Day 306 - Two Tracks

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 311

         

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 these thoughts in an easy manner.  If you are not getting these weekly postings via an email, go to the website: www.leemccm.blogspot.com …in the top right corner there is a place to register to receive each post.

A favorite thought of mine is that life can be complex but does not need to be complicated.  The Natural mind likes to complicate things.  The Mind of Christ can handle complex things in an uncomplicated way.  Michael points us to God’s way of thinking (His Mind) that can give us peace while on two tracks!

DAY 306

Two Tracks

Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. --Matthew 10:34

There are times in life when we would like everything to run on one track, and, as with every issue, there can be both the legitimate and the illegitimate side. For example, because of a vocational change a man is asked to move, which will make him miss his friends immensely. He would like God either to take away his yearning for his friends or allow him to stay put. He wants life on one track. Mourning for the loss of relationships speaks well of the man; however, to be undone and refuse the move does not. 

Running on one track and forcing everything to fit within the one theme can be destructive. A woman visiting me proclaimed, “I am a terrible Christian. The Bible says, ‘In everything give thanks,’ but my husband recently died and I cannot stop crying.” True, the Bible does say that. It also gives accounts of many men of God as they tore their clothes in anguish at the news of the death of a loved one. It is legitimate to weep but may be illegitimate to weep for years. We need to accept that in our Christian life there are more tracks than one that run parallel concurrently.    

Unbelieving man wants to systematize God so that everything is on one track. This order would alleviate the unknown and relieve us of the necessity to exercise our faith. God has never been, nor can He be, systematized. We are not Muslims who base their lives in teaching and creed. Rather, our lives center around a person, a relationship. This leads to situations such as being urged to honor father and mother, and yet at the same time being warned to reject father and mother if they get in the way of following Christ. In a relationship with Christ both truths are possible, for in Him we can love and honor the parents, but Him comes before them, and so if parents want to come before Christ they are not covered by Matthew 15:4 but are under the command of Matthew 10:37.

           

I am not saying that the Christian life is one of balance; that would be Taoism. We are not attempting to find the middle ground. Instead, every issue in life is a coin with two sides, and it takes both sides, though they can be opposing, to make up the coin. Whether one side is legitimate and the other is illegitimate depends upon the Lord’s leading in the situation.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Relationship and fellowship with God are two sides of the Christian coin that are not opposing one another.  Michael points out that our lives center around Christ, and not anything or anyone else.  Complex sometimes, but never complicated.  His Mind keeps “complication” at bay.  Christ’s Word always takes us to Him.  What could be any more uncomplicated?

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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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

Day 305 - Twenty-Something, Bored and Scared

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 310

         

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 these thoughts in an easy manner.  If you are not getting these weekly postings via an email, go to the website: www.leemccm.blogspot.com …in the top right corner there is a place to register to receive each post.

Many of Michael’s writings are more general in nature…they cover life from a broad perspective and not narrowed down to a specific time in a person’s life.  This one is different.  Aimed at those in the “twenty-something” age group.  Therefore, Michael gives us some important particulars for younger people to consider.

However, as Michael points out, those who live long enough will face the inevitable challenges of older age.  Look closely at what he points out will carry anyone through from their twenties to the end.

DAY 305

Twenty-Something, Bored and Scared

Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. --Jonah 1:10

A large segment of the twenty-something crowd feels both bored and scared about the future, with fear of working a dead-end job, doing the eight-to-five routine, preparing for retirement, and finally ending up sipping liquefied Jello from a straw in a nursing home. They shrink from commitment. Many have come from broken homes and from the time of their youth experienced the fear that comes from believing that a family breakup is imminent. The knot in the stomach from hearing the fighting, seeing the drinking, and hearing the accusations made them miserable. We cannot blame them; they have witnessed firsthand marriage as something to be avoided. Fear has created an unbelievably aloof and boring generation with their attempt to live life and yet avoid life by engaging in the same old safe things: reliable relationships, secure jobs, lack of risk, and avoidance of pain. Yet all the while they feel more and more bored and self-centered. 

