Life in Christ

The Ungodly vs. Godly Life

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , , ,

2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Want a description what life is like without accepting God’s authority in one’s world?

2 Timothy 3:1-5 outlines the characteristics one will exhibit when the power of God is absent in a person’s life. It is not pretty yet does describe many areas of our current political and university communities today. When God is thrown out of the equation, His values for peaceful cohabitation and social flourishing is buried beneath the ugliness of human nature. It takes the execution of real wisdom to navigate through the lies and hypocrisy which blind people to behave in such ungodly fashion. They are trapped in their ignorance of history, solid facts, and human nature to do Satan’s bidding for destruction of families, communities, and nations. There is nothing new under the sun which has already happened and will happen again by people being pawns in a global war to destroy what is good.     

I’ve rewrote 2 Timothy for myself taking into consideration the opposite perspective – what a godly life is like. Dr. Mike’s reverse translation:

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

Yet Christ followers will continue to be lovers of God, generous with money, humble, meek, respectful, honoring their parents, grateful, godly, caring, satisfiable, commendatory, exercising self-restraint, hospitable, passionate for good, trustworthy, cautious for the sake of others, focused on factual reality, lover of God before pleasure, emphasizing substance of character rather than outward form of godliness, and allowing the power of the Holy Spirit into their lives. Associate with such people.”

Wouldn’t you want neighbors with such attributes living in your community?  That is what Jesus Christ offers us in living out His Kingdom on earth today.

So, whatever “ISM” you may think is better, please review your facts and history. Those of us living in America have been privileged to live in a nation with freedoms unknown by most previous countries throughout human history. Yet freedom comes with a steep price. And many people are turning away from it. Real freedom comes from the Triune God. When we ignore His authority in our life, hell moves closer to the neighborhood. 

The outcome of a godless life is what Paul describes in 2 Timothy. As we see a nation focus more on race, gender, and Marxist values rather than the God of grace and His proven ways of flourishing for all, the more a nation will fit into the description of 2 Timothy.

Yet people can change. Nations can change. But are you willing to pay the price for freedom? Ask your heavenly Father what you can do to help build His kingdom in your little world today. And be ready for some adventure. It’s how we grow and how God is glorified. And how you and I and those around us benefit the most.

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 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Born 2 Die Trap

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms, Life in Christ , ,

1 Corinthians 15:26

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The day life began for you is the same day you entered a trajectory toward the day of your death. If you are reading this, then you haven’t yet arrived to that predictable event. A sobering thought we don’t want to face because of the many questions that arise; especially the big one. What is life all about?

Some of my neighbors believe there is no purpose for life except to enjoy oneself to the max because we are all going to die. Others believe there is a God and we must be good, follow the golden rule, and earn our way unto some next stage beyond death. And others still who believe life is a cycle of reincarnation and never ends. What is life all about?

There are those who we may know have done good their entire life and at the end are suffering with great intensity. Others have lied, cheated, and stolen their way along and now are enjoying their retirement with ease and comfort. What is life all about?

The last time I checked there is not one person who did not leave this planet without first experiencing death. Even Jesus Christ, the resurrected One, died.

Death is the enemy of all humans. We shall all die. But, then what? Why bother to live if there is no meaning, purpose, or something to gain between birth and death?

All these questions and more hit me as a seventeen-year-old senior in high school. Born with the internal clock and fortitude to always start with the end goal in mind led me to search for answers. In a way, it is how God led me to Him.

When you peel off the onion of life and seek logical answers, you find you are not alone. Much has been written by thousands of others who have travelled a similar journey. Some came back with the same conclusion as I; but others not. This is how my journey started and eventually led to become an apprentice of Jesus Christ.

The more we studied into His life and the more we focused to walk with Him, the more real His teachings become alive. With the hindsight of history to view the interconnecting points, and actually see a pattern of consequences turn into a path of spiritual fruit, one becomes more confident in a God who is working out some master plan between all the chaos and noise which surrounds each of us.

The Triune God becomes more and more real each day. Love, Joy, Grace are no longer words of the mind, but an inner treasure of riches longing to be distributed with others. The Master Designer is not way off in the furthest corner of the universe, but personally involved with each human child. He longs to dance, celebrate, and share His riches with each of us. But as a parent, He also wants us to grow up, enjoy the experiences of life, and be successful in all we do.

