Friday, May 31, 2019

Day 355 - Why Are Unbelievers Happy?


Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 340
         
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.


Michael always said “we rise and fall with our definitions.” I totally agree. 100%. Words have meaning, but the exact meaning one gives can differ from another’s. It is imperative to have God’s meaning, and not some man’s.

Notice how Michael sticks (no pun intended, re: his first definition) to God’s Word for his definitions. Amen.


DAY 355

Why Are Unbelievers Happy?

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. –Matthew 5:44, 45

First, take a brief look at three definitions.

The Divine Glue:
Jesus is the invisible Divine Glue that holds all things together. “Yet for us there is {but} one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we {exist} for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we {exist} through Him” (I Corinthians 8:6). This does not mean that every person is born again or that creation is to be worshipped. It does mean that Christ is in every created thing holding it together. “For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring’” (Acts 17:28). When I refer to the Divine Glue, I am referring to the person of Jesus Christ.

Sin:
The natural is holy. Why? It is because the Holy One holds it together. “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19). Why? Because the sons of God will see that the God who holds them together holds the world together and will therefore treat it with more respect. One unavoidable aspect of sin is that it invites something anti-Christ into one’s natural being that is held together by Christ. It is to invite a solvent into one’s being, causing him to come apart. On this level, then, sin and punishment are one and the same. The punishment for sin is immediate! Every sinner punishes himself. Sin is like that, as though through it man has a go at his own body with a hammer and chisel! “They exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural . . . and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (Romans 1:26, 27).

The Glory of God and Worship:
“And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, {be} blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever’” (Revelation 5:13). I was in Tonga with my brother when we decided to go to the only movie theatre in the nation. My brother disappeared and returned to invite me to go upstairs and look at the projector. I was fascinated with what I saw. The projector had two carbon rods that fed from ninety-degree angles, and there was a blinding spark where the two met, creating enough light to project the image onto a large screen. Every created thing has in it the one rod, the Divine Glue, that, when it meets with the rod, or Divine Glue, in another created thing, gives a spark of recognition, a light. One day everyone who has Jesus dwelling within (born again) will stand before the Jesus on the throne. There will be such a spark of life and light that all will fall down and worship. Even now, if it were not for the fact that God has stayed them for our faith’s sake, the trees would shout to us, “Glory to God!” For now they are only allowed to whisper! “Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy” (Psalm 96:12).

Those are the definitions; now to answer the question of why unbelievers are happy, for some are, though they do not have joy, which is the fruit of the Spirit. I would like to offer only one opinion; you may have another, and to that I say amen! Have you ever been walking in the mountains, turned a corner, saw a beautiful sight, and just sat there saying, “Praise God”? Though not born again, the unbeliever has the Divine Glue holding him together, this same Divine Glue that is also holding all other created things together. When the glory of God in one comes in contact with the glory of God in the other, there is a small spark called happiness. Christ is not abiding in the unbeliever but is holding him together. If the unbeliever limits contact with the rest of the created world, he will have less happiness. Hence the unbeliever under self-confinement to his house will appear to be a recluse with no happiness. The unbeliever who has more interaction with creation via nature, humanism, social activities, and human compassion will naturally have a greater experience of the Divine Glue as it holds him together witnessing to the Divine Glue without, and therefore will have proportionately more happiness.

The above brings some insight into what hell is. “They shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). Why is hell such a place of torment? During the days of the unbeliever’s life, the glory of the Divine Glue holding him together has witnessed to the Divine Glue holding all creation together. This has produced a measure of wonder and happiness. The unbeliever might have thought it was his perception that caused the happiness, but it was not. Even on the darkest night, in the loneliest place, in the worst of situations, there was like calling to like. There was hope! For where Christ meets Christ, there will always be hope. This is God’s secret work in every person. God is witnessing to Himself through the natural to get the unbeliever’s attention until his death. The frightening thing about hell is that it gives the unbeliever what he always said he wanted! Hell is remarkably full of God’s absence; He leaves those within alone. After death there is no more witness! The Divine spark is seen no more! There is nothing to stir the unbeliever to hope or happiness. There can be no excitement or sensations, and it is a bleak new experience. For the first time God has truly left alone the unbeliever, who has entered a void. On earth darkness is held together by the Divine Glue, but hell is not darkness, it is an abyss. Hell is the granting of an unbeliever’s wish, an empty separation from God.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory


Leave it to Michael to jump right into the deep! For some things it will take the backstroke. For some things it will take the breaststroke. For some things it will take the sidestroke. For some things it will take the butterfly stroke.

I will leave it to God to speak to what is of interest to you…



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

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Day 354 - Why Are Christians In So Much Defeat?


Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 339
         
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 circled two sentences in my book from this Day’s writing. Can you guess which two?


DAY 354

Why Are Christians In So Much Defeat?

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. --Romans 7:24, 25

Why are Christians in so much defeat? Do not think I am a heretic; just let me say this thought through to the end. Christianity as a religion has failed. Christianity as a moral system has failed. The Bible as a source of power has failed. Truth is not only preached but also demonstrated. Christian seminaries have failed and could be sued for false advertising; they have not created leaders or spiritual men. Christianity as a teaching is the best option; it has a better book and higher standards. But what does that lead to? Visit churches at the level at which I see them and you will find that covert, self-righteous deeds of the flesh and covert, unrighteous deeds of the flesh abound. Very little can be found of loving an enemy, allowing another to wound, or blessing those that curse. Some of the rudest people I have met are Bible professors who know so very much. We must admit Christianity has failed. We have the same rate of divorce as the unbelieving world. Why? Because Christianity has schools but is not a school, it has a book but is not a book, it has a philosophy of living but is not a philosophy, and it has doctrines but is not a doctrine. Christianity is Christ, period; it was never meant to be another religion but was always about a relationship with the living Christ. The legalists--those who have attained their own form of righteousness--would like to rip two passages from the Bible: “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), and “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Man is created to be connected to the Vine, Jesus, not to imitate Him, but to participate in His life. I am not a heretic, but I cannot believe how much trouble I get into by saying that Jesus is all we need.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory


Jesus is all I have. Jesus is all I want. Jesus is all I need. 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
P.O. Box 633244   Nacogdoches, TX 75963              936-559-5696

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Day 353 - Why Am I So Fat?


Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 338
         
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.


Before you get upset at the title and think Michael is getting too “personal,” read the whole day’s writing…some very interesting and provocative thoughts that may lead to someone realizing something about “weight loss” that they have never thought of.

For me, I love his mentioning of the spirit, soul, & body…the trichotomy of humans. The big issue is for us to know just exactly what is “our mind” and “our emotions.”



DAY 353

Why Am I So Fat?

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 4:19

“Why am I so fat?” It is a question asked often in many places, so people can relate to it. A person who needs to lose twenty pounds will be able to sympathize with the person that needs to lose two hundred pounds, because after all, if a person has not been able to lose the twenty, what chance would he have of losing two hundred? The world's approach to a problem always starts from the outside in, so the idea would be to start with the body, look in the mirror to get disgusted, and determine with the will to do something about it, to follow some program. What if we recognized a different approach that started with the Spirit? After all, man was made out of the dust of the earth (body), and God breathed in His spirit to make man a living soul, capable of being alive in body, soul, and spirit. First, a believer must be comfortable with who he is as a child of God, whether fat or skinny. Some are only kings when on a throne, while others know they are kings even if placed in a dungeon. Is our identity fixed in Jesus or in the world? Are we more comfortable in a crowd when we are good-looking? If so, we are on the wrong track and there is a deeper root issue with which to deal. I believe more and more that obese people are often those with the greatest craving for God. I have talked before about our soul’s being like a baby that needs pure milk. Our mind wants the wisdom of God, not the world’s knowledge. Our emotions want the peace of God, not happiness. The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, where for forty days His soul fed on God. When Satan came with the temptation to turn rocks into bread, He said, “No!” His soul was full. I have had more than one person (and my own experiences have taught me the same) say they lose their appetite when they are in fellowship with Jesus. For myself, I lose nearly twenty pounds each trip because I am not hungry when I am ministering. I get home and eat from boredom. How could I be bored if I am in fellowship with Him? The answer is obvious! I am not in fellowship with Him on the same level. When ministering I am so mindful of my need for Him in my weakness. However, I feel stronger at home and do not draw near in complete dependence. I must be weak at home, also. Hungry people are craving something, but what? Perhaps an inner hunger they attempt to satisfy with outer feeding? As we begin to eat the very thing that we should not, we should stop and ask why. Eating is one place in life where we need that precious ten seconds to say no. As our spirit is full, the temptation to overeat is not nearly so great. The peace of God should always be ruling. I know when I am eating and should not be. Therefore, it is becoming an obedience issue with the peace of God. 

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory


What did you think when reading this? Easiest weight-loss program? Easiest steps to “peace of God” process? Refocus on starting from the inside out?
Every reader gets something important from reading this day’s writing of Michael Wells. 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
P.O. Box 633244   Nacogdoches, TX 75963              936-559-5696


Thursday, May 2, 2019

Day 352 - Why Am I Carnal?


Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 337
         
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.


It is really interesting that most Christians know nothing of the word “carnal.” Much less do they know a Christian CAN BE “carnal.” God knows it (1 Corinthians 3:14).

In today’s writing, Michael gives us a story that is an allegory about God and Saints and carnality, and what to do about it. Excellent advice from the story and Michael.


DAY 352

Why Am I Carnal?


To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. --Colossians 1:27

While traveling I hear many stories that some choose not to believe. Well, I do not believe all of them, either, but I am just reporting the story, not asking any to believe them.  Here is one such report.

I know a man who says that he was caught up into heaven. While standing before the Father’s throne, he was asked if he had a question. The man said, “What is it in me that makes me carnal?” At that the Father leaned over, held the man’s head between his hands, and kissed him on the forehead; next, though, the Father began to gently shake him. As this occurred, it was as though the shaking was making what appeared to be little drawers all over his body open and spill their contents. All that came out was junk, useless little things. The man thought how these must be all the useless little things he kept and held dear that made him carnal. The Father stopped when all the drawers were empty and once again closed. Next the Father reached toward the man’s heart and opened a secret drawer and took from it a little box. The man said that he became frightened, just knowing that little box held the thing that made him carnal. He watched as the Father took out of the box a grand, most beautiful jewel! The Father did not put it back in the box but put the grand jewel back into the drawer and closed it. The man was quite confused as to the significance of all of this when the Father spoke to him. “Yes, there are little things that make all men carnal. That is known. I am not interested in what makes you carnal; I am interested in the Grand Jewel that has remained hidden in you. My Son is in you. You must not look for the carnal any longer but examine and discover the Son who is in you.” At that the man was sent away. 

Believe it or not, I like the story. I believe that too much time is spent in self-absorption and not enough time examining the Grand Jewel that is in every child of God. 

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory


Once more, Michael gives us God’s “key” to Life as a Christian: forget the carnal, quit the self-absorption, and focus & examination of Christ in us as Believers. Well, amen.

Colossians 1:27 personified. Or, Personified!



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