Day 32 - Bullies

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 17

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

With all the attention on “bullies” nowadays, who would have ever guessed there were so many different types of bullies…until Michael points out several in this day’s writing.  I’ve always thought of a “bully” as one of two people: (1) a guy named, (better not name him), from junior high days.  He was a physical bully…until Coach (better not name him) took a paddle to him in gym class one day, then he was never a bully again, and (2) a guy I knew in college, named Bully, who is far from anything associated with the typical “bully” idea.  Oh well, I think I will enjoy thinking about “bullies” from the perspective Michael gives…enjoy it yourself!

Day 32

Bullies

And they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. --Luke 4:29

I suppose that at one time or another all of us have had to deal with a bully. What makes people bullies is their ability to set themselves above us and intimidate. Physical bullies use brute strength to create the fear of being hurt and in that way control us. Intellectual bullies point out our stupidity and inferiority. Materialistic bullies make successful acquisition of possessions the focus. Religious bullies draw attention to their righteousness, making it quite clear they are grateful for not being miserable sinners and failures like the rest of us. Verbal bullies delight in their ability to speak quickly and leave us speechless in our inadequacy. The political bully understands all the intricacies of the whole world and wonders at the absurdity of our opinions. Finally, outward-appearance bullies exalt themselves because of beauty or dress, insinuating that we are ugly and must therefore take our lower place in the caste system.   

When discussing a bully, we must understand two points. First, any power that he has over us we have yielded to him in the sense that we, like him, falsely believe that the greatness of a person rests in strength, beauty, intellect, material possessions, self-righteousness, or a quick mind. The proof is in statements like this: “I feel like a wimp because I got scared and did not stand up to the bully.” Who said we were wimps for not standing up to someone walking in the flesh? I know who says so! The bully and those of us being intimidated, and I believe both are wrong. We must not let the bullies define what weakness is. If we do, we will find ourselves with false definitions. The spiritual man is to set the standard; he is judged by no one but judges all things. I Corinthians 2:15, “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.” The spiritual man refuses to measure up to the standard set by the carnal or to play the bullies’ games that set themselves above to lord it over others. Rather, the spiritual man places himself below all others, creating a contrast between him and all bullies that puts incredible judgment on them. The spiritual operate from a definition of man that necessitates loving and serving, not standing up to a bully. To the intellectual we can say, “We are not wise in our own eyes.” To the materialistic bully, we say, “We live as the sparrow and lilies.” To the verbal bully, “We bless,” and to the religious bully, we can assert, “We trust not in our works, but in Christ’s.” By deferring to the bully, rather than scraping and clamoring to reach his self-proclaimed level, we conquer and overcome. We must not be intimidated by a bully, for in so doing we fall into his false concepts of life.

“Any power (a bully) has over us we have yielded to him in the sense that we, like him, falsely believe that the greatness of a person rests in…”  WOW!  Man is deceived, including the bully and the bullied.  How crazy is that?!?  We live in a day when counterfeit “truths” and humanistic philosophies run rampant.  When every man is doing what is right in his own eyes.   

But once again, Michael gives us God’s answer: this time to the bullies…spiritual people are the ones who are to be judging, and all things/people are to be judged by what is spiritual (Christianity), not carnal or counterfeit.  We Christians have got to stop letting the world set the standards.  God set them.  Let’s enjoy them.

Do what?  Enjoy them.  How do we do that?  The life of Christ flowing through us.  Simple, isn’t it!  Well, amen.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

P. O. Box 633244    Nacogdoches, Tx 75963                                 936-559-5696

Day 193 - Love

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 16

         

                                                       Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

We are only a few days away from celebrating once more the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In 1 John 4, God tells us some incredible things…actually all words in the passage today are V.I.P.’s, but there are a couple of things that keep getting forgotten about Christmas that are “hidden” in the words of 1 John 4:19..read on!

DAY 193

Love

We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. --I John 4:19-21

The basic gist is that we are going to love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. God loved us first. If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he will not love the person he can see, how can he love the God he cannot see? The command we have from the Spirit of Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people; we must love both. This passage has such a bite! Again, the true test of our walk with Jesus is not found in the perfect situation but where we are our weakest. So often we say that we love Jesus, yet at home, at work, at church, or on the highway, the evidence weighs against it. We like to point to the places where we love. He points to the place where we do not. It is not that we should go down in a heap of condemnation, however. Remember, the purpose of life is to lose our own righteousness, kingdom, power, glory, and pride. We really are weak, and apart from Him we can do nothing. We just must not tell one another we are abiding if we do not love our wife, husband, or brother.

