Watch the video introduction to my message here:
In our last Vida, we covered what I consider to be the most important aspect of our life: the acknowledgment and reality of God’s love for us individually. Knowing that He loves us and IS IN LOVE WITH US is the greatest experience, change, and knowledge one can have. Nothing exceeds this. For some, it’s a long road to come to this awareness. Like many of us, we mentally believe that God loves us, but it takes trials and desperate moments to bring that truth to our hearts. I’ve shared my experience of how I came to know His love for me before, so I’ll do an abbreviated version. I was raised in the church, so I knew God loved, but it was only in my mind. Then Lisa and I got married, and in the early years of our marriage (we were 23 yrs. Old), we struggled. Therefore, we thought it wise to seek pastoral counseling. In the counseling session, the assistant pastor was stuck on how to counsel us because I gave him all the right answers. The problem was I had the Bible in my head as knowledge but not in my heart. Finally, the pastor asked that we pray, and he asked the Lord to show him what was wrong. Instantly, he knew. He said directly to me, and not to Lisa that I was trying to earn God’s love. I was trying to prove my worth to Him through my expanse of Bible knowledge (I was a good legalist; I kept all the rules). Of course, I completely disagreed with the pastor, but I thanked him for his time, and we drove back home.
The church was in Napa, and we lived in Vacaville. It was a 45-minute drive, and during that drive, I was mad at God for not telling the pastor that it was Lisa’s fault because she was not reading her Bible. God was quiet. I foolishly thought I had won the argument, but then, about 5 minutes later, He spoke and said, “You know he’s right.” At that, all of me began to crumble as a house of cards, and I was miraculously able to see the reason behind all my actions and reading the Bible; it was all to prove myself worthy of His love. I accepted Christ as a teenager, and reading my Bible then was so that I could know the Lord better, the correct motive, but through the years, I drifted into legalism and lost the simplicity of my earlier years. I confessed my sin and pride of ever thinking that I could earn His love when He had already freely given it to me (and you) at the Cross. It was at an enormous expense and pain to Himself (a Cost that we will never fully understand). That afternoon, as all this settled in me, His presence felt like a warm blanket wrapped around me; it felt good to be home again.
God was dealing with my “performance.” I did not need to perform to be loved, nor do you; we only need to obey a topic we dealt with in the last Vida. A ton of anxiety was lifted, and I now started a new journey of learning to live as His adopted son by Grace. Hence, I write so much about His love and identifying ourselves not by I’m a mom, or a CEO of a company, or a computer programmer, or a policeman, or a full-time student, etc., all good professions, especially being a mom, but nothing is greater and or more rewarding than being His son or daughter by Grace, nothing. And I am not saying that we should not seek to excel in our work and work hard at it; in fact, the Bible emphasizes hard work,
2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
However, this is not our identity; it is our occupation. Our identity, and there can be no identity higher, is to be His son by grace. Male or female, it does not matter, for the term “son” is nonsexual in this case; it is identifying a position, your place in God’s family. A son is a son is a son, etc., that never changes. However, you can be a disobedient son and receive discipline at the hand of the Father, or you can be an obedient son and enjoy His blessings. It is up to us.
As His son, we will naturally have friends and foes, both human and spiritual in nature. It is imperative that we know the difference and accept constructive criticism from our friends and correction from God’s Word. As we mature, we learn to tune out, ignore, and or fight against statements, advice, and or spirits that are not from Him; basically, anything that does not agree with His Word. In this relationship with the Lord, it is imperative that we know His Word and how to fight. Our battles are spiritual in nature, not carnal, so we must use spiritual weapons, weapons that are not made by human hands but weapons that are powerful because they speak and represent God’s truth.
Ephesians 6:10-18
The Christian’s Armor
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth ( we must know what God’s Word says) and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
There is so much in this. Paul is under custody, a prisoner of Cesar, and awaiting his time to appear before him. He was allowed to receive visitors, members from the churches he started that informed him of the state of the church, and then he would write and send letters to the churches addressing their concerns (hence the term the prison epistles). Since he is under Roman guard, he is able to observe the weaponry of the Roman soldier, and as he is writing to the Ephesians, a church in trouble, the Lord gives him wisdom to see how the weaponry of the Roman soldier can apply to the weapons we need to fight in our spiritual battles. There is too much here to speak on all of it, but I want to address a few weapons.
The helmet of salvation deals with our thoughts. How and what we think determines our course and future. It all starts with a thought, so if we get our thoughts right, in line with God’s Word, then God can bless our lives. The helmet of salvation also reminds me that Heaven is my Glorious Destiny; it’s my permanent home, not here. So, since there is no greater truth or destiny, how should I live my life here? I believe you can carry regret into Heaven, and I don’t want any. Eternity is a long time to be wishing you should have sought God more earnestly. I would have, could have, or should have; I do not want it to even be in my vocabulary. The helmet teaches me to tread lightly here, to not seek my fulfillment in this life. The things we want and think are so important here are not important, but you or I will not realize that without the helmet of salvation. If you have ever run track or cross country, there is no greater focus than when that finish line is in sight. Whatever is left in you is pushed out so as to cross that line. What keeps that focus sharp for a believer is the helmet of salvation. It engages our minds as we study God’s Word.
