Author: Travis Manhart

For these verses I am using the American Standard Version translation.

This is a marvelous passage and there is only one other in the New Testament that addresses our spiritual warfare. In 2Corinthians 10: 3-6 it talks about capturing our thought life which often is in rebellion to God’s Holy standard and “casting down vain imaginations.” Here’s a word picture of ” casting down.” Imagine being in your car with your family and an africanesed bee flies into the car and your whole family is allergic to bees, especially an africanesed bee that can sting repeatly. Your immediate reaction would be to catch it and kill it. No thinking, no pondering as what to do next, just kill it! That is the emphasis of this verse. Our weakness is we ponder temptation, we think about it, we ask is it really wrong? That’s what Adam and Eve did, they pondered and now look where we are.

If it is insecurity we struggle with, we need to go to The Word to strengthen ourselves. Most of the time we don’t we just continue to live with our insecurity and be controlled by it. Like puppets on a stage, our emotional strings are pulled controlling our thoughts and actions. The Bible calls these repeated weaknesses in us strongholds. In 2Cor. 10:3 we read , “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;).” And in 2Timothy 1:7 

A stronghold can simply be because we lack maturity, or it can be a repeated sin that initially we did for pleasure or curiosity, yet in opening that door it became an addiction. Drinking, drugs, sex, pornagraphy, all these have the ability to become strongholds as well as many many other things. Negative thoughts can also be strongholds, tapes that just keep repeating in us, normally since childhood become thought patterns of insecurity that lie deep in our character forming challenging strongholds to overcome. However from, ” I can’t do that, to I can do “all things in Christ Jesus” is completely possible through study, prayer and time.  It is a very attainable change. My personnel belief is since insecurity is common to us all, it is the result of the fall. Adam and Eve were in the ideal state of their being, in perfect fellowship with God; they had no worries, God provided for their needs on all levels. Can you imagine the huge void that occurred when God’s Spirit left them? Once sin entered, God could no longer indwell them. It was an awful moment when they realized what a devastating lie they bought into, it changed the whole course of humanity.  Keep that in mind when you hear, “oh it’s no big deal, it’s just a little sin,” that’s how it is always played. Therefore we struggle with insecurity, something that the Lord did not intend for us to deal with along with a whole host of other deviate emotions. However no matter the insecurity or the struggle, GOD is the answer and there are verses in the Bible that we can meditate on to strengthen ourselves and by the quickening of the Holy Spirit we can conquer  them. We do not need to continue to live being controlled by our strongholds.

In  Psalms 119:9-11 we have this great verse that I personally have cherished since my youth,

We must literally reprogram our thinking so we can reprogram  our emotional responses. The biggest change starts by changing our view of ourselves. Do we truly believe we are God’s son or daughter by Grace? For if we have truly accepted Christ in our heart, then  from that point starts a lifetime  process, the process of sanctification. The more I respond to life’s blessings and challenges from my new identity, the more Holy will be my thoughts, decisions and actions. What I have experienced in my life for that to happen is a complete tearing down of all that was Arthur and a new foundation, a sanctified foundation being built by the Master Builder. And there is nothing more fundamental, or ground zero than one’s view of them-self. “On Christ the solid rock I stand everything else is sinking sand,” so go the lyrics of one of our most foundational hymns. On God alone and His promises with His love infused in all of it does the rebuilding process begin, continue and forever be. To say with truth that I am not who I was ( Amen) nor am I who I will become,( another Amen) is a statement from a believer that has made time in their schedule to be with the Lord and has experienced the sanctification that comes through the Holy Spirit in fused Word of God. Exchanging our weaknesses and carnality for His strenght and truth. I am now on my 45th year of being His son by Grace and know that there is no end to this journey. God is so vast and our need so unending that our adventure will go on for Eternity.

Now to our study.  It has been said that Paul probably wrote these verses while he was in prison chained between two Roman guards. He had plenty of time to study their armor and in so doing saw parellels to the spiritual armor a Christian must wear to overcome the battles we fight. I have heard many sermons on these passage and there is no one explanation, but there have been many good insights that I took to heart as I was maturing in my walk. It however has been years since I have heard a sermon on these passages and it is definitely overdo. I would like to make some broad applications initially then get into the Greek of the passages. Lord willing by the end of the studies  we will be Green Berets for Christ.

Broad picture, we are in a battle and the biggest problem is the enemy lives within. It’s us, our carnal nature that is at war with the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do. And the one we spend the most time with will be the victor. In Galatians 5:16-17 We have a very insightful passage…

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

So taking my above statement. If I only hear the scriptures when I am sitting in church and there is no other time I am in them, yet day in and day out I engage and hear the messages of the world who do you think will have the greater pull, God or the world? An obvious answer no?

Deuteronomy 17:16-20 ( rules for a King)

Kings are normally kings because of blood line, not for their belief in God. However God’s king was that because of his obedience to the Lord. King David had the longest and most successful rule if you gauge success by the nation’s fear of God. King’s after him ruled, some for a time but never too old age as David did. Often their reign ended because they sinned against the Lord. Solomon David’s son lost the 10 tribes of Israel because of his disobedience to the Lord and he would have lost the tribes of Judah and Benjamin  if it wasn’t for God keeping them with him for King David’s sake. You are replaceable with God, though God was and is very patience.

The role of king is very clear, spelled out in several passages. However the main passage, the one that determines the quality and make up of a king is this one. I have shared parts of these verses in recent Vida’s but never all of them, and though I will never be a king I love these verses and believe that whatever is required of a King I want to do. I want to take the highest road and see where it leads, something that we all should consider. Leadership for me started in High School as Student Body President. Right after graduation I entered the work arena and promoted up from various positions till I became a department manager while continuing my education at night. Every few years I was changed to another department while working for  a large wholesale nursery. I was the youngest to hold these positions, I know it was because of my commitment to these verses. God allowed me to find favor with those above me. We can never go wrong by taking the high road which according to these verses is reading, writing and memorizing the scriptures often, daily if possible. Whatever measure we give God from a willing heart will never come back void. God takes it and multiplies it blessing you and others, and the greatest position gained is not the title  man gives but what the Father gives when He calls us sons and daughters; no title exceeds that.

A large part of my motive for studying the Word has to do with a personal need. I so wanted a Christian dad growing up that I adopted God as my dad. Though I was very grateful for the things my dad did with me as a child and especially because I knew he loved me, I still wanted someone to father me in the ways of God. Therefore to know the Lord I needed to spend time with Him and His Word is what brought Him close to me. In studying the Bible I  learned His values, I saw how He judged – what He defined as right and wrong and most importantly to see His love demonstrated. In a very literal way I asked him to finish the job my dad started in raising me, teaching me not only the scriptures but their application in every day life; His way of living. For the last 35 yrs. part of that schooling has been a commitment to read a chapter of Proverbs almost daily.  There is no better instructions on life than what can be learned from Proverbs.

 In most of my management classes, especially the ones in college I would fall asleep ( partly because I was exhausted between work, school and dating my soon to become wife) yet on test day the teacher would separate me from the class so no one could copy. I consistently received the highest scores and that was because of Proverbs. I already understood personnel relationships and Proverbs not only teaches on that but on being a husband, father, neighbor, friend etc.

My best friends are the following  scriptures; I have repeatedly used them for challenges at work, Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established,” and vs. 9 “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps,” and lastly Proverbs 3:5-6

with this last verse being my go to verse for everything in life

People will say that you cannot take the scriptures literally and to some extent it’s true. Revelations or poetical books such as the Song of Solomon are symbolical or allegorical, but overall I believe people say this just as an excuse to not follow any of it. With the exception of what I just mentioned, I  know no other way than to take the scriptures literally. “Committing my works,” communicating with the Lord what it is I need to accomplish  and asking Him to establish my thoughts on how to do it, ‘ I will consider my ways Father but you direct my path according to thy wisdom.’ In all my undertaking I acknowledge and seek His guidance first. Specific body language and procedure that I follow to this day; kneeling down to pray before I start a landscape which my men see and know that I am asking God for wisdom; or kneeing at my desk before I start billing or writing up an estimate, or taking a moment before I come into the house to thank God for the day, whether it was good or bad and now requesting His help to be a good husband, father or grandfather. These habits have been established in me because of these verses and I feel blessed because of it. And I don’t feel blessed because it makes my day necessarily any easier, I feel blessed because I know it makes my Father happy – it’s just the right thing to do and there is joy in doing the right thing. Whether it makes money or not, whether it makes my day any easier or not it makes my Father happy. However I do know that doing the right thing time and time again does bring benefits here and a spiritual harvest in Eternity. However a word of caution. To do something right so as to get something from God seldom works, however to do something for no other reason than it pleases Him gets you everywhere.

