Day 99 - Flesh Is Hostile

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 21

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

Thank God for the Apostle Paul.  God has spoken volumes through Paul to give us saints the picture of life here on earth, while awaiting our promotion to Heaven.  And Paul never fails to “hit the nail on the head” as the old saying goes.  In today’s verses, it is easy to focus on the battle that goes on in our minds.  And it is easy to see that the Mind of Christ, that all us Christians have, is where the victory resides.

DAY 99

Flesh Is Hostile

The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. –Romans 8:7, 8

The attempt to find something good in the flesh causes a distortion in personality and a multitude of emotional dysfunctions. Today there appears to be an expanding problem with pornography due to Internet access. Believers have worse problems than unbelievers when it comes to this pursuit. One unbeliever said it this way, “Why would I look at pornography? If I wanted to have an affair, I would just have one! I do not see the attraction of a pictorial depiction over a person.” He was being honest. He did not have obsessions in his mind because he acted out in the flesh. The believer is always more obsessive than the unbeliever, because the believer has tried to find something good in his flesh. He sets a standard to keep so that he will have every appearance of being "good." He will only look and not handle, taste, or touch in order to believe he has found something good in his flesh. He can even congratulate himself, saying, “At least I have never been with another woman physically.” However, standards (i.e., the law) never keep the flesh good. The man looks, has a sinking feeling, knows that he should not feels condemned, falls into self-hatred, and in the end is constantly thinking about staying away from pornography. Thinking about not looking is now the standard for finding some good in the flesh. The interesting thing about it is that in thinking about staying away from it, it is now actually the focus of life, much more so than for the unbeliever that did not set a standard to begin with! The standard to keep the flesh good actually made it bad, since the flesh is flesh and hostile toward God!

We either walk in the Spirit (attached to the Vine, acknowledging the flow of the life of the Vine through us) or we walk in the flesh. Simply put, there is nothing good to find in the flesh, and that is why it is so important to acknowledge that we are abiding in Him. Flesh will not improve. Only when Christ--Who lived in flesh and overcame it--is flowing through us will we experience power over the flesh. At that point victory is a natural thing, not contrived, not achieved by the effort toward improving, but through the fact of subduing.

The question may arise, “Mike, you say that we are holy, righteous, and acceptable because the life in us--His life--is all these things. You say the old nature and old man are crucified, and yet you say that in the flesh there is no good thing and it will never improve. Are you not saying that the old man is still alive?” No, I am not saying the old man is alive. My identity is in Christ, not in the flesh that I will one day lay aside. I have a new life and a new man that is holy. However, this inner life is in a body with mind, will, and emotions. When Christ is my focus, Christ’s life flows from my spirit through mind, will, emotions, and body, and they are used as intended by His life/my new life. When I close the door to Christ’s life, the body, mind, will, and emotions run wildly into the good or bad expressions of my condition called flesh. Why does God leave such a way of living possible for the believer? Quite simply, it is in order to keep us focused on Him. We get miserable in our flesh, and that misery will always drive us back to moment-by-moment abiding in Him. In our flesh dwells no good thing, but in Him dwells everything.

When will we believers ever get off this flesh trip?  When will we ever learn to stay on a “focus on the Lord” trip?  Aha…Paul tells us something in 2 Corinthians 10:1-5…and particularly in v. 5 (“bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”).  That word, “obedience,” is what gets us.  The Greek: “hupakoe.”  In plain English we take it to mean “do,” “perform,” or “compliance.”  It can mean that, but in this context it means “attentive hearkening” or “submission” (ref: Spiro Zodiates).  When we bring “every thought into attentive hearkening or submission of Christ,” then we are living with every thought focused on the Lord.  What does that do for us?  LIFE!  It’s His LIFE flowing “from my spirit through mind, will, emotions, and body, and they are used as intended by His life/my new life.”  Amen!

So, if we just HAVE to have “something to DO,” then let’s WORK on bringing every thought into the attentive hearkening or submission of Christ, and then HE can DO the “performing” or “compliance” THROUGH US!  And, HOW do we DO this?  By operating in “the Mind of Christ” that we were given when we were Born Again, versus operating in the fleshly mind we were first born with.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

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

Day 228 - Rachel and Leah, Law and Grace

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 20

        

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

Law and Grace, the constant battle in the Church…and in Christian’s lives.  It is truly amazing that 100 years ago most were teaching Grace.  The past 50 years most are teaching Law.  The Church is no different than the rest of humanity… can’t make up its mind about what God teaches!  In fact, the more people think and categorize and prioritize, etc., etc., etc. the more they change their minds about what was once a truth.  The Truth, however, never changes.  Just man.  Look at how simple and clearly Michael delineates truth in this short “day’s” writing.

DAY 228

Rachel and Leah, Law and Grace

So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you deceived me?” But Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years.” --Genesis 29:25-27

Grace gives what the Law promises. Hebrews 7 makes it clear that the law is set aside because of its “weakness and uselessness.” However, the Law does serve a purpose in preparing us for grace. On occasion I am confronted by those who are in opposition to teaching about the grace of the Lord Jesus for fear that it will lead to passivity. (Of course, this is the stated but never the real fear of grace, which is generally rooted in the fleshly outworking of control, insecurity, competition, and kingdom building.) However, I am not as opposed to them as they are to me, because I know that teachers of the Law are needed. The flesh of man seems to have the need to be exhausted under the Law before it will listen to grace. Grace is the last resort for the flesh, for grace fixes hope squarely on Jesus. The Law will never give what it promises. Jacob worked for the bride of love (grace). However, he did not get her and instead got the bride of Law. Work will not give love and grace, for it can only give law. When at last the bride of love was given, Jacob still had to work, but now the work flowed from love. He was not working for something but from having the bride of love, and the work did not really seem toilsome. This is a type of what God does once Law exhausts us and He then gives what Law could not obtain. We will then work, but the work will be from a position of love and grace. Again, grace gives what the Law promises. Beautiful!

I have found that the trouble for so many Christians is that they operate from a faulty definition of GRACE.  Grace is what God does for us.  Period.  Try that definition in any place in the Bible where the word “grace” appears.  That truth will change anyone’s perspective on anything and everything. And guess what…you can live in it, enjoy in it, and grow in it.  Which is something you cannot do with the typical definitions of “grace.”  Well, amen.

What’s more…it is the most relaxed and comfortable life as a Christian that one can experience.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

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

Day 265 - The Flesh Is Fixed In Stone!

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 19

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

Michael writes a lot about the “flesh.”  This is just one of the “days” that we will look at somewhere along this journey.  In all my years of pastoring, I have found it to be one of the most neglected and mistaught issues in Christianity and the Church…and, therefore, one of the most misunderstood issues.  So…far too many Saints live in “darkness” with the Truth “hid” from them as if they were “blind.”  And, worse, live disillusioned lives that the Truth could set them free from!  Ah…this is a most freeing “day” of Truth.  Hallelujah!

DAY 265

The Flesh Is Fixed In Stone! It Can Be Added To But Not Subtracted From

And those who are in the flesh cannot please God. --Romans 8:8

To me, acknowledging the flesh is a cornerstone in understanding how the Christian life is lived in a practical way. The old man, the Adam life, the old nature is dead. Something was crucified with Christ, and that “something” is the old man, or the Adam life, or the old nature. A Christian does not have two natures; that teaching merely reflects a type of Christian “Buddhism.” Dual-nature teaching is nothing more than the teaching of yin and yang. There is no battle between good and evil, which come from the same tree. If you know that which is good, you will know evil. Christ’s life in me (good) is not battling the old nature (bad). The old nature has no power; it is dead. It does cause frustration as we trust in or try to improve something that is dead, but be assured it is dead. Victory does not come from our helping the Jesus inside us win over the old nature. If this were true, then when we introduce someone to the option of Christ’s coming in them by faith, we are introducing them to a nightmarish lifetime of struggle, something the Bible does not teach. A believer’s old nature, Adam life, old man is dead, and he has only one life within, the life of Christ. So how does that explain the struggle? As Scripture reveals, we do have flesh. Man comprises spirit, soul, and body. When the spirit is disconnected from the body and soul (mind, will, emotions), whether through the death Adam introduced (in an unbeliever) or by the choice of a believer, that person (believer or unbeliever) will live in the flesh. Flesh, then, is being under the direction or influence of something other than the Holy Spirit from God. An animal has a mind, will, emotions, a body, and a world environment; his life’s expression is determined by how he moves in those without any influence from the spirit. Hence man, without the control of the spirit (an unbeliever dead in the spirit or a believer blocking the spirit), is called carnal or animal. Flesh is unique in every animal and in every individual. By nature we are born cut off from God. Through nurture the flesh is shaped into something unique. This is accomplished by the events that come to mind, will, emotions, and body through both the inner circumstances (a mind, will, and emotions not controlled) and outer circumstances (a world and the body, mind, will, and emotions of others out of control). Once the flesh is shaped, it is fixed in concrete, and this is the most important point. Once developed, the flesh will not change.

The flesh can, however, receive additions. An example might be a boy who looks to his father for security, and the father abandons the boy. The boy’s flesh is now developed into something insecure. Then one day the boy receives a new life that replaces the old nature, the Adam life, or the old life; he receives the life of Jesus and is attached to the Vine. Christ’s life is secure, and the boy recognizes a security that is in Him, Christ’s security. It is a mistake to think that this newfound security is the boy’s; it is Christ’s security flowing in him, and he is a partaker. However, his insecure flesh has not changed. Any moment, as a branch on the Vine, the boy can simply, in a prayer of recognition, say, “Jesus, Your security is welcome here. Thank You that I can partake of it.” If he will do this, he need never experience the insecurity of his flesh. However, if the boy takes his eyes off of Jesus, stops abiding in the moment, and blocks the Holy Spirit of Jesus by choice, he will discover that the flesh, the developing of his being when he did not have Jesus, has not changed one bit. He will feel insecure, because the flesh is flesh. At this point, he can even add to his flesh by letting the chaos that is without and within rule over him. Many, after accepting Christ and walking moment by moment with Him, have closed the door--through choice--to Him and added to their flesh. Twenty years ago I never talked to a Christian who was struggling with Internet pornography. Now it is common. It is a new addition, but the root is the same; the flesh was blocking the Spirit and looking to something else to feed the mind, emotions, and body. The remedy is easy. “Put your eyes back on Jesus.” The life of the Vine that is free from pornography will flow into the branch, and the believer will experience a freedom that is not his but is now his. However, close the door to the Vine (it closes when pride says, “I can”; it opens in humility by saying, “I cannot”), and the Christian will discover that not only is the flesh feeling insecure, but it is also craving pornography.

The flesh can be added to but never subtracted from. This is so important that I cannot emphasize it enough. It is deception to believe that the flesh will change. The enemy uses this deception in many ways. First, he has believers following one program after the other to change the flesh, when they could simply abide. Second, the enemy uses carnal believers with strong flesh to make comparisons between themselves and others and put the sincere believers’ minds on the flesh. I call those who constantly tell what is good and what is bad and who make comparisons “Christian Buddhists.” They make people worse. Always. Third, the enemy has the believers trying to undo what they see as bad flesh by doing good. This is an incredible deception because of the insidious nature of the flesh. If someone people-pleases all day long, he will hate people at night. If a person jams his head with positive thoughts all day, he will be overwhelmed with negative thoughts at night. An individual who controls his appetite all day will gorge at night. Good feeds evil. I had a white horse; I also had a black horse that never wanted to be ridden and stayed far from the gate; the white one liked me and always came close to the gate. However, whenever I opened the gate for the white horse, the black one would race like mad, seizing the opportunity to escape past the white horse and me. The black horse used the white one. But the point is that if a person lets his “good” flesh out for a romp, bad flesh will come out, as well. Walking in the flesh is never the answer. Fourth, the enemy tells us that as Christians there is no room for failure, but the truth is that we must accept that our flesh never changes. In becoming Christians, our flesh never did improve. It can be a depressing revelation (for the self-righteous) or the most freeing thing in the world if we will abide, if Jesus is our focus. The most famous Christian ever written about had ugly flesh until the day he died. If it were not so, how could the Apostle Paul say with such conviction, “In my flesh dwells nothing good”? That is something he would have said until the day he died. In some ways I would like to ban books about the “great” Christians that subtly draw comparisons between them and us on the grounds of their strong, well adjusted, demanding, and risk-taking flesh. That is just wrong. There are no great men of God; there are weak men with a big God. Remember, when we are listening or looking to a Christian and being ministered to, it is Jesus that we are seeing. That person, when not abiding, is not any better than a drunk or the worst person we know. He has not brought himself to a place of improvement through years of “Christian” discipline.

Now, this revelation is one of the most beautiful that I have ever had. It is the awareness of weakness that keeps me near, keeps me handcuffed moment by moment to Jesus. Some would complain and call it a thorn in the flesh, but if the awareness that apart from Him I can do nothing keeps me near to perfect love and participation in perfect victory, why complain? Do not get discouraged if you find yourself exactly as you were, or worse than you were, before becoming a believer. It is the flesh, and it has not changed; it is not going to change. God gave it to you so you would be miserable without Him in the moment. He knew you had flesh, and He is not fighting it but using it. Give yourself and those around you some grace. Do not be so shocked when the pastor is seen cursing, the evangelist is angry, the Christian co-worker got drunk, or a friend was caught viewing Internet pornography. It is the flesh, and because the old man is dead, they, just like you, can choose to move back into the abiding relationship of the Vine. Do it, and in that moment, His victory is yours. But remember, self will be subdued with your flesh. It is God’s stronghold to keep you near.

A brother asked me an honest, heartfelt question: “Michael, if you fell, how would it affect all those who pray for you?” Immediately I responded, “It would not affect them, except that they would be concerned for me. Brother, if you wanted to walk away from Christ, my behavior would not keep you near Him or drive you away from Him. You have already been tested, and if you were going to leave Christ, you would have gone by now. There are cynical Christians, Christians who press on, and Christians in carnality. After the fall of any pastor or evangelist, the cynical remain so, those wanting to move on keep moving on, and carnal believers continue in carnality.” I went on to explain that my motive for serving God could not be to prevent others from stumbling. I serve God for His fellowship, not for ulterior motives.

(bold print & underlining…my emphasis)

One of the biggest struggles for Pastors and Bible Teachers, as well as all Christians, is to give a reason as to why Christians sin.  Some go so far as telling the flock that IF there is sin in their life, they MUST not be born again.  So much for Christianity then…

I suppose that you, like me, were astounded at the great AMOUNT of Truth in this day’s discourse.  Amen.  It takes three or four readings to just get the magnitude of what has been said, and to begin to digest the victory or defeat that Christians are experiencing because of what we are understanding, or not understanding, about the “flesh.”  Dig, and come up with the victory you so desire!  I think most who are experiencing defeat are doing so because of a wrong definition and idea of what the “flesh” really is.  Most think “flesh” and “body” are one and the same.  Not so.  Therein lies the path to defeat so quickly followed and dealt with.

And then, of course, there are the self-righteous (who don’t “happen” to have the “wrong” flesh, like someone else) who are constantly “judging” the others and casting fear and doubt around like Pharisees.

I have known some Saints who had the ugliest flesh at times, who spouted out of their mouths the most profound spiritual truths…led more people to Jesus…were the quickest to minister to someone in dire need…  Amen!  And, I might add, we are the best of friends.  Their flesh, or mine, is not a distraction to what Jesus is doing through us.  Do we want to change?  Absolutely.  Can we “change”?  Not the flesh, but the walk.  And therein is where we know and move:  There is nothing the nearness of Christ can’t overcome!

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

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

Day 312 - Walk In The Truth

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 18

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

In one of the simplest verses to read and understand on the surface, so many miss God completely when it comes to living it.  And their failure to live it results in most of the consequences they suffer for years and years.  Read the words slowly, stop and think how easy life as a Christian really is based on The Truth in this one verse, and face up to how your life stacks up against The Truth.  And notice how Michael shows us “the key” to living it…

DAY 312

Walk In The Truth

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, {so} walk in Him. --Colossians 2:6

“Abiding in Christ really sounds great; however, it just does not work for me.” I have heard that assessment countless times. My response is, “You mean that making Christ your focus has not helped at all?” Reply, “No, it helped for a few days, maybe a few weeks. It just did not go on working.” Herein lies a problem with such rationale: If truth can set anyone free for five minutes, then it can set him free for a lifetime. Truth is absolute and therefore cannot go off and on like a light switch. Unfortunately, many think of truth as a pill that when taken once allows them to sit back and enjoy its benefits for a lifetime. This is a faulty concept, because truth does not envelop the believers and then move them along. Truth is something to be walked in as faith works alongside to bring experience. Faith allows us to receive the truth and walk in it. Those who tell me that focusing on Christ does not work are never focusing on Christ while they make the statement. To know the power of truth one must walk in it, and I have never had anyone that was abiding in Christ tell me that it did not work.    

When we decide not to walk in truth we rebel, and the one thing that will most facilitate rebellion and render us the least uncomfortable during the process is anger. The progression is 1) rebel, 2) develop anger, and 3) justify the anger. Therefore, we begin to make a list of why we should be angry with the kids, the mate, the lack of a mate, the job, the depression, our past, relationships, finances, and on and on. The unfortunate person on the list to justify another’s anger is left feeling that if he had not done or said certain things, the other one would not have had to rebel. Consequently, that person gets busy changing things in order to bring relief to the rebellious. It becomes his responsibility—rather than the rebel’s own--to bring the rebel out of the flesh. However, we cannot rebel and blame anyone but ourselves; it was our choice not to walk in the Spirit; no one pushed us out, NO ONE! We use others’ behavior as excuses not to walk in truth, and then we even blame the weakness of the truth for not being able to carry us along.

Believer, YOU CHOOSE! Your will is not broken. Today walk in the truth of loving an enemy, a mate, a friend, refuse all self-centered thoughts, and you will find the truth in power. John 15 is truth; it works; walk in it and it will once again prove its power to you to the point that you will shout, “It works!” Do not try to fix your present state with a complicated list of all that must change before you can walk in the truth. Truth is absolute; it does not need anything to be different to display its power.

How much “easier” could it get?  Take something we have already done (“as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord”) and do it again, and again, and again (“so walk in Him”).  That’s God’s simple instructions (the proverbial “formula” or “secret” to life as a Christian.  That isn’t difficult, is it?  Then why is it that so many Christians don’t even come close to doing that?

Aha, Michael points it out: we decide not to walk in truth…or The Truth.  Pride, man wants to be God, whatever we want to call it…it is simply a choice to not walk in truth.

One other thing so simple:  “If truth can set anyone free for five minutes, then it can set him free for a lifetime.”  Live life 5 minutes at a time…that’s simple and easy, isn’t it?  Well, not when we don’t mind being rebellious!

Now there are many great life truths in this day’s discourse by Michael, and I felt like highlighting several other sentences.  You take the time to digest each and every sentence, letting the Holy Spirit prompt you to grab hold of truth, then choose to walk in it until it shows you its power!

Truth is:  for a Christian, it is more difficult to believe a lie and live in it, than to believe a truth and live in it…we have to choose to be something we are not.  Sadly, too many make those choices day after day after day.  Well, amen.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

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