Day 77 - Doubt and Faith

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 141

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       www.abidinglife.com

Notice:  this email is part of a BLOG, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  Why a blog?  So that many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner. 

I wonder how many millions of choices are made day in and day out around the world…and most never give it one thought just really what “choice” is really about.  Make sense?  Well, read Michael’s writing for this day and see if you have ever given these things a moment’s thought!

DAY 77

Doubt and Faith

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants. --Deuteronomy 30:19

Choice is an interesting thing, for nearly all of creation is under compulsion. The caterpillar must become the butterfly; the acorn must become the oak tree. Only man can choose what he will be. Choice must have options; it is nonexistent unless there is more than one alternative. “Would you like a cup of coffee, a cup of coffee, or a cup of coffee?” “Well, thanks, I will have the coffee!” One cannot choose heaven if there is no hell, a blessing if no curse, a single life if not a married one, or a walk in the spirit if there is no flesh. 

This brings me to my point. How can we choose faith if there is no doubt? Many are distraught when they see doubt creeping into their lives. However, doubt must appear if there is to be an opportunity for a faith choice. Doubt is the signal that faith is the other option. We need not be undone over doubt; we can push it aside without hesitation and move past it on the way to a faith choice.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Boy howdy…this is a humdinger of a writing!  Several facts about “choices” that many never have heard of, much less given them any thought.  Some critical “turning points” in life where our “choices” turn us toward LIFE or DEATH.  WOW!  And this is not about physical death (although some choices affect that)…this is about LIFE in life.  Let’s summarize and analyze these…

God tells us He has set before us “life and death, the blessing and the curse.”  Amazingly, God does impact our lives in these kind of ways.

God tells us: “choose life.”  That’s pretty simple, isn’t it?  Wait a minute…it all depends on whether we know God’s “life” in life’s situations.  “Study to show yourself approved, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.”  God’s knowledge and wisdom can lead us to choose “life.”  Without that, we can make foolish, deadly choices.

God tells us that our choices can affect our descendants, as well as us!  Oooops!

Michael points out that “man” is the only one that can make choices affecting what we will be.  And every choice must have options, or there is no choice possible.

But Michael’s main point brings to our attention that faith and doubt are two peas in one pod.  There cannot be one without the other.

And that brings us to HOW we see doubt.  Does it make us distraught?  Does it really do us in?  Do we collapse and crater at the onset of doubt?  NOT ANY MORE!  Doubt is nothing but a signal for us to look for the FAITH CHOICE!

And therefore, as Michael points out…”We need not be undone over doubt; we can push it aside without hesitation and move past it on the way to a faith choice.”  Well, amen!

Thank you, Michael, for showing us some insights to our “choices” that we may never have seen or thought of before.  And thank You, Lord, that You have promised to be with us as we choose.  May we search the Scriptures for all Your many ways in which You will guide us to choose LIFE.

To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Living Life With a Capital “C” by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com 

NOTICE: another blog on Michael Wells’ book, Sidetracked In The Wilderness, called Getting Out of the Wilderness.  You can access by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

Day 72 - Removal of Self-Centeredness Leads To Life

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 140

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       www.abidinglife.com

Notice:  this email is part of a BLOG, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  Why a blog?  So that many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner. 

If there is one word to describe what most people want: it would often be “life.”  Just a life.  Yet, too many miss that REAL life is Jesus’ LIFE.  Michael points out to us the simple fact of what is the “greatest hindrance to being delivered from the events that present themselves today”…

DAY 72

Removal Of Self-Centeredness Leads To Life

But {women} shall be preserved through the bearing of children. --I Timothy 2:15

Preserved literally means saved, and saved, as used in the New Testament, refers to being delivered from the self and its manifestations. The greatest hindrance to being delivered from the events that present themselves today is self and its propensity toward obsessing on what will never help it . . . which is its self. A mother has a unique experience in that she might be the most self-centered person in the world, but then in an instant when the doctor lays a baby in her arms, her self-centeredness gives way to focus on another through caring for the baby. Life and death for the baby is determined by the degree to which the mother moves away from being self-centered. I have asked many in ministry, and all seem to agree that women respond first to the Gospel. Why? If they are mothers, then self, the only hindrance to Christ, has been dealt a severe blow in childbirth. With self-life knocked from the paramount position, the women can more easily draw near to Jesus, finding Life and deliverance.

