Christianity

Happy Birthday!

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , , , , , , , , ,

When the day of your birth rolls around another year, how do you celebrate it? Do you throw yourself a party? Do you invite a few friends over for dinner? Or are you fortunate to have friends or family members that throw a party on your behalf? However you celebrate your birthday, you may want to consider this: you didn’t give birth, but your mother did. So on your next birthday, why not take an intentional moment and celebrate your birth with the person who gave birth – your mother. In other words, technically it is not your birthday, but your Mother’s.
The other person you want to thank and celebrate the day with is the Author of life, the Triune God. Without Him, you and I would not be here today. In fact, He gives us life, breath, and purpose. We are not accidents, but planned living souls designed for His pleasure for all eternity. It all begins on the day your Mother gave birth and continues with His divine intervention on a daily basis.
So when your day comes, stop, thank your Mother, and celebrate your adventurous journey rooted in Jesus Christ with the Author of Life. What other way is better than this to celebrate and rejoice on your Birthday?

OUR PRAYER

PRAY 8
Heavenly Father, Lord, and Spirit: thank you for sharing your life with us. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to experience life. Thank you for your intervention into our life. Thank you for just knowing you.
Help us to celebrate this life with you; to rejoice with you; and to offer this life for your service. We pray for our Mothers; shower them with your Almighty love and grace. Bless them for their sacrifice and nurturing intentions in raising us and giving us the opportunities we now have. Though they are not perfect and didn’t raise us perfectly, they did the best they could under the circumstances of their life. Simply bless them and let us celebrate you and them throughout this day. Amen

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Consultant, Coach, Encourager
Author of Great Business Emulates A Good God

If You Are Seeking a Devotional Study, Check Out My New Book Be Radical…Follow Christ.

How Does One Become A More Effective Christ-Follower?

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , ,

Last week we heard another message of how to live the transformed life. Over the years we have heard so many of these messages that we are beginning to believe that they may be one of the causes of why the Christian community is struggling to make a stronger impact on today’s culture.
If someone keeps selling you the importance of reading the Bible, listening to God, and building relationships (all very good), from a humanistic perspective, than why is God even necessary? It seems like we have to do it all our selves. But is that how God designed us?
Again the bullet points from the minister were very good. However, as usual it emphasized one person’s narrow perspective without the goal or purpose for the methods employed. The question that always seems to arise during these messages is why doesn’t the minister simply preach what the Bible says. We are referring to 2 Peter which main purpose is to highlight how a person can live a fruitful life in Christ.
The author of 2 Peter emphasizes the main reason for his letter is to encourage you “to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.(3:18)” Chapters one and two outline the details. In Chapter 1:3-8 we are told to build our faith (trust) upon love, brotherly affection, godliness, steadfastness, self-control, knowledge, and virtue. By pursuing these values from a Christ-centric perspective, the Bible states that we will increase in spiritual fruit and effectiveness. What many of us have come to learn is that the transformed life is more about God and less about us. When Paul wrote that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, he was emphasizing Christ and de-emphasizing you and me. We are repeatedly told throughout the letter the different means to expand our knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ.
Which leads us to the question: Isn’t the best way to truly come to know anyone is by living with them? When we walk with someone and share life with them don’t we eventually come to know who and what they believe in and how they approach life? Isn’t that the same with our Lord? Isn’t it when we study about the life of Jesus Christ, who He is, what he did, and what he plans to do, and begin to hang out with him, that we come to know him better? Don’t we grow as we walk through life and experience his grace upon us? And as we live in Him and as He lives in us, don’t we slowly grow in His grace and develop a more intimate relationship with Him? It seems what we really need to learn is how to love Him with all our heart, mind, body, and strength. When we do that, don’t we begin to experience the fruit of His Spirit? Isn’t it then when we step back and realize how we are being transformed into His image not by what we do, but by what He is doing? The truth dare to be told: we simply hang on to Him knowing that the best is yet to come.

OUR PRAYER

PRAY 4

Wonderful Father, Son, and Spirit: Thank you for revealing yourself to us. Thank you for loving us and sharing your life with us. Thank you for being faithful and committed to us. Help us to focus all our strength, heart, mind, and soul toward you. In everything we say, think, or do let it be done for your glory. As you bless us, expand our world so we may be a blessing for others. Help us to be an effective disciple of yours. Help us be a “little Christ” toward the people we meet today. Help us to desist and you to fully express yourself in us and through us. Again thank you for your plan of redemption and allowing us to participate with you in your Kingdom and family circle. Help us be your light in today’s world. Help us to totally submit to your leadership, ministry, and calling. When we meet others, let them see you. Amen.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Consultant, Coach, Encourager
Author of Great Business Emulates A Good God

Sin: Problem or Symptom?

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , , , , , ,

As an independent consultant, I am called upon to help solve problems. Sometimes the problem is easy to identify and a solution quickly implemented. Other times, the problem is cloudy by all the smoke. Most of the time people focus on the symptoms of the problem rather than the actual cause.

For example, if you are having a cash flow problem, is that the actual problem or the symptom of something deeper; like not having a job. Many of us will focus on the symptom – no money, rather than on the actual problem – no job. Isn’t sin like that?
In our early walk with the Lord, we want to eliminate sin from our life. So we adhere to the Ten Commandments, read our Bibles to find out all the do’s and don’ts, and then find ourselves frustrated when the results are negligible. It has taken many of us multiple years to learn that sin is not the problem, but the symptom. The real problem is an absence of an intimate relationship with the Living God. Isn’t sin simply the absence of God’s influence in our life. By influence, we mean a strong desire to walk intimately with Him where His divine character expresses itself in us and through us because He lives in us. We gladly yield our self for Him to express Himself through us.
C.S. Lewis once wrote that we don’t learn to be Christ-followers; we catch it. Like a good virus it impregnates us and grows in us. The more we hang out and come to know God, not know about God, the more we enjoy Him and learn from Him. We surrender ourselves and follow the King of Kings via the Holy Spirit that lives in us. It is not just about removing sin from our life, but more so, it’s about have a strong, intimate relationship with our King. When we live a Christ-centric life, our love, joy, and peace comes from Him. As He blesses us, we simply express the same blessing toward others.
Again, sin is not the problem, but only the symptom. A close, intimate relationship with the Living God where we are daily infatuated and memorized by His love and involvement in our life leads us away from sin’s darkness and into His wonderful light. So next time we find our self on the wrong side of sin’s darkness, ask yourself these questions. “Did I really submit to God’s heart on the matter or just followed my natural desire to please myself?” How deep and strong is my current relationship with the Triune God? Am I walking with God or am I trying to make God walk with me? And lastly, what are you going to do about it?

Our Prayer

prayer 5

Holy Father – Holy Lord – Holy Spirit: Thank you for removing the eternal penalty of sin. And more so thank you for hiding us in Christ were your righteousness covers our humanity. More than anything else, help us to walk with you, to follow your story and narrative, to seek you diligently in every aspect of our life. Help us to love you with our whole heart, mind, body, and soul. Help us make you the center of our lives. Let everything we say, think, or do be done for your glory, your Kingdom, and your name. Remind us daily that you are alive in us; and also remind us to submit to your influence in our life. Help us see you each and every day wherever we go, in whatever we do, and with whomever we meet. We place our trust in you. Glorify your name through us and in us.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Consultant, Coach, Encourager
Author of Great Business Emulates A Good God

If You Are Seeking a Devotional Study, Check Out My New Book Be Radical…Follow Christ.