christ-follower

Why Read The Bible?

Dr. Mike Jesus Christ, Scriptures, Shaped By The WORD , , , , , ,
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7 ESV

bible 2

When you want to learn about someone, what do you do? Don’t we search the Internet and see what we can find out. Don’t we ask people who may personally know the person? Maybe we may eventually schedule a visit and spend time with the person.

So why read the Bible? Here are some practical, everyday what-if questions that point to the Bible.

* What if you had the means to develop a more intimate relationship with the Living God finding out more about Him? His heart? His mind? His character?

* What if you could better understand the interrelationship between His work on earth and heaven?

* What if you could learn ways to unleash His authority to impact your world today?

* What if you could explore and truly integrate the impact of heavenly Virtue into your micro world?

* What if you could discover how to fully merge the spiritual treasurers of heaven into the physical realities of everyday life?

* What if you could stop making the same mistakes others have made? Isn’t it smarter to learn from the successes and failures of others?

* What if you had an avenue that allowed you to listen for the Holy Spirit to interpret God’s Will as it personally applies to you?

* What if you had a source that contains a storehouse of life-giving, energized knowledge, wisdom, and understanding for every season of life?

* What if you had your own personal guide written specifically for you to acquire practical knowledge of the best finance, marriage, family, and business practices proven over millenniums of time?

* What if you had a source that reveals how God interrelates with humanity and how you could better interrelate with Him?

* What if you could more easily identify the Truth and its implications within reality?

* What if you had a written script to help you better understand your purpose in life?

The Bible expresses the love, grace, and authority of Jesus Christ. If you want to serve the King of King, don’t you think if would help you to better understand what His plans, purpose, methods, and means are for you and for the sake of others? What if you spent a few more minutes each day discovering more about the Triune God? What difference do you think it would make in your world? It may not be a radical idea, but its implementation certainly is.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Chair, Consultant, Encourager
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
* Great Business Emulates a Good God
* Be Radical…Follow Christ!
* Simply The Messenger
* Unequally Married

Learn. Integrate. Grow.

 

Build Strengths, Compliment Weaknesses

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , , , ,
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 ESV

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Sometimes when performance doesn’t measure up to expectations, people have the tendency to focus on fixing their weaknesses rather than buildup one’s strengths.  Good coaches though help you to operate around your strengths and compliment your weaknesses.

We see this in sports. Take football as an example. We see how this year’s Cleveland Brown’s offensive coordinator has built a system around their quarterback’s strength.  The quarterback, Brian Hoyer’s strength is the mid-to-long ball arena. Therefore, the Cleveland team plays a horizontal game where Brian is constantly throwing down field rather than short routes. The short game is his weakness. The long game is his strength. Since implementing this strategy, Mr. Hoyer leads all quarterbacks in performance ratings for long throws down field. As a result, the Cleveland Brown’s are in serious contention for a playoff spot when no one gave them a chance in the beginning of the year.

The same is true in business. Almost every single successful business is built around the entrepreneur’s strengths. When the business owner starts to deviate away from their core strengths is typically when the business starts to falter. The process is usually slow because the owner is trying to save money by doing it herself.  The problem is it takes him twice as long to complete the job than someone else whose strength is a perfect match. We see this when a business is built on the sales skills of an owner. When he also tries to keep the company books he is travelling outside his area of expertise. Yes he may save a few dollars in the short term, but in the long term he is losing opportunities to sell which is how the company became successful in the first place.

This is also true in leadership. Abraham Lincoln is a good example of someone who understood this principle. When he was elected President. he surrounded himself with the best people knowledgeable in their field of specialty.  His cabinet consisted of “political enemies” and “self-seeking” businessmen.  He knew his strength was his gift of discernment and communications. Therefore, he exercised his primary strengths and complimented his weaknesses through the people around him. Most novice leaders surround themselves with like-minded people. President Lincoln was not a novice. He accepted the confrontations and egos knowing it provided him with the best support to effectively lead the country.

As disciples, we likewise need to learn to build our lives on our primary strengths. That means the foundation of Jesus Christ is firmly planted in our life. That we know His Word and follow His Spirit enthusiastically. We accept the natural gifts that God has bestowed upon us and find ways to express them for God’s glory and the sake of others. We realize our shortcomings and surround ourselves with people and boundaries that compliment us in our journey through life. As we lean on our primary Strength, the Triune God, we learn to integrate and grow God’s Kingdom through our work, family, and other pursuits.

Life in Christ is most enjoyable when our God-given strengths work together with others for advancing His plans. We experience what being fully human was originally intended when God created humankind. When God’s Spirit merges with our souls, God’s new creation becomes a reality in our world today: Build Strengths, Compliment Weaknesses. A proven principle that works!

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Chair, Consultant, Encourager
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Learn. Integrate. Grow.

 

Twenty Minutes, Twenty Days, Twenty Years

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , , , , ,

“What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” James 4:14 ESV

 

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One of our small group member’s Mom passed away this week. This past year along, his father and sister likewise died.  The loss of three of your family members in one year is more grief than most of us sustain in any year. Yet, for us still alive and dealing with the challenges of life, death is sobering and allows us to pause for the moment to reflect on what is most important in our world.

This is when I most often think of the 20/20/20 concept. If you knew you only had twenty more minutes to live, what would you do?  If you knew you only had twenty more days to live, what would you do? And what if you knew you only had twenty more years left to live, what would you do? At least once a year I ask myself these questions to be sure we are intentionally redeeming the time in our life.

By asking the twenty minute question, I focus on those people who are most important in my life and let them know I love them, appreciate them, and am rooting for them. I don’t like to say good-byes. Instead, I let them know good tidings until we meet again.

The twenty day question helps me focus on those important items that need to be completed. If I knew I had only twenty more days left, would I be doing this? If it is important for someone in my world that I truly care about, I would probably do it. Otherwise, if we only had twenty more days left, what are those items that I always wanted to do, but always postponed them with the lazy excuse. If it is not important, admit it. If it is important, do it.

Then there is the twenty year question. If you knew you had twenty more years to accomplish something in this life, what would you do? This question helps you focus on your career or mission in life.  Instead of trying to accomplish everything overnight, you could easily start today and slowly work towards your personal worthwhile goal. As long as you are realizing your goal, you are being successful in your pursuit. It adds flavor to life, allows you to fully express your talents, and you can take on other temporary assignments knowing this is only a temporary obstacle and you will eventually accomplish your goal over time. It helps you to keep focused on the important aspects of life. You may occasionally deviate from you plan, but always return to it knowing that in twenty years you can look back and appreciate the people and events that God has allowed you to experience and share in preparing you for eternity.

So why not take the time today and ask yourself: twenty minutes? twenty days? twenty years? You may be pleasantly surprised by your answers.

 

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Chair, Consultant, Encourager
Marketplace Bible Institute
& Resource Center, Inc
Author of e-Books:
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Learn. Integrate. Grow.