A beautiful passage and a beautiful commentary by Michael.  And the heart of his words are about the love that we are to have and give.  And we can’t say that we are “giving” it IF we don’t love our spouse, brother/sister in Christ, and anyone for that matter.  And since we are so close to Christmas, let me move there…

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  In other verses Christ said in a few words:  Love God and Love others.    Loving God involves loving others.  But how do we do that?  Simple.  His love flowing through us.  “We love because He first loved us.”

Have you ever thought about the fact that if there had not been the birth of Christ, there never would have been the crucifixion of Christ.  Christmas was needed so Easter could be.  If God had not first loved us enough to leave Heaven and be born on earth, then He could not have loved us enough to die on the Cross.  “We love because He first loved us.”

He gave of Himself to be born in the flesh, and He gave of Himself on the Cross that we might be Born Again, and be able to truly love!  Love is a whole lot more than just a feeling.  “We love because He first loved us.”  Well, amen!

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

P. O. Box 633244    Nacogdoches, Tx 75963                                     936-559-5696

Day 4 - A Monumental Task: Bring Every Thought Captive to Christ

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 15

Michael’s book is available through: 

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

Isn’t it amazing how God can give someone an idea on how to handle a difficult situation that turns it into a pleasant victory…when most other people experience defeat after defeat.  The best news is Michael shares a plan for victory with us!

Day 4

A Monumental Task: Bring Every Thought Captive to Christ

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. --II Corinthians 10:5 & 6

Some time ago, I gave myself a challenge to spend one week not thinking about myself. It sounds easy, does it not? Of course, psychologically speaking, this is denial and a very poor practice, but we are all still waiting for the demonstration of the truth of that theory! Well, the first day of withdrawal was the hardest. The battle for the mind was incredible! The obsessive mind of a hardened self-absorption addict became much clearer. It was an amazing experience. I would find myself constantly thinking of what I could tell someone who disagreed with me. I would stop that thought and next would come a flood of thoughts about people who had offended me. I went from having thoughts of grandeur to thoughts of self-hatred. I would block the progress of those and next would come self-righteousness, followed by unrighteousness. Everything that hinted of Mike was captured and brought to Jesus. Then there were fears concerning my children, worries about finances, and bewilderment over the future that, again, were captured and brought to Jesus. Afterward came all of the legitimate concerns. What about the schedule for the Amazon? What am I going to do with the government committee in Fiji? What about the German translation of my book? Again, everything brought to Jesus. It was work, but I did not merely take the thoughts captive, I took them to Jesus as captive thoughts, and when I came to Him, I asked a simple question: “Now, would You please tell me something about You?” He always did. In the course of a week I became lighter, and lighter, and lighter; I felt so free! I was surprised that everything that had filled my mind in the past really did not matter. All I had was the moment, and if in the moment He was teaching me about Himself, this moment was glorious. I discovered just how much the flesh--preferring to be under the rule of something other than Jesus--hates to come as a captive to Him. Also, the whole adventure was measurably easier any time I was serving others and ministering. It was a great week, a tremendous week, the value of which I would not exchange for anything.  

Have you ever thought about “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”?  Or, have you tried to do this?  I have.  It is a difficult task.  At least it has been.  I can’t wait to try Michael’s “plan” (red highlight) for doing this.

I have a friend from our days on the golf team at college.  I gave him a copy of MWfHS, and he told me he read Day 4 and on a trip out of town decided to work on this.  I laughed as he told me he gave up after a period of defeat after defeat.  I wasn’t laughing at him, but just at the remembrance of how I have lost this same battle time and again.  But, just as funny…I didn’t think to ask him if he had tried Michael’s “plan” of taking the captive thoughts to Jesus and asking the Lord to please tell him something about Himself.  I will do that soon.

Now, one other thing…isn’t it incredible what Michael discovered about “everything that had filled (his) mind in the past really did not matter”.  That’s a staggering revelation!  ALL those thoughts not brought captive to the obedience of Christ filling our minds and having no relevance?  Wow!  Ugly!

I sure hope and pray Michael’s “plan” works…I want to constantly experience “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”.  What about you?

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

P. O. Box 633244    Nacogdoches, Tx 75963                                 936-559-5696

Day 132 - The Great Shepherd

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 14

       

Michael’s book is available through:

 Abiding Life Ministries International

                                                                        Littleton, Colorado
                                                        (303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

There is enough spiritual strength in Michael’s first paragraph today to (as we say in Texas) “choke a horse.”  That means it is almost too much for us to chew on!  Read on, and then I will talk about how this means so much to us day by day…

DAY 132

The Great Shepherd

THE LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. --Psalm 23:1-6

The Lord is my Shepherd, what a wonderful thing! He is not my general, employer, or warden, demanding that I walk lockstep behind Him; nor is He ever fearful that I might get out of line, make the wrong decision, or make a choice unpleasing to Him. As the Shepherd, He leads me. 

As a young boy I sat one moonlit night on the back porch of the farm and listened to my grandfather complaining about the sheep, and why not? The night before, we had pulled into the driveway just in time for the headlights to catch a coyote jumping a fence while holding a young lamb by the throat and flung over its back. So this next night we had sat on the roof of the barn waiting for the coyotes to return. After many hours we had taken a break and gone to the house for a cup of coffee. In the short time it took us to return, several sheep had already been slaughtered, though there had not been one sound of alarm from them. Another time I watched with amazement as several of the sheep followed one another into the thick muck of the feedlot, sinking deeper with each step until they were completely stuck and crying out for help. It was so evident that sheep farming was an expensive, exasperating, and frustrating business. Grandpa had to do everything for them, and they were so stupid. I once said, “Grandpa, let’s just get rid of all the sheep!” I actually thought that I would be commended for my insight, but immediately he responded, “Oh, no; I like them!” That simple statement revealed that he was a shepherd at heart. I loved that shepherd, for many times I found myself stuck, stupid, and following the crowd; yet though I was exasperating, frustrating, and expensive, I saw him exhibit the same heart toward me. Now if we multiply this simple illustration by one trillion, we will vaguely begin to see the heart of the Great Shepherd.

WOW!  Soak on these things in that first paragraph:
   - What God is
   - What God isn’t
    - What I don’t have to do
   - He has no fears of my…
   - He leads me!
Hallelujah!  Amen!  HE IS MY SHEPHERD!  MY GREAT SHEPHERD!

I don’t know how your week is going, but I have to tell you that I have experienced my great Shepherd in some awesome, wonderful ways this week…and the week is only half over!  He has led me.  He has led others whom I am interacting with.  He has orchestrated circumstances beyond my control and beyond my imagining.  And I haven’t felt any “demands” from Him.  Well, amen!

How often do we think God is our “general, employer, warden” ALWAYS DEMANDING of us?  We must stop thinking like that!  He is our Great Shepherd.  And He knows we are like sheep.  And He doesn’t leave us without His guidance, wisdom, provision, protection, power, comfort…the list goes on and on, doesn’t it?  So, why can’t we live like God’s sheep.  Admit that is who we are.  Totally dependent upon our Great Shepherd, and ready to enjoy His shepherding!

Those of us who got to know and be around Michael…I can just imagine us laughing when we read about him being up on top of the barn roof with his grandfather, a shepherd in Michael’s early life.  What a picture.  I can see Michael up on that roof with Jesus in his last days.  Michael was always watching over the sheep God gave him to minister to, always learning from His Great Shepherd.  Michael was a shepherd, not a general.  Not an employer.  Not a warden.  Just a simple shepherd. 

And, likewise, many of us have been shown how to be shepherds, instead of “generals, employers, or wardens.”  And we GET TO watch over some of God’s sheep.   Beautiful!

Now listen…we also GET TO experience our Great Shepherd exhibiting His heart toward us even while we are exasperating, frustrating, expensive, and…  And through it all, He likes us.  He likes me.  He likes you.  He would (and won’t) never get “rid” of us!

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

P. O. Box 633244    Nacogdoches, Tx 75963                                       936-559-5696

Day 22 - Bearing Fruit

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 13

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

Bearing fruit…what IS the fruit that Christians ARE to bear?  Michael, in Day 22, gives us a beautiful picture of why so many Christians are confused about this important teaching.  Looking at this wrong leads many to make inaccurate decisions about themselves, and about other folks.  Sad.

Day 22

Bearing Fruit

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither {can} you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing . . . By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and {so} prove to be My disciples. --John 15:4-5, 8

The believer can choose between two pairs of eyeglasses through which to read the Bible. The first pair will transpose and distort everything into a list of what the believer must do to be acceptable to God. The second pair, clear and accurate, reveals to the believer all that God has done. During my devotional time in the early years of my Christian walk, I wore the first pair of glasses exclusively. Passages on the topic of fruit-bearing always discouraged me. After all, I needed to bear fruit, for if I did not, I would be cut off. I needed to bear fruit to prove that I was a Christian, and this fruit had to involve effort, frustration, and rejection.

What changed? I switched glasses and began to see things as they really are in proper order. All the numbers we use--phone, social security, bank account--have to be used in the order in which they were given. Mix up any group of numbers and render them no longer useful for calling home, collecting a check, or making a deposit. There is an order to be respected. When we look at the list of things a believer is to do, we must make special effort to keep them in God’s order, for in that way we will find fruit-making a very pleasurable experience. 

The beginning in God’s order is abiding! How do we abide? He has put us in Him, He holds us in Him, and it is His life flowing though us. The emphasis is not on us but on Him, for He has done it all. Only believe it, confess it, and acknowledge it. Once our focus is on Him, His life flows, we bear fruit--the end result of the proper order--and the Father is glorified. It is His doing. If we will agree with Jesus that we are abiding, fruit will come and He will be glorified. He gets the glory and is the glory because He does the work.

Two of the most frustrating things pastors deal with all the time is someone saying: (1) “I thought they got saved, but they still are…” (referring to some sin, but of course it is a sin that the one speaking is not doing), and (2) “They must not be a Christian…there’s just no fruit in their life to prove that they are.” (referring to “some kind of fruit,” never specifically identifying “what” fruit it is, or if they do specify, it is something the “judger” is “bearing,” even though there is a bunch of “fruit” the judger doesn’t “bear” in their life).  Either way, the end result of both of these erroneous assumptions is a misjudgment of the one judged.

As Michael so simply shows, the “pair of glasses” we wear determines whether we are looking through “man’s eyes,” or “God’s eyes.”  Sticking with the foundational truths keep us looking through “God’s eyes” instead of the “old eyes” we were first born with.  And only those Born Again have that second pair of eyes.  Important.

An intensive study of this magnificent privilege of being a “branch” abiding in the “Vine,” with all the “work” to produce “fruit” being done by the “Vine” (Christ) with the Father being glorified takes all the responsibility off of the “branches.”  Well, amen!

Furthermore, a word search & study of “fruit” in Scripture doesn’t result in finding any of the items the “judgers” list.  How interesting!  Get a concordance and go look at God’s list of “fruit” in Scripture!

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

P. O. Box 633244    Nacogdoches, Tx 75963                                       936-559-5696

Day 338 - What Love Is Not

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 12

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, 2012.  So much to be thankful for.  Perhaps the thing I am most thankful for is that God loves me.  Even me.

Michael makes a couple of statements in Day 338 that I think are truly earth-shattering.  See if you can spot them as you read his writing…I will mention the ones I think are so when I comment afterwards.

Day 338

What Love Is Not

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. –I John 2:15

Who of you thinks that you are greater than God? Do you think your actions can change the very nature of God? Being stupid and falling into sin and failure is a different topic; the topic here is love and whether you think those things can change the very DNA, so to speak, of God.  He is and forever will be patient, kind, never arrogant, never abusive, working for your good, not provoked, not keeping a list, hating the bad that happens to you, rejoicing with the truth, bearing with you, believing in you, hoping for you, enduring to the end, and never failing. It blows your mind! You perform your whole life to be loved because love is conditional, and then along comes Jesus, loving without condition. In a sense, He just cannot help Himself! He is love. As I said, this revelation will change everything!

In our quest for love we have exhausted ourselves performing, competing, and blaming. The standouts in the race to be loved are (not all, but many of) the entertainers, politicians, the title holders, and the “successful.” In the end they die after having relived their few moments of glory and experienced loneliness, bitterness, and reclusion. In brief, if we do not know that God loves us, we will continue to work for man’s love. Some feel so rejected and worthless that they are working for the whole world’s love to overcome the feelings. This is why many live to man and not to God. Avoiding man is another form of living to man. Once we have the revelation of God’s love, nothing else will matter. Some think I live in the clouds, but I am quite serious about God’s love. When a carnal husband tells his wife that she does not meet his needs and he is leaving for another woman, it hurts not only because of the rejection but the fact that the relationship was never deeper than flesh. Her response, “God loves me!” is not mere words but fact that must come by revelation. The realization that God Himself loves a person is an acceptance that dusts earthly rejection.