Each landscape job we do is very beautiful, capturing both the beauty of design and creation and it is because “He establishes my thoughts.”I know this very hands on approach to living out the scriptures is what He seeks from each of us; to work side by side with Him in whatever our profession is, or in the home raising the kids and whatever the day may bring we go it with Him, not without Him. Living as such you learn that you are truly always in His company and it’s a great feeling – truly a confidence builder.

And for you stay home mom’s, something that I desired to have done with our girls but was not able to God gave me this verse in Nehemiah to keep me focused on the grand-kids. Nehemiah is speaking, chapter 6 vs.33

“And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?…..” The enemies of the Jews did not want them to build a fortified  wall around the city so they planned to lure Nehemiah away and kill him causing the work to cease. Their plan failed for Nehemiah valued God’s calling on his life and we must do the same. His voice is clear in scripture and children are a top priority, raising them in the love and admonition of The Lord.

The children are to be taught the truths of God as we live life, going through the good times as well as the hard times. They also are not to get the leftovers, but the best that we can give at that moment. Of course our “best” will vary, but our intent is to be present with them. So you stay home mom’s and parents in general though your job often is tiring and at times mundane, it is extremely important. Day in and day out you are sending a message to them of their worth and when they are old enough to understand the message of God’s love for them they will believe it because you made them feel valued.

At the core of so many of us we struggle with the concept of God’s love for us because we never felt valued growing up. Personally I believe the whole playboy/ porn industry would not exist if these girls felt valued by their fathers or the number of unwed mothers would drastically drop off if these women felt loved as children. Moms and dads you play such a critical role in the early formation of the child’s view of themselves, especially dad’s with their little girls. And when the extended family, grandparents, uncles, aunts all give the same message of love and value it will only build confident children that can receive the message of God’s love for them.

Thank you for this study in your Word and as we bend our ways to You we will receive more of your joy, more of your peace, and more of your wisdom. All the truly good things that this world does not have, nor can it give. It only masquerades as having it. You are the Real Deal Father and no one or nothing else can compare. Thank you and Amen.

Move Forward In His Grace – Arthur

Luke 22:24-27

Who Is The Greatest?

And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

How is greatness measured with God, do we know? It is not measured by education, by position, or by bank account, not even by expensive cars or large mansions, nothing of these worldly measurements means a thing to a God who created it all and gave to man the ability to earn. Along with that ability God gave man a free will to chose to serve Him or not. So to the man or woman that choses to ignore the persuits of worldly acclaim and rather seek the acclaim that is unique to God and sees wealth as a resource of humility and greatness not in the size of his or her name but in the means and way that Christ is honored and finds joy in proclaiming and sharing God’s love to this governance is greatness defined. Amen

May you all have had a Blessed Easter and whether it was joyful or painful the truth of Easter and the hope it gives is not dependent upon our day but dependent upon a God who never changes and keeps His promises honoring His word to His children. The truth of Easter goes beyond us and gives us a means to hope for a better tomorrow. Amen and Amen

Grow In His Grace – Arthur

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ( brief review from last Vida).

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth ( and what is the reason for this lukewarm)
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

God’s accessment of our lives is often radically different from how we see ourselves. Caught in the web of lies our world can look pretty good. We only see that we are ahead of the game. We have the life we want, the money and position, the friends, so all is good. We do not see life from the perspective of Eternity, we are cursed with near sightedness. True vision takes into account the brevity of one’s life and understands the importance of righteous living. Righteousness is like a secret treasure that only very few are willing to search for, and even fewer find, but it is the key to life because it is the key to Christ who is the Door to the Father.

