Journey in Christ

Tamed or Adventurous Visions?

Dr. Mike Journey in Christ , , , , ,

 

“Play it safe.” “Don’t take any risks.” “Why rock the boat?” “It’s better to keep it dull and routine than expressive and unpredictable.” Or does it?

The older we become, don’t we deep inside generally seek a more predictable, dull, and routine way of life? Whatever changes we are typically confronted with only creates more work and effort on our part. So basically, our nature tilts towards laziness where we don’t want to make the effort. We would rather live life with contentment, peacefulness, and stability. But is that reality?

The scriptures teach us that a people without vision will perish. We need a mission to focus our life towards. Now our life’s mission could simply be to avoid all confrontation, to avoid being involved in other people’s lives, to live for ourselves without a care of the world around us. We simple live our life so that when we are gone no one will have missed us. We live as a world unto ourselves.

But is that the life of a Christ-Follower? Is that what the Kingdom of God is all about?  Didn’t Jesus forewarn his disciples that He came to bring division among families and people? Didn’t He predict that we would stand before courts and rulers as a witness to Him? Didn’t He compare our struggles with that of a pregnant woman in labor? Didn’t He threaten the status quo with His mission of preaching, teaching. and healing?  Didn’t the apostle Paul ·write that Christ-followers are turning the world upside down? Didn’t he cause riots in the streets with his message of One God? Didn’t his former religious partners seek to destroy him? Didn’t small armies pursue him with the purpose of killing him? How controversial was he in his time? Yet didn’t he preach a message of peace, contentment, and stability?

The Kingdom of God is not a tamed vision. It requires total surrender. It requires the death of selfish desires. It is not the path of least resistance. Instead, it’s a journey through battlefields. With the armor of God, we are proactive in our daily walk with Him. We do not know what to expect on any given day. All we know is that He is with us. Today may be a roller coaster of emotions, struggles with the self, darts from the evil one, or attacks from love ones. Through it all though we have an Advocate who is with us and we rely on. In prayer and with others we call for assistance. We move forward towards our heavenly call. Our mission is sure. Yes, we may desire the easy way out. But, as a disciple of His we have agreed to take whatever comes our way and handle it with His love. We may have initially desired tame visions, but in the pursuit of the Kingdom of God we take on more than we are capable of handling apart from Him. Yes, we like it dull, routine, and boring. But we gladly take whatever comes our way because it will make us stronger for the Kingdom, stronger for Him, and stronger for our love ones.

OUR PRAYER:

Dear Dad, glorify your name in all that we do. Let not our path be one of ease and comfort, but one of challenge and dependency on you. You are always with us. Help us always be with you. Make you the center of our life. Let nothing come between us. Help us capture your vision, to see your work, to accomplish your will in everything we do.

Help us be a living example of kingdom life in today’s world. Let your kingdom surround us and surround all the people we meet today. Let your glory shine through us and in us so that every person we meet today knows they have met you.  Amen.

Will Someone Please Lend Us Their Sunglasses?

Dr. Mike Journey in Christ , ,

sunglasses

My parents sent two of their three children through twelve years of parochial school, myself being one of the two.  One fortunate or unfortunate aspect of going to a private school was the dress code.  All males had to dress conservatively in dark color pants, a white or blue dress shirt and a tie.  So for twelve years the only colors I knew on a regular basis was white and blue.  And I was comfortable with it.  In fact, so comfortable that after we married my wife looked at all my clothes in the closet and shook her head in amazement.  Before we married, she didn’t realize that I had a white or blue shirt for everyday of the week.  They were the only colors in my wardrobe.  Since then, she has introduced me to all the colors of the rainbow plus some.  Today you will find a few white and blue shirts, but the majority are every other color and style that has been manufactured  in my lifetime.  And we are thankful.

There are more colors in life than the basic white and blue.  Likewise, there are greater excitements and adventures in life than what many of us experience in our daily routine.  For most of us as we age, life has become dull and predictable.  We have forgotten how to dream.  If we still dream, we probably dream only in black and white.  We have lost the hunger and thirst of drawing masterpieces and have settled for plain black and white prints.  We would rather accept a dull existence than put forth the effort of adding color into our gray life.

“Don’t rock the boat.” “I’m miserable and enjoy it.” “I’m just an average Joe, what can I do.”  These attitudes have been shared with us over the years.  Yet we have also seen them changed when people recover from their blindness and begin to witness to the ever-changing colors of God’s living spectrum.  God is a God of color.  He has created a world with color and variety.  When we accept Him into our lives, we accept the way He thinks and the way He views life.  He views life with color, action, and adventure balanced with peace, love, and joy.

Many of us had big dreams in our youth. But life destroyed them. The everyday battles and struggles to cope with its demands simply entombed them. After you wallow in your sins and experience the hopelessness of life apart from God, you become like a beaten dog that just doesn’t care anymore.  But then one day, after crying out to God in his great mercy, He begins to redress you.  He starts by placing a white robe over you, signifying the forgiveness of your sins and how He views you thereafter.  After which, He opens your mind to the possibilities with Him as your Partner.  Nothing becomes impossible.  Anything is a reality when He is first in your life.  As you walk with Him, you discover all the colors of God.  You experience all the inner joys and peace that He makes possible.  You discover how to dream again, with colors that the world hasn’t even captured.  As you allow Him to lead you each day, each day becomes a day of adventure filled with action.  Not the Hollywood version, but the heavenly one.  You begin to see how He is touching the lives of others.  You begin to become a part of His plan.  You begin to become a star in a world darken with sin.  You are now a disciple of His.

A DISCIPLE’S PRAYER

PRAY 9

Dear Dad, You are an abundant God with a vast spectrum of choices.  Thank you for breaking down any walls that have come between us.  Help us in our discontentment.  All these years we have lived in failure.  No one knows the real us.  No one seems to care.  Open the doors of heaven and help us experience your awesomeness and greatness.  Lead us down the journey and adventure of being a full time disciple of Jesus Christ.  Help us to follow you wherever you lead us. Build within us your masterpiece.  Let your creation glorify you in everything we do.  Let us not settle for mediocrity.  Instead, make a difference in this life and let this life make a real difference in the life of others.  Thank you Jesus as we pray in your name.  Amen.

Faith Moves Mountains

Dr. Mike Journey in Christ , ,

Sight Observes It; Faith Moves It

faith

We live by faith, not by sight (IICorth5:7). Remember how in our youth when someone would make a statement and another person would reply “Prove it?” The more unbelievable the statement, the more we needed to see something factual to substantiate it. Well it doesn’t change when one becomes older unless you have received the faith to believe.

Think of all the invisible features of the physical world around you. Over time, it becomes easier to understand that there are forces and powers that are invisible to the eye but the effects are real. For example, the gravity of the earth cannot be seen but the effects are real. You drop a ball from the tall building and it will drop. You cannot see gravity but you do see how the ball is affected by it. Likewise, the wind is something that cannot be seen but the effects are real. The wind blows and you cannot see it but you may feel it or you may witness the top of the tree branches blowing about. The same is true about the invisible nature of God. You cannot see God, but you can witness to the effects of His life.

Why is it so difficult to see without sight? Maybe,because sight living doesn’t require faith. Sight living is based on trusting the five senses. The rational goes if one cannot see it,feel it, taste it, hear it, or smell it, it cannot be real. But the fact is our senses cannot be trusted. Science has already done testing showing that our perceptions are incorrect more times than we realize.

There was the time in our graduate marketing class where the professor brought in twenty different bottles of various brands of natural water. Each bottle had a label identifying its producer. The room was divided in half and each of us would taste the water from each bottle to determine which water tasted the best. The end result was the bottle with the most prestigious label at the time came on top. The reality however was that each bottle had the same water taken from the school’s drinking fountain. The conclusion of the matter was that our taste buds were blinded by our perceptions. How much truer it is with our spiritual life?

What we see with our eyes is limited; but what we see with faith is unlimited.

What we hear with our ears is limited; what we hear with faith is unlimited.

What we touch with our hands is limited; but what we touch with faith is unlimited.

What we taste with our mouth is limited; but what we taste with faith is unlimited. 

What we smell with our nose is limited; but what we smell with faith is unlimited.

Or to simplify it, with our sight we can only observe the mountain; but with our faith we can move the  mountain.

As a disciple of His, we are finished and done with walking by sight and appreciate learning the great joy of walking by faith. How do you see it?

OUR PRAYER

PRAY 9

Our Faithful Dad, help our unbelief. Help us to trust you.Help us to know you. Help us to see your work in our life.

You created everything and sustain everything, nothing is impossible for you.  You know our limitations and you know our potential. You know what it will take to convince us of your power and involvement in our life.Let us not doubt any longer. Please remove any limitations that we have imposed on ourselves. Open the door and help us see your awesome power in our life.

You are always faithful Dad.Help us have the same faith that Jesus had while He walked on earth.  Help us have the same faith that you have today. We thank you and make these requests known to you. Amen.

Dr. Mike – Consultant, Coach, Author of

Great Business Emulates a Good God