Perhaps in your opinion (because the world brainwashed you) your life, your job, and your ministry have never really gone anywhere (the same could have been said of Jesus working at the carpenter bench in a small village with narrow-minded people). But through revelation to say, “God loves me,” makes none of that matter. Does He love the pastor with a big church more and the one serving a small congregation less? Does He love the believer more that has straight A’s on his spiritual report card and less when he earns D’s and F’s? Does He love the one with a doctor’s degree more than the eighth-grade dropout? Tell me, what do you think? God’s love is not and cannot be worked for; God’s love can only be enjoyed. No matter what you have been up to today and what you will be doing tomorrow, you can say, “God loves me!” We allow men in the pulpit to tell us covertly that they are more loved because of what they have done. I tell you, they are boasting in their unbelief! To know that He loves you softens every blow that life can hand out. You were left out? He loves you! You had to quit university? He loves you! You were going to seminary but decided on business school instead? He loves you! If you had gone home a day earlier you could have seen your grandmother before she passed away? He loves you! One bumper sticker made to be cheeky says, “Jesus loves you, but everyone else thinks you are a jerk.” It does not offend me; I like the truth that is in it. If everybody thinks I am a jerk, but He loves me, that truly does make all the difference. To hear that He loves us means very little to most, for their ears and head hear the words but their emotions say, “He loves me if . . .!” This causes them to discount His love and go on working for what they already have.

God has been trying to teach you what His pure love is for years. He has never forsaken you, when you were faithless He remained faithful, and He is not making you pay consequences. Still you might lack the revelation of His love. Simply pray and ask that you might see it. It will set you free! God loves you! The revelation must come through Him, and Love will make life make sense. Love reveals that your relationship is not man-generated but God-generated, not man-maintained but God-maintained. Often we hear, “Do not give up! Keep trying! Hang in there! You can make it! You are further along than when you began! If you will just lead one person to Christ it will be worth it! Keep studying, then you will understand.”  What is the source of all such piffle? Its source is ignorance that gets spewed from the foundation of a man-based relationship incognizant of the Love that makes the relationship completely God-planted, God-germinated, and God-harvested. Through Jesus God continued to shout that the relationship was Love-based, and yet every question directed toward Jesus proved that man understood the relationship to be completely performance-centered. I like hiking and pointing out the wildlife, for just as a painting reveals the painter, so does creation reveal the Creator. I find it very frustrating when someone cannot see the deer in the middle of the field; worse yet is the person that cannot hear me telling him where the deer is. Eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear are vexing. We hear that our relationship is God-based, we see that it is, and yet we go on working for what we already have. Christianity without the Love of God as the foundation produces religion, and the Christian religion is the ugliest of all, because every other religion was created as such--with man instigating and executing what is believed to establish a relationship with “deity”--but in Christ God initiated the relationship with man and finished the work to allow it. If Christianity is approached with a religious spirit it gets, as some would say, real goofy! A religious man may imitate Buddha, Mohammed, or a New-Age teacher; it is just man imitating man. But can a religious man imitate God? Impossible! Jesus was not imitating God; Jesus was God. Christ’s life is God’s life.

Again, Christianity is God-generated. Let me ask you a question. Imagine you have known your husband, wife, or friend for many years and know of his many foibles. Over the past month you have been acutely frustrated with the person’s lack of spirituality, when he comes to you and tells you that Jesus appeared and spoke to him. How would you take it? Would you doubt that it happened? Why? You do not see the person as being holy enough? Or if you did believe it, would you be jealous, because in you heart you believe you are just a better person? These attitudes reveal that you do not adequately know the Love of God.

(Underlining is my emphasis.)

There’s an old song in the hymn books of old that is titled: “Jesus Loves Even Me.”

The first verse goes like this:

     I am so glad that our Father in heav’n   Tells of His love in the Book He has giv’n,

      Wonderful things in the Bible I see;        This is the dearest that Jesus loves me.

The chorus:

     I am so glad that Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves me;

      I am so glad that Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves even me.

Second verse:

     Tho’ I forget Him and wander away,       Still He doth love me wherever I stray;

      Back to His dear loving arms would I flee,  When I remember that Jesus loves me.

Repeat chorus…

     I am so glad that Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves me;

      I am so glad that Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves even me.

Third and last verse:

     Oh, if there’s only one song I can sing,   When in His beauty I see the Great King,

      This my song in eternity be:                     “Oh, what a wonder that Jesus loves me!”

Repeat chorus once more…

     I am so glad that Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves me;

      I am so glad that Jesus loves me,  Jesus loves even me.

(I wonder how many of you knew the tune to that old song and sang the words as you read them!?!)

Jesus loves even me!  That’s the message Michael was emphasizing in this day’s

writing.  And once you and I “have the revelation of God’s love, nothing else will

matter.”  WOW!

Now those “earth-shattering” statements… 

(1) “God’s love is not and cannot be worked for, God’s love can only be enjoyed.” 

(2) “The realization that God Himself loves a person is an acceptance that dusts

       earthly rejection.”

There is so much truth in Michael’s writing this “day.”  It shows in the amount of

writing that I have highlighted for one reason or the other.  Can we not believe

just how much our Heavenly Father wants us to realize THAT He loves us, and

HOW He loves us?  That revelation would make life make sense!

Oh, one other thing:  God’s love is not conditional. 

Read, re-read, and re-read this day’s writing over and over until you own it!

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

P. O. Box 633244    Nacogdoches, Tx 75963                                     936-559-5696

Day 315 - We Must All Die; How We Die Is Not The Issue

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 11

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

Addressing one of the most incredible, and most “misunderstood,” truths in life and Christianity, Michael gives some insights that will change the minds of many who read this…

Day 315

 

We Must All Die; How We Die Is Not the Issue

Thou dost hide Thy face, they are dismayed; Thou dost take away their spirit, they expire, and return to their dust. --Psalm 104:29

In today’s interaction among Christians, so much is said about faith, health, and God’s provision, and so little is said about death. If what we hear were true, which is that we possess assurance of health when faith is present, then man would not die. Man must die, just as every creature must die (Ecclesiastes 3:20), and all go to the same place, for they came from the dust and return to the dust. Earth, though, is not the final destination. As it fits the purposes of God in bringing the revelation of Christ in us, He does heal, provide, give materially, and even bring on emotional experiences. However, since at some point we must die, those are not one-sided absolutes, for if we are dying, does it not make sense that the scriptures relied upon by those proclaiming “health and wealth” would no longer be applicable in an absolute way? In Job 1:21 we read, “And he said, ‘Naked, I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.’” At the point of death, what good is a great wardrobe? All of us will exit the earth with nothing, so why have heaps of goods the day of death? If we must die, and God knows the exact number of our days, is it really an issue how death comes? For example, look at the thousands who die in persecution; God did not cause the deaths, wicked men did, and wicked men will be judged. However, He works things together for the good. Could it be that the day set for the death of a saint was absolute, yet God permitted the wicked man to be the instrument for the saint to exit, and the wicked man’s judgment to be full? This is merely food for thought, but I believe we make too much of the means of death. We must all exit. Amen! Some live their whole lives in bitterness because a drunk driver killed a loved one, and they perceive this as a life cut short. Was it? Or was God ready to receive the saint, His work in that one’s life complete, and the drunk was the permitted instrument? Our view of death does make a difference. Again, was it a life cut short or can we see that God, in Sovereignty, was using the evil of man as the tool for the death that must come to all men? I believe that there is provision in the years allotted to a man, and that God knows the day of his death. One man said this: “You are invincible until God is finished with you.”

(underlining is mine for emphasis)

In 30 years of ministry, this subject has more divided thoughts among the brethren than virtually every other “doctrine.”    It is not uncommon to hear someone say to a person who “escaped” death: “God is not through with you yet.”  Or, “You sure were lucky to miss that plane” (like when traffic or something else hindered someone from catching a flight that later crashed with all aboard dead).  Very interesting point: “luck” is not found in any verse in the Bible.  It is not in God’s vocabulary. Now listen…on the other hand, many are heard to say, “If I had just… I could have …” (any number of scenarios have been heard to describe someone commenting that “IF” would have changed whether someone died or not).  What do you believe?

Now think about two scenarios all of us in America have faced: (1) the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the embassy in Libya.  (2) the recent storm, Sandy, that rocked our country’s northeastern seaboard.  WHAT ABOUT those who lost their lives in these and the many other events like them?  Could their deaths have been prevented?  EVERYONE has to decide, one way or the other. 

Incredibly, emotions run extremely high when thinking about the “IF” that many say could have prevented death.  Look again at Michael describing those who live lives of bitterness over a life being taken a certain way, “a life cut short.”  Yet, God has spoken of our days being numbered, measured, and fashioned.  God knows the exact day and moment when we will step into eternity.  Omniscient means all-knowing.  All-knowing.  Knows all.  Knows when, and how.  Amazing. 

I believe exactly like Michael states in this day’s writings.  I have great peace that God is in control.  After all, I have been declared “dead”(physically), but I am still alive…more on that some other time.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

P. O. Box 633244    Nacogdoches, Tx 75963                                  936-559-5696