Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 198
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
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With
every day that goes by I become more and more encompassed with the simplicity
of what being a Christian truthfully encompasses. A new birth (born again…John chs.1 & 3
among others), a new family…period. And
with that, God says I belong to Christ, He belongs to me, and we belong to
God. Simple. Nothing more.
Day 25
Belonging
to Jesus
Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world
or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you,
and you belong to Christ; and
Christ belongs to God. --I Corinthians 3:22, 23
Do you know that you belong to Jesus?
Of course you do! You do not belong to man, to an organization, or to an
institution. You belong to
Jesus; you are His, and He belongs to you. There is so much comfort in that fact. Do you
know, also, that there was enough dynamite in one thing that Jesus said to blow
to pieces any institution? “Man
was not made for the Sabbath but the Sabbath for man!” In short, we are not commanded
to prop up the kingdom of man, period! Many will work on the good heart
of a believer to get him to serve in the building of their kingdom. We do not work for man’s
kingdom, for we are not made for man; we are made for God. In Buenos
Aires, Argentina, at the end of the walking boulevard named Florida Street,
there is a large, beautiful tree with branches so big that sticks are placed
vertically under the limbs to support them so they do not break off. The
immense weight of each limb is unbelievable, but one little stick keeps it
supported. So many in the Kingdom of God are little sticks kept busy supporting
the dead weight of the kingdoms of man. We must refuse this role and not be
concerned with man’s extending his image. We are created for the ONE, for Jesus, and Him we do not
support; He is
the ONE who supports us. “For My yoke is easy, and My load is light” (Matthew 11:30).
Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point Green
– IT, Incredible Truth
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches Pink
– PV, Priceless Victory
So, why has the simplicity escaped most Christians? Because the message of HOW one belongs to the
family of God simply by the new birth has moved to a focus of one of behavior
and benefits. I know of no one,
Christian or not, who doesn’t know and acknowledge they belong to a certain
earthly family simply because they were born
into that family. In fact, ALL will tell
you that it matters not whether they “do” or “don’t do” certain things as to
whether they belong to that family. HOW
THEN, with John all the scriptures that speak so clearly to the “new birth” and
“God’s family” has Christianity let people speak of: “You can’t tell me (they,
whoever is spoken of) are a Christian…anyone who is a Christian would not do
that.” Or, “You can’t tell me that
anyone who (does some sort of action) is a Christian.” “You can’t tell me that (name) is a
Christian…they haven’t been to church IN (whatever length of time the speaker
has in mind as a “disqualification” for being in God’s family).” WHAT do any of these things have to do with
being Born Again…Belonging To JESUS?!?
I love Michael’s writing this “day.”
It is a specific writing addressed to Christians. Otherwise he wouldn’t have said what he said
to start with in the 2nd and 3rd sentences. But look again at these great statements:
- “You belong to Jesus; you are His, and He belongs to you. There is so much comfort in that fact.”
- (quoting Jesus) “Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man.” Mark 2:23-27
- “We are not commanded to prop up the kingdom of man, period!”
- ·“We do not work for man’s kingdom, for we are not made for man; we are made for God.”
- ·“We are created for the ONE, for Jesus, and Him we do not support; He is the ONE who supports us.”
There really is so much comfort in all this!
So, I ask myself: Do I belong to JESUS?
Have I been Born Again? Simple. Uncomplicated. Nothing about behavior or benefits…just
birth. Well, amen.
To access ALL past weekly
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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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