Death is only the end of one stage of God’s masterful plan for humanity. From the foundation of the world, His plan was to adopt humanity into the Triune fold. Sin is only a blip on God’s project plan. He has already taken care of the matter. Death is another blip on His master plan. He has also already taken care of that matter. When the music ends, what comes next?

You and I were born to live for eternity. God has placed that concept into our inner being. Like a fetus in the womb of a pregnant mother, humanity is waiting for the fullness of time when the baby is ready to escape from the inner chamber of a mother’s custody into a new world.

The trap is thinking that this life is all there is. No purpose; No meaning; No God. Such a life will miss out having a bonding relationship with their Parent, and the fruit which comes from such an interconnecting, social cord. My heart yearns for others who are missing out on experiencing the richness of life through the means God has given us. This is His story. His production. His plan. The sooner we come to realize who He truly IS, the quicker we shall experience and taste the fruit of how He always intended humanity to live.  

No trap; just an inner confidence to experience life today and forever with Father-Son-Holy Spirit and His adopted children in whatever He is preparing us for.

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 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Undesirable Mike

Dr. Mike 2020, Life in Christ , ,

Romans 7:14-20

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

The Bible speaks about the old and new man which is a metaphor of the person before and after conversion. Paul writes here in Romans approximately twenty years after his surrender to Lord Jesus, the internal battle between the carnal magnet of human passion and our heavenly desires.

I personally like to identify myself before conversion as undesirable Mike. He is the one that metaphorically has died. He is the old self. Full of carnal desires, lustful eyes, and a whole lot of pride for living. Whenever he comes alive, the stench even overcomes me.

We live in a cultural that glorifies sin. Greed, pride, and self-promotion are just few of the carnal desires that are magnified as OK. Sex outside of marriage, manipulating others for personal gain, and a me first mentality are politically correct attitudes accepted by the majority of people.

The problem is not having the correct knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of sin and its solution. Many religious institutions seem to emphasize the problem and understate  the solution.

Sin is the antithesis of God’s heart. When people live within the confines of God’s heart, they flourish. When we live outside of His attitude and character, people suffer. Yes, you may find short-term pleasure at the moment, but the long-term negative impact will eventually hit you and those around you. Sin isn’t just a personal act or thought, but a community suffering another broken relationship.

The Ten Commandments outline behavior which is good for relationships between oneself and God, and oneself and neighbor. Trust, truth, and peace are byproducts of living within their boundaries. Yet the magnetic pull of Satan’s nature infiltrates our very being. We may come to know what is the best behavior in a situation, but the execution of what is good fails us. This is what Paul describes here.

The solution.

Jesus Christ open the doors for you and I to receive the Holy Spirit-God’s very own nature now lives within us. His presence and impact in our lives becomes more noticeable as we surrender ourselves to King Jesus. It is just not following his teachings, but acceptance of Him as your savior, lord, king, hero, friend, and brother. 

When you open your heart and head and soul to him, you begin a relationship that becomes the most important one in your life. You will place sin beneath your feet and God’s character becomes your banner lifted high above your head. Sin will not destroy His relationship with you, but its negative impact will rob you of a more fruitful, abundant life. Sin only blinds you from Him. He is always with you and only wants you to turn away from yourself to Him.

You discover the enemy is not primarily Satan, sin, nor the culture around you. Instead, you accept personal responsibility for your actions and realize your need to walk closer with your God. He becomes the center of your life.

Money, sex, power, and fame are small gods who will grab your attention. If the Triune God is not more important to you then them, they will destroy you. Father-Son-Spirit want to be the center of your life. When they are, and you exercise your natural God-given abilities for the service of others, you experience life the way God design humans to flourish.

Sin is living outside God’s design for you and I. When undesirable Mike appears, he is being his natural self. When God’s presence within Mike is given room to express Himself, God’s goodness arises. My wife, family, neighbors, and associates all love this Mike. But the undesirable Mike always seem to sneak into the picture for attention. The quicker I recognize him, and remove him from the action, the more blessed and happier life with myself and others become real.

Focus on the new you and let the old you die. Don’t try to improve the old you. Instead lean on Jesus to show you how you were designed by Him and then walk it out. It will take faith and trust, trial and error, and breakthrough and failure before one day you will wake up and recognize the work God is doing within you. You only wish you would have started earlier to capture the true meaning and purpose for your life.

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 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved