Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 154
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
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.
Last
week we looked at “Day 176,” a writing Michael titled “The Job of
Conscience.” In this next day’s writing,
Michael takes us to the point of conscience being destroyed…and the resulting
fleshly lifestyle. This is a powerful
presentation bringing us to realize the absolute devastation to any individual
who allows their conscience to be wiped out.
DAY 177
The Death of Conscience
For the mystery
of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains {will do so} until he
is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord
will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of
His coming; {that is,} the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of
Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception
of wickedness for those who
perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
– II Thessalonians
2:7-10
An assault is being made today on the conscience of those
of us living in the United States. It begins with
presenting our fathers, grandfathers, and founding fathers as ignorant, foolish
believers. Then we are told that family does not matter, only our happiness.
Sexual purity is outdated. We are not responsible for our own actions; others
(whoever they are) are making our lives miserable. The pain that comes from believing and living with
that approach is countered by a greater appetite for a variety of drugs, all
calculated to numb our animal existence. To have an abortion and
experience no remorse or guilt, the conscience must die, but when it dies, it
takes down with it our self-love, other-love, and the love of creation. For a
man or woman to abandon the family for a younger live-in, the conscience must
die, but so do self-protection, other-protection, and a whole generation of
would-be caring parents. To rationalize lying, stealing, and murder, the
conscience must die, and along with it the joy of truth, the satisfaction of
daily labor, and the appreciation of life. Those who kill a specific area of conscience to allow for
the expression of their particular fleshly desire will in the end reap
destruction from the hand of another. The conscience of the youth is
being snuffed out little by little through television, music, sex, drugs, and
all else that promises the pleasure of animal desire. It has been said that the
fruit of sin is either green or rotten, but never ripe. The promised
satisfaction of the flesh is always just around the corner, but never there
today. How can it be? For the flesh is like the fire that never says enough! It
cannot be satisfied. The world wants to avoid guilt at all cost. Much has been
said about the damaging effect of guilt. However, I pray I am never delivered
into the hands of someone who can no longer sense guilt. This person will have
no conscience.
Seeing that nature
abhors a vacuum, once
conscience is destroyed it is replaced by anger, which allows for the freedom needed
to follow selfish animal existence. Those without a conscience are in a constant state of
anger. Notice how animals can get immediately mad! This condition of
living for the present fulfillment of the flesh is actually intellectualized
and made to appear something other than the shallowness that it is. Encouraging
the death of the conscience becomes politically correct, intelligent,
open-minded, caring, even heads above the poor ignorant masses. Rights become all important,
lest the right to live as an animal be taken away. When it rains on the
farm, the feedlot becomes quite muddy. The sheep and pigs venture out and both
become stuck in the muck. The sheep begin to cry for someone to come and rescue
them, while the pigs quite comfortably simply roll in the mud. The sheep are
like men with a conscience, because they know they are not at home in the mire;
the pigs reveal their true character. It would be quite distasteful were a pig
to lie to himself and others about his true condition, making the muck out to
be something of a lofty experience.
I have witnessed
people's stress that comes from not having a job, from looking for a place to
live, from having severe medical problems, and from having marital difficulty,
and none compare with the misery that comes from having a child without a
conscience. However, this is an exciting time to live!
Never before has the first chapter of Romans (the foolish philosophy of
evolution and the depravity of living without a conscience) or Proverbs,
Chapter 1 (describes perfectly the gang mentality), meant so much. We are
witnessing both firsthand. I
am excited and have taken heart; I do not feel undone or hopeless, nor am I
wringing my hands, because I have a God! That is right, I have a God! Do we think He does not see all?
He is not caught off guard! He has given some over to their wicked desires
(Romans 1:24). Do I worry about the believers' children in the midst of the
above? No! He is the Gardener. We as parents have planted the seed of His
Kingdom, the most powerful of all seeds, able to split the largest rock. He
will water, He will cause growth, and He will reap the fruit. I have a God! How else will you find out that your
God, the only God, the living God, can protect your family, provide in crisis,
work miracles in family members, displace the enemy, and put to shame all
worldly wisdom if you are never in the need of protection, food, miracles,
wisdom, and victory? In the coming years, be prepared to expand! As our God provides, our faith
will expand, and as it expands, so do we. I want to find out just how big God is. As we stand fast in the midst of a
world without conscience, the great revelation that we have a God, the only
true God, will become an actuality.
Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point Green
– IT, Incredible Truth
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches Pink
– PV, Priceless Victory
Do
you know someone living this “life”? Do
you recognize all around you the worldly activities that are stealing the
conscience of so many? This is a wake-up
call for many. This is an awareness list
for all to see just how the “mystery of lawlessness” is truly at work right in
our midst. A big question is: what are
we going to do about it? Or, how are we
going to help someone to avoid having their conscience destroyed?
It
is absolutely incredible to stop and think how Almighty God gives each
individual a conscience that is placed in us to have the capacity to “receive
the love of the truth so as to be saved.” But to reject God and believe the “deception
of wickedness” is so sad.
Seven
things Michael mentions grab my attention:
1. “The pain that comes from
believing and living with that approach (the deceit and
lies) is countered by a
great appetite for a variety of drugs, all calculated to numb
our animal
existence.”
2. Then he gives a variety of
life experiences that require a death of our conscience.
3. “Those who kill a specific
area of conscience to allow for the expression of their
particular fleshly
desire will in the end reap destruction from the hand of another.”
4. “Once conscience is
destroyed it is replaced by anger, which allows for the freedom
needed to follow
selfish animal existence. Those without
a conscience are in a
constant state of anger.”
5. “I am excited and have
taken heart, I do not feel undone or hopeless, nor am I
wringing my hands,
because I have a God!”
6. “As our God provides, our
faith will expand, and as it expands, so do we.”
7. “As we stand fast in the
midst of a world without conscience, the great revelation
that we have a God,
the only true God, will become an actuality.”
Knowing
all this, I am equipped to disciple people better. 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
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