Lee McDowell Christian
Ministries LMCM
Nacogdoches,
Texas Gal. 2:20 KJV
Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 47
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life
Ministries International
Littleton, Colorado
(303) 972-0859 almi@abidinglife.com
(check out the colorization…lets you know how
important I think these truths are!)
Choice as a Lifestyle
Then
Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows
Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” –John 8:12
After The Choice, the door is open to
making hundreds of choices, each of which will have to do with the progressive
conversion of seeing Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life in a particular
situation. Each conversion (change in thinking) is uniquely situated in the order
in which a believer needs to have it. The revelation that Jesus is
living in a person comes more from what the person refuses to do than what he
does do! The believer chooses to refuse bitterness, anger,
justification, debate, hatred, self-righteousness, and competition, and instead
follows the will of God. However,
he knows that no matter how quickly or wholeheartedly the choice is made, it is
really not his doing, but that of the Jesus that indwells him. The choice is not to ask Jesus
for help to act like Him, but to ask Jesus to act through him. It is not the
surrender of the will in passivity but the activation of the will through
choosing Jesus. The
choosing Christian never says, “Jesus, help me say the right thing. Jesus, help
me love. Jesus, help me be pleasing to God. Jesus, help me be more like You.”
No, the choosing Christian says, “Jesus, be my words, my love, my acceptance,
and my life,” and allows the peace of God to rule in his heart. Any variation in peace causes
him to back up, listen, and invite Jesus to be his Way, his Truth, and his
Life. The choosing
Christian discovers he can do things he never thought possible, things that in
self were not attainable. The abiding/choosing Christian can say no to the lust
of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life; he can say
no to appetites because he is dead to sin and, in Christ Jesus, no longer a
slave to it. Christ in him living through him as though it were he becomes a
reality. The chooser is as active as the chooser was in Jesus, Who daily chose
“not My will but Thine.” He chose not to follow anything but God’s will to the
point of death! An active chooser picks not to be like Jesus but for the will
of the Father to live out of him through Jesus.
Practically speaking, those we love the
most will hurt us the most. I do not believe the
abandonment from the crowd was as vexing to Jesus as the abandonment from those
into whom He had poured His life. How could He be so positive as to say, “You
will sit on twelve thrones”? Jesus made a choice to be yielded in His heart and
embrace “not My will but Thine,” and the Father’s words came. So the believer is offended by
one he loves; something rude is said, there is an explosion, past events are
brought into the present, and the wound is deep. However, the believer has had
a conversion and accepts that Jesus is his Way, Truth, and Life. Choosing anything other than “Your
will, not mine” will result in feeling lost, lied to, and the stench of death
the flesh brings with it. The abiding/choosing believer just will not sacrifice
the peace of the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Therefore, in the situation, he pauses, invites Jesus
to be his life, his words, his love, and his wisdom. He hears His voice, “a
kind word turns away wrath.” Jesus would only do through him what is best for
him; love can do nothing else.
When Barbara and I became Christians, our pastor told us: “In being Born
Again, you now have a new ‘Wanter.’ What
you used to ‘want’ you will not want anymore…what you now ‘want,’ you never
used to want before.” Our choices from
that day forward indicated that new “Wanter.”
Amazingly, we didn’t realize the door had been opened “to making hundreds of choices, each of which have
to do with the progressive conversion
of seeing Jesus as the Way, the Truth, the Life in a particular situation. Having a new “wanter” is different from
making a choice.
To know and experience “conversion” as a “change in thinking” enables
one to see the progression of Life becoming more prevalent and more
beautiful. Typically, most Christians
think “conversion” happens only once…that which transpires at the time of being
Born Again when one goes from trusting in “works” to trusting in Christ as “no
one comes to the Father but through Me (Christ).” Truly, life as a Christian should be a progressive conversion from the old way
of thinking.
Interestingly, what many Christians don’t make provision for is that it
is possible to “backslide” in the way of thinking, and wanting, and
choosing. That is really where Abiding
comes in…”The abiding/choosing Christian can say no…” Let us all encourage one another to Abide and
have much progressive conversion in Christ!
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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