Kingdom Paradigms

Evil

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms ,

With the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France, I did a short, old-fashion review from the Bible on the word evil. Rather than write something in my own words, today’s blog is simply a review of these Scriptures.

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“The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” Proverbs 8:13 ESV

“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.” Proverbs 28:5 ESV

“Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.” Proverbs 12:20 ESV

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 ESV

“Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways.” Isaiah 59:7 ESV

“Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. Amos 5:15 ESV

“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” Jonah 3:10 ESV

“…do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.” Zechariah 8:17 ESV

“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” Matthew 12:34-35 ESV

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” Matthew 15:19

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” Romans 12:21 ESV

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” Romans 12:9 ESV

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

“Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22 ESV

“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3 ESV

“The Lord will rescue me (Paul) from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever.” Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18 ESV

“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” 3 John 1:11 ESV

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!

Redeem Business

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , ,
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Corinthians 5:12 ESV

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Why does business have such a negative connotation with many people?

If you asked the typical Bible believer which would she or he believe is the more important position in today’s world, to be a pastor of a church or a CEO of a business, which would you believe the majority would choose?

Actual surveys taken reveal the answer as pastor. Why are we not surprised?

Many Christ followers have a limited view of the God we serve. We place him in a box overshadowed with our personal values and prejudices. It takes time for the Holy Spirit to transform our minds and open our eyes to the Truth of any matter. This is no different with you and me.

I marvel throughout Scripture how the God we serve recruited non-priestly men and women for a specific work in a time and place of his choosing. Most we’re not of noble birth, privilege social standing, or even culturally attuned. They were in many cases the undesirables of the land.

Joseph was the least liked sibling of twelve yet events and circumstances prepared him to rule and save a nation from starvation.

Rahab was a prostitute who trusted in the God of Israel.

Paul worked as a tent-maker while preaching the Gospel to the Gentile nations.

When one reads the faith chapter (Hebrews 11) and the list of names of those considered who-is-who of the Bible, how many are pastors or priests?

We forget that God’s work is much larger than just the Church. The Holy Spirit started the Church because Christ’s Kingdom grows through the hearts of people. And you will find most people reside  outside the four walls of any church building. In fact, you will find most people who need a “heart transplant” in the marketplace. The same place where the majority of us spend most of our time away from home and family.

Jesus Christ came so God could begin restoring all creation to its original intent. He came to restore your relationship between Father God and you. He came so fathers and mothers could restore their relationship between each other and their children. He came to unite families, communities, and nations. He came to restore God’s order within government, education, and yes business.

To restore His order in business though takes people whose heart and allegiance is first to their King (Jesus), and than with others. They are a people who have learned to walk with their God through the challenges and failures of business. They have proven themselves faithful and trustful through the decisions and actions in the workplace. They live the Bible through their words and actions every day. They live-out the gospel message in their business negotiations. They practice love, faith, and truth with each employee, partner, and vendor. They treat others as they want to be treated. They are in business not solely for the money, but so the Gospel message may be shared with others through the processes, systems, and policies that are in place.

They see profit simply the cost of doing business. It allows the business to feed their employees, vendors, and partners. It is not however the first goal. It is the byproduct of creating an enterprise that glorifies God. It is a ministry for the common good. It is a means of how God provides for you and I.

Because man corrupts everything he touches without God’s influence in his life, the same is true in business. However, when we live out the Gospel in the workplace, we partner with the Holy Spirit in his work. The result is people coming to see the True God being revealed through people who practice the with-God life. That is how God is redeeming the marketplace today.

So why not ask God to lead you to be an ambassador for him in the marketplace where you work? It is the largest missionary field in America today. And you don’t even have to move to a foreign culture or leave your family behind to serve Him. You only have to say Yes, send me Lord.

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!

 

Making Church Relevant

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27 ESV

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One of the biggest obstacles facing traditional churches is making themselves relevant in today’s world. It is a known fact that the educational institutes have contributed strongly toward including Christianity with other religions teaching the irrelevancy of faith. Yet when the message of Jesus is fully convene, understood, and accepted, everyday life becomes full of meaning and purpose. One then slowly learns how Jesus Christ is the answer to the problems facing couples, parents, executives, and politicians.

So how can churches make themselves more relevant?

What if we begin by explaining the difference between a Christ-follower and a Jesus fan? Then maybe, we can discuss the difference of living a Jesus-centered life versus a Jesus-principled life. But more importantly, what if we expounded the Christian mystery as Paul writes in the letter of Colossians’ that God lives in you. That the reason Paul preached weakness, self-denial, and joy in suffering, is to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to fully express Himself in and through you.

What if we had more mentoring relationships where marketplace disciples become better equipped with integrating the struggle of performance with grace-filled outcomes?

What if we did a better job of emphasizing our relationship with God and less about the religion of performance?

What if we aligned our preaching with our teaching? (Ever notice how some ministers preach relationship but teach religion).

What if the Church was more inclusive and less divisive?

What if the Church was more active to demonstrate God’s love in the community?

What if the church stopped preaching formulas for success and invested more time comforting the downcast?

What if the Church invested more time praying and less time planning?

What if the Church did a better job demonstrating how a grace-filled, life-giving life compares to a non Christ-centered life?

Whatever the solution, change is required. We can’t expect to continue doing the same thing and get different results? Or can we?

PS: I would love to hear what you believe needs added to the list.

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 a Friend…Share Today’s Message!