DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST

He is Always On Time

Dr. Mike Journey in Christ , , , , , , , , ,

 

time 2

Time is of the essence.  This phrase is found in many legal proposals to move the party  to realize the importance of a quick decision and completion of the bidding process.  If the matter is important, don’t delay because someone else is going to move ahead of you and win the proposal.

Likewise, being a disciple of His means that time is of the essence.  When an assignment is giving to us by our Lord, it is important to handle it quickly and expediently.  We see what happened to Jonah who delayed and ran away from his calling.  He didn’t want any part of the ministry to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh.  Instead, he jumped unto a boat going in the opposite direction.  When the ocean became angry, he went down to sleep while the rest of the crew petitioned their gods for help.  When they ask him to petition his God, Jonah went to sleep rather than have God interfere in his life’s priorities.  But he eventually learned an important lesson and completed the assignment given to him.  But even after which, he had an attitude problem with God’s mercy.

The point being that God’s plan will be completed.  We either choose to participate or not.  If a plan is God’s Will, nothing is going to prevent it from being accomplished.  There is no obstacle large enough to prevent it.  There is no person who will prevent it.  There is no time delay that will prevent it.  The time delay only affects us as people because of our physical limitations.

We are instructed to redeem the time.  We are not to waste the time, but to put it to good use.  And good is a relative term.  One person’s treasure is another person’s junk.  For example, if we are waiting on the Lord for an answer to our prayer, we may wait while resting, while visiting with friends, while walking through the park, or while reading a new book.  Other people may look at us and disagree with our approach.  They can’t seem to understand that approach.  They believe we should be diligently working and busy in some ”productive activity” in seeking the Lord’s answer.  The fact is we have a different approaches to solving the problems in our lives.  Either one is acceptable to our God depending on our attitude and faith.

No, God doesn’t delay.  God’s timetable is right on schedule.  And we’ve learned over time to follow His timetable.  Since He is always on time, our faith waits on Him.

OUR PRAYER

PRAY 21

Our Eternal Dad, it is good to know that you are always with us and in us and for us as we live in Christ.  It is reassuring that you have a plan and timetable for all of us.  We thank you that you are eternal and not limited by time.  You control it and direct its course.

Help us to learn to live with the time we have each day.  Let us learn to redeem the time and invest in it wisely.  Let our time be dedicated to serving you and discovering more of you and your ways.  Help us to redeem the time through service for others.  Let us learn to manage our time for your glory and honor.  Thank you Jesus. we pray. Amen.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Coach, Consultant, and Encourager

Author of Great Business Emulates a Good God
Portal: Be Radical…EnjoyLifeInChrist.com

 

We Are More Than His Student

Dr. Mike Journey in Christ , , , , , , , , , ,

Disciple 101

We have been purchased by the blood of Christ.  When we heard our Father’s calling and acknowledged Jesus as our Savior, we became one with Him.  We are now adopted children of God and brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus.  Jesus is our King and we are His royal citizens.  Jesus is our Teacher and we are His students.  Jesus is our Savior and we are His saints.  Jesus is our High Priest and we are His priesthood.  Jesus is our Friend and we are His.

Scripture reveals that it’s the Father who calls us to Jesus, after which, Jesus accepts us into the Family and promises to complete the task at hand.  That task is to prepare us for eternity.  It is Jesus who sent us the Holy Spirit into our lives.  It is Jesus who has made every eternal gift possible for us.  It is Jesus who sacrificed His life for us.

Jesus is our good shepherd.  He is not in the business for profit.  Instead, He is leading us because He cares.  Like the parable of the lost sheep, if one of us strays from the fold, He will go looking for its return.  In our current culture, we would do the opposite.  We would sacrifice the one for the sake of the majority, but not Jesus.

Jesus stated that His own hear His Word and respond to Him.  For those of us that slide into complacency, or lukewarmness as described in the Book of Revelation, He is knocking at our door.  He promised not to leave us but always be with us until the end of the age.  He cares for each and every single one of us.

We, like Paul, are bondservants of Jesus: a very high calling in the kingdom of God.  As a bondservant, we acknowledge Jesus is our Master.  We acknowledge His rulership and authority in our life.

We likewise accept His involvement in our life.  In exchange, we realize that our life is in very good hands.  We have a Boss that rules the universe.  Our Boss owns everything.  Our Boss is Boss of All.  What better opportunity or position could a person seek?  As His servant, we gladly follow His instructions and commands with the work that He gives us to do.  We may not be faithful all the time, but He is always faithful.  We may require discipline at times, so He is faithful and will discipline us for our good.  He cares for us.  We gladly accept Jesus as our Lord, Savior, Teacher, and Friend.  We are overjoyed that He accepts us as one of His own.  We can’t think of a better family we would rather belong with than the children of God.

OUR PRAYER

PRAY 4

Almighty Dad, thank you for leading us to Jesus.  Thank you for bringing Him into our life.  Thank you for opening our mind to hear and understand your calling and purpose in life.  Thank you for reconciling us to you through Jesus.

Help us always to walk with you.  Help us to have a close relationship with you.  Help us to know you, to learn from you, and to become like you.

Thank you for the opportunity to live life with you each and every day.  Help us always to be true to you and to our self.  Cleanse us from our sinful thoughts and actions.  Make our heart pure.  Let your Holiness abide in us forever.  Amen.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Coach, Consultant, and Encourager

Author of Great Business Emulates a Good God

 

The Answer Always Comes Back to Jesus

Dr. Mike Journey in Christ , , , , , , , , ,

jesus answer 3

The last command Jesus gave to His disciples prior to His ascension was to go and make disciples of all nations. How?  By baptizing them into the God Family and teaching them to obey His commandments. As a disciple of His in the twenty-first century, we have the same mission.  (You would think that after all these years we would have it figured out) Likewise, He assured us that He is always with us even until His physical return at the end of this age. Therefore, our instructions and mission is simple to go and do the same.

The question of course is how do we best perform this task? We may feel that a full time minister called to pastor a local congregation has an easier job of fulfilling this function than us who have to work a “real job” to support our livelihood. Or the full time missionary in Africa or India has a better opportunity than ourselves. The truth is we have our own small world where we make a influential difference for the kingdom of God. And it is in our personal world that we best fulfill our mission. We do not necessary have to switch careers or neighborhoods. We only have to open our eyes and ask our Lord to lead us to where the harvest is ready for labors.

We believe that the United States of America is in great need of missionary work. Though many people state a belief in God, how many lives truly have produced a transformed life that walking with God generates? As Americans, we may say we trust in God on our dollar bills, but our actions put more trust in our capitalistic and democratic system than a living God. Even the simple Truths of the Bible are misunderstood or disagreed among the majority of Christians. We have become a nation providing lip service to our Lord and a love service to our desires. We of all people on the planet earth should be most humbled and thankful for the blessing we receive for living in this great country. But are we?

Many of us grew up thinking that is was not our responsibility to make disciples of others. It was the “church” responsibility, not ours. Since then, many of us have repented and are awkwardly learning to express the love, life, and teachings of Jesus to anyone who has a moment to listen in need. Sooner or later, we all come to realize our need for a Savior, a Lord, a Teacher, and a Friend. Sooner or later, we all come to the place where we understand that the Answer is the living Jesus Christ. It’s only a question of time.

OUR PRAYER

PRAY 4

Our Gracious Dad, thank you for giving us Jesus, your Son. Thank you for giving us Jesus, the Word. Thank you for giving us Jesus, our Savior. Thank you for giving us Jesus, our Lord. Thank you for giving us Jesus, our Teacher. Thank you for giving us Jesus, our Friend.

It is in Jesus that you have come alive in our life. Through His life on earth, we have come to know more of what you are like. You have revealed yourself through Him. You have answered all of life’s important questions through Him. Help us always be ready with an answer when others ask. Help us always be a faithful ambassador of your Kingdom with others. Help us always point people to Christ so they may come to know you. You have given everything to Jesus. We thank you.

Help us to share all that we have come to know and learn with others. Help us to share you with others.  Let others also share you with us.  Thank you Jesus as we pray in your name. Amen.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Coach, Consultant, and Encourager

Author of Great Business Emulates a Good God