What is Salvation All About?

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , , ,

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people…” Titus 2:11 ESV.

salvation

Salvation is not a prize, an event, nor a commodity. Salvation is the relationship you have in Jesus Christ with His Father via the Holy Spirit. To realize you are included with Him in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven brings greater meaning to Who He IS and your participation with Him. That you are a new creation in Him. That you have been reconciled (saved)with His Father. That you are now connected with Jesus and the Father via the Holy Spirit – adopted into the Triune God circle. Yet to experience this new life, you need to change your thinking (repent) and yield yourself to His authority (become his disciple). In so doing, you begin to experience the life (sanctification) that Jesus finished for you. The end result is eternal life (glorification) with Him in the new age.

You begin to experience this new life when you realize your identify is bound in Christ. Unlike the world’s response, your identity is not found in yourself but in the personhood of Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ, when we realize something must change in our lives, we usually begin to modify our environment. When that doesn’t make a difference, we then work to change our behavior. When that fails, we move toward increasing our capacity of knowledge or skill. After then, we may begin to clarify our beliefs. Lastly, we come to realize our identity of who we think we are is incorrect and needs adjusting.

However with Christ, we first begin with correctly identifying who we are in Him. We start at the top rather than move from the bottom to the top. We come to more quickly capture the knowledge and realization of God and ourselves in the process.  From our relationship with Christ, our identity is clarified. Our beliefs are aligned with reality. Our desire to grow in knowledge and skill is intensified; not for our sake but for the sake of others. Our attitudes change which leads to our behavior becoming more Christ-like. Then finally our environment becomes the breeding ground for ministry as we express God’s love and Kingdom ways for others to behold. We become a living testimony of God’s workmanship. He is glorified. We reap the benefits. Others are introduced to the God of Jesus Christ.

Salvation is freedom with Christ. Free from loneliness, because you belong to Him. Free from fear, because His love penetrates through you. Free from anxiety, because His faith assures you. Free from sin’s anguish, because His grace abounds in you.

Again, salvation is not a prize, event, nor commodity. Salvation is your relationship with Jesus Christ and His  Father via the Holy Spirit; Salvation is Christ’s finished work.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Discipleship 360
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

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Copyright 2017 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Hypocrisy

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Matt 7:3 ESV.

hypocrite1

Who among us is without sin? Who has never made a mistake in judgment? Who has not made a poor choice from a critical situation? Who among us hasn’t lived up to God’s expectations for us?
When you find that person, let me know. For the fact is, everyone we meet is like you and me, imperfect. They may think they are perfect. They may act like they are perfect. But deep, down inside, they are hiding behind a log in their own eye. Hypocrites.

I can imagine when Jesus spoke these words, he probably brought out a chuckle from the audience. For people who realize and live imperfect lives, know people who live in the illusion of perfection. These super righteous people establish high standards for themselves and expect others to live by them. Though they may forgive themselves when they can’t live up to them, they expound judgment toward those who can’t live up to their higher-than-God expectations. Hypocrites.

In fact, Jesus more than once gave a tongue lashing to the religious leaders of his day for being hypocrites. He even told his disciples to do what the religious leaders say to do, but don’t follow their examples and act like they do. For they don’t do what they teach others to do. Hypocrites.

Hypocrites are blind to their own humanity. Instead of exercising mercy and grace like God does for us, they play the god of religion. They establish standards and regulations that they themselves find difficult to perform but expect others to live by them. Hypocrites.

When Jesus Christ is allowed to express Himself in and through you, you become disdained for the hypocrisy in you and others. Yet you are thankful for the mercy and love that God has bestowed upon you and long to share the same experience with others. You slowly become more transparent in your relationship with others. You gain confidence in your walk with the Spirit and rejoice in the new creation that God is morphing in you.

You recognize the lie of hypocrisy in yourself and in others. However, you first focus on removing the large beam you have been carrying in your eye before you help address the small splinter in your associate’s eye. Isn’t this what we do as we allow Jesus Christ to remove the hypocrisy in us as he morphs you and me into his new creation?

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Discipleship 360
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2017 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

What Is Worship?

Dr. Mike Journey in Christ, Kingdom Paradigms, Life in Christ
“We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.” John 9:31 ESV.

worship-1

Worship is the outer expression of your inner values. Jesus taught “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (MT. 6:21).” Therefore, worship is expressing what you value most. The question is then: Who or what do you worship?

Every person worships someone or something. If you listen to yourself talk, you will quickly discover what you worship. If your conversations are always recurrently filtered with family, money, movies, people, sex, sports, self, business or whatever, you may have a hint toward what you consider most important in your life.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, our primarily focus is Him. As we invest more and more time with Him, we naturally find ourselves speaking about Him or his Domain or his Spirit. We become more and more attuned to his ways and can’t shut up if we tried. We want everyone to know Him and make Him known to others.

Whether we praise him in church services, through our work, or in our relationship with others, Christ-centered worship is simply recognizing God in the situation you are in and giving him the glory He deserves. When He is the center of every aspect of our life, then our life becomes a living sacrifice of worship to Him (Romans 12:1).

We worship Him as we pursue His Truth. We worship Him as we share our testimony with others. We worship Him as we surrender our lives to Him in service for others. As He matures us, we worship Him as His witness before others. Whatever we do in His Will, wherever we do it, and whenever we do it, we do so for His glory. This is our outer expression of the treasury in our inner heart toward Him. This is worship.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Discipleship 360
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2017 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved