I was way over my head, especially with the girls. I had no sisters. 

The boys pushed my buttons one time too many. It was Wednesday night, and they kept messing around, so at 11:00 pm, I made them get out of their sleeping bags, go outside and do push-ups till they couldn’t do them anymore. My partner, with some of her girls, overheard my voice and came out to see what was happening. I was mad, and she being several years older, helped me to calm down, but the boys learned that night that I was not to be messed with. The last two days of camp went very well. I still felt way over my head and prayed hard not to blow it. The last message from Mr. Bixby was about accepting Christ and getting baptized. After the week, I was now ready. I was all in and wanted to obey the Lord and get baptized. He talked about the baptism of water and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He was a Baptist minister who knew the scriptures on baptism. All I knew was I wanted it all. 

When Pastor Bixby baptized me, I felt the power of the Holy Spirit come over me, and I could not stand. Fortunately we were in the pool and Pastor Bixby could hold me up until I got my feet under me. As I got out of the pool, my partner asked me to baptize her. We asked Pastor Bixby and he okayed it because I had just gotten baptized by the Holy Spirit. He felt I was now qualified. This was all so new to me. Karen, my partner, had never seen a young man so committed to Christ (if she only knew my struggles), and it moved her to become more committed. 

My last surprise was equally amazing. There was a very rebellious young man in my group who I ended up spanking. I told him that his behavior would hurt him in the future and that I was spanking him because I cared about him. He said his dad never spanked him, and it showed. Before I sent him to the cabin, he said he would tell his dad. This happened on Wednesday, so I had a couple of days to be stressed about meeting his dad, but I spent extra time with Rick on Thursday, showing him that I did care. Friday came, and all the parents came. Some I met, and after Rick greeted his dad, he returned and hugged me and thanked me for caring. I was so overwhelmed with everything that had happened I just cried. Karen saw me and came up and asked if I was okay. I told her what had just happened, and she understood and hugged me. That hug felt so good. I saw her a few times after that in church, but then no more. She was 21 and was going to college in another state. 

That is my experience with water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit. Others teach that unless you speak in tongues, which I don’t (unless you count Spanish), you are not baptized in the Holy Spirit. I disagree, but at the same time, I know the scriptures that give examples of people being baptized in the Holy Spirit and afterward speaking in tongues. I have no dispute with those that teach that. Typically what is taught is you first get baptized in water as an outward confession of your commitment to Christ, and then sometime later as you are maturing in your faith, you feel as though you need more. That becomes the internal indicator that God wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit. Jesus put it this way…

Luke 24:46-49

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high (the baptism of the Holy Spirit).

The word endued means to put on, like a cloak or jacket and power is “ achieving power.” Dunamis is the Greek word. It is used throughout the New Testament. It means strength, capable, able, so combining the two words is to put on power ( that God clothes you in) that enables you to accomplish what He is calling you to. Yet we cannot put Jesus in a box and say it must be done in this order. There is an account of a Greek man named Cornelius, and his group received the Holy Spirit even before getting baptized. 

Acts 10:44-47

While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid — water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

There is no “formula,” but generally, this is the order. One becomes a Christian, gets water baptized, and then gets filled with the Holy Spirit. There was no question in the early church of the need and the practice of water and Spirit baptism. Disobedience to this is a significant roadblock and the first way the enemy siphons off immature believers. Obedience is always critical, especially in the early years of being a believer. I hold the church at fault for not emphasizing this teaching and practice. 

This is when you now want to be 100% His. This enables you to witness for Christ more effectively. Peter, through the Holy Spirit, said our faith was precious, as gold tried in the fire. 

1 Peter 1:6-7

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: (trials). That the testing (refining) of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (the present hardships are preparing us for future glory). 

Another roadblock is becoming offended at trials or not taking Christ’s words seriously.

These roadblocks or trials can be severe. Many years ago, my youngest daughter was dating a policeman, and they were considering marriage. Unfortunately, on a traffic stop, Matt got struck by a car and died. The father told me that God had no right to take him. “Matt was mine,” he told me. I was not able to help him. To tell God He had no right (assuming that it was God that took him and not just the risk of the job he was in) was to put yourself in the place of God. However, I was able to help my daughter, praise the Lord. Having gone through a death with my brother, I could relate to her, and slowly, as a family, we got back to normal. I was so grateful that God had prepared me to help my daughter. It made all the pain, guilt, and self-hatred worth it. I blamed myself for my brother’s drowning, though I was only eight. 

