life in christ

God Wants Your Friendship

Dr. Mike 2021 , , , 
Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

When someone wants to be your friend, how do you normally respond?

Do you immediately welcome them into your world without hesitancy?

Or do you quickly put up a wall and slowly keep them a distance away until you are more comfortable with them?

Do you allow anyone be your friend or are you selective? What criteria do you use to evaluate any potential friend?

Do all your relationships require them to become a friend?

Jesus wants you as a friend.

Abraham was a friend of God (James 2:23).

The Lord considered Moses a friend (Exodus 33:11).

Jesus even called his twelve disciples’ friends (John 15:15).

In this Scripture Jesus is inviting you and I to eat with him. In the Jewish custom, when you had a meal with someone you are letting them and the world know you are welcoming them into your world as a friend. Friends share time and their possessions with one another. The relationship Jesus wants with you and I include being a friend.

Of course, HE is still King, Lord, and Savior which carries all the responsibility and authority along with the titles. But even a king desires friendship; not because of his riches and influence, but because He simple enjoys hanging out with you. And you enjoy Him for being himself without all the trappings of royalty, power, and fame. Is not that what true, close, and abiding friendship means?

I for one am thankful He is my friend. In fact, HE is my best friend; and also happens to be my Lord, King, and Savior – which I always respect and hold in honor in our friendship. And I am OK that He also wants to be your friend. There is more than enough of him to go around. So, if you haven’t done so yet, take up his invitation and learn what real friendship is all about. You have my recommendation. You truly will be more than pleased with the relationship.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & 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

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

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

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-2019 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

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!