Another analogy, using computer language, what programs should we download onto our hard drive? The helmet of salvation helps me with those decisions and protects my mind from poor or fruitless decisions. It assigns me priorities to what should enter my mind. Without that, there are way too many distractions that are rivaling for that space. The Helmet of Salvation keeps our thought life in order and in priority. When you sense anger, jealousy, lust, inferiority, or pride, all emotions of our carnal nature, the helmet keeps you focused on what is true and what should be listened to and or discarded. It reminds me that I am living for Christ and not my pride or my rights. As He died for me and gave His all, now I live for Him. I have no time to become involved with worldly emotions, pursuits, and or worldly values that do not propel me closer to Christ. It was such a waste of time defending or fighting for my rights, making sure I got “my piece of the pie.” If I would just focus on knowing Him, He will give me my pie and my ice cream with it! What is it worth to live in peace, to have inner security and joy, to sense the smile of God in your life? For me, it is the ultimate, and isn’t that what we all are seeking: fulfillment and peace?
So the helmet acts as an organizer of thoughts, keeping some and rejecting most, thus protecting my mind from the onslaught of garbage that the flesh and satan would want me to think on. Remember, a thought forms an action, and an action forms a habit, and several bad habits determine one’s choices, and choices determine one’s destiny. So we are not discussing light things, things that are insignificant; they are very significant and weighty in their effect.
Now for the Shield of Faith. The shield of faith for me works best when, because of my relationship with my Heavenly Father, I can completely say, without a doubt, that that’s true or that’s a lie. I know my Dad and He has allowed this in my life not to hurt me, but to make me stronger. So many times when “bad things” happen, satan whispers, “If God was a God of love, why would He let this happen?” This is such a blasphemous lie, when as Father God crucified His only Son because of His love for us,
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world (us), that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And “Gave His only,” it was virtually a slaughter of His body and soul. When He gave, He gave it all and then some because of Their love for us. So I can take harshness, struggles, and difficulties in life, just like lifting weights or running hard. The fight is worth the results, especially this one, for it is for Eternity.
We may not always understand why things happen, especially when we are trying to live right. Things are not just hard but painful, and nothing is working out. We must stop and consider what He suffered for us; then, we can undergo almost anything with the Lord. His character assures me that I can trust Him, and because I trust Him, I do not need to understand. That equals maturity, which simply means less of a focus on me and me wanting my rights and more willingness to let the trials and difficulties play out and produce the godly character that they were sent to produce in me.
As long as God owes you or me an answer, He’s not God; you are. The shield of faith says I do not need an answer. I know that my Father is good and loves me, and I can trust Him, and that’s all I need to understand.
In Biblical times, arrows were often fiery arrows, arrows dipped in pitch and lite. So, to combat that, the attacking side would have wood soaked in water tied to their shields. Hence the statement “quench the fiery darts of the enemy (Eph. 6:16).” And what are fiery darts? Are they not lies that seek to ignite our emotions and or carnal passions, to trigger us to anger or lust, or to make us feel less than, or inferior to, or lies that are sent to frustrate us, or temptations that seem to promise enjoyment and or pleasure but in the end are traps to destroy or pull us away from the Lord. In essence, they feed our pride and make us feel we deserve that new car, or that big house, or that promotion, or a relationship with that person, but God’s Word is The Water (The Truth), and as soon as that thought enters our mind it is quenched when we APPLY GOD’S TRUTH; and the sooner, the better. The longer the thought stays in our mind, the more our emotions become entwined and the harder it is to get rid of it. So immediate attention is best. A revolving door is what we need. A thought comes in, and we see it’s not of God, so it continues going around the revolving door in our mind “with a hard boot in the end” as it exits.
We all have a need for this training, and the more we mature in Christ, the more we see and understand that we truly have everything we need in Him. This, specifically, is where humility pays off. It quenches pride, which is the root of this kind of temptation. There is no better life that can be lived than a life that is wholly dedicated to knowing, growing, and loving God. Jesus makes this invitation with a promise at the end…
John 15:4-5
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine; ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can — do nothing (of righteousness).
Father,
Thank you for this, Vida; your wisdom is freeing. Help us to keep You ever before us: a tight grip on You and an ever-lighting grip on the values and wants of the world. When we put diesel in the gas tank of our car, we will ruin the engine. It’s not meant to run on diesel, but gas is the wrong fuel. The same is true with us; our souls are meant to operate on righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, and fewer problems occur. Help us to understand, Father, that You designed our souls for You.
Thank you,
Your son by Grace – Arthur
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