Lee McDowell Christian
Ministries LMCM
Nacogdoches,
Texas Gal. 2:20 KJV
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life
Ministries International
Littleton, Colorado
(303) 972-0859 almi@abidinglife.com
The legalists abound in Christianity today. And in one way, it is easy to understand why…the New Testament is chock full of so many “do’s” that casual reading can lead an unsuspecting Believer to get out their List and add another to it! Couple that with all the preaching and teaching that compels one to have a list in the first place, and what do you have…a certified legalist in no time!
Michael gives us a very
insightful look into “insidious” failures, and then a precious description of
God’s way of working in our lives through our failures.
Day 349
Who Is The
Legalist?
Anyone who does not get up immediately
after a failure is a legalist!
Do we want to compound our sin by adding legalism to it? Okay, so we dabble in
the flesh. No, I do not mean that we were drunk or involved in acts of
adultery; those things do indeed cause tremendous damage, but I am referring to the insidious things
that cause lifelong harm, like dabbling in pride, self-righteousness, unbelief,
and independence. We could not see that the Lord would act on our
behalf, and so we went our own way. We could not wait for God to move, so we
took matters into our own hands. We obsessed on our condition, cast the blame
on others, and now we are mad at all those around us. We could not find that
missing object on which to explode, so we accused the first passerby. We
verbally abused those around us. We were too busy to listen to the child or the
mate and pushed past him. All day we have thought about the selfish and stupid
people with whom we are surrounded. Past events, proving our assumption, whirl
around with tornado-like force in our minds, and to make matters worse, we
justify our condition. Someone might find himself reading this article in just
such a condition.
Then comes the gentle whispering of
the Holy Spirit, "It was I. I permitted it all! I am going to show you
another hidden corner of your being where I can be your life." With the revelation that it was He
comes the revelation of just what terrible Christians we are. Remember, with every revelation of
Jesus must come an equal revelation of our flesh, for if not, we will spiral
into an even deeper self-righteousness. Now what? How do we clean up the mess?
First, what we do not do: We
never allow a revelation of our flesh to drive us further from Jesus.
This is the exact opposite of what the revelation was intended to accomplish. It is to show us what we are not
and what He is. Do not compound it by running from Jesus. What could
that accomplish? Only Jesus
can heal us. Second, do
not fall into self-hatred, which is another form of self-worship. Self-hatred leads to
condemnation, another form of legalism. How can we be disappointed with
self if we had not foolishly trusted in it? Third, get up and go again. We fall, but we fall forward if we are ready
to move out of old behaviors and into Jesus. Always be ready to get up
and go again. As a rock is a rock regardless of outside forces, so God is Love
independently of man. Would
we be persons of faith? Then get up and move toward Him. We will faintly
begin to see that He is not fighting but using our failure.
Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point Green
– IT, Incredible Truth
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches Pink
– PV, Priceless Victory
And
only Christians can fight some sins, that even though they can “cause
tremendous damage” they are easily overcome by walking in the Light and by the
Spirit, and ignore the “insidious” ones that cause lifelong harm.
We…cannot
see that the Lord would act on our behalf, cannot wait for God to move, obsess
on our condition…and on and on. How sad. For one who has Christ as their life, how
pitiful. Letting the dream-stealer,
life-taker drag us down to the pit is the saddest life.
For
some, the Holy Spirit is screaming: “It
was I. I permitted it all! I am going to show you another hidden corner
of your being where I can be your life.”
LET THIS REVELATION drive us toward Jesus! As Michael points out, “Only Jesus can heal
us.”
So,
what do we do? Exactly as Michael points
out…follow his simple 3-step plan. It
works. I want to hear of the victories
in Christ that come from moving out of old behaviors and into Jesus! Let us exhort, encourage, and engage with
those brothers and sisters in the Lord who are not moving into victory. And may we see an incredible number of
testimonies of Christians finding out just Who and What Jesus is in each child
of God’s life. Well, amen!
IF YOU HAVE ANY DESIRE TO
INTERACT WITH ME ON SOMETHING MICHAEL HAS WRITTEN, AND/OR ANY OF MY THOUGHTS,
PLEASE NOTE THE EMAIL ADDRESS JUST BELOW MY NAME AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS.
To access ALL past weekly blog posts, go to Living Life With a Capital “C” by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com). To sign up to receive future posts (or help a friend sign up) look on the TOP RIGHT side of the page, “FOLLOW BY EMAIL”, and click on SUBMIT. You will receive a “confirmation email,” and when you click on the link and “confirm,” you will receive all new posts.
NOTICE: beginning
in January, 2014, a new blog on Michael Wells’ book, Sidetracked In The
Wilderness.
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
P. O. Box 633244 Nacogdoches, Tx 75963 936-559-5696
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