Month: March 2021

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:7&8

Who doesn’t want to have power in their life? The ability to overcome obstacles, the power to finish out the day strong instead of being emotionally exhausted, or the power to excel at what we put our hand to? However, what about the power to be Christ’s witness? The mindset of a faithful follower of Christ, seeking to put Christ first so that Christ is the center of his or her life, is the one to whom this promise belongs and to whom the power is for. 

“All power comes from the Lord, which is why dunamis demonstrates the power, strength, and force of the Lord God at work in His creation and the lives of His people. The power of God is at work in His people to bring Himself glory ( which is the heart of a true believer).”

Dave Jenkins, Christianity Today.

We get our English words dynamic and dynamite from dunamis. However, when Christ spoke this to the disciples, this was not their mindset. 

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

An authentic Jewish mind, still thinking about the physical Kingdom of Israel and the glory and prestige they once had as a nation under King David. They even argued among themselves who would be the greatest in this new kingdom. They longed for Christ to rule and to share in his glory. They still did not grasp that the rulership that Christ sought was not an established worldly Kingdom but an eternal Kingdom born anew in the heart of man. All that Christ taught and sought was for this. The disciples eventually understood, but it took a while to get the Jew out of the Jew and connect him to Christ’s agenda. 

Luke 9:46-48 Who Is the Greatest?

“An argument arose among them as to which of them would be the greatest [in his new kingdom]. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great. [ ] not in the scripture, stated for clarification.”

What is your agenda, do you know? Are you or I seeking to build a kingdom here as well? It’s not wrong to work hard and be rewarded for your effort, but what is the motive? Is it to honor The Lord or for ourselves? It is very hard to know. We may think we have the right motives, but until challenges come, or sacrifices are made, or hardships or failures endured, we do not know where we stand. As it was hard to get the Jew out of the Jew, it is equally as hard to get the ego out of our pride.  It is only through hard times, failures, and repentance that Christ begins to take His rightful place in our hearts. We must dethrone ourselves and put Him there instead. Through these trials, we can get a window into ourselves and begin the process of surrendering areas of our lives until we are entirely His. It is absolutely a struggle, but it is a struggle worth fighting. 

Jeremiah 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it (this is the moral depravity we have all inherited via the fall, most of us do not even realize it. Just like soiled clothes don’t look so bad until you hold them next to clean ones. Our depravity compared amongst ourselves is the norm until we compare ourselves to His Word then there isn’t words to describe our fallen state, only repentance and humility is the answer.”

As the disciples had to receive power, we also need to. Dunamis is the Greek word for power. Its supernatural power refers to the Holy Spirit indwelling in a believer and then activating that believer. It means several things, but internally, it means to be able to overcome and defeat the enemy within. Bitterness, lack of forgiveness, the strong walls of lust and self ambition, jealousy and the like; just like the impenetrable walls of Jericho that came down, these walls can and must come down. I have stepped forward several times in church meetings to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome my Goliaths, and it has been fruitful with many tears.

James 5:16

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power in its working.”

Psalms 51:15-17

“O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering ( the sacrifices and burnt offerings became a thing of pride/works). 

[But]The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Brokenness and obedience are the sign of a changed heart. We all approach Christian maturity uniquely, but our common thread is to see more of Christ in us and less of self. Brokenness, “sabar” meaning crushed, shattered, to break in pieces also means to bring to birth. The birth of godliness, be it one’s salvation or the end of jealousy, fear or strife, etc., in one’s life only, comes by something of the flesh in us dying first.

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Luke 11:9-13

“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Essential to understand the tenses of ask, seek, and knock. In the imperfect tense as in-keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking for the treasure or the pearl of great value is Christ. He is worth every bit the effort of disciplining ourselves to say no to the flesh and yes to His Grace ( His favor over our life which is only experienced via obedience) and Truth. And it’s important to know that God wants to fulfill our needs, but are we seeking the gift more than the giver of the gift? That would be wrong. The Giver of the gift should never be second to the gift itself. Getting this confused has cost many a soul pain. We confuse our wants with our needs, making our wants our needs and vice versa. Whether we have the maturity to see it or not, our absolute need is for Christ, period. Everything else is second to Him.

It will help if you trust me here. Having gone through 40 years of seeking and knowing Christ and wrestling with my flesh for this thing or that, going down the various rabbit trails that the flesh will take you on only to come back to the truth of Jesus and His Word. If possible, I would like to spare you the pain. 

John 14:6

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” period. Not the big house, or the new car or that promotion, though all this can be good but it should not be what we are living for. These are the things that the world seeks, and they do very little to give us inner peace, improve our marriage or family life, or grow us in purity, inner strength, security, or joy. These are the internal qualities that we seek and desperately need. As people we live life from the inside out, therefore seeking outward things to satisfy an inward need is unwise, to say the least, deception and foolishness at its worse. Unless we maintain a close walk with Christ, we too shall be fooled.”

Jesus says he is THE WAY, not a way. Choosing Christ puts us on a path of righteousness from which there is no regret. Therefore the Truth and the way we assimilate it is critical. The lies that the media wants us to believe and the lust that society is entertained with, and trapped in, all point to the importance of saying no to the flesh and yes to Christ. And as a result of saying no to the flesh, LIFE grows in us. 

His love, His peace, His wisdom, and His joy take time, just like a baby in the womb, and it doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t come without sacrifice, but as He died to gain us, we die to self to gain Him. Hopefully, by now, you realize we got a far better deal than He did. There is absolutely nothing in this life that can compare to what we receive by living in harmony and fellowship with Him – nothing. If you do not yet realize this, you will. It just takes maturity. 

John 10:11-15

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep ( can we find greater security anywhere else?).”

The key is this, if your needs are filled at a soul and spirit level as only God can do, there is very little that we want. Another way to say it is if you eat regular full meals, then the temptation to eat junk food lessens significantly. 

I noticed the only time a donut temps me is when I’ve skipped a meal. I believe the application is accurate spiritually as well. 

“Soul hunger,” which we all have, is the result of the fall. When the Spirit of Lord departed from Adam and Eve and they “saw they were naked,” what did they really see? They had always been naked, but they did not see their humanity because they were clothed with the Glory of God. When God left, He left a void in the heart and soul of man wider than the Grand Canyon, pictured in the physical with them now being “naked.” And with that, their physical being became an embarrassment to them, so they attempted to clothe themselves to cover their inner nakedness. Ever since that day, man has needed to fill or cover the void.

We feel the emptiness in ourselves when we skip our times with Christ. That is what gives lust its power. That person, thing, or thought has power because of the lust behind it. All lust is spiritual in nature. So we have to work through it by saying no. Finding the scripture or scriptures that address the temptation, meditate upon them, and allow God’s Word to strengthen us. It’s a process, and failure is part of growth. However, we have a Loving Dad that forgives and strengthens us for the next time around. 

Some temptations/trials are more challenging and take more diligence to overcome. Have you ever noticed how as we become closer to the Lord, our joy and peace increase, contentment and clarity also? And vice versa, being out of prayer and study, it doesn’t take long for our sinful nature to rise. There’s an old song that speaks of a man dancing with his best friend’s girl, and the lyrics go “guilty feelings have no rhythm.” Whether the singer is singing about himself or not, the point is sin is wrong; we know it, others know it, and it doesn’t feel good inside. We either repent of it or spend a lifetime trying to justify our actions. Such a waste of time and energy. We are not happy, and we know it.  

James 1:12-17

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Do not be deceived ( tricked, fooled, lied to) my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (purity) with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Father God, 

Place deep within us the joy of being found by You, the determination to never change course despite the difficulty or cost and let us live as though we see the finish line, rejoicing with great joy knowing that you are cheering us on. Amen

We love you, 

Your sons and daughters

Grow in His Grace and Truth – Arthur

Acts 1:1-3

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:6-8

The Ascension

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Acts 2:1-3

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

Acts 2:5-13

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine ( there are always those who will mock the gospel and or the works of God).  

In the first group of verses, Luke says, “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during (for a full) forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God.” Testimony of witnesses is how we establish a fact. We believe in the existence of Lincoln, Washington, Julius Cesar, the Roman Empire etc. though we have personally have never seen any of them. Yet we have not only the testimony of Luke of Jesus ascension but of the other 3 Gospel writers. Imagine being there with them, after you witnessed Jesus being beaten and whipped and then seeing him nailed on the Cross, then hearing him say “Father into thy hands I commit my spirit” and then seeing him die. Then knowing that He said in 3 days he would rise, but would he? No one has ever done that but then no one has ever walked on water, healed the blind, raised the dead, Jesus was unlike anyone we have ever know. However in all these instances he was alive, now he’s dead. How could he raise himself? (Now talking in the first person).

This would be the greatest miracle ever, and now it’s the third day, and our women came back early this morning saying the stone was rolled away and they saw angels? Peter and John, upon hearing this, left to see, and they have yet to come back. Now fast forward all these events to the evening when all of us the are now gathered together in a home, and we hear “Peace to you!” At once we turn to look and it’s Jesus, but is it Jesus or his “ghost”? And the account continues in 

Luke 24:38-40

And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ” 

And he even asked for something to eat, and he ate before them.

From believing that Jesus could overthrow the Roman tyranny, to now seeing him crucified, to now being alive, touchable, and able to eat, the last days have been a rollercoaster of emotions. What man is this, the truth of his Divine nature is beginning to dawn on them. From the God of the Old Testament that if you saw Him you were dead, to the God of the New Testament who could actually be touched and handled. The concern I have with this part of Christ’s story is we read it “flat,” like a textbook with no thought to the emotions, the fear, the marvel; you are blowing my mind, how can this be!! To do this part of scripture justice we must try to see it and feel it through the disciples. To do so is to become changed men and women as they became. Peter was never Peter again, John though most endeared to Jesus became mighty and so true with them all, they were changed forever. And that change in them is how they shared Christ and how it was said of them, 

Acts 17:6

And when they could not find them( Paul and Silas) they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,

Can this be said of us? We have the same Lord, and we have the same Holy Spirit? Until we breathe life into these passages and stop reading them as a nursery rhyme or textbook the benefit of this profound truth will not benefit us, or change us into the men and women we could be. 

We are called to the same. We are called to be Jesus to our world and a changing life is the greatest proof of that. Our speech, our ambitions, our person play a huge part of demonstrating that. For example, and speaking to my brothers, do we talk more about sports, our jobs, or our hobbies than we talk about Jesus? Which topic gets more attention? Is there more enthusiasm in our voice when we are talking about our favorite team or hobby than when we talk about the Lord? And for my sisters, is there more attention given to talking about the kids or family life than when we talk about our Lord? Our speech, body posture and tone of voice and the longevity of the topic all speak to its importance in our life. Sometimes I feel that the Sunday morning message doesn’t even sink in. Like the parable of the sower that Jesus spoke of our hearts are like the path the seed is thrown on and then its eaten by the birds. Just as soon as we step outside the church it is dismissed. The very next topic is where are we going to lunch? We could say, that was such a good message let’s go to lunch so we can talk about it. 

Desperation has been the motivator of many movements, and unless we feel or have a sense of desperation for Christ the depth of the message and its impact on us will be limited. We need to see the precariousness of our situation. How the flesh can so easily deceive and fool us into thinking we are right with God, or that we don’t need God. We absolutely need the Risen Savior in our life and we absolutely need to be on a quest know Him better and to be filled with His Holy Spirit DAILY. If we do not take an aggressive stance we will not have the where with all to endure and push forward. Sadly people who I know who were on fire for God when they were younger, have traded their faith for materialism. The success of their life has interfered with their hunger and need of Christ. Though the scripture does not say it I am assuming that this is exactly what happened to Asa King of Judah. From a God fearing King who seriously trusted in God in his early years to a man who took money out of the house of God to pay his enemy to be his friend defend him from Israel. Such a huge fall. Read 2 Chronicles 14 – 16. 

Paul put it this way. 

Philippians 3:3-6

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

To the Jewish mind Paul had all the accolades to be great, maybe even the next High Priest. He had every reason not to seek the Lord and to trust in his accomplishments. However, The Lord gave him his sight back and in so seeing again he became a changed man. He speaks of this change in his letter to the Philippians. 

Philippians 3:7-9

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. 

We do not use this same terminology but we say the same thing when we say “I think I am good enough, or I’m a good person, God should let me into His Kingdom, or worse yet, I don’t need Him. Paul verses need to be our verses. This is to rightly relate to Christ. When our view of Him is high and lifted up ( Isaiah 6:1) we are on the right track. Therefore whatever accomplishments or rod of confidence we may have in ourselves, if it diminishes even one degree and our desperation for Christ increases, we are growing and we are on the right path. We need to consider our accomplishments as “rubbish,” why, because only faith in Christ brings us salvation, everything else becomes an obstacle to our salvation( salvation in the complete sense, from salvation, to sanctification to glorification). 

Like Paul, extremely accomplished in the Jewish ways, but these things became a hindrance to him seeking Christ. So he took it all and threw it in the trash. Then and only then was he free to fully set his heart, mind and soul on seeking, serving, growing and knowing Christ. This is not easy, but if we continue to know Jesus, read His Word and pray we will gain a greater love for Him and those things that we have trusted in we can begin to discard because our love for Christ has grown..and the catalyst for these changes is the Resurrection of our Lord. 

A pivotal verses out of the life story of King Asa 

2 Chronicles 16:1-3

Asa’s Last Years

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king’s house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, “There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.”

2 Chronicles 16:7-9

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong to those who trust in Him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

Aside from this being a cool verse don’t miss what the verse is screaming out, God is a relational God. He searches the whole world looking for INDIVIDUAL HEARTS that want a relationship with Him. That’s what trust is, it is wanting a relationship, whether it be with God, your wife or your neighbor, without trust there is no relationship. Here’s another example, 

Deuteronomy 11:18-24

“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea.

When you consider these words, take them to heart you cannot but understand and see what a relational God, God is. He speaks to us on how to teach our children…and that’s how He wants to be with us. He wants to procure a Godly seed, a remnant in the land that will be strong towards Him, a remnant that He can work through and combat and defeat the works of the flesh and save the lost THROUGH US! To not see His heart in these verses is to miss the Cross, “For God so loved the WORLD that HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life! That is so relational it is literally out of this world! To have a relationship with God that lasts for Eternity!!! What more could a soul want? Anything else is so inferior that there are no words in the English language to describe it. 

Father God, 

Thank you for these impactful words. Work in us, change us as only You can. Place in each of us a passion and an awareness of our need of You. Help us to see ourselves as You see us, yet at the same time with so much mercy, forgiveness and love for our weak state of being. Grow us up Father so we can be Jesus to our work, community and place of worship. In Christ name, 

Amen

Go in peace and in the fullness and strength of the Lord. 

Arthur Navarrette