Truth. Reality. God.

Dr. Mike Life Tools , , , ,
Zechariah 12:1
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person…

In our sophomore year of college, I registered for a class in Ethics but was denied entrance because not enough students selected it as an elective course. Out of a 35,000-student body only 4 signed up for the class; not enough to justify paying for a teacher. In its place though, I took another philosophical course – Logic.

There we had enough students which allowed the administration to hire a teacher to expose us to the historical and known arts of reasoning, decision-making, and truth-finding. But again, there were less than one dozen students in the class.

I didn’t realize the ramifications of the event until some thirty years later. As we live and experience this post-modern culture, we witness every day the distortion of basic logic. Where truth is relative, decision-making is built upon feelings, and reasoning is sabotage with lies, opinions, and prejudices. How is one to journey through life surrounded by this maze of noise and illusions?

When the foundation of a society is without a compass, any direction will do. If someone is able to accidentally identify North, then their search for home becomes substantially easier. However, without a North directional bias, every direction looks as good as the next. From my early camping days, we would classify that as being lost.

If one is serious to discover the truth of a matter, one needs to have a good grasp of reality. Reality is built upon the foundational order of nature and universal laws that govern existence. Order and law require an order/law giver. In religious circles, this Law Giver is given the title God.

The closer one develops a relationship with this God, the closer one discovers His heart, mind, and character. From this and through various circumstances and situations one travels through life, one comes to know and be known by the Creator of Life. Of all the gods known by 21st century standards, the only one which makes the most logical, yet most misunderstood, is the Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit. C. S. Lewis himself converted from atheism to Christianity because it made the most logical sense – like the sun rising each morning.

So, if truth of a matter is important to you, then acquire the knowledge of eternal facts, historical lessons, and scientific outcomes built upon the foundation of the Creator of reality. Then you will have a stronger foundation that will help you better withstand the corruption and distortion that will come your way each and every day.

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 2013-2018 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

 

Escape or Engagement

Dr. Mike Think About That...
Matthew 6:10
‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

escape1

There are those in the faith whose purpose for living is to do as little now as possible and seek to escape from this life into heaven. On the other hand, there are those who understand that their mission now is to colonize earth under the kingdom of God domain. I coin these as either escape or engagement theology.

Under the escape mentality, it’s all about getting off this planet and into heaven as quickly as possible under Biblical scrutiny. The engagement mindset though is to live out kingdom rule now while engaging with the cultural around us until God’s kingdom is fully restored on earth.

I always wondered with Jesus’ prayer model why he emphasized God’s kingdom and will to take charge on earth and not pray for us to escape earth. Later on, he did request we escape from the temptations of evil, but again not from planet earth. Instead his desire was for his disciples to focus on earth as their mission by sharing His teachings with others and be a witness for others of God’s work in their lives. His desire was for his apprentices to engage the culture around them.

So if your desire has been to escape rather than deal with the culture, ask God to change your heart and eyes to find ways for his kingdom to expand in your corner of the world. You will discover a side of the Holy Spirit that will recharge your focus and motivation to serve our great King.

Let’s seek engagement, not escapism as we testify what God is doing in our life today.

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

 

Entitlement Theology

Dr. Mike Think About That...
Romans 14:17 NASB
…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

entitlement1

Good theology is life-giving. Poor theology is life-draining. Good theology is built upon the character of God. Poor theology is grounded in projected fantasy. Good theology is fundamentally integrated within the good news of Jesus Christ. Poor theology is centered around human passions.

There are many new believers whose knowledge of God is flawed around the entitlement mindset. They generally have been exposed to a message that God’s purpose is built around you the individual. That your salvation is an agreement where God’s purpose is to exchange his blessing for your loyalty. That His sole mission is for your success and happiness. That you are the center of the universe and He will make all your dreams and desires become reality.

If this is you, you may want to reread your Bible.

Take Jonah as an example. God called him with the mission to preach to the people of Nineveh, his enemies. Jonah instead chose to flee from God. God though in his mercy worked out circumstances for Jonah to change his mind. He eventually made it to Nineveh, preached, and the people repented. You would think that Jonah would have been delighted with the results. Instead he pouted. God’s actions didn’t align with his beliefs. He thought that God should have destroyed these people. But God had other plans.

Entitlement theology is centered around the self. Instead of making our story and goals the main purpose of life, we need to surrender to our Lord’s purpose. When we do, the byproduct is to experience the richness of God’s character. We still have our dreams and goals but have submitted these under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Which means, if we are allowed to pursue and achieve them we are grateful and appreciative. However, it also means if we are not allowed to achieve them, we are also grateful and appreciative.

Our life is hidden in Jesus Christ. His story is the main one. Our story is a very, very, very small byline within His storyline. Apart from Him, we would be on death row. He has introduced us to His Father who has adopted us into the divine family. Not because we are entitled, but because Jesus Christ is entitled to everything. He is the reason we live, breathe, and have hope today and tomorrow. And yes, we are included.

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