"But {women} shall be preserved through the bearing of children." The understanding to be derived is not that women who cannot or have not had children cannot be saved from self-centeredness. I personally have never given birth to a child, and yet I have every intention of being saved! The analogy is twofold. The birth of a child removes self-centeredness, and this birth happened in pain. The believer has a new birth, a new life that has dealt a fatal deathblow to self; because of this death he can have Life. This birth came through pain. Is the woman's pain in childbirth bad? Yes, but I cannot believe it is not worth it after observing the countenance of my wife as she held each of our newborns. Is the pain of events, disappointments, and relationships really bad when they lead to Life? No, nothing with such a result is ultimately bad. Children of God are faith people and the only people on the face of the planet that can say that. 

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Amazing that it is so simple to identify our problem: “self, the only hindrance to Christ.”

Amazing how difficult it seems for Christians to remove self from the paramount position, so that Life can be found, especially when every Christian possesses that Life.

Choose Life…lose self.  Not complicated at all.  Well, amen.

To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Living Life With a Capital “C” by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com 

NOTICE: another blog on Michael Wells’ book, Sidetracked In The Wilderness, called Getting Out of the Wilderness.  You can access by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

Day 71 - Self Is A Hindrance To God?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 139

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       www.abidinglife.com

Notice:  this email is part of a BLOG, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  Why a blog?  So that many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner. 

How many of us in “fighting” this SELF thing in us…have ever stopped to consider whether “Self is a hindrance to God?”…

Interesting.  Michael addresses that in this day’s writing.

DAY 71

Self Is A Hindrance To God?

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. –Romans 12:3

Stop for a minute and take a good look at the self of man. Man hates himself as just man! Self in Adam and Eve was attracted to the tree offering Godlikeness with its lists of what to do and not do. It was not life, but bondage. True Life was a few feet away in a completely different tree; no serpent was tempting Adam and Eve to eat of that tree. Man left the Garden still hoping to fulfill the dream of being God; however, he has failed miserably. I have yet to see a monkey or a dog dressed in human clothing that looks anything short of inane. Similarly, man is man, and every attempt to cover himself with something more Godlike just leaves man looking stupid. Man may try to appear more tolerable by covering himself with knowledge, possessions, or power, and he might even surround himself with worshippers. Man can even use his own self-hatred by comforting himself with the feelings of humility, hopelessness, humanity, and victimization. From running inconsistent campaigns for the highest offices to committing suicide, man's actions prove that he has utterly failed at playing God.

We have become a society of selfish Christians--and I am not excluding myself--wrapping our lives around ourselves and bedeviled by how every action of others or ours affects our self-lives. We cannot tell the truth because someone may not like us, but we do not like ourselves when we lie. We desire others to meet our needs, yet when similar requirements are placed on us, we run, for to meet others' needs might necessitate neglecting our own. We change the teaching of Christ to fit ourselves and only end up changing ourselves into something that is not a good fit.

Now the good news: Nothing is naturally against the believer. There is not a single thing that goes wrong in our lives. There is nothing pitted against us. Life is not a meaningless, senseless string of disturbing occurrences. Life is not an endless exam administered by a demanding principal. Life is not an endurance test. Life is not accumulating as much knowledge as possible. Life is not staring at our spouses with heart-shaped eyeballs. Life is not being perfect parents, employees, or pastors. Life is meaningless and boring when it wraps itself around ourselves, draws our attention to ourselves, and leaves us wondering at our condition. Why? True life is Jesus and Life obsessed not on us but on the Father in Heaven.

All things are tools in God's hand, employed by Him in His ministry to us and in revealing His glory. John 12:28, “’Father, glorify Thy name.’ There came therefore a voice out of heaven: 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.'" Events and happenings are not the elements of life; rather, they are the elements that drive us to Life (Jesus). Nothing is bad if it drives us to Life. This awareness does not come through understanding, but by revelation. Anything and everything that moves us near Life is good. 

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Who could be a better instructor on SELF than the Apostle Paul.  He had quite an impressive personal resume…particularly, as the world considers things, coming into Christianity.  And God brought him to a point he could simply tell us: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought…”  Wow!  And then he added, “…in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”  Oh, my goodness…where did we “get” that faith???

SELF can be a destructive person, but Michael points out that actually “all things are tools in God’s hand, employed by Him in His ministry to us and in revealing His glory.  All is an element that is intended to drive us to Life (Jesus) and away from Self.  May God reveal all this to us!

To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Living Life With a Capital “C” by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com 

NOTICE: another blog on Michael Wells’ book, Sidetracked In The Wilderness, called Getting Out of the Wilderness.  You can access by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

Day 70 - Does Self Add To The Meaning of Life?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 138

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       www.abidinglife.com

Notice:  this email is part of a BLOG, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  Why a blog?  So that many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner. 

The “self-life” is a tragedy and malady that plays out far too often in folks who are constantly dealing with hurt, pain, disappointment, failure, and depression.  And as Michael points out so succinctly it is very frustrating to see Christians particularly who somehow miss God’s wonderful words of Life that bring joy no matter what the circumstances of our life might be. 

DAY 70

Does Self Add To The Meaning of Life?

Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. –I Corinthians 10:24

There appears to be one common denominator in the multitude of approaches to understanding life, and that is self-life. "What is the benefit in life for me? Can suffering be justified for me? Can my marriage breakup, the loss of my job, my unwed pregnant daughter, my illness, or the rejection of others somehow be advantageous to me? Will knowledge help me? How will all my efforts profit me? If not now, will there be a good return for me in heaven? Will I find out then that I was really being blessed by all of those mishaps?"   

Recently I was listening to a pastor in Africa relate how the marriage ministry had depleted the thrust of the church. Those participating had decided they were not to minister to others until every minute detail of their marriages was worked out. It seems the husbands could not justify evangelizing, ministering to the poor, or helping the sick as long as there was a dissatisfied wife at home. The pastor's conclusion was that the whole bunch had become too selfish; they wanted perfect comfort before they ministered to the world's discomfort. I agreed. 

One fellow took care of his ailing parent only to ensure the security of his inheritance. A lady called nearly everyone in a small town to describe her husband's onset of cancer, and then proceeded to explain to each one how much she would be suffering! A man divorced his wife for a younger woman and then wanted to know how he was supposed to maintain his preferred lifestyle with the financial burden of a divorce settlement. It is often hard to discern if parents want the child to walk with God for the child's benefit or their own identity. Self is no stranger to desiring a throne, crown, and scepter and using others as its footstool. 

Each day the first person we touch, clothe, see in the mirror, feel comfort or physical pain from, feed, and emotionally sense is our self. Is it any wonder that the enemy would choose to make self a stumbling block? Each day starts with us; why not continue from that point and make self the obsession? More often than not, the point stressed in teaching heard on radio or television is self, whether it is being blessed or cursed. The frustrating thing is that there is no happiness derived from self-absorption. 

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

As a pastor for many years, I have heard members say exactly what Michael mentions that the pastor in Africa related.  Several variations of his story could be the key to the failure of many ministries in churches today.

How?  How could any Christian think they were not to minister to others until every minute detail of their life was “worked out”?  What is “worked out”?  What about Philippians 1:6?  “…He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  God is still “working out” things in each of us.

So often I find myself asking “why?”.  Why do Christians have God’s instruction manual, ignore His instructions, then continue to live as if travelling down the road of life in the opposite direction from God…and somehow expect things to turn out “OK”?

It doesn’t take a PhD from seminary to grasp God’s heart in those words of Paul from 1 Corinthians 10:24.  If we have any knowledge whatsoever of the life of Christ, we know He came not for Himself but for others.  And then Paul, in his writing to the church at Philippi, gave a more detailed picture: (Philippians 2:1-4) “If there be  therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” 

How simple to understand and follow can “Others: God’s Roadmap to Joy” be?  Yet, SELF somehow continues to pervade the lives of way too many Christians.

Spend a few minutes before the Lord, re-reading Michael’s writing, and seeking God’s heart for your life in relation to any issue where SELF is intervening.

To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Living Life With a Capital “C” by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com 

NOTICE: another blog on Michael Wells’ book, Sidetracked In The Wilderness, called Getting Out of the Wilderness.  You can access by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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