To Know God

20152015 Dr. Mike Life in Christ

“But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” 1 Corinthians 8:3 ESV

What is life all about? That question has been debated over eons of time by every philosopher and want-a-be philosopher. As I gracefully age and look back at life, the answer becomes more focused: To Know God. To know is more than head knowledge; it is the head and heart and willpower mutually focused on the Source. The God I speak about is the same one that Jesus witnessed to all.

He is not a God who roams somewhere in heaven and doesn’t intervene into history unless invited. That is the God of some. But my God is involved in every aspect of life. Whenever and wherever and whatever we do, God is there. When you wake up in the morning, God is there with you in the shower and at the breakfast table. When you drive to work, God is with you. When you perform you work, God is there. When you stop at the gym on the way home, God is with you.

When you work out a math problem, you come to know more about who God is. When you discover more about science, you come to know more who God is. When you do your debits and credits and reconcile your check book, you discover more of who God is. When you listen to a song on the radio, you learn more about who God is. Everything we do reveals more of who God is. Yes even when we see or experience evil or sin, we discover more of who God is and is not.

When Jesus Christ becomes the center of your life, your worldview begins to change. You begin to view the world from God’s perspective. You begin to recognize his work. You begin to come to know him better even as he knows you. Together, you learn to dance through life’s obstacles and challenges.

It all begins when you learn to love him with all your heart, mind, and strength. When you do you begin to see him in every aspect of life. You see him after disasters. You see him in the middle of a crisis. You see him celebrate life’s good moments. You come to know him and grow with him.

Yes the older we become, the more we realize that everything in creation reveals His character, heart, and mind. We simply spend our lifetime discovering more of who he truly is in everything we do. So the next time you find yourself in the middle of a project, ask yourself, “what are you discovering about God that you didn’t know before?” Your world will never be the same.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Apprentice of Jesus Christ, His Domain, His Spirit
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
* Great Business Emulates a Good God
* Be Radical…Follow Christ!
* Simply The Messenger
* Unequally Married

Belief & Character

20152015 Dr. Mike Life in Christ faith to move mountains, life in christ

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 2 Peter 1:5-8 ESV

Over the years I marvel at how God works within people’s lives, including yours truly. Most of the time, He comes through not on our schedule, but His. The process rarely repeats itself unless there is something uniquely being creating within us. Though there are people who believe that God will instantly move mountains from their life, reality seems otherwise.

Fiat. Immediately. No sweat. Just convenient quick results is not standard operating procedures for a Jesus apprentice in training. Now God does produce miracles. He also does answer prayers immediately. However, there are situations when He extends the outcome for our sake or for the sake of others. There is not one method or formula that fits all when it comes to God.

What I find in my life and in many others is God has more in mind than just immediate resolution of a problem. Most of the time, He opens the door that will create growth opportunities for you and me. Most of the time, those challenges are not what we want, but what we need. Like 2 Peter states, he wants our faith supplemented with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Real godly character. Character built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and not self, vain glory. A life secured by an eternal foundation rather than a humanistic platform.

So how does little faith move mountains? Yes, God can move it without any assistance. But like many of his solutions, it just may require us to grow in godly character. He will lead us through the solution, but it may take time. He may bring an earthquake, an explosion, or a super strong wind. But most likely he will bring people into your world that will help you. The final solution is not as important as our obedience to walk in our small faith trusting Him.

So hang in there. With God, mountains do move.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Apprentice of Jesus Christ, His Domain, His Spirit

Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
* Great Business Emulates a Good God
* Be Radical…Follow Christ!
* Simply The Messenger
* Unequally Married

Getting in the Way of God’s Spirit

20152015 Dr. Mike Life in Christ, Spirit Follower Holy Spirit, life in christ, Stubbornness

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Acts7:51 ESV

Stubbornness, which is a byproduct of pride and a heart that amplifies the self, has been the ruin of many people. As this scripture reveals through Stephen, the first known Christian to die a martyr’s death for Christ, aimed the above quote at the religious leaders of his day.

The problem which he identifies is the same one when dealing with religious and non-religious people today. I group them together because the issue is the same. They both have a hard heart and are convinced that their way is the only way of living a prudent life.

The religious person likes to emphasize the rules, the principles, and the methods. Whatever makes them feel good about themselves must be good for others. If it works for them, it must be good for everyone else. On the other hand, the non-religious person sees through their game playing, but likewise imitates them by throwing out the baby with the bath water. They see the hypocrisy and don’t want anything to do with it. However, instead of focusing on Jesus’ message, they only look at the misdirected fruit of religious people and close their eyes to everything else. Both sides miss the mark of realizing the problem is within them. As one person stated somewhere, ” when we point a finger at someone, three fingers are pointed back at oneself”.

Jesus once stated during a teaching moment, that a person pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8). Most of us don’t look for God’s involvement in a situation until after the fact. By then, a difficult situation has become a worldwide crisis. Instead of asking, seeking, and knocking at the beginning of the process, we wait until after we have emptied ourselves with all our effort and resources. Only then do we begin to seek help from God.

However a person who looks past the human condition, who walks in the presence of the Triune God, is generally able to distinguish God’s work from man’s facade of righteousness. The reason is because that is where they came from. It takes one to know one.

The Holy Spirit is always at work. It is the Spirit that gives life (John 6:63). Like the wind, we may not see him, but we see the impact. However, we need to be attuned to him. We need to realize that God has given us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) that allows us to communicate and share in his fellowship. As we walk with Father-Son-Spirit, our harden hearts are displaced with the new heart that opens the pages of God’s universe and allows us entrance into his presence.

So the next time you think you are doing right, stop and ask God for confirmation. You may be pleasantly surprised with an answer that is more favorable for all involved parties. And yes, it is possible that you may not be initially correct. Yet with an open, attentive heart plugged into the Holy Spirit network, revelation in the workings of God has a way to change one’s opinion and worldview quicker than any other method. Or do you want to be known as the person who resists the work of the Holy Spirit?

Rooting For You in Christ!