Life in Christ

Belief & Character

Dr. Mike Life in Christ ,
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 2 Peter 1:5-8 ESV

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Over the years I marvel at how God works within people’s lives, including yours truly. Most of the time, He comes through not on our schedule, but His. The process rarely repeats itself unless there is something uniquely being creating within us. Though there are people who believe that God will instantly move mountains from their life, reality seems otherwise.

Fiat. Immediately. No sweat. Just convenient quick results is not standard operating procedures for a Jesus apprentice in training. Now God does produce miracles. He also does answer prayers immediately. However, there are situations when He extends the outcome for our sake or for the sake of others. There is not one method or formula that fits all when it comes to God.

What I find in my life and in many others is God has more in mind than just immediate resolution of a problem. Most of the time, He opens the door that will create growth opportunities for you and me. Most of the time, those challenges are not what we want, but what we need. Like 2 Peter states, he wants our faith supplemented with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Real godly character. Character built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and not self, vain glory. A life secured by an eternal foundation rather than a humanistic platform.

So how does little faith move mountains? Yes, God can move it without any assistance. But like many of his solutions, it just may require us to grow in godly character. He will lead us through the solution, but it may take time. He may bring an earthquake, an explosion, or a super strong wind. But most likely he will bring people into your world that will help you. The final solution is not as important as our obedience to walk in our small faith trusting Him.

So hang in there. With God, mountains do move.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Apprentice of Jesus Christ, His Domain, His Spirit

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

Getting in the Way of God’s Spirit

Dr. Mike Life in Christ, Spirit Follower , ,
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Acts7:51 ESV

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Stubbornness, which is a byproduct of pride and a heart that amplifies the self, has been the ruin of many people. As this scripture reveals through Stephen, the first known Christian to die a martyr’s death for Christ, aimed the above quote at the religious leaders of his day.

The problem which he identifies is the same one when dealing with religious and non-religious people today. I group them together because the issue is the same. They both have a hard heart and are convinced that their way is the only way of living a prudent life.

The religious person likes to emphasize the rules, the principles, and the methods. Whatever makes them feel good about themselves must be good for others. If it works for them, it must be good for everyone else. On the other hand, the non-religious person sees through their game playing, but likewise imitates them by throwing out the baby with the bath water. They see the hypocrisy and don’t want anything to do with it. However, instead of focusing on Jesus’ message, they only look at the misdirected fruit of religious people and close their eyes to everything else. Both sides miss the mark of realizing the problem is within them. As one person stated somewhere, ” when we point a finger at someone, three fingers are pointed back at oneself”.

Jesus once stated during a teaching moment, that a person pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8). Most of us don’t look for God’s involvement in a situation until after the fact. By then, a difficult situation has become a worldwide crisis. Instead of asking, seeking, and knocking at the beginning of the process, we wait until after we have emptied ourselves with all our effort and resources. Only then do we begin to seek help from God.

However a person who looks past the human condition, who walks in the presence of the Triune God, is generally able to distinguish God’s work from man’s facade of righteousness. The reason is because that is where they came from. It takes one to know one.

The Holy Spirit is always at work. It is the Spirit that gives life (John 6:63). Like the wind, we may not see him, but we see the impact. However, we need to be attuned to him. We need to realize that God has given us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) that allows us to communicate and share in his fellowship. As we walk with Father-Son-Spirit, our harden hearts are displaced with the new heart that opens the pages of God’s universe and allows us entrance into his presence.

So the next time you think you are doing right, stop and ask God for confirmation. You may be pleasantly surprised with an answer that is more favorable for all involved parties. And yes, it is possible that you may not be initially correct. Yet with an open, attentive heart plugged into the Holy Spirit network, revelation in the workings of God has a way to change one’s opinion and worldview quicker than any other method. Or do you want to be known as the person who resists the work of the Holy Spirit?

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Consultant, Coach, Encourager
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

Three Times

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , , ,
“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said,“ My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

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How do you know when you have prayed and received confirmation from God?

There are scriptures that state we should continue to pray and ask and never quit (Matthew 7:7). This is true. Persistence and patience is rewarded by our Lord. Yet when you receive the same specific reply three different times, maybe it’s time to accept the answer.

For example, we don’t know the specifics of Paul’s request (2 Corinthians 12:8) except that it was a pain to his flesh. Some think it may have something to do with his eyes. Others feel it may have been a demon assigned to agitate him. It could have been some chronic ailment that he received as a byproduct of all the shipwrecks and beatings he received during his ministry. What it was doesn’t really matter.

He asked and received the same reply three times. Rather than continue to make requests unto the Lord, he contentedly accepted God’s answer in obedience and faithfully moved forward.

Another example is Jesus Christ himself. On the night he was betrayed (Matthew 26), he spent three hours making three requests with His Father to find another way to fulfill the mission. Yet after the third prayer, He accepted His Father’s answer and the rest is history.

After his resurrection, Jesus met with Peter (John 21) and asked him three times whether or not “He loved Him.” Though this was for Peter’s sake, who previously denied Jesus, now Peter confirms that he loves him.

Peter witnessed the same vision three times (Acts 10) which confirmed the Lord’s decree that all men are included in His work of salvation.

Three identical replies seems to be the number for confirmation. So if you are looking for confirmation from the Lord, you now know when to stop praying and start obeying.

 

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Consultant, Coach, Encourager
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