2021

God Wants Your Friendship

Dr. Mike 2021 , , , 
Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

When someone wants to be your friend, how do you normally respond?

Do you immediately welcome them into your world without hesitancy?

Or do you quickly put up a wall and slowly keep them a distance away until you are more comfortable with them?

Do you allow anyone be your friend or are you selective? What criteria do you use to evaluate any potential friend?

Do all your relationships require them to become a friend?

Jesus wants you as a friend.

Abraham was a friend of God (James 2:23).

The Lord considered Moses a friend (Exodus 33:11).

Jesus even called his twelve disciples’ friends (John 15:15).

In this Scripture Jesus is inviting you and I to eat with him. In the Jewish custom, when you had a meal with someone you are letting them and the world know you are welcoming them into your world as a friend. Friends share time and their possessions with one another. The relationship Jesus wants with you and I include being a friend.

Of course, HE is still King, Lord, and Savior which carries all the responsibility and authority along with the titles. But even a king desires friendship; not because of his riches and influence, but because He simple enjoys hanging out with you. And you enjoy Him for being himself without all the trappings of royalty, power, and fame. Is not that what true, close, and abiding friendship means?

I for one am thankful He is my friend. In fact, HE is my best friend; and also happens to be my Lord, King, and Savior – which I always respect and hold in honor in our friendship. And I am OK that He also wants to be your friend. There is more than enough of him to go around. So, if you haven’t done so yet, take up his invitation and learn what real friendship is all about. You have my recommendation. You truly will be more than pleased with the relationship.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Holiness

Dr. Mike 2021 , , , 
1 Thessalonians 4:7

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

What do you picture when you think of holiness?

I recall back in my bachelorhood days an incident which help me crystalize how misguided religious and non-religious people classified holy people.

After an afternoon date with someone who was visiting the area for the first time, and before we went our separate ways, she looked at me in a stunning poise. Her words slowly out of her mouth were half being spoken to me and the other half as if she was thinking out loud. Simply paraphrasing, she was amazed that someone who was a baptized believer could have so much fun without harming anyone or doing anything semi-destructive in the process. I was dumbfounded. For me, being a recent follower of Jesus Christ was more exciting than anything I have experienced at that time and I wanted to live it out.

Yet she explained that she grew up in a household where dancing and even playing cards was considered taboo. Where “Christians” didn’t laugh and joke but carried on with serious discussions about life. That life was serious and there was no time for unproductive enjoyment.

I don’t recall my exact reply, but did mutter something about God must be the most enjoyable Being in the universe to hang around and I wanted to be like Him. Maybe I was fortunate to understand early in life that holiness wasn’t just about doing the right thing all the time like God, but being like God.

Think about it. God is holy. Therefore, holiness is the natural characteristic of God. What is God like?

From the natural inclination to express Himself in a loving manner at all times, he does ALL things from a heart of love. Yes, even when He disciplines or reproves us, He does so from a position of love. We may not think so, but like an adult looking back at their childhood, we realize that most of the time our imperfect parents disciplined us for our own good. God does the same.

His holiness includes not only doing the right things at the right time, but also being the person of love. From the position of love, He expresses His holiness with imagination, creativity, and foresight; He plans and executes his work to perfection; He laughs, cries, and even uses humor to illustrate a point. Yes, He is gentle and kind and merciful, but also spanking, chastising, and disciplining those He loves. He is the embodiment of joy and the author of faithfulness and competency.

What you soon realize is holiness contains more than just doing the right thing. It is being fully human by experiencing the divine nature of God. From the divine position, one learns to live life to the fullest without the worldly, imposed conditions. Love, joy, and peace aren’t goals to strive for but the outer expression of Him who lives in us. As we submit to His authority in our lives, we become more and more like Him in character and being. The work is not ours but his. We may put in the effort, but at the end of day we know without Him, the rock we push all day will not move without his cooperation. At the end of day, He is glorified.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Good and Evil

Dr. Mike 2021 , 
Romans 16:19
…but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

How do you determine what is good and what is evil? What is the basis of your knowledge? How do you justify your standards of judgement?

Without a real God, your basis and mine is only an opinion. Only a Being who is always naturally good has the qualifications to determine what is and is not good. Otherwise, your view is only as good as the next person.

What human do you know is always good? Always makes the good decision? Always says the good word in a time of need? Always leaves you impressed with the goodness that flows from them? I know no such person.

I know many who believe they are good. They compare themselves with others and though admit they are not perfect; they believe they are better than most.  They create standards of righteousness which they themselves cannot adhere too but expect others to live by. And when people don’t live up to their standards, they feel superior in their ability to live such a holy life.

History has demonstrated, when one loses contact with the living God, one becomes isolated and empty of the love of God. When the love of God is not freely allowed to be activated within a person, that person lives a life of darkness; searching for goodness, but never actually experiencing the power from within. The end result is evil behavior.

Evil is simply the absence of goodness. Just as cold is the absence of heat and darkness is the absence of light, so is evil the absence of good. The evil heart is absent of goodness. Goodness is the basis of God’s character; including love and joy. When God is allowed full access into a person’s inner being, His attributes become alive within one’s attitude and values. The end result is behavior which produces goodness in the world.

The Bible lists acts of goodness and evil. The history of mankind is a record of good behavior and bad behavior. The inspired writings throughout the Bible gives knowledge to mankind on how to properly relate and produce goodness in one’s actions. The source of that knowledge is God himself.

You and I can argue all day long on what is good and what is evil. Neither of us is an authority on what is good or evil. But God IS. He designed life which is an outgrowth of HIS character. Only HE has the absolute authority to determine good from evil. So, if you want to have the same knowledge and be able to sort through the garbage that our culture calls good, start by reading the Book. And likewise, ask God to give you the Spirit of discernment to separate the good from the evil, and the character to act upon that basis. And as you grow in maturity, you will come to know HIM who deserves all worship and help HIM become known to others through your good actions and words.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved