Day 80 - Embrace a Movement and Let Go Of Jesus!

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 179

         

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. 

The first chapter of Isaiah speaks clearly about why, what, and how God thinks when His people turn from Him and spend their time, energy, and resources on anything other than what is involved in our relationship with Him.  Michael gives us a significant observation that flies in the face of modern-day Christianity’s activity.  See if you spot Michael’s point…

DAY 80

Embrace a Movement and Let Go Of Jesus!

I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. --Isaiah 1:14, 15

We have been bombarded in America by methods for accomplishing so many things: evangelism, childrearing, Bible study, Scripture memory, church growth, building expansion, giving, and counseling. There are myriad specialized ministries addressing how to reach the businessman, the doctor, the neighbor, the moms, the dads, the internationals, and more. It is astounding and reminds me of the story of the Indian visiting the Christian bookstore in London. He had never before seen so many books in one place! The owner, upon observing his awe, took him from category to category, showing him all of the books written about the aforementioned methods. At that, the Indian said, “When I see so many books I am left with only one question: Do Christians not know how to do anything?” We must, in my opinion, walk the way Jesus walked with God. He did not have a manual but simply (though it does not initially seem simple for those of us living in this world) kept His focus on the Father. He maintained that relationship and never appeared to be at a loss for what to do in any given situation. If it were true for Him, could it not be true for those of us who have believed in Him, for those of us for whom He prayed, “that they may be one as We are One”? Try to prepare for an upcoming situation and watch as it takes an unexpected, unprepared for twist. Spend the day with an abiding awareness of Christ and have His wisdom no matter what happens. The day spent working on methods to fix a problem is not a day focused on Him. A believer can do one or the other. Embracing the method means that of necessity He has been let go! The cost of a how-to seminar is way beyond the registration fee paid, for it will cost a believer both peace and readiness.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Many like to say we must be like Jesus, do as Jesus did…of course, they are talking about the physical things He did.  Very seldom do these people speak of HOW or WHY Jesus did these things.  Very seldom is anything mentioned as to the way Jesus operated in His daily life.  And then, along comes Michael pointing out an astounding fact: “the way Jesus walked with God. He did not have a manual but simply kept His focus on the Father.”  Think deeply on this…no manual (Bible today for us), just a focus on the Father that enabled Him to never appear to be at a loss for what to do in any given situation.  Michael asks if this could be true for us.  What do you think?  Can we do this?

1. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us…we have the Mind of Christ.

2. We are capable of keeping our focus on the Father.

3. We are capable of maintaining our fellowship with the Father so that He shares His wisdom willingly with us.

4. With His wisdom we are capable of never being at a loss for what to do in any given situation.

5. With His wisdom…why would we go in search of any method to take the place of Gods wisdom?

You are probably wondering what that “significant observation” is that I mentioned in the introduction… “The day spent working on methods to fix a problem is not a day focused on Him.  Embracing the method means that of necessity He has been let go!”  Why would we ever let go of Jesus to grab hold of a method?  How did we ever get so focused on method after method…instead of Christ and the wisdom of the Father?

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

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

DAY 247 - Sin Will Not Send You To Hell

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 178

         

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. 

This is one of the most interesting writings in Michael’s books…why?...because so many Christians act like they don’t know this truth, and all non-Christians cannot know this truth.

DAY 247

Sin Will Not Send You To Hell

 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. --Romans 5:6

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. --Romans 5:8

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. --I John 2:2

  

I cannot walk up to an unbeliever and proclaim that because he sins he will go to hell. No one is going to hell because of sin. The sin issue concerning the human race has already been dealt with at the cross. Jesus died for the ungodly! Man is not doomed because of sin; rather, man is doomed because of pride; it is pride that sends man to hell. It was pride that caused the initial fall in response to temptation. God prioritizes what is considered bad by listing pride first, unbelief second, and sin third. Somehow we have reversed the order. 

When the resurrected Christ appeared to the disciples, they did not recognize Him. To prove Who He was, He showed them the marks of crucifixion, the same marks that kept the disciples from recognizing Him. Before a crucifixion the Romans would take a whip made of twelve strands of leather (glass embedded on each side with a hook on the end) and strike the victim 39 times across the back and once across the face, completely disfiguring him. Jesus was marred beyond recognition, and for all of eternity He will bear those marks. At the right hand of the Father sits the marred Jesus. We will never fully understand the price that the Word of God paid to become a man; however, we know that it was great, for He is still a man in heaven. Is it any wonder that we will see Him in heaven as the Lamb that was slain and fall down in worship?