Father God,

 There is a lot of content to this devotional. I pray for us to be granted the ability to understand and adjust our ways. Make life simple for us, may we seek You above all else

Thank you and Amen,

Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur

Matthew 5:7-10
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Markarios is the Greek word for blessed and it has several neat definitions, “possessing the favor of God, or a state marked by possessing the fullness from God, or one who has become a partaker of the nature of God because of faith in Jesus Christ.” Markarios is a state of being, a position, it  does not change due to adverse circumstances. Blessed is not based on a feeling, it is based on a promise. We confuse being blessed with a feeling or good things happening. We say, “I’m blessed,” when things go in our favor and it’s true, but it’s just as true when things are tough, we are still blessed. Our position in Christ has not changed just because life is tough. At all times and in all circumstances we are blessed provided we are in obedience to His will. More often than not negative circumstances have nothing to do with God. We made a foolish decision and are now reaping the consequences of it. Yet through our mistake God is still teaching us.

 Also this is not heaven, we live in a fallen world and are subject to the same concerns as others. Markarios best defines a relationship that is granted to me when I surrender my life to Christ. Once done, my relationship to my Father is fixed, it does not lessened because my life is a struggle or because I am having a bad day or some ” tragedy” is affecting my life (our tragedies can often be God’s opportunities, read Roman’s 8). In Duet 28:2 we have a promise.. “And all these blessings shall come upon you if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” I would suggest reading the whole chapter, His promises are very comforting. How because of Christ I can come to the Throne of the Great King.  At anytime I have His audience; His scepter is always bent towards me ( read Esther 4:11).  He hears me because I have son-ship rights, or daughter ship rights and  He will always hear us and do that which is right for us. That alone is to be blessed. Our struggles do not lessen or diminish His blessing in my life. As one young man said to a pastor “God has all of eternity to make it up to me.” Up to this time he had spent more time in the hospital than in his own home. This extremely mature attitude was not gained among the flowers of life, but through the thorns. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17,

But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, — them will I bring in, and they shall know — the land which ye have despised.
But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear — your whoredoms, until your carcasses 

be wasted in the wilderness. Because of their unfaithfulness this first generation of freed Israel will not see the Promise Land. Also a point that cannot be overlooked –  who bore the burden of a faithless generation, the children. A parent who does not live out the truth of faith not only lives with those repercussions but the children do as well. Let this be a very strong warning for those of us who allow the allurements, fears and worries of this world to take captive our faith. Know that you are doing so at the expense and peril of your kids. How much better for our children to have believing parent(s) as their roll model. If you have not been, stop now, repent and allow God to be God. Isaiah 61:3 promises that God is able to restore the years that worry, fear and worldly per suits have taken. It is never too late to repent; if not now, then when? Here’s the promise,

And I will restore to you — the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. These insects equaled starvation for man and beast. It was extremely devastating, as years of worry, fear and worldly per suit can be to a family. Yet The Lord promises to restore. The word restore is Salam. “The primary meaning is to be safe or uninjured in mind or body (Job 8:6; 9:4). This word is normally used when God is keeping His people safe. In its simple form, this verb also means to be completed.” And is this not what we all seek, a sense of completion – that all is well with my soul? Maybe in my flesh I struggle, I could be sick, either because of fear and worry or what others have done or because our bodies are flesh, they wear out, but my soul is at peace because I am right with God.  There are always struggles in this life, but much better to go through the struggles with God than without. And if repentance is necessary we have a God that is Eleemon – merciful.

Eleemon, has several definitions, “compassionate, benevolently merciful involving thought an action.” Synonyms would be kind hearted, forgiving, giving, willing to go the extra mile. To be as such is to follow in the footsteps of our Savior who extended His mercy to us. To understand that we are a continual benefactor of His mercy, continually living under His Umbrella of His Mercy should foster or engender Eleemon in us towards others.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Katharos is the word for pure,  meaning to be unsoiled, unspoiled, unmixed, or  unalloyed. If we make application to ourselves the definition would be to be wholly God’s, unreservedly His, or for God alone.   God through the process of sanctification, “be being set apart,” causes this to happen via our trials and hardships as just discussed. Happiness outside of Christ is short lived and the effort to attain it is great and the pay back is based on diminishing return. The flesh and its desires are like a bad investment, you continually need to put more in to get the same return. And it is through this intense struggle that katharos takes place. We no longer seek the governance of the flesh and its failing promises, piece by piece as a complex puzzle each attitude or part of us is  being sanctified as we are being fitted and formed into the wholeness of His nature.

