Lee McDowell Christian
Ministries LMCM
Nacogdoches,
Texas Gal. 2:20 KJV
Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 46
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life
Ministries International
Littleton, Colorado
(303) 972-0859 almi@abidinglife.com
Choice That Promotes Life
Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the
Father but through Me.” –John 14:6
Finally,
the truth is that in
Christ I can choose no longer to sin! In Him I am free! A new birth happens once, but conversions, or changes in
thinking, occur throughout one’s life. One day I stopped thinking that
Jesus was a man in history and began to think that He was a man that was alive
today. It was a conversion in my thinking, one of many to come. The first choice we make is the
choice to believe in Jesus as the Sacrifice for our sin, a choice
preceded by our own failure and sin. The second choice will come by the same means, failure and sin; we must
choose Him as our Way, our Truth, and our Life. Years and sometimes decades exist between the
first and the second choice. For many of us, these are the lost years,
the wilderness years, or the dark nights of the soul. During these years two dynamics meet daily in a
clash, leaving few unscathed; on the one hand is the strong desire to “pay
back” Jesus for all that He did and has done; we feel this is primarily
accomplished by “acting” like Jesus. This is, of course, exactly what it
is, an act! Initially believers are convinced that we have retained some
strength, hold some solution, and possess something at our disposal that will
make us act like Jesus. There will likely be something hidden, a secret, so
most of us really do not want Jesus invading every area of life, not when we
can continue to believe in our way, our truth, and our life and discreetly to
trust our idols, sedatives, victimization, bitterness, anger, and passivity to
resolve life’s daily issues and enable us to imitate Jesus. When things go well, we are
confident and full of pride and glory. When things fall apart, we blame
ourselves or others, leading to depression, frustration, and the wish for life
to pass. The time between the two choices is a very mean time, for man
was not created to imitate Jesus, but to be a vessel for the living Jesus. As
believers approach the second choice--The Choice--we are confounded by all of
the other choices that are presented to us in the form of advice. If only there
were more Scripture memory, quiet times, prolonged studies, witnessing, or
stronger resolve, then we believers would be like Jesus. The tension of trusting self (a
self that prefers its reign to the reign of Jesus in our life) for the
provision to act like Jesus is absurd and will eventually cause the believer to
begin to break in pieces. In the power of a self that has at its disposal all the old methods of performing
and coping, we try to displace self. Think of the absurdity of self’s
removing self; that actually keeps self actively alive! Man becomes a house
divided and begins to fall apart.
The dichotomy of wanting to act like
Jesus in the flesh and at the same time to have flesh despising the potential
rule of Jesus creates a tremendous amount of guilt, which is said to be the
undertaker’s best friend. However, guilt in the
hand of God produces some wonderful results. We believers become weary of being
and feeling guilty, and it is in this state that the enemy takes opportunity to
whisper to us, in a voice that sounds like ours, “I cannot change. I cannot
choose a better way. I am stuck!” Imagine hearing such a thing when we hold the
key of choice in our very hand. At this time, the fullness of time, we believers are ready for
another conversion in the form of recognizing that it is not about imitating
Jesus but participating in His Life, being attached to the Vine, and having
exactly Jesus flowing through us. As the Holy Spirit brings the
revelation, we do not hesitate or argue but embrace the fact. We are abiding,
Christ is in us, and apart from Him believers can do nothing. Jesus is now
accepted as life, and The Choice is made.
Having pastored for over 30 years I have seen a sad situation that has
been thrust onto the people in the denomination I have been in…I like to say we
have been the world’s best at telling folks that salvation is a gift, but once
saved here is a list of things to do to be a good Christian. Couple that with doing a poor ministry of
helping people get past their past and we have multitudes living in the
“wilderness” (truly “dark nights of the soul” for many).
But once anyone realizes the beauty of abiding and living by the grace
of God (what He does through us) there is the day-by-day victory that we have
by choosing that which promotes life.
And the truth that in Christ I CAN CHOOSE NO LONGER TO SIN is
staggering! What freedom!
What Life!
I wonder how many Preachers and Sunday School teachers are teaching
this? I wonder how many Christians are
living this? Well, amen.
Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point Green
– IT, Incredible Truth
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
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