life in christ

Spiritual Riches

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , ,


Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…

Because we are included in Jesus Christ, we share with HIM a lot of blessings that we didn’t earn on merit nor receive by our obedience. God, by his amazing grace, before the foundation of the world, predestined mankind for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ.

When you read the first fourteen verses of the first chapter in the letter to the Ephesians by the apostle Paul, you obtain an overview of the gospel message. From redemption to forgiveness, from revelation of His will to His purpose of uniting everything in Christ, from learning His truth to being sealed by the Holy Spirit, you and I have personally been guaranteed an inheritance from God.  

No, you and I most likely will not gain material prosperity like the billionaires among us, nor most likely we will not gain celebrity fame, nor political power, nor the Nobel prize for academics. But we will gain today an inner peace and joy and love without the hassle of pursuing physical mountain tops.

Instead, we learn to walk and talk and dance with the God of ALL. He knows us, He disciplines us for our good, and He blesses us with His character and attributes. We learn to become more like Jesus who shares His chair at the table with us.

As God our Father gave Jesus all authority under heaven and over earth, Jesus himself gives us the opportunity to share in His work today. As He lives in us, and leads us, we listen, observe, and follow Him as He works in the lives of others around us. He gives us responsibility according to our gifts. We simply acknowledge those gifts and exercise them for His glory and kingdom.

Whether in the home, or at work, or in the community running errands, every person we meet, every task we serve, and every act we conduct, shows a small side of God to others. We know God lives in us, and we know the spiritual blessings we have received in the process, are not for our sole benefit but for the service of others. God’s riches are aimed to help everyone flourish.

So, if you are looking for something to be grateful today, thank your God for everything Jesus has done, is doing, and will yet do. Your rich blessings are solely because of Him.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360
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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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.

where are you4

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

Encourage your Friends…Share Today’s Message!

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

 favorite1

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!