God’s Reflection in You

Dr. Mike 2022 , , ,

Romans 8:9-11

 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (ESV)

God’s Spirit lives in you the believer. The same Spirit who resurrected Jesus, also lives in us and through us. As Christ-followers, we are ambassadors of God’s domain and privileged to reflect God at all times. Yet how well do we?

All humans are made in the image of their Creator. Our natural DNA includes genes with abilities to mimic in a small physical way the attributes of God Almighty.

We have been given a mind and consciousness, emotional personality, and strength of character to become more and more like HIM. Our ability to dream visions of what can be, and then create and move the process toward its fulfillment, are attributes found in our Master Designer.

The relational and social aspects of life to belong and share with one another are the divine attributes of the Triune God who lives in perfect relationship with Himself as Father-Son-Spirit.

As we walk with God, sharing our life with HIM as HE shares life with us, and as we enjoy living in HIS presence, communicating with HIM, and developing a trustful relationship with HIM, iron sharpens iron. HIS divine nature becomes more empowering in us. Our worldview slowly changes as we long to view life from HIS perspective.

In our journey through space and time, we take on more and more the attributes of Jesus Christ. Like Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:19, as we grow up, we are being filled with all the fullness of God who lives in us.

As we allow God more access into our inner being and allow HIM to sculpt out the ungodly spaces that are hidden in our darken soul, HIS divine nature becomes more and more real in us. It is then we begin to realize the work is more HIM and less of us. Yet our side of the partnership is to put in the effort and hang in there. HE will manifest the rest and give the growth. We are HIS workmanship (Eph. 2:10). The end result is more of a reflection of HIM.

And yes, you are included – if you so choose to participate at this time. If you haven’t done so yet, ask HIM to fill you with HIS Spirit and follow HIS lead in your life. Your only wish is you started earlier in life then now.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & 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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Lie Traps

Dr. Mike 2022 , , , , ,

Psalm 116:11

I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”

Yes, we all lie. We lie to others, and we lie to ourselves. But some lie from an evil intent (Psalm 7:14) and others lie from denial (Psalm 12:2). Some lie from pride, and others fail to tell the truth for fear of losing out (Isaiah 59:4).

But God never lies (Titus 1:2). Satan on the other hand is the father of lies (John 8:44). Both speak from their character. Those who deliberately live life intentionally spreading harmful lies will end up in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). And even those who practice small lies, may have a tough time living under God’s favor (Psalm 101:7).

God really gets upset with those who lie in HIS name (Jeremiah 23:32), speaking from their own minds (Jeremiah 14:14) yet giving credit to HIM. So, when the lie never is fulfilled, God gets the short end of the stick. Yes, the end result is always the same, a life, business, or nation built on lies will not profit from them and will not remain standing (Jeremiah 16:19).

As a child, I learned that most people would rather believe lies than the truth. The lie was easier for them to digest whereas the truth was so uniquely rare people had a more difficult time accepting it. As one grows up, one slowly discovers the entire culture practices lies without acknowledging them as harmful. Yet lying, which I had to repent and learn the hard way, builds shaky relational structures which given enough time will collapse whatever TRUST was built between the parties. But aren’t our lies only to protect the pain from others?

We lie to be polite and unoffensive in our relationships.

We lie to avoid conflict rather than deal with an issue.

We lie to overcome the shortage of value in a product to a potential customer.

We lie to coverup our true feelings and intentions.

We lie about the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny.

Yet these lies we accept as innocent and a natural part of community living. On the other hand, we have politicians who constantly lie to us about matters of the State.

We have advertisers lie to us about their product or service.

We have countries lie to one another under the guise of propaganda.

We have people who angrily lie on the witness stand so they may see the destruction of someone who they hold bitter resentment or hatred against.

We have people deliberately lying to each other to gain something from the other which they desire and can’t honestly disclose their true intentions.

Lying is a natural, human weakness we either accept and play along or we acknowledge its harm and intentionally develop coping mannerism to combat the problem.

Yes, I believe there is a time to lie. When the hostile army is looking for an enemy of the state and you are protecting that person’s life, your intention is to save a life which supersedes your white lie at the moment. Many non-Jewish people were placed in such a situation during WWII and stood up to the genocide.

But to intentionally lie and cover up the truth for personal gain is a motive which comes into discussion. Lying and using God’s name in the process of protecting non-life situations is something we all need to be careful when treading water.

As believers, Jesus instructed us “to be shrewd as snakes but as harmless as doves” in our adventures through life. We are to reflect the glory of God in our dealings with one another. Yet we also must realize we live in a fallen world were Satan and his army deliberately spread lies and encourages lies between people. We need to discern the truth from the lies and weigh the situation for our response.

In most cases, we will smile and accept the situation as non-threatening and be polite. In other times, we may speak up and question the matter more in depth to arrive at the truth of the matter. Either way, when we walk with the Spirit, built on the Word of God, we will follow HIS lead and accordingly respond with love and courage.

We have all lied. Only God knows the real cost or value of those lies. HE will judge us.

HE will discipline us when needed, and HE will encourage us when needed. But meanwhile, be careful with all the news, gossip, opinions, stories, and narratives you hear being told. Seek out the truth and don’t jump to conclusions until you have acquired as much evidence and facts to truly understand the matter. Until then, realize we live in a lying world, but God has given us the truth to live out life within HIS domain today. So always lean on HIM and let HIM lead you into all the truth.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & 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-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Appeasing the Crowd

Dr. Mike 2022 , , , , ,

Mark 15:15

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified. (ESV)

Do you need courage to stand up against the crowd?

When you know what is right and you give in to the noise and threats of others, did you just uncover your slackness of character. Here Pilate weighed the consequences and found it politically easier to satisfy the crowd’s desire rather than do what is right. Why trouble yourself over one person’s life he may have thought? Do not the power players teach you to carefully choose your fights? What do I have to gain if I choose to do what is right in this case? (He probably murmured to himself). 

Most likely, many of us have been there where the bully threatens one into submission. Rather than fight for what is right, we roll over and succumb to the more traveled road. Yet in hindsight, we know the best route would have been to stand up and face the evil rather than run from it.

Yes, it takes courage to face our adversaries. When we discover our lack, we shamefully accept the situation without putting up resistance. In the process we also discover a weakness of our humanity and quickly try to cover the matter up rather than expose our shortcomings to the world. The moment of truth has arrived.

Our Triune God knows our weaknesses. If we had the godly character in place, the matter would have been differently handled. But in that moment of truth, we discovered something lacking in ourselves and the real you is exposed.

Life is a learning process preparing you and I for eternity with Jesus. Moments like this slap us in the face and wake us up to the matter. Either we change or we shall continue to repeat the situation over and over again until the pain becomes unbearable, and our lives become intolerable.

However, when we accept Jesus as Lord, HIS Spirit begins the process of living in you. You slowly take on the characteristics of your Creator. Yes, you were made in the image of God. You were also destined to live life like HE did when he visited planet some 2,000 years ago.

The Holy Spirit wants to fully empower you to reflect the strength and character of Jesus Christ. As you walk along with HIM, you will discover the power of faith, truth, and love. You will become embolden with HIS characteristics. Then one day, you will find yourself in a similar situation and you will boldly stand up to the truth, do what is right, and afterwards marvel at your conduct giving thanks to God. The circumstantial outcome may or may not be the same, but you will be at peace and fully prepared to handle the consequences just like your Teacher, Jesus Christ.

So, if you need courage to stand up against the crowd, you now know where to find it.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & 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-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved