Biblical Life Mentor’s Tip for January 2012

The Power of Core Values

By Michael K. Lake, Th.D.

It has been said:

“The man, who will not stand for something, will fall for anything.”

Although the origin of this axiom is unknown, its truth is manifest in the lives of men throughout history. In fact, I am seeing its truths being manifested today throughout the Body of Christ in the Western world. You see, there is an epidemic of biblical illiteracy in the Church in our Western culture. Somehow in the Protestant movement, we have transitioned from being a people that would give up their lives for the right to read the Word of God to a people that are dying spiritually because we refuse to read it! What a spiritual paradox this places us in.

What the aforementioned axiom tries to express is the truth that if a man has not developed a code to live by with real dedication and conviction, he will run after every new thing filled with folly that the world will throw at him. This explains one of the reasons that the Church today is consumed with being a part of every new fad, gimmick, or philosophical idea that is embraced by the world. This is a sign of the immature believers that Paul warns us about in the Book of Ephesians:

Ephesians 4:14 (KJV)
¹⁴ That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

In the times in which Paul lived, the word “doctrine” had a different meaning than the one we attribute it to today. Hebraically speaking, “doctrine” is what you live. It is your manner of life. The world’s way of living is like a storm whose waves will eventually carry your ship to the deadly rocks of a shipwrecked life. God has a better plan for you than this! He has a destiny for you, but that destiny can only be reached when you live by the core values He expresses in His Word.

Psalm 1:1-3 (KJV)
¹ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. ³ And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

We have been trained by the Greco-Roman influence in the Church to despise the “Law” of God. Yet the Word, in countless verses, promises blessings and prosperity to those that meditate in the “Law.” Are we missing something here? Let’s look at the Hebrew word translated “Law” in verse 2:

Law: Strongs #08451 towrah {to-raw’} or torah {to-raw’} [1]

Meaning: 1) law, direction, instruction 1a) instruction, direction (human or divine) 1a1) body of prophetic teaching 1a2) instruction in Messianic age 1a3) body of priestly direction or instruction 1a4) body of legal directives 1b) law 1b1) law of the burnt offering 1b2) of special law, codes of law 1c) custom, manner 1d) the Deuteronomic or Mosaic Law.

First with the Torah, and then throughout the entire Old and New Testaments, is the instruction of God. Within this instruction are divine core values that are essential to walking in the Kingdom of God and staying free of the siren’s song of this world. When we read and meditate on the Word of God (Genesis – Revelation), we begin to see, understand, and implement God’s core values in our lives with devotion that serves as part of our worship to Him.

It is God who defines what is right or wrong, clean or unclean, holy or unholy. It is His instruction, when consistently applied in our lives, that places us in strategic positions for advancement, prosperity, and blessings. His principles are also safeguards to keep us on course and from the rocky shores of ungodliness.

Yet the world has done several things to throw the Church off course:

• Biblical Illiteracy
• Progressive Philosophies

The first takes us away from the only source of true core values to live by. The second teaches us concepts like:

• Situational Ethics (i.e., do wrong, if you think you can get away with it.)
• Relativism (i.e., there are no absolutes.)
• The End Justifies the Means (i.e., lie, cheat, steal, and kill for the greater good.)

The list goes on of these philosophies birthed in the darkest corners of hell itself. The world is being positioned strategically to welcome the anti-Christ with open arms. The only antidote is a return to a life of devotion to Christ that includes a passion of His Word and living by His principles as an expression of our worship of our Creator.

We need to realize that when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God’s Law was written on our hearts. The prophets of the Old Testament looked to our day with wonder:

Jeremiah 31:30-33 (KJV)
³⁰ But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. ³¹ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: ³² Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: ³³ But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

How much is Jeremiah 31:30-33 connected to New Testament believers? Verse 31 is where we get the concept of the New Covenant or New Testament. These verses are the prophetic foretelling of the New Birth that Messiah would one day come to give. Part of that New Covenant was that God’s Law (Torah or instruction) would be written on our hearts – in other words, encoded into our spiritual DNA are God’s core values expressed in the Torah.

This is why the Apostle Paul instructs us to walk in what the Holy Spirit encoded into our spirits at the New Birth:

Galatians 5:16-17 (KJV)
¹⁶ This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

When we live by the flesh (i.e. ways of this world), we are living in violation of what the Holy Spirit has encoded into our spirits (or hearts). When our actions are not in line with what God has written on our hearts, it produces frustration, inaction, and ill-effects. Let’s look at these verses again in the Complete Jewish Bible:

Galatians 5:16-18 (CJB)
¹⁶ What I am saying is this: run your lives by the Spirit. Then you will not do what your old nature wants. ¹⁷ For the old nature wants what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the old nature. These oppose each other, so that you find yourselves unable to carry out your good intentions. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism.

Can you see now why it is so important for a believer to meditate on the Word of God to learn God’s core values and to begin living by them? It is the only way to live “by the Spirit” and to gain victory in our lives. No wonder the Word continually promises blessings and prosperity to those that meditate in the instructions of God!

The year 2012 needs to be a year in which you return to the full counsel of God’s Word, spending time meditating on the principles you learn and then beginning to make them a part of who you are and how you live. As you do, you will discover:

• Greater faith: your spirit and soul will be in agreement.
• Greater results in prayer: powerful prayer is a product of a right relationship with God and a system of living that is in agreement with His Word. (Your heart can believe what you are asking for.)
• Strategic Positioning: your biblical core values will place you at the right place and at the right time for miracles.
• More open doors for Heaven to move in your life.
• Fewer open doors for Hell to invade your life.

A better life and a brighter tomorrow await you when God is the One who provides your core values to live by!

© Copyright 2012 by Michael K. Lake, Th.D. All Rights Served.

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[1] Strong’s Enhanced Lexicon. BibleWorks for Windows 7.0. BibleWorks, LLC, Norfolk, VA. Copyright © 2006.

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Graduate in the Spotlight

Chad Kottke served in the U.S. Air Force for ten years, and worked in construction management for eight years after leaving the military. He has earned a Masters of Divinity in Hebraic Heritage and is currently pursuing the Doctor of Theology from Biblical Life College & Seminary.

Chad recently published his Master’s thesis through Biblical Life Publishing. Here is a summary of his book "Restoring Biblical Foundations":

God gave the church a sure foundation in the Scriptures, but various doctrines throughout the centuries have taken away from or added to the truths of Scripture. Restoring Biblical Foundations returns to two foundational aspects of Scripture – covenant and Torah – to examine what God says about each one.

The covenant section is a review of seven Biblical covenants that God has made with man. These covenants are shown to complement one other as they come together to form the covenant that Jesus the Messiah has made with His body.
The Torah section develops principles about the Torah from nearly two hundred passages of Scripture. These Biblical principles are used to build an extensive definition of Torah, and to show that the Torah is a necessary part of a believer’s walk.

Chad’s book should be available at Amazon.com by January 15.

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Chart Your Course for Victory!

True leadership is expressed by the vision to chart one’s course through challenging times toward victory. Education has always been a strategic element for success in ministry. BLCS is ready to assist you in your educational endeavors. If you are ready to move forward and see more accomplished in your life and ministry than ever before, call or email for a free consultation.

Current Tuition Special:

Enrolling Using Plan C (Full Payment with Enrollment): You will receive a full 35% discount on tuition on all programs.

Offer Ends March 31, 2012.

Coupon must accompany enrollment and cannot be used for programs by the National Chaplains Institute.

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• Biblical Life Assembly (includes free weekly messages in MP3): www.biblicallifeassembly.org
• Biblical Life College and Seminary: www.biblical-life.com
• Biblical Life Publishing: www.biblical-life.net
• Biblical Life Monthly Teaching Videos: www.youtube.com/biblicallife
• Unit 318: www.unit318.org
• Follow Biblical Life on Twitter:  @biblicallife

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Being Action Minded

Biblical Life Power Tip for June 2011

By Michael K. Lake, Th.D., D.R.E.

Over the years, I have studied many productivity methods: from Dave Lakhani’s, “Power of an Hour,” to David Allen’s, “Getting Things Done” (and several dozen books in between). My mountain to climb has always been that I could think up more in an hour than I could do in a year, so I need all the help that I can get! The book, “Making Ideas Happen,” by Scott Belsky has been a real help recently. Scott has studied those with creative personalities. Creative people always have more ideas than time and find it hard to (1) keep track of all their ideas and (2) bring any of those ideas to fruition.

In all of these works, I have found one constant: you must formulate a plan of action and then work the plan! “Hope to,” “someday,” or “under the circumstances” are never phrases used by the movers and shakers in the world or in the Kingdom! Failing to plan is planning to fail.

