Zoe Code Podcast with Mike Q. Daniel

Discover how rejoicing in suffering in Romans 5 doesn’t mean that we should like it, and it certainly doesn’t mean God is a big meanie. It means He is using what we don’t like in this temporal world to bring about eternal joy and peace in the here and now.  Mike also discusses in Q&A why God allows sin, and if evil in the world means God is fallible.

Mike shares from Romans 5:1-3 on how and why he loves America and how that parallels our identity and hope in Christ by grace. In segment two, he answers the question, “What is the difference between God, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit?

Even when there seems no hope, we have hope because of Jesus, but living from that “hope against hope” is a daily miracle for most of us!  How do we walk in peace with others and with our circumstances?  What does it really mean that we’ve been justified in Christ and what is the faith that makes that possible? Join Mike Daniel as he unpacks Romans 5:1 and talks about some things to come -- both for you from the truth of this passage and for the podcast that you can participate in!

What does it mean to praise Him for His glory in all things this Thanksgiving?  Take less than 5 minutes to be encouraged and equipped in the midst of trials and obstacles to live from - and give praise because of - the grace of God for His glory today!

How is God glorified in your Life?  Join Mike Daniel to discover exactly what God is doing for His glory regardless of your circumstances, and what it means to participate as a recipient of His incredible grace!

In this Tuesday Teaching, "Just Me vs. Us Me,” Mike Daniel shares an often missed reality of our Life in Christ.  What is our role in living out the Christian Life?  What is the difference between prescriptive & descriptive imperatives in Scripture?  Discover how Jesus and the Apostle Paul direct us to live so that Christ actually lives His Life through us!

Join Mike Daniel for this look at what trusting God really means in our day-to-day life from the perspective of His finished work and our daily needs and obstacles. You may just discover it really is all about Jesus! You can also watch this and other videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/mikeqdaniel      

How do we know and live out the holiness of God even as He is holy?  This 10-minute message explores Peter's quote of Leviticus commanding that we be holy even as God is holy, and how grace in Christ is the only way to experience and express His very nature through His indwelling Life.  Discover the "How-To of Holiness" by God's gracious design--it will change the way we live with and for our Holy Creator!

In "Shifting Focus & Sharing Life", Mike Daniel explores John 11 to unpack the value that drives God's activity in our lives and brings life to us in Him in every circumstance.

How does our culture and circumstances tempt the Body of Christ to live for and from the world, self, and others, instead of from our fullness in Jesus? Join Mike for the Tuesday Teaching as he shares from part 3 of "Good, Better, Best" how our life within our culture parallels the Israelite's captivity among the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Assyrians.

Mike Daniel asks, “What is the better Life?” God is often not operating as we'd like or expect, but we DO have the Mind of Christ!  We can see and operate increasingly according to His perspective...  but what IS it?  Discover more in part 2 of "Good, Better, Best.” Find more resources at MikeQDaniel.com.

Mike Daniel asks the question, "Are we trying to be good, or living from Christ's righteousness by grace?"  In this short teaching, Mike discusses receiving Christ's grace for righteousness and provision instead of hoping in self apart from Him to be good enough so we can get enough for our life.  Enjoy!

Mike Daniel and co-host Wynema Clark discuss how the three rooms of the temple compare with our body (the outer court), soul (the Holy Place) and spirit (the Most Holy Place) and how knowing who we are in our spirit in union with Christ can increasingly change our soulical thinking, emotions and actions. In part 2, they discuss the relationship of trying to obtain righteousness through religion vs. relationship with Christ. In part 3, Wynema discusses her New Covenant for Housewives ministry and she and Mike talk about her upcoming bible study based on Dan Stone’s book, The Rest of the Gospel.

Bent Tree invited Mike to share on the topic of prayer and forgiveness in the New Covenant.  Mike addresses how prayer is different for those in Christ, addresses the place of confession & forgiveness in the Life of those already forgiven and adopted in Christ, and gives some language and encouragement in both our perspective of sin in the life of the believer as well as God's perspective and the condition of our relationship with Him when we sin.  Enjoy!

There is a wonderful truth embedded in John 1:3-4, that God created all things THROUGH Christ, and through that very relational process Life - the light of men - was made IN Him!  Enjoy this profound look at John's perspective of our Life in Christ as the Son of our Heavenly Father by grace, and enjoy walking in His Spirit of Sonship this week!

Mike Daniel and co-host Wynema Clark discuss the role of the flesh in spiritual growth in the context of Galatians 5:16-25, including the maturing process whereby Christ shows us the lies we’re believing, He gets our attention and persuades us to focus on Him increasingly, He produces fruit as we walk more deliberately in our relationship with Him and His fruit through us becomes useful in others’ lives.

"Didn't Know Who You Were With!"  John opens his Gospel with was going on before anything was going on - in the beginning before there was a beginning.  Enjoy this teaching on the relationship shared by the Father & the Son for which all of Creation was made, and in which you now live in Christ!

Mike Daniel discusses how to live from God as your source, including the points you need to stop expecting the world to meet your needs because there is not enough to go around; entrusting yourself to God is not about your doing what you think He wants in your circumstances, but about trusting Him to do what He wants through you; and a righteous life is His life lived through you which requires you turn from yourself to Him as the source of your life.

Mike Daniel continues his discussion of God’s sovereignty over earthly authorities, including the points that His authority to bring about good in your life is greater than any earthly authority’s ability to undermine it; it’s only by subjecting yourself to circumstances that are unfair that you can show the sufficiency and grace of Christ; and your freedom is not subject to the authorities over you, it’s the exercise of your life in Christ in any circumstance.

Mike Daniel discusses God’s sovereignty over all earthly authorities in your life, including the points that you can trust God enough to submit to authorities that you don’t like when you really believe that God is sovereign, that He is loving, and that He knows better than you do; for the Lord’s sake, you can afford to subject yourself to governmental authority because you are not trying to live from earthly resources; and it doesn’t mean that God approves of what those in authority do but He will use them for His purposes and your good.

Mike Daniel concludes his discussion of the difference between being a Carnal Christian versus a Spiritual Carnivore, including the points that when you pursue God for Himself, your life will be radically different from what it was when you pursued Him for what you wanted from Him; God is enough and His grace is sufficient so you don’t have to live for yourself but can be available for Him; and all your struggles become useful when your goal is to know God more because those are the very venues He allows in your life to develop dependence on, and intimacy with, Himself. 

Mike Daniel continues his discussion of the difference between being a Carnal Christian versus a Spiritual Carnivore, including the points that we’re seeking the things of the world—living carnal lives—because we value more what we can get from God than we value God Himself; we seek after the gifts instead of the Giver not realizing when we have Him, we have everything we need; and when we seek to be in a deeper more intimate union with God, we find that He has already overcome the sin in our lives.

Mike Daniel discusses the difference between being a Carnal Christian who is seeking God for the things of this world and what he can get from God versus a Spiritual Carnivore who is someone living for God, feeding on Him and building a relationship with Him.  

Mike Daniel discusses King Jehoshaphat’s seeking God in the midst of an overwhelming crisis and how that applies to us, including the points that God uses storms in your life to draw you into deeper fellowship and dependence on Him; He wants you to know that He is the source of peace, joy and rest, not your circumstances; and like Jesus asleep in the boat in the middle of that storm, if we knew how great God is, we, too, would be able to sleep in the storm.

Mike Daniel discusses Jesus’ prayer for all His children in John 17:9-26, including the points that Jesus is in heaven interceding for you; you don’t need to perform or try to persuade him to be on your side since everything He is doing is for you; your failure is just as useful as your success in the Christian life because it is through your failure you learn how much grace there is for you; and the nearness of God is the solution to all your problems.

Mike Daniel discusses trichotomy which means we are a 3-part person: body, soul and spirit, including that when you believe lies from your flesh, the world or the enemy, and your emotions go along with the lies, you can fall into the error of thinking you have to work harder and do more for God to get what you want from Him, and when you fail, you end up justifying, coping or blaming others. God, however, can work in the midst of your sin and rebellion to change your source from yourself to Him. The battle of the mind is to take every thought captive to the knowledge of His finished work and then to rest in Him and His finished work.

Mike Daniel continues his discussion of going deeper with Christ, including the points that God is trying to get you to the deeper life that you already have in Christ but aren’t experiencing because you’re pursuing other things; that you can admit to Him that your plans are just your wants and give them to Him, then choose what He wants for you, and ask him not to do what you want, but to do what He wants; and you can admit to God that you want more than just Him and then ask Him to change your heart because God is in the heart changing business. 

Mike Daniel discusses Jeremiah 29:11 including the points that while God knows the plans He has for you, He doesn’t tell you what His plans for you are because the last thing God wants you to do is to go and try to accomplish the plans that He wants to accomplish in and through you; Christianity is your being so radically sold out and dependent on Christ as your life that you completely abdicate control and decision making for the rest of your life to Him; and God is calling you to pursue Him not His plan so He can do whatever He wants with you.

Mike Daniel discusses 2 Peter 2:4-5, including how we, as aliens in the world, are not supposed to be living like the world because we are equipped to live differently and the reason we’re not living differently is because we still want what the world wants; and how we are to strive to focus on Him in our circumstances to come to know Him more in order to receive what He has for us in that moment and experience the fulfillment that brings.

Mike Daniel and Darrell Lindsey discuss whether a believer can be cut off from God if he stops believing, in the context of Rom. 11:22 and 2 Pet. 2:20, concluding that in Romans 11:2, this verse applies to a people-group and not to an individual and in 2 Pet. 2:20, a believer who stops believing, while suffering by choosing sin, cannot lose his salvation.

Mike Daniel discusses 1 John 1:9--on confessing sins for God’s forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness—in the context of verses 5 – 9, as applying only to those who have never recognized and confessed their sins and asked Christ for forgiveness and who therefore remain unbelievers living in darkness. Believers, who have been cleansed of all sins at salvation, don’t need to continue to confess and be forgiven for sins anew every single day to be right with God.

Mike Daniel discusses the implications of Jesus’s baptism and the Father’s statement, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” to you today as a believer in Christ, including how your relationship with the Father is identical to His very good relationship with Christ because you are in Him; and how God is saying, “You are my child with whom I am well pleased,” not because you deserve it but because Christ deserved, earned, purchased and gave it to you and thus made you the recipient of the pleasure of God. God is in you and he wants to express the uniqueness of who He is through you, His beloved child.

Mike Daniel discusses Mark 6: 7-12 including how you’re not saved to be safe but to be sent; true life is not found in hearing and agreeing with the truth but in walking in it and sharing it with others; how you’re brought into the Kingdom to be sent out; and how your conspicuous dependence on Christ (that’s faith) as your Source will display God’s graciousness and result in glory to Him.

Mike Daniel discusses the true meaning of being loved and loving others from a Christ as Life grid, including how you gain nothing, have nothing, and are nothing apart from His love; how God is convincing you of how loved you are; how as you increasingly receive his love, you become more useful to His plan and agenda to love others and convince them of His love; and how your being convinced of how loved you are by God becomes the motivation and empowerment (the cause) of your behavior.

Mike Daniel continues his discussion of unraveling faith “nots” using the story from Matthew of Jesus’s commending the Canaanite woman for her great faith and making the point that knowing His grace and knowing your place equals great faith, and discussing the question, “Do I trust God enough to accomplish what He wants through me and do I trust His character enough to be OK with whatever that is?”

Mike Daniel continues his discussion of unraveling faith “nots” using examples from Matthew of Jesus’s rebuking his disciples for having too little faith, including the points that God is never really worried about what you’re lacking; God is never limited by your limitations; He is able to guard what He has entrusted to you; and nothing will be impossible when you have dependent faith on Jesus and He is the One working in and through you.

Mike Daniel, using the story of Peter’s walking to Jesus on the water, discusses authentic faith including how faith is your hope in the person of Jesus Christ not in His activity or His provision; how the goal of the Christian life isn’t your happiness but God’s glory; how the way you glorify him is by submitting and entrusting yourself to Him which is worship; and how the only way you will submit to Him is because of His great love revealed in Christ.

Mike Daniel continues his discussion of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to illustrate that God is drawing your attention to an eternal reality in your temporal circumstances, including the points that God is always moving you from crisis-focus to Christ-focus; that He enters into your grief and suffering with you because he wants to be intimate with you; and that life in Him overcomes death once and for all.

Mike Daniel discusses the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to illustrate that God is drawing our attention to an eternal reality in our temporal circumstances, including that God will bring something greater from our circumstances than what we have to go through to get to it; because of God’s sovereignty, every struggle is not the end of the story, God’s glory is; and because of his love, he will suffer great loss with us to share great glory with us.

Mike Daniel discusses what it looks like to be spiritually mature, in the context of Psalm 115:1 and Gal. 2:21, and addresses the questions:  Who has God revealed Himself to be to you?; Who do you need him to be to you?; and Who can you afford for Him to be through you to others?

Mike Daniel discusses Luke 2:8-14 as an example of seeing God in the transitions of your life, including, God will give you a change of heart as you realize He is not about you but He is for you in carrying out His plans to glorify Himself; God will give you a change of focus as you give up your agenda to participate with Him in His plans; and God will change your hope from self-reliance to dependence on Him as you participate in a bigger story than your own that speaks of the glory of God.

Mike Daniel discusses setting goals for 2015 in the areas of your family life, your resources, your relationship with God and ministry with Him, your intellectual and recreational life and your health. He recommends making a chart of where you are currently, your ideal, what you would like to see happen by the end of the year and what you want to accomplish in your life. In goal setting, this life is temporary and the only lasting thing is our relationship with God and how He impacts others through us. In setting the goals, keep checking with God on what it is that He wants to do in your life.

Mike Daniel discusses Prov. 16:9--the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps--in the context of setting goals for 2015, including God is working on your increased experience and expression of His life; God’s agenda is for you to experience greater dependence on Him; and God wants to have relational intimacy with you in every venue of your life.

Mike Daniel continues his discussion from Daniel on the four elements of spiritual vision, including how spiritual vision always looks to God and not to self; how spiritual vision sees God’s activity as revealing God, not validating you; how God’s gifts to you are never just for you; and how spiritual vision always brings the authority of men under the sovereignty of God.

Mike Daniel discusses the lessons we can learn from how Daniel’s responded to God in his impossible circumstances including how impossibility is the very context of God’s work in your life so He can accomplish what only He can do in your circumstance; how the Spirit draws your expectation from self to God always; and how God is working on your relationship with Him all the time. 

Mike Daniel continues his discussion of Daniel 2:1-16 to illustrate God’s invitation to you in impossible circumstances, including how God is interested in inviting you to the end of your rope and resources and abilities so you can experience what only He can do in your life; how God is wanting you to live out of the relationship you were designed for; and how God wants to be much more in and through you and the only way you let Him is if you give up being enough for yourself.

Mike Daniel discusses Daniel’s response to the sovereignty of God in King Nebuchadnezzar’s impossible request in Daniel 2:1-16 to illustrate God’s invitation to you in impossible circumstances and what it might look like to live from the sovereignty of God instead of trying to cause and be the source of what we want from God. If God has put you into an impossible situation it is to do something that can only be done through the sovereignty of God.

Mike Daniel discusses Matt. 16:13-18 and how God won’t change in order to fit your image of Him but invites you to see Him as He is and you will be the one to change; how his revelation, if you receive it, is always transformation for you; how faith is not what you do for God, but what you let him do by grace through you; and how who He is determines who you are and what He does determines what you do.

In Part 2, Mike Daniel discusses how the only One who is going to be with us on this pilgrimage journey our entire time on earth is Jesus Christ; how He is both the journey and the goal and the walk and the destination; and how our circumstances will either drive us to Him or they will be our opportunity to participate with Him in those circumstances. 

Mike Daniel discusses how every believer can walk and enjoy Jesus by pursuing Him as the destination of our pilgrimage journey since our life with Him is both our journey and destination; and how the goal of our pilgrimage is that we will no longer wander away from Him as our Source, but that we will wander with Him.  

Mike Daniel discusses how worship is our submission to God based on His revelation of Himself to us resulting in His exalting himself through our lives made available to him for what he will do in other peoples’ lives; how when we recognize what he’s done for us, we’ll submit to him so that he can do what he wants through us; and how if we could just recognize his activity, receive his revelation and respond in submission, the natural byproduct is that is that we are useful to Him and He is exalted in our lives.