Shaped By The WORD

Pride of Life

Dr. Mike Shaped By The WORD , , ,

1 John 2:16

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

What is your standard of a successful life? How does your heart measure such success? What are the basic values you pursue to make your dreams come true?

John wrote his letter to the Church warning them of placing their ladder on the wrong wall. How many of us have learned the hard way?  We pursue certain goals built on values we believe are good only to find out many years later how empty and unfulfilling the achievement felt. Looking back, we realize only then that our climb up the ladder may have been fun but eventually ended up on the wrong side of the building. Instead of climbing the north wall, we found ourselves on the opposite side looking across the vast emptiness of space wondering where did we go wrong.

The pride of life blinds many of us from eternal truths and values which produce the more abundant life that we all desire but seem to escape us through the jungle of everyday decisions.

What is the pride of life?

A simple answer is everything and anything which places more importance on the things of this world rather than the eternal habitat God created for you to experience.

God is the author of GOOD. And many of the items we pursue are by themselves good. But our inability to manage them leads to paths of destruction and pain for ourselves and others.

For example, water is a good element. We all need water to survive. We use water as a healthy liquid to drink. We use water to bathe and clean ourselves. And we use water to cook. We even swim in water for relaxation or exercise. But we can also drown ourselves in water. Hold your head underwater for a length of time and you will run out of oxygen and drown.

This is what happens when we wrap our hearts around what makes us feel important. Our status, career, and achievements are only a few of the measuring marks our culture emphasizes as important. Do you?

The pride of life consists of the values this world emphasizes as important at the detriment of leaving Father God out of the picture.

Fame, winning, and academic success are a few more values the world glorifies. Sometimes the world counterfeits God’s concerns but their methods and ways are anti-God. One example is social justice. The human heart has a natural tendency to classify, segregate, and exclude whoever the power base decides is important or unimportant.

At the same time, the culture with an ungodly center, has a tendency to group people together and treat all of them the same rather than individuals. Whereas God looks at each individual’s heart to evaluate their behavior and the action required for justice to be measured, the ungodly establishment seek to punish the entire group for the infraction of one.

When God is not the center of life, the human spirit becomes empowered with pride which blinds the person from separating fantasy from reality and eventually leads toward harming those around them.

Pride is the downfall of many who have a high opinion of themselves. The sad truth is they rarely suffer alone. They normally take along all those who have followed them through the maze. From Lucifer whose pride turned him into Satan, and from many of the dictators, politicians, cult leaders, and business mavericks, pride has led to the destruction of many. The opposite of pride is humility. Humility is God’s path toward learning to walk together in community. Humility places God in the center of every relationship, decision, and plan we make. We acknowledge HIS presence; respect HIS authority in our life; and work to restore HIS values into everyday living. Without God, pride rules. With God, humility leads. Which way will you choose?    

   

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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Symptom or Problem?

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms, Life Tools, Shaped By The WORD

Matthew 23:25

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. NASB.

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Many in the Church today focus on outward behavior rather than the matter of the heart. By heart, we mean the emotional, thinking, value-center operating system which makes you, you.

We point to Adam and Eve who committed the first earthly sin. For most people that sin was disobedience toward God. Yet, my argument is the sin was committed even before then. For the outward behavior of sin is really the result of a deeper inner problem.

The real sin was separating oneself from God. Instead of leaning on Him and partnering with Him, Eve began developing a relationship with the Serpent. It was the Serpent who came between God and Eve. He came to divide and lead one astray from the Center of Life. He does the same today.

Sin occurs even before the behavioral act is displayed. Jesus himself throughout the Gospel books emphasized the heart of the matter rather than the physical act itself. The outward act is only the symptom of an inner problem. The problem is a heart empty of God’s presence.

For it is from the Holy Spirit living within you that strengthens you, coaches you, and leads you away from destructive behavior. Jesus was born by and with the Holy Spirit from the beginning of his earthly life. For the rest of us, we allow the Spirit to enter into our inner self only after we have accepted His authority in our life. The Bible identifies this as being born again.

Jesus also refers to the Kingdom of God beginning from within you. When the Spirit is married with your spirit and you learn to cooperate together, you will find the inner attitude and confidence to handle any temptation with the same faith Jesus employed against Satan in his wilderness temptation.

You will also begin to experience life dancing with the Almighty through your daily routines. Life becomes more than judging each other’s outer performance. Instead, it becomes life in the Spirit preparing you for eternity while training you to be more effective each day glorifying Him through your work, relationships, and struggles.

So, don’t focus on the symptom. Rather identify the problem and you will quickly arrive at a solution to move you toward your objectives.

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 2013-2018 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

 

 

Why Theology Matters?

Dr. Mike Shaped By The WORD , ,
“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11 ESV.

theology-11

Theology is simply the study of God. And just like all other fields of study, there are proven methods and techniques to help one accumulate knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of the subject matter.

So why is the study of theology important?

Because good theology draws you closer to the God who created reality. Good theology opens one’s eyes to know Him more intimately. Good theology is the basis of building a stronger framework to make life physically, socially, and spiritually richer.

On the other hand, poor theology distorts your relationship with the Creator and therefore reduces your potential to live a full, meaningful life. Instead of living ones full human potential, poor theology robs the person from fully knowing himself. Poor theology typically focuses more on illusion rather than reality.

The further away one is from the central core of reality, the further one’s theology of God becomes distorted.

Good theology comes from living the with-God life. Bad theology (or no theology) is living life by keeping God a distance away from you. Good theology hugs God every time you meet. Poor theology is pushing God away.

When one begins to develop a relationship with the Author of Life, one wants to know everything one can about Him. And the more you hang out with Him, the more He reveals Himself to you.

Don’t be afraid of theology. Everyone is a theologian. The question is which type do you want to be?

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

Does a Friend Need Encouragement…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2016 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved