Day 326 - What Does It Mean To Live For Jesus?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 320

         

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.

Looking around at Christians for almost 40 years as a Born Again Believer, I have become astonished that so many are living with what “they think” as opposed to what “God thinks.”  When within a couple of weeks of our having been Born Again we heard our pastor say, “If God said it, we need to believe it,” that set a course these past years of wanting to find out all God has said, and beginning to believe Him instead of the world.

Michael addresses a very important aspect of this way of Living in this day’s writing.  Answer his question near the end for yourself.  And decide if you will Live each day in the future as he decided.

DAY 326

What Does It Mean To Live For Jesus?

And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. --Hebrews 8:11 & 12

What does it mean to live for Jesus? That is a good question. I do not presume to know all the answers, but in my own experience I find that to live for Him is simply to enjoy Him. It is not about what I do or do not do. He loves and enjoys me and allows me to enjoy Him. When God revealed to me that He was not interested in changing me, but all He wanted to do was love me, the response this generated from me was amazing. I have come to see that His love for me has absolutely NO agenda. I John 4:8 indicates that God is Love; because I know that God is Love, then I can look to I Corinthians 13 to find what that Love is. God equals love, so God is patient, God is kind, God is not envious, God is not self-seeking. As I read through that list of what God is, I have to ask myself, “Is this the God that I know?” My answer too often is, "No!" At that point I have a choice. I can stick with my false idea of who God is, or I can take God at His word and believe what He says about Himself. For me to enjoy Him, I first must know Him. The more I know Him, the more I love Him, and the more I love Him, the more I want to know Him.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

When I read on from the text of Hebrews 8:11-12 down to Chapter 11, my heart is filled with the glory of God that He has allowed me to Live in these days, the days of His Love and His Faith…His Life.

It is amazing how easy it is to “live for Him” by enjoying Him and ALL that He is IN and THROUGH me.  Well, amen.

p.s. I like to use a capital letter to begin words that represent Christ, like His Life.  Or, Live/Living (when it is His Life).  Or, His Love and His Faith.

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 319 - Weakness, My Friend

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 319

         

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.

“Weakness.”  This is a topic few want to discuss.  In fact, many in Christianity want to talk about “strength,” as in “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13).  Of course, most do not “see” the Truth that God is speaking of Christ being our strength and our doing.  Whatever…

Michael gives us a great look at this real Truth in today’s writing right at the start…the question he says the Lord keeps asking him.  The Lord’s strength in our weakness.  Amen.  Get this, and Believers move in the Spirit.

DAY 319

Weakness, My Friend

My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. --II Corinthians 12:9

Often when I mention weakness, the Lord keeps asking me one question, “What is My strength hidden in your weakness?” It is known that every negative has a positive. I may be all too familiar with the negative, but the positive is not clear, though it seems to be coming into focus. Things I have struggled with are moving out of the shadows and coming forward into the light. The surprise is that they are not hideous monsters but appear to be tools in the hand of God. I sense there is something great there. I am convinced of something that I have taught for years: There is no one-time fix.

It is deception to believe that "the great Christian someday” will appear when we come to our senses, gain a nearly magical degree of power, never struggle again, and forever move forward without stumbling. In waiting for the great “someday,” the working out of everyday faith is excluded. The wish for “someday” is a nonissue that sidetracks us from embracing today’s path and the way it reveals our weaknesses. The ways of the flesh are such that a one-time deliverance, if given, would allow us to walk away from the One we love and the healthy dependence we must have on Him. Through struggle we continue to run to Him, initially to find victory, but because we find Him we approach for His presence alone. “Everyday” is the friend of the moment and abundance; its experience with weakness ushers us to fellowship with Him, where we hear His voice and strength is given as needed.

I have noticed one other thing. Believers are happiest giving to others of their time, prayers, finances, and attention. When I travel, something happens to me that took some time to figure out. When I am home, I have time to focus on me, on my general state. While on the road, I just do not have the time. Every waking minute is spent preparing for or actually ministering to others. Exciting things happen, there is a lift in my spirit, others have a lift, and I am enthusiastic and free. I simply do not have the natural abilities to minister in my own strength, but that weakness works for me. I must come out of myself, seek Him, and move out in faith. The solution is not to travel more, but to take more of the “traveling attitude” home with me.   

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

It’s uncomplicated, isn’t it.  Abide in Christ, be filled with Holy Spirit…strength is given as needed.  That's GRACE at work IN us!  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 318 - Weak Principles

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 318

         

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.

This is one of Michael’s most interesting pieces.  What he appears to say…at least in the beginning…he does not say.  But in Wells’ fashion, he gets to the nitty-gritty and gives us “truth that lands at the feet of Jesus and tells us what Jesus will do for us.”  Well, amen.

DAY 318

Weak Principles

You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me. --John 5:39

I have to get something off my chest that has been bothering me for many years. In an attempt to be unique, and for legitimate reasons, many ministries have arisen over the years, each one saying it has a particular and supposedly new concept that is permanently life changing. Such claims are not true. All we hear are the victory stories; we are not getting the facts. I can be guilty of it myself, but I will tell you a secret: Exchanged life does not work. The cross does not work. Grace does not work. Evangelism does not work. Memorizing Scripture does not work. None of it works. I see what goes on in the inner circles, the things to which not all believers are privy. Among these organizations there have been divorces, affairs, homosexuality, and even worse, glory seeking, material protection (when supposedly the message within the material was given by God), bickering, competition, and more. I have seen it all, and here is why. The best teaching in the world can become a principle that eventually is viewed as needing to be protected. Therefore, only the stories that prop it up are told. I can honestly say that I have a nearly 100% cure rate in my office. Just about everyone will say they were helped that day. What about a year later, though? It is all really simple. It is not the principle of the cross that is effective; it is the Jesus who died on the cross. It is not the principle of grace that will keep a believer, but the grace of Jesus that will. It is not the principle of exchanging one’s life for His; it is the reality of the living Jesus. It is not the Scriptures that keep a person in time of trouble; it is the Jesus to whom they point. It is a struggle to keep things focused on Jesus when principles can be packaged, names added, statistics given, and income produced. With Jesus, any who want and seek Him can have Him. He is much higher than any principle. Walk with a principle for a year and a believer will find himself right where he began. Walk with Jesus for a year and he will be a year beyond where he began.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Jesus gave one of His most important statements in John 5:39, but millions ignore His declaration and cling to anything other than Him.  Just Him.

We can become more occupied with redemption than with the Redeemer, with salvation rather than with the Savior, with scripture rather than with the Shepherd.

Thanks to Michael for continually nudging us back to Christ, not some principles…even if they are principles involving Christ.

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 317 - We Need the Revelation of God

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 317

         

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.

Aha.  That word, revelation, that frightens a lot of biblical conservatives (being in that camp for almost 40 years, I know).  And yet, it is right there in the best of the translations.

What Michael has to say here may shed some light on how many “know” the Bible but don’t know Jesus (Lost people) or experience Jesus (Born Again people).

Michael gives us an excellent discourse on the plain, uncomplicated Truth of God’s revelation to His people.  Let me suggest you read, you soak, and then you outline the points of this day’s writing.  This will carry you through many days with the absolute counsel of God.

DAY 317

We Need the Revelation of God

For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but {I received it} through a revelation of Jesus Christ. --Galatians 1:12

At times I read the biographies of godly men who were famous in their differing denominations and experiences. Their stories are quite remarkable. Some have seen Jesus, others conversed with angels and spirits, and others reached a level of devotion not thought obtainable by man. I have noticed one common thread through all of the experiences. The understanding of Christ, the experience of His presence, and the understanding of His work was not the result of study, prayer, devotion or even holiness. The unique understanding and experience of Christ came before the devotion, experience, holiness, or knowledge. Devotion was not the cause of the experience but rather the result of it. In short, the experience, understanding, and growth came as a result of the revelation. Revelation was the beginning point; the initiator was not the work of the man. Revelation is Truth. Revelation is Jesus. Revelation is not merely understanding in the mind but understanding in the spirit. Simply put, knowledge is in the soul, the mind. Revelation comes first into the spirit before it works its way through the mind, will, and emotions and manifests itself in behavior. Revelation is not rooted in study. It comes directly from God. Revelation will carry man much farther than will knowledge. We have come to understand, in a measure, the work of Christ, His work in us, and how things ought to be for the believer. However, this knowledge has also proven itself weak when we find ourselves at our lowest. We know the right thing but cannot seem to do it. This is where revelation is so important. Revelation is not birthed in lofty thoughts or the condition of the body but birthed in God. Therefore, its power is outside us, apart from circumstance, and away from the realm of the world’s events. Revelation can carry us when knowledge cannot. So how do we get it? We have not because we ask not! We may ask for the revelation of God’s Son, of His life living through us as believers, of His purposes and plans, and of the very character of God.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

I stopped highlighting because almost every sentence is either a VIP or IT, leading to PV and UR.  LOL!

You tell me.  Is this not a “revelation” of what the revelation of God is all about?  You need to take out of this what God speaks to you about.

I would add a couple of my “takes”:

God’s revelation comes at the most unexpected time, in the most unusual places.  (I got one this morning at the breakfast table while discussing “the presence of God” with my wife, Barbara, before even sitting down to write this piece…not knowing WHAT God had in store for this day’s writing!).

When we get God’s revelation, we have experienced Jesus!

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