Father God,

Your faithfulness is so great, to even get a glimpse of it is sufficient for success in this life. Mold us truly into your sons and daughters, no fear, no worry, only an abiding trust and a passion to know You and love You.  Thank you and Amen

Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur

Being in the Christmas season our focus is on giving gifts to others, which is great. Yet the one who truly deserves a gift is the Lord. He is the essence of Christmas and the reason for it. As we go about here and there waiting in lines, what  if we focus on being His gift? What better time  than now when people are stressed and hurried and at times rude to be just the opposite? To be patience and kind to the cashier ringing up our items, to greet the people who are in line with us are easy things to do. This would not only put a smile  on their face, but on the Lord’s as well.  To do this from a genuine heart that truly believes we are The Lord’s ambassadors as Paul has penned, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by ( though) us; we pray you in Christ’s place, be ye reconciled to God ( 2 Cor. 5:20).” Our relationship to  the world is a very important component of being His gift. As we develop relationships with others with this in mind it honors the Lord and hopefully in time we will have the opportunity to share more.

 Our first three verses deal with internal changes that need to occur for us to become not only His gift to the world, but a gift to Him. Our relationship to Him is at the core of everything – there is nothing more important. To adopt these verses and prayerfully seek them to be ours will lessen the stress of the holidays and of life in general. As we learn to live life in agreement with the Holy Spirit it brings meaning and freedom to our life. We do not realize how much the expectations of others weigh upon  us and then on top of that we have our own expectations. We need the Lord’s help to keep life in perspective, we need to be recalibrated. To live as Paul says “strangers or foreigners” in this world, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: ( Phil. 3:20). The Greek word for “conversation” is “Politeuma” meaning ” to behave as a citizen.” In this world we have only a temporary visa, once our business here is completed we go home. Therefore I do not want to live life governed by what others think about me, nor by my own expectations. My life has to become more focused on what it means to be a citizen of Heaven. To truly grasp this is to begin to live in freedom. Even when stressed out by the day’s events, stress is checked by eternal truth. We are part of a celestial body that views life here differently. I don’t stop fulfilling my responsibilities here, I just do them with a different mind set. Events and actions seen from an eternal perspective place little value on materialistic or societal values. As Christ said in John 17:16, ” They( referring to his followers)  are not of the world even as I am not of the world.”

Humility and meekness ( verses 3&5) become the boundaries of the road I travel. Everything that agrees with those two principles remains or grows the more in my life. And in those two boundaries is freedom and His unlimited Grace. On that road I  learn to see myself as He sees me, as His beloved child and His holiness, His love, and His sacrifice for me stands out as a beacon of light.  I am convinced that this understanding is at the core of any Christian who demonstrates the love of Christ. Also humility and meekness  is not something we can be, it is something that the Spirit of God must do within us. It is an on going process, “He must increase and I must decrease.” Our only “duty,” and it is an honor rather than a duty, is that we make time to be with Him in His Word, The Holy Spirit does the rest.

How does applying these verses affect my life? Well our four verses in study show us four characteristics that are foundational to every believer. Poor in Spirit allows me to see my need of my Savior. I realize that I am but a poor man in attempting any acts of righteousness, especially ANY ACTS that would ever merit my salvation. Yet coming  to this conclusion I receive the very thing I am seeking  –  The Kingdom of Heaven. Through the realization of my faulty actions all is gained for “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom.”

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” There is the mourning over things that affect me, a lost opportunity, a relationship that went bad, issues with my kids, or challenges at my job can all be tough things to go through that cause us to mourn or grieve. However there is another dimension, there is the mourning over my actions that grieve my Heavenly Father and caused my Savior to go to The Cross. To mature to this point, that the first though painful, pales in comparison to the second, is to receive the Divine comfort that is promised. A comfort, both for my mourning over my sins and for my earthly struggles. This is to live life recalibrated, giving the Lord the freedom to move in me. Eternity matters now and the affairs of the present are weighed more by how they affect or concern my faith. My responses therefore in faith not only affect my situations but “capture honor and glory” for my Lord. This is to live off the gird of normal every day life, to depart from “Churchianity” and truly start living as a son or daughter of Grace. To live with eternity in our hearts is to live out these values on the stage of life. To have a heart that grieves not only over my actions but  over the state of humanity and seeks to redeem every situation or encounter so that Christ is honored, is to live off the gird. We must fight against complacency and not allow our faith to be dulled by materialism, lusts, or a comfortable life style, or even the demands of everyday life.

