Kingdom Paradigms

Your Desires

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms, Life Tools , ,

1 John 2:16

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

1 John 2:17

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Ephesians 4:22

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

Galatians 5:17

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Galatians 5:24

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Ecclesiastes 6:2

a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.

Do you know the difference between God’s desires and worldly desires? Many times, we have a deep desire for something which by itself is probably an OK thing, but when that desire places God’s desires secondly, then we have placed ourselves in a position of compromise which most often isn’t very good.

As we are born again with a new spirit (God’s) and our soul is now surrendered to King Jesus who purchased our salvation from Satan, our desires begin to change. Instead of pursuing to satisfy our carnal, fleshy desires, or what seems appealing to our eyes, or doing what makes us feel important, we lean on accepting God’s heart on the manner.

His desires for us slowly becomes our passion. And as we pursue God’s intentional design for our life, His character traits are slowly being formed within the inner person. Yes, God will give us the desires of our heart. Even at times if those desires may temporarily hurt us for discipline sake. As we slowly learn to differential God’s desires from our carnal heart, we begin to choose more of Christ, and less of ourselves.

What eventually happens is our heart’s desire begins to mirror God’s holiness. When that occurs, our Triune God will surely grant us our heart’s desires. Why? Because it will glorify Him and He knows we will have the internal fortitude to properly manage whatever He gives us.

When Jesus made the comment that food and drink isn’t the problem, but what comes out of the heart. He was discussing how mankind’s heart is separated from God which is the storehouse of evil and harmful desires. When these desires are expressed, the outcome is painful for oneself and others.

Yet God has given us a clean heart through Jesus Christ. As we yield and allow His Spirit to morph us, we stand in awe of the marvelous work He is producing in and through His children.

Therefore, seek God’s desires in all things and let’s leave our carnal desires locked up with the old man.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
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

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Copyright 2013-2019 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Working for The Lord

Dr. Mike Business & Faith, Kingdom Paradigms , , ,


Colossians 3:22-24 (ESV)
 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

When God is the center of your life, everything changes. From how you view strangers to the management of your family, from how you select your values, to choosing your priorities, and from how you invest your time in what you study to the career you select, somewhere you will come to realize how much HE loves you and wants to share HIS life with you and others. You become HIS ambassador of HIS Kingdom, living out HIS way of life with others for HIS glory.

For most of us we will spend one-third of our daily life in our vocation. Whether it is a temporary job, a professional career, or a life-long calling, most of our waking hours will be associating with others in the marketplace. How we view the time and prioritize our values will directly impact how God’s Kingdom materializes around us.

When you realize God wired you with specific talents and now is morphing you into the character of Jesus Christ, for your sake and for the sake of others, your perspective of life and work changes. When you truly come to know God cares about the quality and impact your work has in the lives of others, your motivation increases a few notches.

All believers hold dual citizenship. We serve our God and HIS Kingdom as well as the country we live in. Our allegiance is first to HIM who owns everything and has given steward responsibilities for us to fulfill. Though our paycheck may come from an organization or person, the overall initiator of wealth is God. He is concern that you are fed, clothed, and have shelter. He is concern for your physical and mental health. He designed you to flourish. The world of economics is for you and I to enjoy his creation.

To believe God only cares for spiritual truth and not physical matters denies who God IS. HE created everything for us to share with HIM. This is HIS physical world. HE knows we need to eat and therefore wired certain people to excel at farming. HE knows we need shelter and therefore designed certain people with the naturally talents to build houses and buildings for the enjoyment of others. HE knows we need clothing for protection, so HE designed people who excel at making clothes for the sake of others. Every vocation which builds up others to flourish within HIS boundaries is to be held in honor and respected.

So, whatever your job, career, or calling remember you are serving our Lord who gladly wants to share everything HE has with you for your sake and for the sake of others. We are all stewards of HIS. Some may currently deliberately rebel against HIM. Others may ignorantly refute HIS leadership in their life, but others will acknowledge HIS authority in their lives and know who they are truly serving. Be wise and serve your Lord.    

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
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 2013-2019 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

The Real Thing

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms, Life in Christ, Spirit Follower , , ,

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Gal 5:22-25.

In my early walk with the Lord, I took upon myself to start a self-improvement program to develop the fruit of the Spirit in my life. Like the eastern religions, I subjected my body through discipline to become more godlike. At the time I didn’t understand the workings of the Spirit but only that I wanted to experience the riches of God’s Spirit.

Eventually (some ten years later) God opened my eyes to His awesome work in me through the Holy Spirit’s influence on my heart. In hindsight, the first ten years of being a disciple, I was led through humanism to make myself into the image of God through the mastery of self-discipline. Like I have said elsewhere, I did become more loving, kind, and joyful but nothing compared to now by allowing the Holy Spirit to have full access into our heart and mind.

Humanism works through habitual discipline to change exterior behavior. God works through His Spirit to change the interior emotional heart that leads to changed behavior.

When you read the above passage in Galatians, you note that the fruit is not from one’s human heart but from the Spirit. When we deny ourselves and submit to the Spirit’s influence in our life, the essence of God becomes more alive in us. God’s Spirit intermingles with our spirit influencing our soul. The Source is God. The recipient is us and those who we come into contact.

Humanism works from the outside-in. God works from the inside-out.

Humanism is like the imitation wedding ring made from glass. It may look like a diamond, but is made with inferior material. A real diamond can cut through glass; a fake diamond cannot.  

Humanism likes to look good from the outside. It acts like the real McCoy, but lacks the internal fortitude. In many cases, it is all form without any substance.

God’s Spirit is the real deal. As we submit to His Will and lean on Him, He resides in us and allows His presence to be made known through us. After you experience the real thing, you will more quickly notice the illusions and fakes around you. If you are tired of working hard to experience God’s presence in your life, maybe you are trying too hard. Maybe its time to rest in Christ and ask Him to position you to experience the real deal.

You only need to ask Him.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
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 2013-2019 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved