Month: May 2024

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The Beauty of Repentance – Part II

There are many contemporary messages on self-improvement (both inside and outside the church) that appeal to our intellect but have little to no power to change the soul. If satan can convince us to take a watered-down version of righteousness (which does not exist; it’s like saying, can white be just a little black and still be white), then he can affect whole congregations. As church leaders seek to grow their church, the temptation is to preach a populous message, placating our ego and making us feel good about ourselves with no spiritual gain. These messages allow sins to be excused. Instead of being called sins, they are simply part of our human nature, such as anger, lust, greed, insecurity, or fear, rather than being called sins as God’s Word does. In this venue of populous messages, little is said, if any, of these struggles. 

If people come to church emotionally bleeding or spiritually dying, they leave the same or maybe with a bandaid, whereas what they needed were stitches so the wound can close and be healed.

The church is meant to be a hospital for the spiritually hurting, a place of refuge from the onslaught of our carnal nature. Healing from emotional strife and found hope. How does this happen? The teaching of God’s Word brings conviction. Conviction is God’s strong medicine that brings healing. That way, repentance is sought, and wounds that are continually being reopened can close; infection and carnal desire unchecked are destroyed as God’s Word brings healing. Teaching must be strong so the path onward and upward is clearly seen. If sins remain unrepentant, character flaws remain, and wounds continue to fester. Strongholds of anger, lust, unacceptance, insecurity, fear, etc., remain, hindering us from experiencing the love and forgiveness that Christ offers. It’s a vacuous place to be.

A murderer in the days of Rome, if he was not crucified, would be punished by having his victim’s body tied to his back, wrist to wrist, arm to arm, torso to torso, and leg to leg. Then, the murderer would carry the corpse until the gangrene killed him. It’s precisely what Paul alludes to when he says….

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 will deliver me from this body of death?

I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin (sin is not to be excused, but dealt with via prayer and God’s Word).

Therefore, what is the point of going to church if I cannot see myself progressing, getting free from my sinful nature, and sensing a closer walk with Christ? If I didn’t want to get free of my sins, I could easily fill my ear with motivational speakers and gifted cheerleaders and seek to change myself, failing to see my sins from God’s perspective. This is not the church’s calling; cheerleaders are for sports and those who think well of themselves. 

The church is called a beacon, a light of Truth and Hope to those who are tired of their way and hungry and looking for answers and hope. The church is to be a hospital for the sick wanting to get well. Where the medicine of God’s Word is applied, and actual healing of the soul and body is felt and seen. The anointing oil of Truth does not always feel good, like removing cancer from the body. Recovery is painful; changing and hating your sin comes at a price, but in the end, healing, peace, and inner joy are felt. The Truth is like that. Jesus put it this way….

Matthew 5:29-30

If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out (ouch!!) and cast it from you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you (now I’m partially blind and crippled, and that’s precisely what Christ is saying, cripple the carnal man), for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Christ HAS THE PERSPECTIVE OF HEAVEN, WHERE SIN DOES NOT EXIST, AND PURITY, ONENESS AND JOY RESIDE. We do not come close to living in that realm, at least not yet. It’s like comparing pristine mountain water to sewage. We drink and live in the sewage, and He seeks to lead us to the purity of the water He gives.  

John 4:13-14

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Truth is a Light on a hill that speaks of home, security, peace, and love. Therefore, since the church is the Bride of Christ, when one goes to church, he or she should be meeting The Groom of the Church, The Lord Jesus Christ. 

Psalms 22:22-25

I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly, I will praise You.

My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

Early in my Christian walk, I couldn’t wait till worship was over and the preaching would begin. I didn’t understand the importance of thanking and praising the Lord with my lips in song. Now, I love to worship. Worship alone could be the whole service for me. There is so much truth in the lyrics, especially the hymns. As we worship, we clear our hearts of care and concern, preparing our hearts to hear the message from the scriptures. If done earnestly, conviction of sins are brought to mind, and repentance and forgiveness are found. For some sins, repentance alone is needed; for others, it ismore attached to our soul (e.g., my dad had a temper, or my mom was critical, so I struggle with these), which takes time to overcome. 

