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Turning Prayer into Action

Dr. Mike 2026 , , , ,

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:9-13

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“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  Matthew 7:7

One business skill-set that has made the largest impact in my personal life is the development of a process. A process is the step-by-step procedure to follow towards a meaningful outcome. Though one tries to control the outcome, in most cases one learns it is the process one only can control. The outcome is usually dependent on many other considerations outside one’s influence. Thus, every important outcome is best governed through a process toward its end.

This holds true even in one’s personal life. Over time we develop meaningful goals to pursue which gives us purpose. Yet, if we don’t have a process to follow, then the goal is only a wish. A dream most likely never to happen.

As Christ-followers, we have been given a macro-goal in partnership with Jesus himself. A goal larger than ourselves. A vision bigger than any one of us. Yes Jesus is the initiator and CEO. But HE has given us a community of other believers within the Church to carry out HIS instructions. He has given us an outline to follow. A process for each of us to put in place with Jesus himself. The details though is a mutual discussion between you and HIM.

Our objectives are outline through the prayer example of Jesus found in the book of Matthew (6:9-13). We are to ask God for help to focus our actions toward seven important outcomes. Each outcome begs a personal reply: What is your process?

The first is to build a meaningful relationship with our Papa God. What is your process?

Followed by surrendering our kingdom under the auspices of God’s Kingdom. Again, what is your process?

Then to learn, develop, and exercise our personal will to be one with our Triune God. Again, what is your process?

Jesus knows the importance of physical necessities. Thus, HE reminds us to ask for our daily living requirements. Food, clothing, shelter are the basics of human survival. HE knows we need them. Again, what is your process?

HE also knows we have all incurred debts through life. He did not mean the financial type. But the spiritual sins of commission and omission that we all have committed. Repentance is the process of acknowledging our need for grace. To refocus our internal drive to a deeper relationship with God. So, how goes your process?

Then Jesus moves to the importance of forgiveness within relationships. The importance of maintaining a relationship is the ability to forgive others. Just as God has forgiven us. How is your process working?

Jesus also knows the struggles of temptation in the world. He instructs us to pray for deliverance from them. Which again begs the question, what is your current process to deal with temptation?

The seventh area Jesus pointed to was evil itself. Evil is real. Evil is anti-God. Evil will knock on your door more times than you want. So, Jesus instructs us to pray asking God to deliver us from it. What does your process against evil entail?

All seven of these objectives are key areas of a Christ-follower’s life. From a personal leadership perspective, each one requires a process to manage. Our focus is to control the process. The outcome is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. As we surrender to our Lord, HE will walk with us through the process.

HE even gave us further instructions on the development of our process. HE told us to ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK. We are first to ask God. We ask HIM to direct our steps. To bring people into our world to assist us. To flood us with HIS Grace as we make every effort to move through the process.

As we continue to ASK, we begin to SEEK HIS answer. We move forward. We look for HIS words, HIS touch, HIS Spirit along the way. When a door appears that may be the answer, we KNOCK. As we turn the knob, but the door remains close, we leave it alone and move on. We keep looking for another door. As we turn the knob on this one, the door slowly opens on its own. We do not have to force or manipulate anything. The door opens wide. We step through and like a champion surfer, we ride the wave to the end. Afterward, we look back and are amazed how everything fell into place.

God is a master worker. HE does good work. As you move through your process, your relationship with HIM grows deeper. Your trust in HIM becomes stronger. You learn the holy swagger walk. You experience the goodness of God.

Yes, we develop a process and follow through with our best effort. We will fall short most times. There we will see God’s grace in action. In the process, we learn how to govern ourselves and others. We also build a stronger relationship with Jesus, our Lord, Savior, and Teacher. The Holy Spirit becomes more active in your world. This all happens as you develop and execute a process of turning prayer into action.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

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“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

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Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Dr. Mike Life Tools , ,

Matthew 7:15-20

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit…Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

These past few months I found myself negotiating with a very successful business person on the purchase of a large real estate transaction. The deal never closed. Throughout the discussions, they would negotiate a fair deal but never live up to any of their commitments. They made promises but not once delivered on their word. After several attempts to finalize the deal, we walked away. How can you negotiate with someone who isn’t honest and doesn’t live up to their word?

Jesus discusses in Matthew how to identify false prophets. You can recognize them by their behavior. Their appearance may impress you, but what is the fruit of their life?

You can use the same analogy toward any person who comes to you looking like a saint, speaking like a saint, but whose actions don’t live up to their appearance. These are people who promise you anything and everything to follow them. Their intention is very self-centered and they have no problem using you for their personal satisfaction.

Most of the people we meet in life, we quickly (and most often wrongly) judge them by their appearance. Most of the people who we come to know through the media are presented to us from the bias of the reporter. We quickly make assumptions based on which tribe or education or social position or economic status they seem to belong too.

Yet most likely we are wrong. Until you spend time with a person, getting to know their worldview, their values, their life goals and ambitions, and how they manage themselves through a crisis, you are only guessing. Until then, you can only watch how their actions align with their words.

Politicians are in many ways today’s false prophets. They promise you freedom, but implement programs that enslave you to the state. They cast visions of utopia for you if you elect them, but at the end, they are building their utopia at your expense.

The fruit Jesus speaks about is the character attributes of the Triune God: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, humility, honesty, freedom, good work, etc.  The fruit of a dead tree follows the attributes of Satan who is the antithesis of God. John records Jesus stating that the devil’s role is to lie, steal, enslave, kill, and destroy.

So, when you look at the fruit of people’s lives, what do you see?  A life flourishing with the treasurers of God or a life drowning in the destructive path of Satan? You will know them by their fruit.

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 2013-2020 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Be Fruitful

Dr. Mike Business & Faith, Kingdom Paradigms , , , ,

Genesis 1:28 – And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it… ESV.

Colossians 1:9-10 – we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God… ESV.

 

fruitful

God’s first instructions to mankind taken from Genesis 1:28 was to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…” Nothing has changed since then except humanity’s natural inclination to first try it their way.

At the very beginning of man’s timeline, our heavenly Father gave us the personal responsibility to exercise wisdom, imagination and creativity to manage His earthly domain for Him.  The Bible calls it stewardship.

Like the manager of a company given the responsibility to grow the business for the owner, we likewise have been given the assignment to improve the world around us. When we take the focus away from ourselves and on others, we find needs to be satisfied. As a steward, we analyze the resources at our disposal and best deploy them toward satisfying the needs of others. In business, we receive the reward of developing a relationship with a person who becomes our customer. Through this process, we are financially compensated that allows us to purchase the resources we need to do it again and again. As we keep repeating the process, our client base grows, our resources under management grows, and the more people we can serve.

The challenge for most of us is locating that sweet spot where our natural gifts and talents intersect the needs of others and is fueled by our passion. Some of us may not recognize what our strengths are; others have placed mental or emotional limits on themselves; and then others are so wrapped up in themselves that they are blind to the need of others.

The apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians mentioned his prayer for them was that God may supply the strength and internal fortitude to walk with our Lord and be fruitful in their work. Maybe some of us (if not all) need to invest more time praying for the same resources. Maybe we are not as fruitful as we can be because we are trying to accomplish our dreams apart from God. Maybe instead of striving for more, working longer hours, and chasing after dollars, we ask Him to show us how to rest in Him and learn from Him how to be more fruitful. Most of us will become pleasantly surprised how He has a way to open doors, bring people into your world, and generate opportunities beyond our wildest imagination.

God wants you to be fruitful in your work. But more than this, He also wants you to be fruitful in His relationship with you. Make Him the center of your life and then watch how He showers you with His fruitful Grace and Presence in your corner of the galaxy. For wherever He goes, the world around Him grows more fruitful.

This is the reason Jesus stated in John 15:5 that you will bear much fruit as long as you remain in 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 2013-2018 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved