life in christ

Where Are You?

Dr. Mike Bible Life Questions ,
“But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 ESV.

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Right after Adam and Eve rebelled against God, they hid. Now the Lord God could have easily disappeared from their lives. He could have easily justified their outcome as abnormal behavior and immediately eliminated them from the face of the earth. Wouldn’t it have been easier to start over again rather than play out the current scenario?

Yet God, always in control of every situation, let the events unfold as they did. We learn early that God allows many of our decisions to play out. He is not fearful of our choices. He knows that whatever we decide He is capable of bringing out the end result that he desires. There may be hiccups, bumps, and delays along the way, but the end will be His divine plan. The only real question is whether or not we will participate with him in the process.

Notice that Adam and Eve hid, not God. When we sin, God doesn’t hide from us. On the contrary. He is always there. Sin simply blinds us from God. Sin produces a silent wall of fear that prevents us from seeing God as He is. We see it here with Adam and Eve. We see it throughout Scriptures. We see it in our own life.

God knows our makeup. Jesus changed everything. He is the reason for the season. He came and experienced life in the flesh, but without sin. He knows temptation. He knows the evil that lurks in man’s heart. He also knows the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. He made everything possible for you and I to enjoy life the way Creator God designed it to be.

So how about you? Where are you in relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you still hiding from the best friend you will ever have? Are you ashamed of His Lordship? Or do you simply feel spiritually naked? Or are you confused about who and what Jesus Christ means to the world and to you personally?

No matter where you are in life, Jesus wants you to know how excellent His Kingdom (government) is compared to anything you have ever seen or known or dream about. When you acknowledge his role as Savior and Lord, you begin the process of transformation. It is a process that makes Jesus come more alive in your life as you quit rebelling against the King of Kings.

Before one can recite the alphabet to the letter “Z”, one must know where one needs to begin. Unless told otherwise, we normally start at the beginning with the letter “A.” How about you? Where are you in your relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you need to start at “A” or somewhere else? No matter where you are, He is closer to you than you will ever realize. The real question though is where are you?

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
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

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God’s Favorite

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , ,
“In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.” Hebrews 12:4-11 The Message

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How do I know I am one of God’s favorites? How do you know you are? Would you believe because of the discipline He dispenses? If He didn’t care for us, He would just leave you and me alone. Yet, because of His immense love and care for us, he invests so heavily in the production of divine character within us for our sake and for the sake of others.

In my twenty’s, he subdued this person’s temper and instilled the patience of Job. In my thirty’s, He unleashed His joy within me. In my forty’s, he taught me the art of Kingdom living through mutual submission with others. In my fifty’s, he raised my awareness of the love He magnifies in us, through us, and with us for everyone’s sake. Now chronologically entering my sixties (still feel like a pre-teen looking forward to growing up), he has ripen the fruit of self-control. Each decade He reminds me through the godly character He produces within us that we must be one of His favorites.

However during the trial or test, I may not feel like one of His favorites. Yet afterward, we thank Him for creating a new heart within us. A heart patterned and emulating the King of Kings. Are we not also always grateful for his intervention? How else would we make the time for crying out to our Heavenly Dad if it wasn’t for the challenging times we find ourselves struggling through?

Yes, He reminds us constantly that we are one of His favorites each time He ripens the fruit of His Spirit within our lives.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
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

Encourage your Friends…Share Today’s Message!

Boxes or Circles

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , , , ,
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” 2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

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Are you living your life through boxes or circles?

We live in a culture that loves to place people and activities into tiny boxes so they can be better classified and managed. We have a box for family, friends, work, career, church, investments, play, education, etc. The list could be almost endless depending on one’s resource.

I was one who grew up living the highly productive life juggling boxes throughout the day. I had a box for every person in my life. My spouse, daughter, parents, siblings each had a box that I would place in priority each day and week. In addition, all my work functions and relationships had a box. Yes, even church and God had their own box.

As an executive, time was my enemy. The best way for me to manage the daily routine was through boxes. It wasn’t until later that I discovered circles. Instead of segmenting my life, I opened myself to allowing Jesus Christ to become the center of my soul, heart, and mind. When that happened, life began to significantly change. Instead of creating boxes that I would continue to juggle, I began to draw circles. Now instead of treating God like any other box fighting for my time, He always has top priority.

The center of the circle is now Jesus Christ. The next circle around Him is my health. Next is immediate family. Followed by a circle of other family members, friends and associates.

Now instead of juggling boxes and feeling guilty for not investing more time with God, I let him into every circle of my life. He is the center of all my circles. No longer is he an independent box fighting for my time and attention. Instead he dwells within me and I seek to allow him full access into every area of my life. No longer do I have to fight to make Him #1 in my life. He is the center of my entire life.

Maybe this may be too strong, but I believe the person who uses boxes to cope with life still hasn’t surrender their total being to our Lord. Yet God’s patience leads us to repentance. As we draw closer to him, he draws closer to us. Eventually we catch on to what he is teaching us. He may initially accept being placed into a box if that is one way to grab our attention. But eventually He is going to want to be the center of your life. So why not help speed up the process and exchange your boxes for circles? You may be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Executive Director & Founder
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

Encourage your Friends…Share Today’s Message!