These are specific fears, insecurities, and lusts that are entrenched in us, and freedom is won and maintained by memorizing specific Bible verses that address this specific sin. Freedom will be gained as the spirit man is fed God’s Word, and the carnal man is starved by not engaging in sin and repenting quickly if we fall. Regardless of how we were raised, we cannot excuse ourselves; sin is sin (THOUGH CONVICTION DOES NOT FEEL GOOD, IT PAINFUL, IT IS BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR YOU AND ME THAT HE DOES SO). Therefore, Straight, Gay, or Gender Identity concerns do not matter; it’s NOT ABOUT US, WE ARE ALL TO BECOME CONFORMED TO HIS IMAGE, HIS STANDARD OF HOLINESS (not our definition of Holiness) THAT WITHOUT IT NONE OF US WILL SEE THE LORD.

Hebrews 12:11

Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful; nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:14-15

Pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this, many become defiled (the importance of forgiveness). 

Romans 12:1-2 Living Sacrifices to God

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what that good and acceptable and perfect will of God is.

To not pursue holiness because we simply believe we cannot change, that the sin or the flaw is too great or genetic (it’s in our D.N.A) is to say that Our Creator is weak. That the Blood of Christ shed on the Cross to make us holy and righteous cannot help me. This is an absolute lie, and it comes from the pit of hell itself, AND it’s a popular one that many want to believe, for it excuses us and allows us to justify our sins. However, it also keeps us from experiencing His love, hope, and peace, not to mention the people we hurt because of our unwillingness to fight against it. Keeping my sin, JUSTIFYING IT, IS NOT WORTH the price (image a dad with a temper yelling at his wife and kids, the damage he is causing because of his unwillingness to fight for the freedom he could have in Christ because he believes the lie of satan THAT HE CAN’T change rather than believing God’s promise.

John 8:44( this is what Jesus said of Satan, so think twice before you believe something that contradicts the scriptures).

You are of your father, the devil (referring to the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his time [the church]), and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie (e.g., you can’t change), he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it ( is this who you want to follow, and become part of his casualties? I know I don’t).

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (to make strong, to fortify, vigorous, able to conquer by His empowerment). 

So, as harsh as this sounds, if you believe an untruth (any belief that seems true but comes in conflict or contradicts scripture) is a lie, period! It’s hard work to reprogram our brains from utterly believing one thing to completely believing the opposite. It threatens our sense of well-being and security, but if you or I could truly understand God’s love for us, which sent Him to the Cross while we were yet His enemies (Romans 5:8), what fear is there? To surrender an untruth, a lie that will hurt me and others, for a Godly truth that will help and bless others, is that a loss? No, it’s a gain because the indwelling Holy Spirit combined with His Word, the sword of the Spirit, can and does bring deliverance and freedom.

Now, let’s clarify something else. The Church is only part of the equation. I’m the other part, and I talk about this with every Vida4U. The other part is our time with God, reading the Bible, taking notes, and praying. An hour or two on Sunday and maybe an evening of midweek study is not enough spiritual food to carry me through the week successfully.Trials and temptations, deadlines and kids, events of life and my carnal nature, etc., the “spiritual food supply” is used up. The scriptures say we are to meditate upon them. To meditate comes from the word that describes a cow chewing its food. This may sound gross, but the cow has four compartments in its stomach, and each compartment helps the cow digest food even better. The second compartment of the stomach upchucks the food back into the mouth of the cow, and hence, we get the saying, “the cow is chewing its cud.” This is partially digested food that has already been in compartment 1, the Rumen. This second chewing enables the cow to get all the nutrients from the food, and this is our word: “to meditate.” 

It definitely is not a casual read. No, it’s looking up the words in their original language, cross-referencing with other verses, etc. This would be like us “chewing the cud of the Word.” This is my part and my responsibility, as it is yours. It’s fascinating because it’s like digging for gold. Except this gold is Eternal, or if you fancy being a pirate, it’s like searching for buried treasure. This process takes some time, but for me, it’s only 1/4 of the time it used to take. Now, with my iPad, the Strong’s Dictionary, and Greek and Hebrew Lexicons all loaded into it, it is super quick. I used to have three books open, plus my John MacArthur Bible. Now I just switch from different screens. 

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Now, here’s the confusing part. You feel no different. You feel like the same old sinner that you have always been. Since “truth” is what we feel, we must change and understand that truth now is not our feelings but God’s Word. It’s an entirely different way to live life. That’s why we must spend time in the Word daily. 

Our walk with God is not feeling-based but Faith-based, and quoting God’s Word that contradicts or comes against what I feel is how you use your armor. A series we just finished. Feelings and Faith are not friends, feelings must submit to Faith. Faith must be the Master. If feelings dictate our life, we will have one result, and it will not be good, but if faith becomes that which dictates, then the promises of God become our inheritance, being regularly nourished by God’s Word. Whoever we feed the most will be the master. 

This time of study we spend together helps us to live wisely, choose appropriate friends and activities, and say no when necessary. And best of all, to be a better husband, father, and most importantly, a better son or daughter to our Eternal Father. A Great and Loving King that only deserves the very best we can give Him through the aid of The Holy Spirit. 

Father, 

Thank you for this study. It’s a beautiful journey as You spend time with us, teaching us the truths that free us and bring us closer to You. Help us to understand that our carnal nature wants us to feel hopeless, trapped, that we can’t do this Christian life. That the carnal nature is too strong. Yet that is not true, for You say, “All that are in You are a new creature, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.” Father, help us to exalt Faith and Your Word over and above feeling or even logic and simply trust You. 

Amen and Amen

Until next time,

Arthur

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Vida4U “Our Shoes” Part II 

Ephesians 6:15-16

and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness( or preparedness)  given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one (Shield of Faith – we already discussed this; this is just a reminder of its importance).

Welcome back, I trust the last Vida was like a huge vitamin pill for your spirit. These are very personal examples and situations that I have been through. Everything I talk about in Vida comes from situations and or experiences from my life, the paths God has walked with me through. None of it is just head knowledge. It is all practical knowledge, boots on the ground, and victories and defeats. In this segment, we are talking about the shoes the Roman soldier wore and how we can apply what the shoe (sandal) means spiritually. 

The shoes of the Roman soldier had spikes in them; we would call them sandals. The spikes helped the soldier to hold his position in battle and advance. So, spiritually speaking, what helps us stand or take ground? Is it not His Word committed to memory? Imagine you are hiking, and all is well. You have your hiking shoes on, and you are climbing. Suddenly, the path gives way, and your adrenaline kicks in as you run, seeking firmer ground. What would have happened if you were not in proper gear? Instead of hiking boots, did you have church shoes? You would have slipped/fallen and potentially been seriously hurt, being unprepared to respond to the danger. Such is God’s Word, “our hiking boots,” when read and memorized. It makes us prepared for the events that spring up in our lives. The more time it takes to prepare, the more casualties we suffer, and the more ground is lost. 

My daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids just returned from a week’s vacation in Hawaii. Upon opening their front door, they walked into a flooded home. They had some refrigerator work done just before their trip, and an improperly placed hose was the cause. Were they ready for this? No, but were they “prepared”? In the context of having home insurance, yes, they were. What would have happened if they thought home insurance was too expensive or we would never need it? They would have been in a world of hurt. There is this attitude among believers: “I’m fine, life is good, I don’t need to read the Bible; I go to church, and that’s enough. After all, I don’t want to get too religious. 

Jesus said, “Those who have ears let them hear.” How about seeking Him just because He’s Worthy of me seeking Him because He Absolutely Loves me? 

Hosea 4:6

My people perish because they have rejected My Word (the next words you never want God to say to you). Therefore, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. God is very patient and loving, but if we continue to reject Him, He withdraws His presence from us.

Jeremiah 31:3 (this is His heart)

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 (sometimes that loving kindness takes the form of discipline. It’s out of love that He chastens us, for He knows if He doesn’t, we will go adrift, being drawn and deceived by worldly desires that, if we continue in them, pit us against Him). You never want to find yourself in this position.

Hebrews 12:10-11

For they (our fathers) verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness (for without Holiness no man shall see God. Hebrews 12:14). 

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but **grievous (painful): afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised( its work!) thereby.

** Grievous – one of the definitions is the pain associated with giving birth. Application: the trial is to give birth to a godly attitude while a sinful, prideful attitude dies. It is a painful process as God brings us to our knees to surrender our ways to His ways. It can be a grievous process, but once over, peace, joy, and a closer walk with The Lord are achieved.

So, we understand that it is paramount that we understand and know what God says in His Word. For He is bound by the confines and liberties found in it (e.g., He hates sin, period, in us and in our world, and His love is unlimited as it is shouted from the Cross where He dared crucify His Only Son for sinful man. Who would do that but God alone). Therefore, when things are hard, and at times super hard, knowing what  God says about trials and His love for us will keep us from blaming Him. Satan will take every opportunity to slander God. Telling lies about Him that if you do not know what the Bible says, you will naturally believe the lie. For example, no human beings were closer to God, saw God, and spoke with Him more than Adan and Eve. 

Yet the master of treachery and blasphemy, satan, webbed a lie that trapped Adan and Eve and ruined mankind. So what makes you think you or I won’t fall into deception? You must be in His Word to be able to overcome. Know that we are very much in spiritual warfare, and the hater of your soul wants you to blame God. To be mad at God and feel as though He doesn’t care about you. That can’t be further from the truth, but you have to choose to believe His Word above your own emotions and interpret the current events in your life. There are many examples in the scriptures of God’s chastisement of His sons and daughters. However, if we do not learn from these examples and are disobedient, e.g., like Jonah the prophet, then there are some unpleasant and real-time” consequences. They may only affect us, but they could also affect our families. Israel wandered in the desert for 40 extra years. Were the children at fault for their parent’s rebellion? Of course not, but they also had to endure the extra years. 

You may get mad at God, thinking He is to blame for all the trouble in your life, but it is not Him or His fault. He permits situations, refining us, and in the process, we become more humble and dependent upon Him, as He did with Job. Probably the most intense testing recorded in scripture, aside from Christ Himself, but trials are never sent to destroy us, never, but to refine us. If gold could speak while in the furnace melting at 1,945 degrees, the dross would be separated from it and become pure gold, unmixed (which is one definition of purity, unmixed with the world, separate). What do you think it would say? And then afterward, what would it say when it is shining and pure? Probably the same thing a mother says before and after giving birth. 

He gave us His Life to save us from the natural consequences of sin. Also, He doesn’t have to cause or do anything for suffering to happen. He leaves us to ourselves; self, pride, and sin can easily take over and ruin our lives. It happens naturally as we pursue a life without God’s blessing or direction.

I find it interesting that when we want something, we are persistent until we get it. If it’s a car, we save until we can make a down payment. That car will last seven years, maybe 10, until we start looking for another one, regardless of how hard we worked to get it initially. Nothing is as eternal as our faith; we do not put the same effort into cultivating it as temporal, worldly desires. We are too earthbound.  In this, I find fault with us and often wonder how God remains so patient and loving when it cost Him everything. 

Nothing is greater, more lasting, or more important than our relationship to Christ. And those of you who know Him intimately know this. Yet often, for the rest of us, He is our second or third priority. We think, “once I get my desk work done, or finish all my calls then I will spend time reading my Bible,” and it never or seldom happens. How about saying I will read my Bible first and then trust Him to Help me with my desk work or finish my phone calls? Make faith an adventure, “trust (is twin to obeying) the Lord and do not lean on your own understanding” (Pro. 3:5&6). My time to read, as I’ve shared,  is my lunchtime. Sometimes, lunch is at 5:00 pm, but regardless of when I eat lunch, that is my time to be with Him. I encourage you to find a time that works for you, keep it, and be prepared to be tested. The testing again is the purification process, seeing if we meant what we told Him. Remember, anything worth anything requires commitment and effort, and our faith is the most precious and important of anything we have. 

Life hands us many opportunities to exercise our faith, but we only see the trial (the problem), not the opportunity given to us through the trial to trust Him. Often, our trials feel like threats to our security or hindrances to our success. Read the story of Joseph or David. All their “hindrances” prepared them to rule in fear of God. How many other stories in the Old Testament are there like this? They all start as seemingly insurmountable problems, but victory was gained because God was trusted. Let’s use a modern example of needing/wanting a car, but not any car, a nice one. If I could drive that car, that would be so cool. It becomes such a passion that it rules over our Bible study time; we can’t think of anything else. Why do we not maintain our time with the Lord, trusting Him, and then go with Him shopping for a car, making it an adventure (or a home, or furniture or clothing, etc.)?  I have bought about 21 vehicles, mostly for the business, but three were for my wife (we’ve been married 43 yrs.), and 4 for my daughters (2 each, replacing the ones they crashed). However, when buying these vehicles, I considered each time an adventure and prayed, trusting the Lord to lead me to each vehicle.

Therefore, each vehicle has a story of God’s faithfulness (even the totaled two). This is what we cheat ourselves out of when we don’t trust the Lord. 

In the Old Testament, they did the same thing; they built altars to the Lord after an act of God’s faithfulness to remind them and to be able to pass the story to their children.

About me: Since my youth, I’ve craved a Christian dad to talk to about the Lord. My dad was good; I knew he loved me. This, in turn, allowed me to believe that God loved me, so when God called me in my youth, I could believe His love because of my dad’s example. This is the most important role a father plays in the life of his children: to truly love his children. This makes it much easier for the children to believe God loves them. So many of us struggle with God loving us. Though we confess it with our mouths, getting what we confess into our hearts takes years of trial. A loving father shortcuts all these trials. 

Assurance, self-worth, and security come from knowing your Father loves you, which transfers over to God as you come to know Him. It does not start at 100%, but the roads have been laid in our hearts for confession of faith, and they deepen as we press into the Lord. We have the confidence to press into Him. Many lack that confidence and “wander in the desert for years of their life.”

So what happens if you were not raised by a dad who visibly showed his love? Some men, or men in specific cultures, have difficulty showing affection; it DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY DO NOT LOVE YOU. I am Hispanic by nature, and it is common in my culture to show love, anger, kindness, hug each other, etc., all the human emotions. A close friend of mine is English and Irish; his culture is more reserved. His dad was reserved in showing love, and he hardly got hugged as a boy. So, it was a greater leap of faith for him to believe God loved him. I have found this true of many believers and find it to be the root cause for many of us struggling with devotional time with the Lord.

God’s plan of loving us starts with our Father’s love and extends to God’s love. A mother’s love is critical as well. However, the Father’s role is to represent The Lord as the authority figure in the home. It’s much like a relay race where one runner passes the baton to the other runner. We are under our Father’s tutorage, and then there comes a point when God starts to call us unto Himself. The smoothness of the transition is initially based on how good a job the Father did. Such is the example of the passing of his love for his children to God, as now his instruction is tapering down, and God’s is beginning. So now, as an adult lacking this, you hear an encouraging message in church but still struggle to believe that God truly loves you with all your faults and issues. Because of that, it’s hard for us to sit and read the Bible. 

Despite our society’s indulgence in praising itself, true self-worth cannot be produced by the self. It is external and formed in childhood by those of your family who love you. Even being conceited is a cover-up for insecurity. To the degree a person is stuck on themselves is to the degree they are insecure and maybe even hate themselves. Security and feeling good about oneself happen when God’s ways are followed.

That’s the way God structured life and why He instituted sex only in marriage so that the children are born into an environment of love and see and feel family life. Fortunately, there is God’s Word for those lacking security and confidence. It is very powerful when one approaches it in humility and need. It is such a blessing. Also unique to our time is a program called The Chosen. It does an excellent job of showing Christ’s love for us, and combined with reading God’s Word, it becomes a powerful and effective tool to put the pieces of your heart back together. Also, and this is a must,  look up Bible verses and memorize them, like the ones I use in all the Vida’s. There is no greater verse for security than John 3:16.

John 3:16-18

For God So Loved the World

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but for the world to be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

In place of “the world,” add your name. And if He gave His Son for us, do you not think we are super special? To appreciate this verse, think of a time in your life when you did not want to do something, but you did it because of your love for that person. That is the beginning of understanding this verse if you can understand it.

Spend time memorizing this verse and others I share, and as you do, insecurity, inferiority, low self-esteem, etc., all these dark shadows will begin to fade in the light of knowing you’re loved. As that happens, your “shoes for battle” will “fit better,” you will hold your ground and even take the ground as a harmony of oneness develops between you and The Lord. Savage Garden has a famous song where she says, “I’m melting into you.” That’s the goal. 

Lord, 

Thank you for this simple yet profound teaching. Truly understanding your love for us will transform us. It will take time and, at times, harsh trials that seem to say just the opposite of love; we will suffer, but let us be wise and understanding and not let the lies of the enemy convince us otherwise. The wise among us will consider and read the accounts of your Crucifixion and realize that it was your love for us that put you up on that Cross. You could have spoken a word at any time and ended it all, “but like a lamb to the slaughter you uttered not a word.” 

Isaiah 53:4-7

Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth (a prophecy by Isaiah the prophet about 700 years before Christ, before Crucifixion was ever known as a means of death). 

Thank you, Father, for this teaching,

Your son by Grace,

Arthur