This is often the case when a family member dies, and the family member that is present blames themselves. You always feel you could have done more. It’s an awful burden to carry. Even now, as I write this, strong emotions come back. I make myself remember that Bobby is with Jesus, and my emotions calm down. If I didn’t have Jesus and His hope, I would drink. It’s just simply too much.

This is just one of many roadblocks and offenses that could cause us to turn our backs on Christ. From family to work to massive personal insecurities and temptations. I had a vision during one of the most challenging times; I was on a tightrope. The chasm below me was enormous, sure death if I fell off, and there were miles of tightrope to travel. I was no good at walking on a tightrope, so confronted with such a huge challenge, I told Jesus that this was so beyond me that He needed to do it through me. Instantly I felt courage and hope. These were the words the Lord was waiting for to surrender to Him fully. I was still a little scared, but now I had hope, sensing His presence with me. I was learning a valuable principle of the school of faith: apart from Him, I can do nothing. Said in another way, God wants to do everything with us. He is so relational that every big and little thing in our life He wants to be part of. I was learning about how relational and loving my (our) Dad was (and is). 

John 15:4-5

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can — do nothing.

The word picture here is fabulous. If you have ever driven through Napa county in late summer or any other regions where grapes are grown, you see the grapes hanging from the vine. The grapes would not exist except for the vine. Jesus wants us to be fruitful, but the fruit He wants is righteous fruit, something in our sinful nature we cannot produce. 

Galatians 5:19-25

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

What kind of fruit is found on you or me, especially when things are not going our way? Now there is no condemnation in this. The Holy Spirit often puts us in difficult situations to expose these hidden weaknesses in us so we can acknowledge them, repent, and find His forgiveness and Grace to get past them. So please do not hide from the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but agree with Him and repent. 

Hebrews 12:5-7

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Proverbs 3:11-13

My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

For — whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father — the son in whom he delighteth.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding (and how is wisdom and understanding gotten, through submitting to His loving hand of chastisement). And did not Christ our Savior not have to do the same?

Luke 22:41-44

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

The tension is so great in Him that His sweat was blood from ruptured vessels in His face. He bore the worst so we could benefit from His obedience. We only have to deny ourselves, but the weight and condemnation of our disobedience and sin rested and was fully satisfied by His death. The Spotless Lamb of God.

John 1:29

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Our greatest need is fulfilled in Him if we deny ourselves and follow Him. “Not my will Lord but Yours be done in me.” This needs to be the response of our heart. Many of us get so busy attending Bible studies and volunteering at church or with life, the kid’s sports, business meetings, and family functions that we neglect our time with the Lord. If your schedule is so tight that you do not have 30 to 45 minutes each day to spend with Him, then you are too busy. My suggestion is to lose some activities. He did not save us from doing ministry or from keeping us so busy that we neglected Him. That may sound strange, and “ busy” is like a drug to many of us. It makes us feel important and needed, but we are worshipping a false idol. There is NO GREATER sense of worth than sitting at His feet (figuratively speaking) and sensing His love and presence. If we would do just that, we would lose the need to go here or do that because our sense of worth would be rightly satisfied. 

That may sound strange to you “ Martha’s out there, but to you, Mary, it’s a joy.

Luke 10:38-42

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was encumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

But only one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

From where The Lord is, He only sees one critical thing, our relationship with Him. Nothing will outlast that or exceed it in importance. And learning to prioritize and live the Truth is the secret to feeling secure and victorious. The farther away we get from the Truth, the fewer victories we will have and the greater our struggles with insecurity, inferiority, stress, worry, etc.

He saved us because He loves us and wants us to know Him. For ministry to be effective and impactful, it must come as an outflow of knowing Him, never through education or learning how to work the crowd. I’ve known several pastors that have gone down this road only to have big churches with no depth. These churches are great for people who feel they can earn their salvation by doing good deeds, much like the Pharisees in Christ’s day. Burnout and broken families, and children that want nothing to do with Christianity come from that scenario. It is so sad, for they blame Christ for the breakup of their family, and Christ had nothing to do with it. He made marriage, but when a man seeks his good, his ego above being In love with Christ, this is one of the many scenarios that can happen. Christ said He would build to build the church to increase the donations etc. The Lord said the Church was His body and will care for it, but He is looking for faithful, self-giving pastors to entrust her to. Will that be us?

***

Father, 

Help us to heed thy Word knowing that it is for our good to bring radical obedience to us, not from works that illusion of the flesh but firm, solid obedience from a heart that just loves and adorns You, I pray. It is all for our good despite the difficulty we may find it to obey. It will always be for our good from a Father who loves us so. 

Since you’ve come this far, consider my book collection of essays.

https://a.co/d/7k2rjDZ

Arthur NavarretteVida4U.com is the website where all past Vida’s are archived. In addition to the weekly devotionals, the yearly inspirational writings featured in December’s House2Home Magazine are archived under “Faith Talk.”  Please use this site for your benefit and refer your friends to it as well. If they would like the weekly series emailed to them, they can send their requests to Arthur@Vida4U.com.

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Getting Out The Road Blocks

Please watch the video introduction to my message here:

We all have experienced roadblocks in our life.  

Have you had a difficult relationship that makes you hesitant to enter another one? Or an upbringing that taught you not to trust people? Or maybe you fear failure, so you always play it safe. 

These examples are only a few of the multitude of emotional roadblocks we have to deal with. How do we grow past them? How do we become strong so that these negative influences do not control us? I hate feeling like a victim, don’t you? I am sure you feel the same way. We want to become a “victor,” which is exactly what Christ wants. We must learn to see life through the truth of scripture. That makes us a victor. The first step towards that is understanding that the love that our Savior has for us is what enables us to conquer. How many soldiers endured such hardness in prison camps because of the love their wives had for them? It’s what kept them alive. How much more should our Savior’s love keep us moving forward!

Jeremiah 31:3

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Romans 8:31-32

What shall we then say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things (that are for our spiritual good, not a new house or a Porsche). 

Therefore the real question is, do you believe that God loves you? Without abiding and seeking Him 

it will be hard to feel or sense His love, though these verses are absolutely true. I would tape these verses to your bathroom mirror and read them while shaving, putting on your makeup, or brushing your hair. We need to get these truths into us. What does John 3:16 say…

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” It was God’s love for us that sent His son to die on our behalf. How can we not trust Him?

Therefore until we get past this first hurdle that God loves us, roadblocks will continue to appear and set us back.

Once we believe and know His love, we can begin to move forward. The next challenge is also tough, but it is sent to purge us from the values of the world. 

Romans 8:30

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy of being compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Therefore instead of self-pity, which is a huge roadblock, this verse teaches us that present-day hardships do not compare to the glory that will be revealed in us. Eternity is a very long time. Too many of us make now our reality without offsetting it with an Eternal perspective. If we start living as sons and daughters of The Lord and put our hope in Him, we will gain the courage and endurance to keep moving forward in this life as victors. 

The suffering Paul endured in his life for Christ was a lot. Fox’s Book of Martyrs is a book every serious believer should read at least once. It will give you a profound appreciation for the roots of our faith; what others went through to preserve it. Now it is up to us to pass it on. “Raw Christianity” cares nothing for religious restrictions, observances, or beliefs that cannot be anchored in scripture. It has nothing to do with which church we attend. It has everything to do with submitting to God’s will. 

Through the centuries proclaiming Christ has cost believers beatings, imprisonment, and their lives. I wonder, if it became illegal to be a Christian (as is currently being experienced by believers in communist & Muslim countries), what would happen? Would a church of 500 “professing believers” be whittled down to 100, or would it grow to 900? Pray to be counted among the faithful.

Romans 8:38-39

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

From a Biblical definition, this is the root of what it means to be blessed. Receiving this truth is what makes us a victor regardless of the circumstances. What good is it to have all one can have in this life, reach the top, and find emptiness? This happens to many of the wealthy and famous, so drug abuse and debauchery are prevalent among them. There can be no substitute for experiencing God’s love. No amount of “the good” life can compare. 

As believers, our lives should not be entangled with the values of this world. Materialism, status, or anything that is a prize to the world is an impostor and a false substitute for the life our Father wants to give us. 

Seriously, how can one improve on having the Holy Spirit of God fill you? This is the very definition of LIFE. Sadly, this might not “float your boat” AS YET, but hopefully, as you mature in your faith and take a few hard knocks from life (unfortunately, that’s how we learn), this statement will bring you comfort and joy as it does me. When too much of the world dwells in us, we are like the seed thrown into the weeds (the parable of the sower that Jesus told). 

Matthew 13:7-8

And some (seed) fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, (with the germinated seedlings) and choked them:

But other (seeds) fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

By holding onto the world’s values, we cannot fully appreciate what God is offering. Don’t worry; God knows how to change the human heart. If you truly want to be more Christ-like, then ask Him. Ask Him to give you a love for His Bible which will give you the strength to say no to your flesh and yes to Him, making you an obedient “son or daughter. There’s a great prayer that King David prayed and all serious believers since.

Psalms 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

And then we have God’s promises for sanctification. 

Ezekiel 36:25-27

Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness and your idols, will I cleanse — you (the purpose of the Cross).

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away — the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh (make this your prayer, Lord you said…). 

And I will put — my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in — my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

This is the role of the Holy Spirit. We all experience the need for approval. What better way than to have the Lord stamp His seal on our souls? When God created man, man was fully formed but lay lifeless until the Holy Spirit breathed life into him. This proves that we are spiritual first, then person, then flesh. However, ever since man sinned, our being changed. Our spirit (union with Christ died), our carnal nature ruled, and our person became governed by it. Consequently, we are plagued by such a strong need for purpose and meaning because of God’s absence in our life. By becoming born again, we return back to our created form, but it’s a fight against our carnal nature.

Genesis 2:7

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (living soul, not being). 

Therefore man’s life was originally in the spirit, not in the blood as we are today. Imagine the vacuum in man’s soul when the Holy Spirit departed. God had to recreate man’s life with his blood. It is no wonder why blood and its sacrifice have been such a big deal both in our faith as well as in pagan rituals. For us, it speaks of forgiveness, hence the yearly sacrifice of a spotless lamb for the forgiveness of our sin, foreshadowing Christ’s ultimate and final atonement for man. For the pagan faiths, which often involved human sacrifice, it was blasphemy against God’s prize creation or animal sacrifice to idols, demonic deities that ruled over those cultures (e.g., Aztecs, Mayans, or the Incas as recent examples in history.)

After the fall, Adan and Eve, for the first time, saw themselves without God’s glory covering them. They saw their flesh. They were naked. To us being naked is to be without clothes. To them, it was without God’s glory. 

Genesis 3:9-10

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

And he said, I heard — thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. 

**All the insecurities of fear, self-conscience, self-hatred, jealousies, envy, pride, emptiness, hatred, etc., all of the evils that plague man come flooding in because of their disobedience, and when we disobey the Lord, we enter into satan’s realm (1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry…”). 

We are alive because God breathed His Life into us, and we became a living soul. Forgetting how we were created, do we turn to our carnal appetites to satisfy our spiritual need? We need to think soundly, understanding that our true inward need is still spiritual. We can only be truly satisfied by the Lord. He’s our Maker, and the proof of that is the struggle to find significance apart from Him. 

We must return to Him, or if we are Born Again, then enjoy Him by having regular Bible studies. In doing so, every other relationship will, with time and maturity, be prioritized correctly. So, say goodbye to toxic relationships or relationships that use us, and we let them because our inward need is so great. Christ’s love for us will change that, and we will find as we mature, we will have the strength and inward confidence to say no to toxic relationships and yes to the ones God provides. Start to feel good about yourself, in your own skin. This is the goal of our Heavenly Father when we allow Him to love us just as we are.

Psalms 1 (Psalm of David)

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

This is literally a step-by-step “formula” for curing all that ails us. What is good for our souls is also healthy for our bodies. Now, as you read the following verses, ask yourself if Paul and Silas were any less blessed than King David, who wrote Psalm 1. Remember, being blessed is not circumstantial; that’s our definition as human beings. It’s all based on favorable circumstances. 

However, as believers in Christ, to be blessed is positional, not circumstantial. As His son or daughter by Grace, nothing could be better. To have God Almighty as our Father and experience His love for us is wonderful. Without trial and problems, which represents the darkness, clouds, and storms in our lives, His guidance would not be appreciated. It’s the contrast between Pharoah at Israel’s back coming with chariots to kill and capture back the Israelites and with the Red Sea in front, trapped. Then through the course of just one night, the Red Sea is parted, providing a way to escape. Paul and Silas experienced this. They had no idea that the Lord would cause an earthquake; they just felt honored to suffer for their Lord.

Acts 16:16-19

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most-high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers (accusing them…) 

Acts 16:21-24

And teach customs that are not lawful for us to receive or to observe, being Romans.

And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely:

Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Did Paul and Silas do something wrong? Is this still the blessed life we read of in Psalm 1? Would we feel blessed if we underwent this kind of persecution, or would we think that God had abandoned us? I can almost hear Job’s friends, or maybe some modern-day believers accusing us of doing something wrong or not doing enough good deeds. 

Acts 16:25-28

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed (however many were there where they were all free).

And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled.

But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

The jailer would have killed himself, but Paul stopped him; why? With the jailer dead, Paul and Silas could have easily escaped along with the rest of the prisoners. Who are these guys who would sing praises to God amid bleeding and painful wounds, locked in stocks and not escape, when God Himself provided their freedom? Are they delirious from the pain, or is there something we are not seeing? Paul and Silas valued the life of the jailer above their own. What has happened to this caliber of faith? Our culture’s prosperity has taken the heart of our faith from us. Materialism breeds selfishness, where we put ourselves first. What would it be worth if we were to assign a monetary amount to this kind of rock-solid faith? Could it even be calculated? 

