truth

Why Read the Bible?

Dr. Mike 2023, Scriptures , , , , , , ,

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

There are multiple reasons to read the Bible. Though one of the first options you may want to choose is simply to transform your thinking to better understand the mind of God.

My recommendation for those who have not read the Bible and do not know where to start, is to begin with one section – the Book of Ecclesiastes. (I accidentally did over fifty years ago which began a life journey searching for God, Purpose, and Truth). Many scholars believe Ecclesiastes was written approximately three thousand years ago to a worldwide audience responding to life’s more metaphysical questions which are still pertinent today – the pursuit of happiness and meaning.

Afterwards, then begin a plan to read the Bible from the first page in Genesis through the last page in Revelation with only the theme of discovering the mind and character of God. You can skim through many of the details this way and focus on the parts which reveals God’s interaction with humanity and how specific people walked with God. These sections will give you greater insight in who God is and how he relates similarly and differently with people in various circumstances.

Such an exercise will open your mind to better understand who you are choosing to follow in a relational, covenantal agreement. Don’t you want to know everything you can about a person you want to spend the rest of your life within marriage? The same is true with our relationship with the Living God.

On the other hand, if you have a certain topic on your mind, you may want to use an online concordance to search all the Scriptures pertaining to your subject. This is the way I initially started to study the Bible. In fact, the first topic I ever chose to search was money. Since I was going into the business arena and enjoyed making money, I wanted to know everything the Bible discussed on the topic. Years later, I am still learning and still find enjoyment to discover new aspects about money, which was always in the Bible, but now viewed from a more holistic perspective.

You probably have subjects which currently are at the top of your mind. Why not search the pages of the Bible and discover what 1,500 years of collective writings by forty authors assembled together with the same Spirit reveals about human nature, God’s divine nature, and solutions which have proven successful over time?

The pages within the Bible reveal the mind and heart of God in comparison with the heart and mind of humanity. Over time you will acquire knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of how people may best apply themselves to live an enrich and fulfilling life now and hope for the future. You learn how God designed the world with purpose, mapped out for us how best to succeed, and provide the means and resources to live a free, flourishing, and fulfilling life when done according to HIS way.

Yes, it requires relearning the falsehoods taught by this world’s culture, and accepting personal responsibility for one’s choices, but as one learns God’s good Will and lives by HIS way, one moves into a new created order reserved for HIS children who want to experience life the way HE created you and I to live from the beginning of time.

Read the Book. You will be astonished by the insight you gain about yourself, others, and God.   

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager, Faith-Integrator, Scribbler

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Lie Traps

Dr. Mike 2022 , , , , ,

Psalm 116:11

I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”

Yes, we all lie. We lie to others, and we lie to ourselves. But some lie from an evil intent (Psalm 7:14) and others lie from denial (Psalm 12:2). Some lie from pride, and others fail to tell the truth for fear of losing out (Isaiah 59:4).

But God never lies (Titus 1:2). Satan on the other hand is the father of lies (John 8:44). Both speak from their character. Those who deliberately live life intentionally spreading harmful lies will end up in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). And even those who practice small lies, may have a tough time living under God’s favor (Psalm 101:7).

God really gets upset with those who lie in HIS name (Jeremiah 23:32), speaking from their own minds (Jeremiah 14:14) yet giving credit to HIM. So, when the lie never is fulfilled, God gets the short end of the stick. Yes, the end result is always the same, a life, business, or nation built on lies will not profit from them and will not remain standing (Jeremiah 16:19).

As a child, I learned that most people would rather believe lies than the truth. The lie was easier for them to digest whereas the truth was so uniquely rare people had a more difficult time accepting it. As one grows up, one slowly discovers the entire culture practices lies without acknowledging them as harmful. Yet lying, which I had to repent and learn the hard way, builds shaky relational structures which given enough time will collapse whatever TRUST was built between the parties. But aren’t our lies only to protect the pain from others?

We lie to be polite and unoffensive in our relationships.

We lie to avoid conflict rather than deal with an issue.

We lie to overcome the shortage of value in a product to a potential customer.

We lie to coverup our true feelings and intentions.

We lie about the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny.

Yet these lies we accept as innocent and a natural part of community living. On the other hand, we have politicians who constantly lie to us about matters of the State.

We have advertisers lie to us about their product or service.

We have countries lie to one another under the guise of propaganda.

We have people who angrily lie on the witness stand so they may see the destruction of someone who they hold bitter resentment or hatred against.

We have people deliberately lying to each other to gain something from the other which they desire and can’t honestly disclose their true intentions.

Lying is a natural, human weakness we either accept and play along or we acknowledge its harm and intentionally develop coping mannerism to combat the problem.

Yes, I believe there is a time to lie. When the hostile army is looking for an enemy of the state and you are protecting that person’s life, your intention is to save a life which supersedes your white lie at the moment. Many non-Jewish people were placed in such a situation during WWII and stood up to the genocide.

But to intentionally lie and cover up the truth for personal gain is a motive which comes into discussion. Lying and using God’s name in the process of protecting non-life situations is something we all need to be careful when treading water.

As believers, Jesus instructed us “to be shrewd as snakes but as harmless as doves” in our adventures through life. We are to reflect the glory of God in our dealings with one another. Yet we also must realize we live in a fallen world were Satan and his army deliberately spread lies and encourages lies between people. We need to discern the truth from the lies and weigh the situation for our response.

In most cases, we will smile and accept the situation as non-threatening and be polite. In other times, we may speak up and question the matter more in depth to arrive at the truth of the matter. Either way, when we walk with the Spirit, built on the Word of God, we will follow HIS lead and accordingly respond with love and courage.

We have all lied. Only God knows the real cost or value of those lies. HE will judge us.

HE will discipline us when needed, and HE will encourage us when needed. But meanwhile, be careful with all the news, gossip, opinions, stories, and narratives you hear being told. Seek out the truth and don’t jump to conclusions until you have acquired as much evidence and facts to truly understand the matter. Until then, realize we live in a lying world, but God has given us the truth to live out life within HIS domain today. So always lean on HIM and let HIM lead you into all the truth.

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

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Look at the Evidence

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , ,

Proverbs 18:13

Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.

We live in a world of in-your-face social and institutional media that everything we read and see and hear is quickly digested and generally believed without facts. A 10-second video clip is shown and conclusions quickly drawn. People and actions are immediately judged and condemn on hearsay, gossip, and tribal affiliation. The Bible identifies people who act this way are foolish and immature.

One of my early mentors taught me the importance of gathering all the facts before being swayed by the initial story. One time an employee presented us with an accusation of another associate. The event if true would be grounds for termination. When I initially heard the story, anger arouse, and I wanted the person immediately removed from the company. But my mentor remained calm, thank the person for the information, and proceeded to complete his work for the day. I was dumb-founded. Wasn’t he going to act on this manner?

He did. He finished the task in front of him, then scheduled meetings with several of the people involved. After meeting with each person, and interviewing several other people involved, the whole story became known. The facts showed otherwise. The accuser’s perception of the events was an error. A person’s reputation and job were saved. And when all the real evidence became known, everyone involved could breathe fresh air again.

The moral of the story – don’t jump to conclusions until you gather all the facts from as many sources as possible. And like Steve Covey always said, First understand, then be understood.

When you allow your feelings to lead, you will fall far short of your goal. Instead, gather the evidence, study the facts, and reach a rational decision which you can uphold before others.

Facts don’t lie, feelings do. Liars may distort and twist facts toward their personal agenda, therefore the importance of you knowing the facts in their pure form becomes more necessary if you truly want to know the truth.  

When 10 facts overwhelm one fact, the answer is obvious. Yet many people know one fact of the situation and ignore the nine. They are people with a hidden agenda and don’t want the truth. They have a personal crusade and don’t care of the truth. The rational person though will want to take the whole picture into account. They will look at the entire evidence before reaching a conclusion.

So, before you jump into the shadow of your feelings, be rational, gather the evidence, and then reach your conclusion on the matter. It always sounds true when the first person speaks, but after you hear from the other side, you will most often find your initial impression is not the real picture of the entire event. The more you do this, the better you will become in evaluating the situations in your life – It’s called maturing in wisdom.    

PS: If you haven’t yet included the Book of Proverbs into your devotional reading time, you may want to practice reading a chapter per day for one month on an annual basis. There is a whole lot of practical wisdom waiting to be digested between those pages that is very applicable for the 21st century.

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!

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