Category: General

Christmas 2025

Vida4U – Imagine Series. “Abide in me as I abide in you. Except a branch abide in the vine it cannot bear fruit nor can you except ye abide in me (John 15:4).” Imagine hearing this just as you are waking up….

These instructions from the Lord would definitely make an impression. My immediate reaction would be to ask the Lord to show me where I am not abiding. Especially since I probably would believe that I was abiding. This is the difficulty of being human; we can easily fool ourselves. I am definitely guilty of that. We believe we are right until the Holy Spirit or our spouses (they are gifted at pointing out our blind spots) reveal to us areas we have compromised or need growth in. 

I have had the Lord do a course correction several times, either through His Word, my wife, or both. I am so grateful for that most of the time, and this is where humility pays dividends.

The expression “do you not know yourself” points to the truth that, at times, we need outside intervention. I have felt that I was abiding ( trusting) only to have the Lord show me that I was trusting because I had a backup plan. That’s not trusting. As I write this, a backup plan sounds ridiculous to me; when has He ever failed me? However, there have been times when I wanted a different result than He wanted. The time that my co-worker got the raise that I was hoping for. We both were deserving, but there was only one raise to be given, and he received it. I know no one else has felt like this, right? The Lord wanted me to continue to trust Him with our finances and to be sincerely happy for my co- worker. Several months later, I was promoted to a new position that paid more. I was being tested not only by God but by those above me. They wanted to see if I would continue to work just as hard, though somewhat disappointed. Growth and/or proving yourself do not come easily; they take internal effort and a willingness to work as unto the Lord. The new job needed someone with strong ethics. There was a much greater opportunity to succeed in the new job, and they needed someone who could deal with disappointments.

Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Col.3:23-2.        

I am by nature a planner; I have back-ups to my back-ups. This is what Sara and Abraham did, Abraham being called the Father of our faith. God had promised them a child, but even in their old age, they remained barren. Having no child, they felt that maybe they had heard God wrong and maybe God meant for Sarah to have a child through Hagar, her handmaid. So Sarah gave Abraham Hagar her handmaid, and when she gave birth, the child would be accredited to Sarah because Hagar was her handmaid. It’s similar to today, when parents look for a surrogate to conceive their child. However, in doing this, they created a mess. The conflict between the Arabs and the Jews has been ongoing because they were not willing to go the distance. I’m not sure if any of us could have either. Unfortunately, plan B is not okay with God. He has one plan, and anything else is not trusting. I know we all do it, and we need to stop; how do we stop?

Proverbs 3:5&6, my most loved verse, memorized since my youth, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path (there are many stories and verses on trusting God, Google ” trusting God).

As a young Christian, this was a constant tug-of-war with my flesh. Being self-employed gave God many opportunities to grow me in this area. As I matured, I realized this tug-of-war was good for me, though I preferred an easier way. What my flesh wanted was continued work, but God wanted me to trust Him, and not just with work. My flesh wanted me to yield to my common sense and desires, to pursue other avenues. More predictable avenues. I soon realized that I was building my own idol. Once I understood that trusting the Lord and saying no became much easier. I was not going to worship something or somebody in place of Christ. To trust Christ more, I needed to know Him better. To trust someone fully means growing in our appreciation for them. We have to know them. It’s not enough for me to tell you that He loves you; you need to know it for yourself, and you cannot base it on your feelings, but on God’s Word.

At times, I don’t sense God, though I have been in His Word. The enemy wants us to think that God does not care, and at times, if we continue to disobey, we can even question His existence. All this is a lie and easy to defeat if you know a few promises, but ultimately it becomes a walk of faith. He very much does exist, and His existence is not based on your or my feelings. And these desert periods are essential; they allow us to anchor our faith in scripture. God doesn’t exist because I feel Him; He exists because He exists.

Therefore, my faith is not based on whether I feel Him or not; He does not answer to me, I answer to Him. The fact that we exist, creation, the oceans, and mountains prove Him. Evolution for me takes much more faith than intelligent design. If buildings, homes, and bridges require the hand of man to be, life, which is so much more complex, we are crediting it to random selection (evolution) for life? From the tiniest protons to the most prominent stars, the Sun, the orbits and the expanse of space, and the order His Creation has, all give testimony of a Great and Knowing God. So God exists because He exists, and, conversely, I need Him to validate me. To give my life meaning and purpose. That among the millions of people that exist and will exist and have died before us, the fact that you and I matter to Him and that He loves us is incredible.

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how significant is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Psalm 139:17 & 18 (if you read this whole chapter and believe it, you will find your identity and your worth). 

I mentioned this booklet in the last Vida, “The Bible Promise Book.” It is an excellent resource for quickly finding the verses we are looking for. His loving us is one of the easiest promises to search for. A well-known one would be John 3:16, “for God so loved the world (put your name in place of world) that He gave His only begotten Son( referring to Christ’s death for our sins)….. that is one obvious verse, but there are many. In the book of Jeremiah, another verse expresses God’s eternal love…Jeremiah 31:3 “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 things are so hard that it is hard to believe that He is drawing us with loving kindness, but it is the hardness of life that He uses to draw us; we would never seek Him. To release our grip on this world’s false promises and begin to cling to Him is wisdom; to know that through hardships He calls us in love. Only in these times are we willing to consider His claims, and unfortunately, we must come to the end of ourselves for Christianity to ever work. We can’t be halfway committed, having a backup plan as I did. The saying “it’s all or nothing” is true. 

Therefore, if we find it hard to trust the Lord, it is because we need to know Him more. More complex trials require greater intimacy. To gain the victory over these trials, we need to read and pray with greater intent.  If we don’t, then the chances of overcoming are slim. The carnal nature is trying to find its answer to the problem, and the Holy Spirit wants to do the same by bringing righteous fruit from the trial. 

Here’s how not to. Abraham and Sarah are a prime example. God promised them a son, but, older and still no son, they thought they should help God out. So Sarah gave Hagar, her handmaid, to Abraham (a custom of that day) to conceive a son, and the son would be credited as Abraham and Sarah’s son. Though God did tarry for a long time, He meant for them to have a son. This “helping God out” causes more problems than it solves. A couple of years after the birth of Ishmael, Hagar’s son, Sarah conceived and had the son of promise, Isaac. His name means “laughter,” suggesting God’s sense of humor. He had the last laugh in proving He could do as He pleases, even if Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90.

However, this is the reason for the conflict between the Jews and Arabs today. They claim that because they have the same father, the promises belong to them. This should be one of the most compelling reasons in our time to trust the Lord, regardless of how impossible our situation looks. The trial that Abraham and Sarah faced was as daunting as it could be. Two older adults attempting to conceive; let God be God and let us trust Him, period. 

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: Romans 4:18&19

Jesus’s birth was another miracle, as was John the Baptist’s birth, much like Sarah and Abraham. Zachariah and Elizabeth were both ancient. Yet, just as the angel spoke to Abraham and Sarah, they became the very elderly parents of John the Baptist( Luke 1). And remember, Abraham is considered the Father of our Faith. The more difficult and/or impossible the situation is, the greater the praise and glory God receives. God is looking for men and women who do not look at the size or difficulty of the trial, but at the greatness of their God. We are to keep our eyes on Him. Turn away from Him, and we sink like Peter. When Jesus called him to walk on the water, he took his eyes off Jesus, focused on the waves, and, as fear came, he began to sink (drown)—a perfect parallel to us. 

“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is = the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:34-37

This is the faith that God is looking for from each of us: not age-related or dependent on favorable circumstances, but a battle-hardened faith that, despite the odds, knows that with God, nothing is impossible. Young David had this faith, though he was but 12 to 14 years old, that with God he could slay Goliath. All the other men feared. We can yield to our carnal nature and fear or seek to do things our way, seeking our own happiness, or try to help God out, or we can trust the Lord. Believe in His promises and understand that the struggles we face are spiritual in nature. They are our Goliaths that challenge God. Apart from the Lord, we will be defeated, but in Christ and with Christ, we can defeat them. We must form the habit of coming to the Lord when we see a problem coming on the horizon; be quick to pray. Gain the upper hand before the enemy taunts us; we already have our armor on! We turn to the Lord; we don’t fret over trying to solve it or toss it around in our minds; no, we trust and pray, remembering Matt. 6:24-30 the provision that God provides for the birds. 

Sin as an agent exists in us, and if we have accepted Christ, then the Holy Spirit exists in us as well, and they are both seeking rulership over us. If you imagine a boxing ring, the goal is not for pleasant conversation but for one boxer to knock the other out. The one who is stronger and better trained wins. If they are equal in this respect, then the one with the stronger will wins. It is the same with us. Initially, the stronger one is our carnal man, and if we don’t strengthen our spirit man, he will always win, and the Christian life will become a farce. We act as though we got it together on Sundays, but our family knows the truth. 

This is a terrible message that we are conveying to our family. However, we can take our conversion seriously. Though we get knocked down, we don’t have to stay down. We can get up, read the Bible, pray, seek prayer and fellowship from other believers (men with men and women with women), attend church, etc., and fight back. Soon we start winning. It’s just like lifting weights; with frequency, the hard work pays off. We start lifting heavier weights. This is the Christian life; it’s a battle. We fight because He fought for us, and we win because He won for us; so to do less is not to understand how much you are loved. Paul speaks of this boxing match in Romans 7(I suggest reading chapters 6-8 and memorizing the verses that speak to you).

For that which I want to do I do not, but that which I do not want to do I do, oh, divided man or woman that I am. Vs 15 (the state of a new believer [a new believer can be 5 days in Christ or 50 years. Strong faith is not age related. It is based on one’s dependence upon Christ and time in His Word) 

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. Vs.23

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Vs. 25 (a maturing believer): we sense the battle in our flesh and mind, but we do not yield to it; rather, we meditate on God’s Word. 

As a maturing believer, one of my greatest lessons was the lust of the flesh. I expected it to go away, but I still felt it. However, what I learned is that as long as I am in this body, I am open to feeling the weaknesses of my flesh, but my resolve to say no grew, and soon, instead of feeling guilty for feeling it, I just accepted that my flesh would always be corrupt and that I just had to rule over it. Once I understood that, my spirit man became the apparent winner in the boxing match. My most excellent motive was to win for Christ, as He won for me. 

This Christmas, may my story become your story. There is nothing that separates me from you other than time walking with Christ. May you become encouraged as you read Vida4U and your own Bible. Together, may we live out our identity in Him, adopted sons or daughters by His Grace, an identity that, if adopted, is greater than any other identity you could adopt for yourself. 

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.  – Isaiah 55:11-13

Merry Christmas 

Arthur

Purchased Peace Part II

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:37 (this is for our security and our peace. It keeps us from being diluted in our faith by having too many “loves.” It’s like having multiple boyfriends or girlfriends; you never get to experience the deeper intimacy that having only one will give you. Therefore, His peace and hence our joy that only He can give, gets diluted when we love more than just Him. 

He took upon Himself our sin and became our Atonement. He became not only the sacrifice but the payment in full (the definition of Atonement) for my and your sins. Without this, we would be damned, being eternally separated from God. It’s a big, big deal. He took our punishment and gives us His life when we put our faith in Him. Thus, a relationship of peace is established, which was hitherto prevented by the demands of His justice (we have heard this so much; I pray that we never become deaf to it).

The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Ezekiel 18:20 (we are all accountable for our own decisions and choices. It’s not society’s fault or our parents’ poor upbringing, etc. Granted, these situations do not help, but the way out is simply to humble yourself before God and ask for His help, which is within reach for all.

The best way I know how to explain sin is to explain the root from which it comes. It comes from archery. The archer gets first place when he or she hits the bullseye, dead center, one deviation this way or that is “to miss the mark,” which is the literal meaning of sin. And that mark that is required from God is Holiness. Nothing less than Holiness can be accepted into the presence of Almighty God. Do you see the problem? We are anything but Holy. If a 4.2 GPA is required to get into USC or Stanford, a 3.0 won’t cut it. It’s the same with God. If schools require this for admission, how much more the King of Kings? 

Once we understand the great chasm that divides us from God, who cannot agree with our need for His Atonement? That is why it is such a waste of time and energy to try to do “good works.” Yet many religions and the New Age teach that by doing good deeds, we can earn Heaven. It is futile, for he can never approve us via our efforts, and absolute Holiness is the only standard God can accept, for He is utterly Holy. So we have a problem. 

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have (His) grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

For — our God is a consuming fire (against all sin). Hebrews 12:28-29.

The only thing that connects us and grants us hope is His love for us.. He created a way for us to come to Him. To think we can reach Him by any other means shows a seriously low view of God, and an exorbitantly high view of ourselves. 

God calls Isaiah and shows him a scene in Heaven.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also- the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted, and his train filled — the temple (His “train” is His cape, which represents His victories, and the longer the cape, the more victories He had. The Lord’s train filled the Temple). Round about Him stood the seraphims (super angels): each one had six wings, with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly.

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Isaiah 6:1-4

Upon seeing this, Isaiah, the prophet, was filled with fear…People arrogantly say that when they see God, they will tell Him a thing or two. This statement is foolishly arrogant. If Isaiah, a man who lived by the Ten Commandments, was filled with fear, how much more those of us who do our own thing?

Then said I (Isaiah) Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen — the King, the LORD of hosts (Isaiah feared death, so conscious of his sinfulness) Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Via these verses, we clearly see our fault. We think God is somewhat Holy rather than Utterly Holy. In our pride and ignorance, we think we can come before Him just like we are; that He should accept us as we are is so wrong. It’s like me saying if I think enough positive thoughts, I should be able to fly. I can think all the positive thoughts I want, but as soon as I jump off the roof of my house, gravity proves otherwise. 

Here’s a story that illustrates both positions: God’s position as a loving Father, and our position of thinking we can do better with our lives than God can. It’s the story of the Prodigal. 

And the younger of (the sons) said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. (Which is audacious; the son is asking for his inheritance before his father dies.) He was arrogant and very disrespectful, like telling your father to hurry up and die( the father went ahead), and he divided unto them his living. Luke 15:11-32

And he went into a faraway country, and when he had spent all (in riotous living and harlotry), there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine( being Jewish, swine were forbidden creatures). And he would have wanted to fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: but no man gave unto him( corn husks are not digestible for us, but this shows that he was starving)

And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  Luke 15:14-17

At times, it takes hard life lessons for us to appreciate what we already have or to take God’s offer of salvation seriously. The next verses are a great picture of what true repentance and humility look like….and the Father’s love. 

I will arise and go to my father. I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned( true repentance starts with owning your sin) against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son( this is huge, he was trulyrepentant and willing to a servant, but he also failed to see how much he was loved ) make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him( dirty, smelly, probably hadn’t washed in days).

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe (when we come to God in repentance, He clothes us with His righteousness, making us His son or daughter), and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet (represents his restored authority) Matthew 15:18-22

***This is an amazing parallel to how God approaches us. We feel guilty over so many things and believe we should behave a certain way, but none of us can. Our sin nature overpowers us; therefore, we make excuses for our behavior, when all God wants is for us to come to Him. He is able and wants to forgive us and put the best robe on us.

God, through Jesus Christ, stepped into time to forgive and redeem us. God created us, and He longs as our Father to have fellowship with us. The prodigal is his father’s son, not because of his works; he just is. Now, whether he is an obedient son or a disobedient son that comes under the discipline of His father, and it is the same with us. If we are obedient to the Holy Spirit, we are blessed with the fellowship of His love. 

If not, we begin to feel anxious and worried, and if we continue to disobey and fail to spend time seeking Him through church and reading the Bible, we start to feel empty. The Father disciplines us as our decisions cause us to grieve the Holy Spirit. We are only hurting ourselves when we do not seek Him. Just as we eat daily, we need to spend time with Him daily, “feeding” our souls on His Truth.

Unfortunately, the church is burdened by sons and daughters who do not live out their identities. We are the sons and daughters of the Greatest King period. If you have been born again but are not living it, I sincerely encourage you to repent and ask for forgiveness. There is no pleasure here ever so alluring that is greater than sensing His love for you and having peace as a result. Start reading your Bible, and since being a Christian is done with family (other Christians), start going to church. It will be an uphill climb. All hell will break out, but stay with it. The enemy attacking you is confirmation that you are now doing the right thing. His attacks help you to start building “spiritual muscles.” He deceived you once; do not let it happen again. Now back to our story…

“The Father ran to his son,” very uncustomary in any culture, but the father didn’t care about custom or tradition; his love for his son compelled Him. The father is a picture of The Lord going to the Cross for us. Also, how did the father see his son coming? He would continually gaze at the horizon in hopes of seeing his son’s silhouette. His heart ached for him. Often, in our pride, we say, “I will welcome him or her back, but they must first apologize, or pay back the money, or make right the wrong.” And yes, there is time for that, but it is not now. 

Now is a time for welcoming, for making them feel valued and loved. Just like the father in this parable, make your son, daughter, spouse, or friend rejoice in the fact that coming back was the right decision. They probably struggled terribly with guilt, wondering if you would accept them. Be different than the world, represent the Father’s heart. 

Don’t let your pride get in the way of your prayers or the Holy Spirit’s work in their life. It’s important that when satan traps a fellow believer into a life of wrong thought and actions, and, by their own choice, have walked away from that lifestyle (which is an acknowledgment of a wrong choice) and back to you, we encourage them. Christ is setting them free, He’s answering your prayers, so be part of His plan. From that, we surround them with our love and acceptance. 

We are not condoning their sin, and God will work in their conscience to right any wrong they did. They need to go to church and join a small group of believers that will encourage them in their walk with the Lord. We need to be sure the door to the past is firmly shut. Satan doesn’t give up easily. You want to give no ground to the enemy to say, “I told you that Christians, even your parents, are a bunch of hypocrites.”

This is what Reconciliation looks like, and this parable is an excellent example.  It is the heart of God; therefore, be His heart towards your loved one. If you find you don’t have it, could it be that you do not know His love for you? The elder brother was furious at his father. He was a legalist, like the Pharisees, prideful and rigid. God’s mercy on us all is a big deal. 

You may say this is not fair. Jesus never sought to make things fair, not even for himself. What he suffered was terribly unfair. Yet he was willing to pay it, as the prodigal’s father was more than willing to welcome his son back. The past did not matter; what mattered was that the son returned of his own volition. This proved that he had learned his home was with his father, and that the world, which had seemed so appealing to him earlier, was nothing but a lie. Learning these lessons was worth the money the father paid out to his son. He lost some money but gained so much more – an appreciative son (do we have this?).. The story continues….

And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Matthew 15:23-24

Who represents the “fatted calf?” It’s Christ. Fatted simply means the calf was designated for sacrifice, as Christ was.

And all that dwells upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are written in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. Rev13:8

The story of the prodigal is about us…. we are the prodigal.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him (Jesus)– the iniquity of us all. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-6

Are we not so grateful for such an invitation into a life with Christ, where all sin confessed is forgiven?  That we are not left to ourselves to figure it out, but we have the Holy Spirit to help and guide us. Amen

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another, the Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;  even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (this is the Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity). John 14:16&17

Father, 

Thank you for this study. Truly a deep dive into your heart as seen in this parable. Let’s be appreciative of Your love for us by living a transformative life, one that is so grateful for all you’ve done for us. Let us represent you to our family, friends, co-workers, etc.

Thank you, 

Your son by Grace – Arthur