Favor of the Lord

Dr. Mike Knowing God , ,

Luke 1:26-31

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

favor2

Sometimes we hold unto blissful expectations which eventually become painful disappointments. Take the concept of wanting to experience the favor of the Lord. Most humans would desire the favor of the Lord. We picture ourselves sitting on a royal chair with subjects, having a life of ease and comfort, and all our desires fully satisfied. Yet reality speaks differently as Mary experienced through her life.

Yes, she was favored by the Lord to be the birth mother of the Son of God. But life wasn’t really a bowl of peaches because of it. Think of all she had to endure through the process?

She was an unmarried woman pregnant with child living is a small village where everybody generally knows everyone else’s business. Per the old Jewish oracles, a woman without a husband and pregnant was to be stoned to death. How favored of a life would you say living out each day hiding your condition from your parents and siblings and neighbors is? What about spending the last month of your pregnancy riding a donkey and/or walking for 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to take part in a census? And of course, to give birth in a non-sanitized environment without the support of family or friends. Is this the favored life?

To be favored by God is a blessing. You know He has your back. But the process of every day challenges and threats still remain. To be favored by God is an adventurous life and not necessarily a safe one. Yet to know you are being held in His Grip through all the ups and downs life throws your way is a blessing and comfort to the soul.

Even with suffering or pain that comes our way, we rather be favored by God than not. How about you?

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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What is God’s Greatest Expression of His Love?

Dr. Mike Knowing God , , , ,

Psalm 34:12

Who is the man who desires life and loves length of days that he may see good?

life

Life. God created you for eternal habitation with Him. Without life you wouldn’t know God, family, nor anything. You wouldn’t exist. In my opinion, Life is God’s greatest expression of His Love. He created the universe to be inhabited. He created earth to be inhabited. He created humanity to share in His life. Everything created by Him is love being fulfilled. Without life, there is no experience of love, God, nor anything.

Even when humanity rebelled against Him, He intervened. He elected Himself as an atoning sacrifice. Jesus Christ is God’s continual expression of his love for us. God came in flesh to experience life in human skin.  He now has a better understanding of you and me because he lived it out. Christ’s entire life was lived out so you and I could see how life is meant to be lived. His life, death, and resurrection culminated into humanity’s relationship being restored with God.

Life comes only from life. Science has not yet discovered the missing link where matter becomes life. Even they acknowledge that life is born only from a living entity. As the Book of Genesis stated, God breathed into man and he became a living soul. As physical life only comes from physical life, eternal life only comes from eternal life. As Jesus stated to Nicodemus, one must be born again by the Spirit. Life comes from life.

God’s greatest gift to humanity is life. He created physical life with people with free-will because He wanted to share his life and love with each of us. But relationship is a two-way street. It takes two to tango. And God freely gives us life and waits to see if we want to share life with Him. For those who do, eternal life awaits them. For those who do not want to be in relationship with Him, he will oblige. Hopefully, you have come to a point in your world where God’s love wins you over. For after you have a small taste of His love and life, you can’t live without. He is Love and Life in one.

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

You Are Included

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , , ,

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

included

One of the main differences between Christian denominations is understanding when you are saved.

Arminianism theology believes you are saved when you make the election to choose God. Calvinism theology on the other hand believes God has already predetermined your life’s final destination. And Trinitarian theology believes God has already chosen you but you need to exercise faith to experience the fruit of salvation.

I find adoption theology gives a good example of explaining the differences.

Under adoption theology, God through Christ has adopted humanity through his life, death, and resurrection. Just like a parent adopts a child into the family fold, God has adopted humanity into the family circle. The child may either accept his position as a new family member and become engaged with the family culture, or not. The child is already included within the family whether or not she accepts her role. Her actions are either to accept the family or rebel. When she accepts, she enjoys the fruit of family living. When she rebels, she is still a family member, but lost from sharing life with the family and the family treasures.

Arminianism theology on the other hand teaches that the child selects the parent for adoption. You are not included in the family until you decide to make it so. The parent only offers adoption, and the child is the one who legally binds the offer. The weight is on the child choosing to be adopted or not.

Calvinism theology teaches that God has adopted some and has not adopted others. Some will experience eternity with God and others are predestined for eternal lost. As a child, you have to figure out whether you are included or excluded from God’s family.

When you understand that salvation is what Jesus accomplished and not what we make happen, then we find salvation is more about a familial relationship with the living God rather than a business transaction. There are those who treat salvation as something you earn by achieving a goal, or something you acquire by keeping score of good behavior, or some noble actions toward others. When you realize it’s about being included within the Eternal God’s circle of Father-Son-Spirit, it changes your perspective of God, family, and life.

Paul writes that God chose humanity before the foundation of the world to become his children. When Christ rose from the dead, he not only defeated death for himself, but included all of humanity with him. Our home is with him. You cannot be lost unless you already have a home. Those who don’t truly know Jesus Christ yet have a home waiting for them. They have already been adopted into the family but don’t realize the riches that await them.  When they accept Jesus and His lordship, life changes. They become engaged in the Family business and enjoy the fruit of God’s redemptive plan. However, if they continue to rebel against participating in God’s family endeavors, and choose not to be engaged with Christ, there will be unpleasant consequences; including the loss of everlasting life.

Our choice is not whether or not we want to be adopted, our choice is whether or not we want to accept our position within the family and participate in the family business. You are already included. The question then becomes, what are you going to do about it?

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