life in christ

A Blessed Life

Dr. Mike Life in Christ ,
“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”…Ephesians 1:3 ESV

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Whenever you hear or read the word blessed, how do you understand it?

Some like to think it means happy. Others think it means prosperous. Than others think it means holy. But how does Jesus define it?

For starters, the Greek word translated into the English “blessed” is “makarios.” The word means more than just happy or blissful. It literally means to have a self-contained happiness.
As a believer, a child of God, and a physical temple for the Holy Spirit who resides in us, it takes on more meaning than many people realize.

To be blessed is to be covered by the divine, unmerited grace of God.

Blessed is a state of being. A condition of eternal bliss. A mind and heart that experiences the fruit of God’s revelation and divine nature. One doesn’t work or earn to taste the blessed life. One simply yields in God’s presence and allow Him to express Himself through you.

The blessed life is acting and believing in a state of surrender to King Jesus. It seeks actions and behavior that are godlike. Why? Because to walk with God who lives in you, one needs to practice mutually submittal with each other. As we submit to God’s divine character, He openly shares His attributes with us. The two of us learn to walk together. He is the master; we are the student.

The blessed life is God bestowing upon us His divine unmerited favor. He showers us with His riches. He places His love, joy, and peace within us. He tests us. He challenges us. He renews us. We walk with confidence in Him because of the trust he has built with us over the years.

The blessed life is not about me. What I do or not do. The blessed life is what He does. He showers us with His riches. At the end of day, one enjoys His presence more than His gifts. When one comes to intimately know Him, than one comes to the place where one truly appreciates and lives a blessed life.

So if you want to experience the blessed life, simply let God’s Spirit fully express himself in 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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Hope

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , ,
” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4 ESV

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When times get challenging, when you are not sure which way to go, and you feel alone and misunderstood, praise God. You have come to the crossroads of hope.

Without pain, suffering, and misfortune, hope would only be a word. An illusion for the helpless. A battle cry for the defeated. Yet Paul writes that hope is the means of surviving the battlefields of life.

He points us to read Scripture for encouragement. To read how God intervenes in the lives of other believers. To discover the precepts and principles when applied opens the door of opportunity. For when we place our hope in Him, we discover the true meaning of love and faith.

He is faithful and demonstrates how every day. He also expresses love deeper than any person you and I will ever meet. When we place our hope in him, he opens his heart with us. He shares his abundance with us. He also disciplines us for our good. His behavior is a byproduct of his inherent love and faithfulness.

So when times get tough, don’t hope in solutions, money, or people. Instead, place your hope in him. To know him is more than knowing his hands and feet that provide for us. To hope in him is to know him; to know him is to hope in him. In Christ we have real, true hope (Hebrews 3:6).

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Founder & Executive Director
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 a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Sufficiency in Christ

Dr. Mike Life in Christ , ,
“I (Jesus) can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” John 5:30 ESV

sufficiency 1

Many of us either intentionally or wishfully want to be self-sufficient. We desire to depend on no one for anything. If we had our way, we would be self-fulfilled financially, relationally, and spiritually without relying on anyone but our self. To be financially, relationally, and spiritually secured without having to work-out the emotional and irrational issues between people, some would say, would be a relief. In fact, their conclusion is that this would be a wonderful world if we could just get what we want without all of life’s soap opera drama.

This leads me to our first parents. Some believe that Adam & Eve’s sin was the desire to be self-sufficient. Their desire was to be like God, dependent on no one but themselves. Hasn’t humanity been in the same mindset since?

How do you think God designed us to be? To be SELF-sufficient or GOD-sufficient? SELF-fulfilled or GOD-fulfilled? SELF-esteemed or GOD-esteemed? SELF-loved or GOD-loved?

If Jesus’ himself said that he could do nothing apart from his Father God, what about us?

Are we more capable than Jesus? I think not. Maybe it’s time to change our viewpoint and seek out how to live life from a Christ-centered perspective. Or is that just a little too radical for some of us?

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Founder & Executive Director
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 a Friend…Share Today’s Message!