Please watch the video introduction to my message here:
Welcome to this months Vida. I trust the last one challenged, encouraged, and inspired you to walk more closely and be faithful to the Lord. I know it does me.
Ephesians 6:11-12 (our theme verse)
Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes (the methodology) of the devil (he studies us to dismantle our faith, looking for the weak spots that would cause us to stumble and maybe even renounce our faith). For we do not wrestle (hand-to-hand combat, the most personal combat) against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against spiritual wickedness over this present darkness in heavenly places (porneria is the Latin for evil or wickedness, it is where we get our word for pornography).
Ephesians 6:14
Stand, therefore (hold fast), having (securely) fastened on the belt of truth. The correct “Truth” is critical. Let’s examine “Truth” in light of God’s Word.
It is important to note that the forces against us, though manifested in human emotions, are resolved in the spiritual. Worry and stress, anxiety and fear, lust, and greed are fueled and in line with our carnal nature. These, combined with the spiritual realm, are a far superior enemy. A word picture I can give you is they are fighting us with laser-guided missiles; they know just where to hit us. We are fighting back with pistols and rifles. How do we think we can combat, defeat, and achieve victory? It is not possible in our strength. Could this be why so many Christians live defeated lives? So what happens when we realize that we are failing? Well, if we don’t give up, we then become religious.
We go through the motions, and our lives become filled with contradictions, saying and acting one way in public, but within our world, we live another. If this is you, you do not need to live this way. Freedom and truth are at the door. We have all experienced trying to be “Christian.” We make the error by thinking it is acting a certain way, and it’s not; it’s about becoming a follower of the Lord Jesus. I dealt with this early on until I realized that the more Christ grew, my life became easier. My life became more meaningful; I was becoming a Christian.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (metamorphosis) by the renewal of your mind (through reading and hearing God’s Word), that by testing you may discern wha God’s will is, what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
This is great news. I’m not alone in my struggles; my transformation is not mine to do; mine is to nourish and feed the Holy Spirit in me, and He is to transform me (Amen). The Holy Spirit changes and strengthens me, enabling me to live a spiritual life that is foreign to me. For example, a dry sponge cannot clean up anything, right? The sponge needs to be soaked in water or a soap solution, which can be used for cleaning. We are all dry sponges. Dry and ineffective in our strength, we need to “soak” in God. What does that mean? It means that our cleansing solution (for ourselves) is made up of personal Bible study, prayer, attending church, and small groups where we can connect and share and be prayed for.
Galatians 5:1
Christ Has Set Us Free
For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand firm (resist), therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (fears, worries, lust, anxiety, etc.). This is the goal.
The how…
Galatians 5:16-17
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do (so then, who wins? The one we “soak” with the most)
The task that Christ would have us do is “ Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33).” The process is simple in understanding; the one we prioritize will eventually win, but this is difficult and takes time. If you genuinely have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you now have the Holy Spirit. It is He who changes us, but He does not force change; we must agree. That’s where it gets a bit “sticky.” We do not always agree or want the change. Let me give you another analogy. When you plant a seed in the ground, what has to happen next for that seed to grow? You must water it and keep the waterings regular, so the seed can continue growing.
If you stop watering, the plant will dry up and die. You do not worry about how the plant uses the water to make itself grow; you just know it needs to be watered. The seed of faith was planted in you when you accepted Christ. Now, the same way it got planted in you is the same way it will grow. Being in church, Bible study, prayer, and worship are the ways it will grow. It is no different. You must water it; otherwise, it will wilt and die, and you will think Christianity didn’t work for you. That would be the wrong conclusion.
If this is you, come back to Him. Repent and ask for forgiveness. This allows Him to cleanse you and reunite you with Himself. Remember, the Holy Spirit is the power behind our transformation. It’s not something we can do on our own, and it’s something the Holy Spirit can’t do if we are not obedient. As water is to a seedling, so Bible Study, Church, and fellowship are to spiritual growth. Spend time with Him as you would your favorite friend, spouse, or place to stay. We take medicine to get well, and once taken, the medicine goes to work. The medicine does not hop into our mouths. We must develop the discipline to take it. Whether on an empty stomach or twice a day, following the directions is up to us. What if you only take a half dose? Will the medicine still work? Probably not, and it is the same with The Lord. There can be no shortcuts. As one would follow the prescribed doses, one needs to do the same in seeking the Lord. Being a “lazy Christian” or a “distracted Christian,” faith will struggle to grow. The seedling will not develop. From this point forward, it has been a team effort between The Holy Spirit and me. He does the work as I submit to His Word.
Joshua 1:8 (I quote this verse all the time)
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and have good success (your seedling will grow and in time become a tree).
We will undoubtedly fail on this journey, and it is a journey of a lifetime. However, the Lord’s forgiveness is so beautiful. It’s like the morning rain that refreshes everything. It’s like starting over without losing the growth you have made.
Proverbs 24:16-17
For the righteous falls seven times and but gets up again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. Do not rejoice (however) when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it, and He is displeased.
A truth we need to realize is that we are now in a spiritual battle. We have an enemy (we’ve always had satan as an enemy), and he’s always hated us, but before conversion, we obeyed and followed him through our carnal nature; we had a fake truce. Now that we belong to Christ, we have severed our relationship with him and become his enemy. His stated goal is to steal (our joy), kill, and destroy. So, do you want to go back to him, or would you want to flirt with him (John 10:10) and play his games? Many of us do and then wonder why we struggle with our Christian walk. To allow jealousies and envy to rule or remain in us, lust or pride, or anger, coarse or hurtful speech, seeing or saying unholy things, worry or fear, etc., giving these carnal emotions a haven in our soul, is to grieve the Holy Spirit and to hurt ourselves. We naturally have those things in us because of our carnal nature, but we are to oppose them and not go along with them. Only through the Holy Spirit can they be conquered.
Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (to seal something is to make it yours. A king would seal a letter with wax and his signature ring, and everyone knew the letter was from him. We are Christ’s letter sealed by His blood. When people read us, what do they read?).
No matter how justified or entitled we may feel in having them, these carnal attitudes are spiritual weights. They weigh us down, weaken us, and come in conflict against the peace and joy the Lord wants us to have. We need to surrender these emotions; if we do not, they become strongholds, just like castles in our lives or jail cells that trap us. To become free, we must surrender ourselves to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. God has a much higher calling for us, and it is not a position or a thing; the Highest Calling is to Know Him Intimately, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
In specific usages, the word “know” expresses the sexual relationship between a man and his wife, “ And Adam knew Eve.” If it is not used sexually, then it is very intimate. We have no greater calling than to know The Lord and be known by Him. The more I grow in Him, the greater my joy. He’s becoming my Great Reward, my Pearl of Great Prize. It is not my job that I live for, nor for a nice house, or for how much I earn, etc. None of these worldly pursuits fill my heart like His presence and love.
Galatians 5:1
Christ Has Set Us Free
It is for freedom Christ has set us free (to fully love Him with no hindrances is the greatest freedom one can have); stand firm (military term/ resist) therefore, and do not submit (to come under) again to a yoke of slavery (any carnal desire contrary to God’s Word).
What was the yoke? The yoke was a harness of servitude placed on the shoulders and neck of a beast of burden that enabled the farmer to plow his field. So whose field are we plowing, the world’s, for a yield that will perish, or are we plowing in our Father’s field, to give yields unto Eternity?
As The Innocent was enduring His 39 lashes (the sentence of death was 40), He did not protest or say this was unfair. He endured, carrying His Cross afterward, a bloody mess, a grotesque human figure with blood running down His forehead from His Crown of thorns. Weakened, He eventually collapsed under the weight of the Cross. Then, His lacerated arms and body were stretched (His muscles and nerves were in spasms, wanting to contract) over a splintery Cross. He was then nailed to it. Nails more like spikes driven into His wrists and ankles. It’s enough to make anyone pass out, but He stayed lucid. I’m glad He didn’t say this was unfair or demanded His rights, for the next things He did is where He bought my salvation and yours. “Father, hold not this sin against them, for they know not what they do.” blinded by sin, we killed the one person who loved us so much that He was willing to die for us, taking our sins upon Himself.
Then, the pain that I believed killed Him was that of a broken heart. For the first time in His Eternal Existence, he was utterly alone, separated from His Father, something He had never experienced. Something after the Cross will never happen again, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me.” Utterly alone, as The Father turned His back on His Son, God the Father removed His presence from God the Son. But He continued, “Son, this is your mother, and Mother, this your son ( he even considered His mother), and then the final words that bought it all: “ It is finished.” He then released His soul from His body. No one caused Him to die; He chose His time to separate His soul from His body. How He endured the pain is beyond human understanding, but at that point, He accomplished our redemption: A Man of men. Redemption’s root word means to be purchased back from the marketplace of slavery. Such undeserved love. If you truly understand what you just read, then there is no other response than to get on your knees and thank Him for such love.
Questions: what loving Father would forsake His son in His hour of desperate need? I would not, and I’m sure you would not, but the Perfect Father of Heaven did; why? As God the Father took the sins of all humanity, past, present, and future, and placed them upon God the Son, He became a most polluted sacrifice that the Holy Father had to separate Himself from, and there He hung alone in the utter filth of man, your sins and mine. I know how crabby I feel when I screw up; imagine that a trillion times over. In light of this, you may want to reconsider your “entitlements.” He did not go through all this so that you and I would remain in bondage to our pride. He died to free us from the traps of unforgiveness, entitlements, lust, and all the base natures of our pride.
This is part I of the Belt of Truth. The Belt of Truth is having a solid foundation and a right and proper understanding of how God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit see us. If you truly grasp this, you will want to run to Him and run from sin. And when you sin, and you and I will, you will not want to be like Adam and hide from God; you can’t wait to confess your sin and get back into His arms. This devotional is strong medicine; I fear only a viewer can truly understand it.
As we approach Easter, I encourage you to re-read this several times and allow it to soak into you. Become a well-soaked sponge
Jesus is such a Man; you will never find one more complete, loving, understanding, or wise in giving our life guidance. Read The Bible, and stay close to it…
Father,
Thank you for such a sacrifice. We are not worthy of You, but in your heart, we are. We were, are, and will always be the object of your affection. You are seeking a pure/Holy Bride for yourself. Help us to seek to be a pure Bride for a very, very, more than Worthy Savior. May we be able to apply Your truths to our soul, drink it up as the plants drink the rain. Let us be willing to let you deal with the weaknesses in our life, even too fast with prayer, so that we can become stronger and be more loyal and useful sons or daughters.
I pray this for me and my brothers and sisters in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen and Amen, your son by Grace
Arthur
If you’ve come this far, please consider my book on Amazon:
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.