There is hope for those in this generation, for there is nothing that the nearness of Jesus will not cure, no, not one thing. The normal progression of life cannot be avoided without a person’s imploding. Man is meant to grow up, leave home, become self-sufficient, work a job, get married, have kids, become too old to work, and yes, one day die. It is the normal way of things. It is not boring, but it is only truly exciting if a normal life is lived with Jesus. Do not think that Jesus, God Himself, was bored helping to raise his brothers and sisters, taking care of his mother, living in a small village, and making furniture. We see in Him that the normal progression of life coupled with the progression of walking with the Father blended perfectly together, making it all exciting. My own life has been anything but boring, and I really thank God for everything that comes with, and everything He accomplished in me through, “normal life.” I have never been bored. In every situation it is exciting to see what the Lord is going to do. Jumping into the middle of normal life with Jesus grants the discovery of a great adventure!

Again, why does the twenty-something crowd feel lost? They are avoiding the normal progression of things out of fear. They have seen the worst end result of marriage and children and are avoiding it. Therefore, they are moved to act like adolescents well into their late twenties.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

The story of Jonah has always been a very intriguing account to me.  The thoughts and actions of the sailors Jonah was with, who clearly were not that “connected” to God, give indication that even “outsiders” recognize the power of God.  They were upset simply because they “knew” what Jonah was up to and how that impacted them.  Interesting.  I’ve known long-time Christians who didn’t acknowledge God’s power in some of the most evident situations of a disobedient or disconnected brother or sister in Christ.

For someone like me, in my early 70’s and who did not KNOW Christ until my mid-30’s, I feel sad that the “twenty-somethings” of today are as “bored and scared” as they are.  That reveals how far our society has turned from God and the results of life in a culture mostly without God.  Life in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s was not “scary,” even for an Unbeliever. 

“Bored, scared, shrinking from commitment, attempting to live life and yet avoiding life, self-centered”…the picture of emptiness and exhaustion of life without Christ.  BUT (I call this a HOLY “but”), enter Christ and HOPE becomes reality.

Look again at the Life-giving recollection Michael brings us: There is hope for those in this generation, for there is nothing that the nearness of Jesus will not cure, no, not one thing…The normal progression of life cannot be avoided…It is not boring, but it is only truly exciting if a normal life is lived with Jesus…in Him that the normal progression of life coupled with the progression of walking with the Father blended perfectly together, making it all exciting…In every situation it is exciting to see what the Lord is going to do. Jumping into the middle of normal life with Jesus grants the discovery of a great adventure!

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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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

Day 304 - Trees

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 309

         

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 these thoughts in an easy manner.  If you are not getting these weekly postings via an email, go to the website: www.leemccm.blogspot.com …in the top right corner there is a place to register to receive each post.

I love the “earthly pictures” God gives us in Scripture to show us the “heavenly truths” He has for us.  And, that He has given us all we need to get His messages.

Michael compares God’s heavenly truth with an earthly picture he was shown…and God gave us the enlightenment He shared with Michael.  Well, amen!

DAY 304

Trees

           

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. --John 15:1

A certain tree farmer has taken the time to show me all the procedures involved in harvesting almonds. I have decided that the strenuous effort involved in bearing fruit does indeed rest on the shoulders of the gardener, whose job it is to prune, level the land, water, fertilize, mow, and out-and-out baby the trees in the hope that all conditions will be perfect for the trees to accomplish what they do naturally in God’s order, bear fruit! It is interesting to note that when the trees are laden with almonds, a steel arm grasps the trunk of the tree, an umbrella-type contraption is inverted under the tree, and the arm shakes the tree until it provides the gardener with his hard-earned fruit. 

           

God does it all. We need only attain to what believers do naturally as we are tended to, and sometimes God must shake us to get the fruit that is His.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

My wife, Barbara, is a gardener and plant enthusiast.  Wow!  What strenuous efforts she pours forth day after day, but what beautiful accomplishments grace our table naturally in God’s order due to her difficult work that she calls a labor of love.  We also have flowers and trees that show forth Barbara’s efforts and God’s “fruit.”

Stop and think…Michael reminds us this is exactly what happens in our life as a Christian as God Himself, our “gardener”/”vinedresser,” pours forth day after day into our being.  And look at His fruit from all His laboring!

Our “job” is to start looking more closely to see His pruning, how He does it, who or what He does it with.  Life as a Christian becomes much more exciting as we see God working to give us more of His abundant 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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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