Father God,

 Thank you for this time of year. I wonder on this side of heaven if we will ever understand how much we mean to You, probably doubtful. However to the degree that we know, let that truth change us and motivate us to always make seeking You the top priority in our life. Thank you.

Move Forward In Grace – Arthur

I am convinced the hardest thing for us to do is be Christian through the routine of life. I always notice after church service, even after a great message, how everyone gets up and leaves barely making eye contact with the people around them. No one even speaks to the person next to them other than to say ” excuse me.” I will always say and make a comment about the message. Normally I get a friendly response back. Once we get into the lobby and find the people we know then everything is fine.  There seems to be this disconnect between what we hear, to what we practice. Even if the message was on loving your neighbor, nothing changes. Have we become hearers of the gospel only? To what end is it to get up, get ready, sit in church, if the end resolve is not to put what we hear into practice? It use to be that what we heard we put into practice then and there. I fear instead of changing our culture, our culture has sadly changed us.

With the holiday season upon us we are going to be in contact with more people, people in the malls, grocery stores, long lines to wait in with people who we have less in common with than the people in church. How am I going to deal with them, ignore them as if that person next to me doesn’t exit? Many of us routinely do this but why, what is the problem of saying hi, hope you are having a good day? Other than you would completely shock them; it’s a great one liner that shows concern for your neighbor. There is a story starting in Luke 7:36 that sheds some light on what the root problem might be. We pick up the story with verse 40.

Simon properly felt pretty righteous and smart at Christ confirmation of his answer, though a child could have also answered correctly. It’s the following verses where Simon gets stung by Christ words. Cultural practices of courtesy that Simon purposely overlooked.

Could this be our problem, we love little because we fail to understand the enormity of our forgiveness. Five hundred pence is more than the man had and in the light of our debt we to cannot pay it back. Do we think lightly of the Lord’s Cross and of the love that sent him there? We would never admit it, but our actions speak for themselves. For if we truly understood our debt and experienced His forgiveness and love in our hearts, we would be changed. Men and women given a second chance on life respond in a much different way than what I witness in  church. We would be humbled by the sacrifice paid for our freedom and seek to know our Savior and grow our faith. God’s Word would be precious and often read. We would truly be a light and not because we are trying to be, but because that is who we are becoming. Care for our neighbor is evidence of the Holy Spirit work in my life. I can only love others because I myself am being loved, and this goes beyond just being a nice guy or gal.

Church is the safest place to reach out and shake the hand next to you, and for some of us who are shy and or interverted this  is tough. However a kind smile or greeting I believe is do- able. So much of what I am talking about has to do with how I feel about myself. If I’m insecure about who I am I am not going to reach out. If I feel good about myself then reaching out is not a problem. Without getting to complicated so much goes back to our pass and our personality. Yet a growing relationship with Christ will over time change our areas of weakness making us more secure and confident.

We do not want to become a “culture” of church going people, nice, polite etc., but we want to become a culture of changed people who gather together and become the church collectively. Whether it be an official church building or a rented room. To see ourselves as the woman in the parable whose sins where many but no worse or better than any of ours; for even the most benign sin requires the blood of the Savior, is to truly begin to grasp the Grace of God.

 As we come into the holiday season, let us live above it, not in it. Life is not about us but about Him in us. Take time to be in the Word so as you go out you we have the great honor to represent Christ. Amen?

Father,

Thank you for this brief but insightful study. Let us be real with ourselves and give us changed hearts that comprehend the great sacrifice that was made for us to pass from death into life. Thank you and Amen.

Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur

These are beautiful verses especially enlight of this series, “The Discipline of Truth.” We say that athletes are disciplined. Everything they do has been channelled to one goal, to further their performance. What they eat, how much they sleep, what they do for entertainment, how they spend their time and even their thought life. It all points to one end, one single goal, to make them the very best at what they do. Truth does the same thing, except it goes much deeper. In  Hebrews 4:12 we have this verse,

This is the discipline of truth, it does what no other practice, religion or belief can do, it sanctifies the soul making us not only right with God, but an asset to Him. Being indwelt by His Spirit we become His ambassadors. From sinner to saint by the power of the Holy Spirit and the discipline of His Word. That is why the very worse decision you can make on a daily basis is to not read the Word. Or conversely, the absolute most important decision you can make daily is to read the Word. Or said again another way, the biggest lie the enemy can tell you and you believe is the Bible is unimportant, irrelevant, not for our time, written by a bunch of old men, or put together by heresy etc. However it is said, or framed, it is a lie. In 2 Timothy 3:16&17 we have these verses…

 I am an “athlete”  of God’s Word and the workings of the Holy Spirit in my life. To whatever degree of righteousness and wisdom I have attained to, it has been through this single route. No other study, no other teaching, no other philosophy have I entertained; therefore I bare witness and give testimony to the truth of this verse.

What does the Discipline of Truth do? It causes us to walk worthy of the Lord. What does that mean? ” Axios,” is the word in the Greek and it is super interesting. The picture is of a scale with fixed weights on one end and then adding enough weigh one the other end until the scale balances out. That’s the picture; question –  what are the set weights? Well it is the Holiness and Purity of God. To be able to balance out the scale we have to equal His “weight.” IMPOSSIBLE, NOT HAPPENING, except the Discipline of Truth teaches us that it is through faith in Christ that, that happens. Where the Holy Spirit indwells us, making us worthy to stand before a Holy and Utterly Pure God. Take a moment right now and let that truth sink in, it’s utterly amazing.  Another cool meaning of Axios is that it refers to inherent value, were as “Timios” speaks of attributed value. Example, an artificial diamond ring looks like the real thing and has attributed value, especially to the person who cannot  afford the real thing. However to the person wanting a real diamond ring, it is valueless. God has placed upon us inherent value because of what Christ has done.

Therefore being that we have inherent value before God, priceless in His sight, why do so many of us suffer from low self esteem? Logically, it makes no sense. Unfortunately, emotions are not always logical. When we struggle with low self esteem it normally means we had a difficult childhood. It seems to take years for God to correct bad or absent parenting in a child’s life who now is an adult. Without some parental approval or love in my life as my identity is being formed I grow to feel valueless and therefore as an adult find it hard to believe that God could value me. Therefore, as an adult, I do not spend time with Him – I simply don’t believe that He really loves me or excepts me. As parents or grandparents our biggest duty given to us is to establish value and worth in our children by loving them. Therefore when they come to age and can understand the gospel message they can readily receive the message and believe that God loves them because they have been loved. It’s the passing of the buton, from the earthly parent to the Heavenly One; our most critical and important role. A hard role to fulfill if we ourselves struggle with believing that God loves us. We have to get connected to The Lord to do the job right, otherwise our weakness gets passed onto our children’s children, affecting another generation of individuals yet to be born.

If this is your struggle then take this verse and tape it to your bathroom mirror, dashboard of you car and/or note it in your cell phone. Saturate your mind, asking The Lord to penetrate your heart with all that this verse represents. This requires a step of faith, believing that God will honor your step of faith. As Jesus told the disciples, “Do not be unbelieving, but believe,” as He showed them His nail pierced  hands. Another great verse that is quoted frequently without the comprehension of its depth is John 3:16 &17 For God so loved the world ( put your name in place of “world”) that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Our enemy fights hard to keep us from truly knowing that which is ours in Christ. Satan has so twisted the gospel message making God out as the one who condemns, when he Satan, clearly is the one. He does it so well that people feel as though they have no hope, that they can’t change. He imposters God making us believe that God condones that which His Word prohibits. God is not the God of confusion, that’s Satan. He loves to bring confusion. God’s perfect will and the power to change are found in knowing Him through His Word. And as we read His Word, His Word purifies us, changing us, giving us new desires that lead to greater freedom. He continues to convict us of our sin because He loves us and wants us to live in the fullness of His freedom. Freedom from our insecurities, freedom from our fears and weaknesses because we are being built on all that He is. It’s a beautiful exchange, exchanging our human state for His Holy state. He seeks from us a willingness to let Him provide this life, to trust Him. To acknowledge that He knows what is best for us and not what we think we want.