Live Well

Colossians 1:10

…so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…ESV.

live well1

 

When life is measured by one’s possessions, status, bank account, or influence, one has been swallowed up by the demon of pride – mankind’s #1 vice. The focus is on self rather than God which leads to missing out on His best. However, when our Heavenly Father is the center of life, one experiences the soulful riches of kingdom treasures along with the physical comforts of creation – the best of both worlds.

So, if you want to live well, to the fullest of your potential, with meaning and purpose, you need to know God better than you know yourself.  For the fact is:

You live well when you partner with God while you travel through time and space discovering who you are, unleashing your God-given talents, and fulfilling your divine purpose.

You live well when you take the cards you have been dealt with and play to win without excuses, self-pity, or shifting blame toward others.

You live well when character becomes more important than gold, attitude more valuable than muscle and love more fulfilling than intelligence.

You live well when wisdom replaces stupidity, grace supersedes tolerance, and godliness displaces humanism.

You live well when work is your ministry, family your sanctuary, and your neighbors the doorway to experience God’s love.

You live well when your word is your commitment, your integrity is your suit or dress for the day, and your primary concern is for the welfare of others.

You live well when you accept the season of your life, grateful for your state of health (no matter how broken you are) and walk in hope even though you are unsure of the future.

You live well by being generous with your time and money, speak softly with those who disrespect you, and are slow to anger by those who want to harm you.

You live well when you do good wherever you are, you are fruitful in whatever your hand finds to do, and you gladly glorify God who made you and allowed you to live in such a time as this.

You truly live well when you have totally surrendered to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and make His Kingdom your #1 daily priority each day.

You live well when you are true to yourself, transparent in your relationships, and add value without fanfare with others.

You live well when you serve along Jesus Christ who holds you in His Grip since redeeming you before you even knew him.

You live well when you learn to quickly forgive yourself, extend the same forgiveness toward others, and trust God to remedy the situation.

You live well by learning more about the Author of Life, His Story which unfolds each day, and your part within His Plans.

In other words, living life to the fullest, rooted in Jesus Christ, is to live well.

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

 

Be Fruitful

Genesis 1:28 – And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it… ESV.

Colossians 1:9-10 – we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God… ESV.

 

fruitful

God’s first instructions to mankind taken from Genesis 1:28 was to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…” Nothing has changed since then except humanity’s natural inclination to first try it their way.

At the very beginning of man’s timeline, our heavenly Father gave us the personal responsibility to exercise wisdom, imagination and creativity to manage His earthly domain for Him.  The Bible calls it stewardship.

Like the manager of a company given the responsibility to grow the business for the owner, we likewise have been given the assignment to improve the world around us. When we take the focus away from ourselves and on others, we find needs to be satisfied. As a steward, we analyze the resources at our disposal and best deploy them toward satisfying the needs of others. In business, we receive the reward of developing a relationship with a person who becomes our customer. Through this process, we are financially compensated that allows us to purchase the resources we need to do it again and again. As we keep repeating the process, our client base grows, our resources under management grows, and the more people we can serve.

The challenge for most of us is locating that sweet spot where our natural gifts and talents intersect the needs of others and is fueled by our passion. Some of us may not recognize what our strengths are; others have placed mental or emotional limits on themselves; and then others are so wrapped up in themselves that they are blind to the need of others.

The apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians mentioned his prayer for them was that God may supply the strength and internal fortitude to walk with our Lord and be fruitful in their work. Maybe some of us (if not all) need to invest more time praying for the same resources. Maybe we are not as fruitful as we can be because we are trying to accomplish our dreams apart from God. Maybe instead of striving for more, working longer hours, and chasing after dollars, we ask Him to show us how to rest in Him and learn from Him how to be more fruitful. Most of us will become pleasantly surprised how He has a way to open doors, bring people into your world, and generate opportunities beyond our wildest imagination.

God wants you to be fruitful in your work. But more than this, He also wants you to be fruitful in His relationship with you. Make Him the center of your life and then watch how He showers you with His fruitful Grace and Presence in your corner of the galaxy. For wherever He goes, the world around Him grows more fruitful.

This is the reason Jesus stated in John 15:5 that you will bear much fruit as long as you remain in Him.

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

Do Good

1 Peter 2:15 – For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ESV.

Imagine a world where every person’s focus is to seize opportunities to do good for the person next to them!

It comes more natural with those who are close to us, but how about those people not within our inner circle?

Not our next door neighbor, but our next, next door neighbor; not the person who we have similar interests; but the one whom we have nothing in common.

Want to intentionally be more Christ-like? Why not set a goal of touching at least one other person each day with a little goodness? Ask God to lead you and watch a three-fold cord become strengthen: your relationship with the Triune God, your relationship with another person, and God’s relationship with each of you.

Also in a way, to do good in response to evil thrown your way allows you to imitate our Heavenly Father who does the same every day. Besides, it may be kind of fun to watch the perplexed face of others when you respond with goodness rather than retaliate with a form of violence (Romans 12:20-21).

Every movement begins when one person makes the commitment to act. Therefore, why not form a committee of one (you) and with Christ, go change your corner of the universe by planting seeds of goodness?

Besides, isn’t the Christian life an adventure of sharing God’s goodness with each other anyway?

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