Year: 2016

By What Means Does the Spirit Supply?

Dr. Mike Bible Life Questions

 

“Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith…?” Gal. 3:5  ESV.

spirit 22

It is so easy to fall back into the performance trap.

As a Christ-follower for many years, I am always dumbfounded when I see faith communities practice religion while they preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They usually expound that work and faith go hand-in-hand. And they are correct. The problem arises when the emphasis is on the external show rather than the internal heart.

This is nothing new under the sun. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day would constantly harass Him and his disciples because of the actions of His followers. These religious policemen rightly saw that His disciples spent more time eating and drinking rather than fasting (Luke 5:33). These religious informers witnessed His disciples plucking heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath day and thereby breaking the Sabbath law (Mk. 2:23-28). And when the Pharisees saw that some of the disciples ate before washing their hands, again they accused Jesus’ team of not performing according to their religious expectations.

Yet Jesus always used the events of the moment to teach truth. He explained what is important comes from inside a person and not necessarily from outside performance (Mk. 7:14-23). It is easier to judge outside behavior than to determine interior motives. Yet behavior is what we mostly hang our hats unto in a performance culture.

As a Christ-follower, did we receive the Holy Spirit because we lived perfectly and God rewarded us with His presence within us? Or were we so broken that God gracefully showed up and carried us through the trial? Every believer that I have met who has a close relationship with the living God has experienced brokenness. They acknowledged that their performance stunk to high heaven. Only after such a time as this did the Holy Spirit empower Himself in us. And we knew it right then and there.

Yes it takes belief and work to live the Christian experience. The emphasis though in most cases is that a believing heart will eventually heal and grow into an outward manifestation of itself. The work is only a byproduct of the inner man. Humanist teach that one can change one’s behavior so the end result is achieved. This is the focus of performance-oriented people. The inner heart doesn’t matter. The Holy Spirit is excluded from the equation.

Christian’s believe that grace changes the heart that leads to godly performance. This is what Jesus’ taught in Mark 7. Yes it takes both faith and works. The question is which one leads and which one follows? Do you intentionally build from faith or do you build from works? So what is the basis of your actions – to trust the Holy Spirit to transform your heart or to window dress the facade through manipulative performance? God knows. But do you?

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
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

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What is Man…?

Dr. Mike Bible Life Questions ,
“…what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him”? Psalm 8:4 ESV.

man 3

David wrote this Psalm most likely while gazing up into the heavens, viewing the moon and stars (v.3) that God set in their place. He basically asked: Why does God care for us? Why are we so important to Him?

There is much written about man achieving his human potential. Abraham Maslow gave us a list with self-actualization being the top motivational drive of a person. Yet God’s potential when unleashed is so much more. God’s potential for us is so much more than human achievement as the heavens are larger than the earth. When grasped, the vastness of God’s glory is exhibited through His work in and through us (Eph. 2:10).

The Bible indicates in Revelations (3:21, 5:10) about the New Age that awaits us will have us exercising leadership serving others. Jesus using a metaphor of a mansion with many rooms (Jn. 14:2) indicated that we have a placed reserved for us in the new heaven and new earth being prepared by Him for us. Paul likewise uses the metaphor of adoption (Eph. 1:5) that provides a more familial relationship with Jesus. We are included as his brothers and sisters in the Eternal Family. We are created and destined to lead and minister working in His Family business.

Our potential includes the merging of His spiritual DNA in us. This begins the embryonic process of transformation by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit which Bible scholars call sanctification. The morphing of our character becoming more and more like Jesus’. This relationship between God and man is the perfect union that sets the standard of marriage today. Father God has chosen you and I to be betrothed to Jesus. We now wait and long for the wedding festivities to begin.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
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

Encourage your Friends…Share Today’s Message!

Where Does Your Help Come From?

Dr. Mike Bible Life Questions

 

“From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Psalms 121:1-2 ESV.

 

psalm 121

The last time you found yourself in trouble, who did you first turn to? Was it your parents? your spouse? the police? Whatever the reply, you have found your answer.

I always shake my head whenever people in a movie find themselves in a crisis mode and the reply is “all we can do now is pray.” The vast majority of the time it comes after all the actors have done what they can to solve a problem without a solution. It portrays hoping in God as there last feeble attempt instead of their first viable option.

When we become aware of God moving in our life is a good time to seize the moment. He wants to have a relationship with us. He is closer to us than we even realize. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39). Not our sins, nor our ignorance, nor our unbelief. He loves us unconditionally.

In a time of trouble, call out to Him. Let Him prove to you that He cares. He may not answer your prayer the way you want or expect, but He will answer it in a way that will glorify Him and be best in the long run for everyone involved(John 14:13).

What we eventually find over a lifetime of walking with our Maker is that He Cares more than we realize. In a time of trouble, He wants us to come to him. He wants to take the moment to develop a more intimate relationship with us. Yes, He works through various means. In most cases, these means are the people who will best help you in your current situation.

You may have contacted these people yourself without His assistance. However, when you allow God to lead in the situation, you can be assured that the best people for your circumstance will be there to walk with you through the trouble. God knows their heart and skills. We are His creation and He always does Good Work. And He gives people the opportunity to partner with Him in His plans.

Through these types of emergency situations, the opportunity to build a relationship of trust with our heavenly Father is being presented to you. The short term impact may not be what we like or want or prefer. However, the end result of walking in-hand with Him via the crisis is a mutual trustful marriage between the Creator of the universe and you. What help can be greater than that?

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
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

Encourage your Friends…Share Today’s Message!