At times “good fortune” does befall us. We find extra money and say it must be the blessing of the Lord instead of turning it in. And why don’t we? We say, “oh they will just keep it for themselves, so I might as well keep it.” We fail to see that it is not about the money but who the money reveals who we are. Are we living for ourselves or the Lord? If it’s for the Lord, He seeks absolute integrity in all areas of life. We see Paul and Silas being so faithful to the Lord that even in pain they praise Him.

Paul and Silas were hurting from their whippings. Usually when we are in pain, we let everyone around us know it, and if we don’t do that, we are at least grumpy. They were neither, and their concern was not for themselves but for the jailer. Could we endure beatings for Him and then sing because our life is still blessed?

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Does our suffering change the truth of these verses? Our life has seasons, seasons of testing, and seasons of blessings, yet it all serves to make us men or women of God. The manufacturing of tempered steel is the process of extreme heating and cooling, making it stronger. This is required for beams that span bridges or make skyscrapers. The steel must be tempered to withstand the strain it will undergo. As we persevere, steel is being put into our souls. Just as our souls (our structure) undergo life, we are “heated and cooled” (trials and blessings) to the end that we become able and strong. Our structure, unlike the bridge or skyscraper, is Eternal. Our faith brings us closer to Him (which is His goal) and makes us a stronger witness of His Life in us, which should be our goal. 

The problem we have is our culture’s mindset toward suffering. If we are struggling, having hassles, in pain, or having problems at work, something must be wrong; we can’t be blessed. Now, if we are being stupid and making poor choices, we are bringing it on ourselves, but if we are living for Christ, then we ARE blessed even though times are tough. We must break away from the American philosophy that says suffering is bad or that we did something wrong. Just like Job’s friends wrongly accused him of sinning because of his suffering. Jesus says…

Matthew 5:10

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We are blessed because suffering is the stamp that the Spirit of God is upon us, working righteousness through suffering. Suffering also causes us to focus more intently on our daily decisions and cast out anything with no eternal value. We are pushed into making the right choices; who will we live for? Will our decisions be based on instant gratification or something more long-term, our flesh or the Kingdom? If we choose wisely, then choosing the Kingdom is a great trade-off; the infinite and its glorious beauty for the finite that will end. 

Here are some cool promises:

Deuteronomy 28:9

The LORD shall establish thee a holy people unto himself( this is what God has always wanted), as he hath sworn unto thee if thou shalt keep — the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.

Deuteronomy 28:13-14

And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearkens unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command — thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

We don’t have gods of wood and stone; no, we are much more sophisticated. Our gods come in money, steel cars, homes, and flesh. The more you walk with Christ, the more you realize how much the values of this life are just illusions. Promises of happiness and contentment are fleeting. Our needs are spiritual and can only be satisfied by Christ. Once you gain your “spiritual sight,” you begin to see the illusion that humanity is under. Something that we may be going through right now may hurt, but if it causes me to see the truth by praying more and searching out promises in God’s Word (like I just shared), then is it really hurting me? It is helping to drive God’s Word deeper inside of me and drive worldly values out of me, giving me my spiritual sight.

Exodus 15:2

The LORD is my strength and song, (e.g., Paul and Silas), and He has become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation ( in my soul), ….and I will exalt him.

Exodus 15:26

If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for — I am the LORD that healeth thee.

I think it’s time that we take our Christian Faith and our Savior seriously. He makes many promises to us, read Duet. 28.  

My favorite passage on trusting God is found in Daniel. 

Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar ( the world ruler at the time), we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

If it be so, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

I’ve shared this verse before and what I love about their faith is whether God acts on their behalf or not, they will not bow. God is free to do what He will do, but my response to a situation is not based on The Lord saving me or making my life easier; it’s based on the fact that He is worthy of my allegiance. We must become like these young men and like Job. That is why these men saw Christ in the fire, and Job was so praised by God. Their devotion to God was not based on favorable circumstances; the circumstances did not add or take away from their devotion to God. Amen. 

1 Peter 4:12-14

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you?

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

Can we become like these men? Not having the Holy Spirit or being born again, their fear and respect of God are amazing. 

Amen

Father, 

Make us tempered sons and daughters who can bear the weight of life’s trials and hardship and hold Your Glory and display it with humility and praise. Make Your church, your Bride, beautiful and battle ready, I pray. 

Amen

Thank you,

Arthur 

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