The concept of developing a plan of action (which includes action steps) is essential to anything that you want to do in life: from completing your education to developing or expanding a ministry. The skills you must develop to successfully complete your studies at Biblical Life are the exact same skills you must use to build any ministerial endeavor. Avoid or ignore them at your own expense and the expense of the ministry God has called you to.

Counting the Cost

Luke 14:27-33 (KJV)
²⁷ And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? ²⁹ Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, ³⁰ Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. ³¹ Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. ³³ So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

1. Being 100% Sold Out to Jesus: This is not a popular message in the twenty-first century church, but it is the only way to really be a part of His church! True discipleship is giving our all to the One who gave His life for us. Too many Christians today are not Believers because they are riding the spiritual fence – half in the world and half in the Kingdom. The truth is that they are not even in the Kingdom; rather they are only half way through the door that gets you into the Kingdom.

2. Jesus also uses important words in this teaching:

• Disciple (one who disciplines his life)
• Counting the Cost (project management)
• Building (must have a blueprint)
• Making War (strategic planning)

Counting the cost to complete your education or build a ministry is more than just reviewing your financial situation. It means so much more. You must:

Develop a Plan of Action (having a blueprint for success): How much time, energy, and finances will it take to complete this project? Just enrolling or just vision-casting is not enough. What daily, weekly, and monthly actions must be taken to successfully accomplish the project? Are your family and associates on board to provide encouragement and accountability?

Being a Disciple: In other words, are you disciplining yourself to successfully accomplish your daily, weekly, and monthly actions? Are you letting the enemy entice you with other things that take you away from your goals? Stop waiting for someday. A thousand “somedays” lead to nowhere. A thousand action days lead to the fulfillment of a dream! Discipline is required for anything worthwhile in life: especially the Kingdom of God!

Plan for Setbacks: This may be a shock to most, but there will be resistance to completing things in the Kingdom! Do you think that the enemy will allow you to complete something vital in life or the Kingdom without coming against it?

God told Adam something in the Garden that we all miss somehow:

Genesis 3:17 (KJV)
¹⁷ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

When Adam had no resistance to the things he needed to do in the earth, he fell into temptation. Pushing through the resistance produces personal growth: emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Individuals that will not plan and push through seldom grow in any area of their lives! The Word even tells us that Jesus was made more perfect by the things He had to suffer (or push) through. (Hebrews 5:8-10)

When You Stumble, Get Back Up: Pity parties have no place in the lives of doers! We all stumble and fall at times. Champions look at what made them stumble, develop a plan to overcome it, and THEN GET BACK UP!

Proverbs 24:16 (KJV)
¹⁶ For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Seven is an interesting number; it refers to the plan of God. God will allow you to fall at the right times to learn what you need to know in life. Those lessons learned will prepare you for something ahead in your life that you really need to overcome. Here is God’s formula: falling down + learning + GETTING BACK UP = victory!

Jesus – the Man of Action

Each of the Gospels has a particular focus. The Gospel of Mark was written for the Romans and Jesus was portrayed as a man of action. You will find Mark constantly using the words, “immediately and straightway.” Mark wonderfully displayed the discipline, decisiveness, and authority of Jesus. On every front Jesus overcame resistance, schemes, arguments, and even plans for His demise. In every instance, Jesus took command of the situation and gained the victory. He is our example! What you do not take command over will take command over you and stop you from completing your mission, vision, or task.

Isn’t It Time to Work Out Your Plan of Action?

“Hope to” and “someday” are not going to cut it in your studies, in ministry, or in the days ahead. Develop a strategic plan of ACTION. A plan of action includes daily, weekly, and monthly steps of action that systematically move you forward. Make the plan and work the plan. When you stumble, learn from it and start moving again. God is calling you to be like Jesus – a person of action!

© Copyright by Michael K. Lake, Th.D., D.R.E. All Rights Reserved.

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Biblical Life Assembly (includes free weekly messages in MP3): www.biblicallifeassembly.org

Biblical Life College and Seminary: www.biblical-life.com

Biblical Life Publishing: www.biblical-life.net

Biblical Life Monthly Teaching Videos: www.youtube.com/biblicallife

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Biblical Life Power Tip

Understanding Kingdom Assignments

By Michael K. Lake, Th.D., D.R.E. – Founder

As of late, I feel that I am in the Holy Spirit Advanced School of Learning. It seems that each day God is teaching me things that I did not know the day before. In our local congregation, God has been having me teach a series called “Foundations of Biblical Prosperity.” From the title, you may think you already know what I am teaching. I can assure you that you don’t. I have been waking up in the morning teaching things out of my spirit in ways I could not have imagined. In this series on Biblical Prosperity, the very last thing you will hear about is giving. Giving is only one component. Without adding all the rest, giving can be in vain. This is why many have gone bankrupt while they were tithing! These powerful messages are now available on MP3 CD along with a professionally printed study guide through Biblical Life Publishing (www.biblical-life.net).

God has also been teaching me about Kingdom Assignments. This is really something that I have never heard of before. I have heard about Kingdom Destiny, Kingdom Authority, Kingdom Power, etc., but assignments were not in the mix. So when God began speaking to me about them, He had my attention.

Kingdom Assignments come in all sizes. Some can be completed within one event, such as praying for someone. Others can take years, but will include daily sub-assignments. (We will go into more detail about sub-assignments in a moment.) One of the things that we need to understand is that when we accept the assignment, the Kingdom begins to go into operation to provide the resources, time and anointing to accomplish that task. That sounds reasonable, but our paradigms can keep us from those resources to fulfill a given assignment. Let me give you an example:

For a pastor, each service is a Kingdom Assignment to accomplish something in the Kingdom of God — usually within the lives of those attending. When a pastor realizes each service can become a specific Kingdom Assignment, he will seek the face of God for instructions. Once he receives those instructions, he accepts that assignment. Immediately the Kingdom will begin realigning things within his spirit, his congregation and even the atmosphere to accomplish that assignment. Without this mindset, weekly services become a routine. The pastor and staff will find themselves going through the motions with little devotion. (I have been there and can speak from personal experience.) The sermons become “what the people want to hear.” The songs become “what the people want to sing.” We move from “divine visitation” to “Christian entertainment and motivational speaking.”

With a change in the pastor’s mindset, he will begin seeking the face of God for his assignment. He may turn the services upside down. One service may be all singing and prayer. Another service he may teach for the full two hours. In the next service, he may teach for twenty minutes and then begin moving prophetically in the congregation. No one will know what to expect each service, to include the devil! It will add a new excitement and expectancy within himself and his congregation.

I believe we do not experience many powerful things in God because we are not sensitive to Kingdom Assignments. Over the past week, God has been giving me one specific assignment a day. Yesterday, it was to design a new follow-up letter for those that had requested catalogs. The interesting thing is that the letter had little to do with the catalog and yet the anointing of God was all over it! At the beginning of the year, God instructed me to include a complete seminar on MP3 CD along with the catalog. It is our “Next Level Living” seminar that has already blessed so many of you. The letter was about a litmus test to see if Biblical Life was right for them. If God spoke into their lives through the free CD, Biblical Life was most likely the place God was calling them to study. If they received nothing from the CD, they needed to look elsewhere. I would have never thought of such a thing by myself. Once I accepted the assignment, the Holy Spirit began moving: the anointing, ability to write and understanding flowed. It was almost effortless, and the presence of God filled our office!

This morning God woke me up at 4:30am. (And I mean wide awake, not roll over and go back to sleep kind of awake.) I asked the LORD, “What is up? Do I need to do something?” He told me to eat breakfast and go into the office to write this article in the quiet before our normal work day. I am sitting here with a fine cup of coffee and enjoying writing more than I have in quite some time. It was a Kingdom Assignment, and the Kingdom is flowing in it.

If you are a pastor, you need to change your mindset to the one I have already described in this article. I promise you that if you do, you are going to shake some things up! If you are a student at Biblical Life or praying about enrolling, I want to speak a new mindset into your thinking. Attending Biblical Life College and Seminary is not like attending your average bible college or seminary. Most schools are about imparting information – in their case, biblical/theological information. At Biblical Life there is a lot of information, but also a Kingdom anointing for transformation. You cannot approach Biblical Life like you were going to a business college. There is an overload of spiritual truth, altering mindsets, pulling down of strongholds; kicking over sacred cows, and anything else God needs to do to transform you. Attending Biblical Life is a Kingdom Assignment, a divine calling to prepare you for the future. If you approach it any other way, you will either get nothing out of it (because it is spiritually discerned) or your head will explode (figuratively speaking). BUT, if God has given you a Kingdom Assignment to study with Biblical Life and you accept that assignment, the King will release an anointing of a prophetic bible student into your spirit. You will receive a spiritual hunger for truth and the presence of God will surround you every time you sit down to your studies! I have hundreds of students that can testify to this very fact as well as hundreds that can testify the reverse, if you do not accept the assignment! Your mindset can either make you like the pastor going through the weekly routine or like the pastor that turns the services upside down!

Now Dealing with Sub-Assignments

I am going to handle this on two levels. First, when you enroll into BLCS using Plan B or C, we will ship you a volume with five complete courses in it. Do not just start with the first one and work your way through it. That is the way of traditional, secular schooling. Ask the Holy Spirit which one you are to start with. There may be something in a particular course He needs to speak into your life now. Let’s say the Holy Spirit instructs you to go through the course “Biblical Life Prayer Dynamics.” Accept that assignment and have the mindset that you are going to receive everything God has for you in that course, even if it turns your life inside out! I promise you that the course will take on a life of its own! God will speak to you through the lessons and will begin taking you deeper than you ever dreamed possible! You will learn more, experience more and change more! If you don’t, you are limiting yourself and the Holy Spirit.

Each day ask God for your daily Kingdom Assignments. Your long term assignment is to complete the program He called you to take at Biblical Life. But is today’s assignment to do the next lesson or will it be to go into intercession or minister to Jim down the road? What is your assignment today? Today’s assignment will have today’s anointing, insights, revelation and transformation. Miss the assignment, and you will miss out on all the resources of that assignment! Once you miss it, it is very hard to regain the same level. Obedience is ALWAYS better than sacrifice. Satan wants to keep you in “routine” mode. The routine may get it done, but it will be without the anointing, insights, revelation and transformation your assignment brings. Routine only accomplishes things through hard effort, but will have little spiritual value. Kingdom Assignments require less physical effort, but require higher levels of anointing, insights, revelation and transformation – which the King will release into the lives of those who accept His assignments.

Change your mindset from routine to assignment and watch the Kingdom of God go into operation in ways you never dreamed of. It will change your life!

© Copyright by Michael K. Lake, Th.D., D.R.E. All Rights Reserved.

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Profile on Author

Michael K. Lake, Th.D., D.R.E.

Chancellor and Founder

Dr. Lake is the chancellor and founder of Biblical Life College & Seminary and serves as an educational consultant for various Christian organizations around the world. He also serves as the Pastor of Biblical Life Assembly in Marshfield, MO and he is the President of Biblical Life Publishing. Dr. Lake is listed in the US Registry’s “Who’s Who Among Outstanding Americans,” Sterling’s “Who’s Who Executive Edition,” and the “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” for his accomplishments in ministry.

Productivity Tip # 2: Evernote

If you are like me, you are constantly collecting ideas and information.  I used to have 3 x 5 cards and sticky notes all over the place.  Usually when I needed a note, it was somewhere else (the problem of having an office at the Seminary and one at home).  I ran across Evernote about three years ago.  It is a true cross-platform program.  I have it on all my computers (Windows), on my iPad, iPod Touch, and on my Blackberry (when I was using the Storm 2).  They also have the program for Android phones, Mac computers, and the web. 

What makes Evernote so great is that any note I create on any device will sync automatically through Wi-Fi or your mobile service.  It also allows me to have file folders and tags to organize my thoughts, take voice memos, photos, or even clips from webpages.  The uses are almost endless.

The basic service at Evernote is free.  Additional services (such as scanning documents, etc.) is available at a yearly rate.  I use it every day and have found the free service works well.

Stop forgetting and start organizing today!

Go to the Evernote Site

Productivity Tech Tip # 1: Dropbox

Most of us in full time ministry have more than one computer.  In fact, we will have a computer at the office, one at home, and maybe a notebook computer, iPad, iPhone, Android or Blackberry Smartphones.  Wouldn’t it be great to have files that would sync and be accessible from all of these devices? 

I discovered Dropbox over a year ago.  I have thrown just about everything at it and it works easily and flawlessly.  It is installed on every electronic device I use (completely a cross-platform program).  The last two courses I have written I kept in Dropbox.  I have two current books on it and all my sermon notes dating all the way back to 2001!  They are always available if I am at the office, home or on the road.

Another great thing about Dropbox is that an account with 2 GIG is FREE.  I have all this information on it in Word (several thousand files) and I am only using 5% of my space.  Larger space is available for a nominal monthly fee.

If this sounds like something you would use, click on the link below to sign up for your free account.

Sign Up for Your Free Dropbox Account