Because the sin issue has been dealt with, all that God requires is our belief in and receiving of the marred Jesus that sits at His right hand. Unbelievers will not perish because of sin but because of the pride they hold dear that denies the Son of God who made the supreme sacrifice.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Michael points out that it is pride, not sin, which determines a person’s spending eternity in hell.  How many Christians really remember this?  Why is it that so many Christians focus on “sin” instead of “pride”?

As a pastor I often hear: “I thought _???__ became a Christian, but they still ___????????__.”  That person speaking mentions one or more of the “top 10 list of sins” Christians so often espouse as a sin (or sins) that God will not forgive…at least not so the “sinner” can go to Heaven when they die.  Egads!  What is going on in that Christian’s mind?!?  (we don’t have time, nor space…and it is not my aim to delve into such things in this venue…to think of all my thoughts about those who make such comments)

What is important is just what Michael stresses…focus on what God requires of a sinner for salvation (“our belief in, and receiving of, the marred Jesus that sits at God’s right hand”).  Denying the Son of God and a trust in Him and His death on the Cross as God’s supreme sacrifice IS the ultimate PRIDE issue.

I pray that Michael has awakened many to think about the truths of the scriptures he presents, and the truth of God’s priorities of “badness”: “pride first, unbelief second, and sin third.”

Oh, by the way, if you are wondering why I said in the opening: “all non-Christians cannot know this truth”…read 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (“The Lost Don’t Know They Are Lost”) and 1 Corinthians 1:18-23; 2:6-14 (“The Lost Cannot “Receive” God’s Truth”).  All of that is staggering TRUTH!  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

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

Day 158 - If I Were God, I Would Kill Me!

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 177

         

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. 

Perhaps we have never expressed it quite like Michael does in this day’s title, but I suspect most Christians have had some moments of introspection that were characterized by an expression that embraces the thought.  Michael points out a great comparison of our “survival” to that of the nation of Israel on so many occasions…see if you sense how this fits us…

DAY 158

If I Were God, I Would Kill Me!

For thus says the LORD, sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chiefs of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, O LORD, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel. --Jeremiah 31:7

“If I were God, I would kill me!” Have you ever felt that way about yourself? Have you ever wondered why God even puts up with you? The life of grace is so much higher than the life of legalism! The legalist could never even comprehend the difference; he is accustomed to moving smoothly between good flesh and bad. However, the least attitude that is anti-Christ in grace people will not go unchecked! Not only are there the daily struggles of either recognizing that we are abiding or not, there is the issue of our growth. As we grow in Him, we look back at last year, the year before that, and even the beginnings of our Christian life with a sigh and a moan. “How could I have been like that?” All of this leads to an inner whisper, “If I were God, I would not have put up with me.”

Why has He put up with us? It is because of the remnant! What remnant? There were many people in Israel who disobeyed the Lord, but there was always one man who obeyed and who became the remnant. It was because of the remnant that all the people were not destroyed; the remnant permitted God to put up with all the rest of the rebellious people. The remnant—the one man for the many--delighted Him. Noah and Moses come to mind; they dwelled in and among the people but were not like the people. The people did not change them; they worked to change the people’s hearts. Because of the remnant God continued to work with the people. Every believer is multi-faceted in that his soul comprises mind, will, and emotions and his body harbors desire, habits, protection, and reproduction. Over the years, even as believers, our minds were filled with chaos, our wills pointed toward self, our emotions bred hatred and jealousy, and the bodies expressed every kind of desire. Our soul and body participated in the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and boastful pride of life. Why did God not just wipe us out? Because of the remnant! There was something in us so great that it allowed God to overlook all of the failures and continue with us. The remnant in us is Jesus! He dwells in our spirit, He is pleasing to God in everything, and because of Him God will not withdraw from us. Our flesh will never affect Jesus, but Jesus will continue to have an influence on our flesh. We will grow and the outside influences that had control over us will lessen as He increases and we have the revelation of our new life in Him. The Remnant is in us!  

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

The indwelling of Jesus Christ in every Believer is always going to be one of the most unknown, misunderstood, and least appreciated truths of Christianity.  The totality of His Spirit being our spirit, His Soul being a part of us, us being complete in Him… this all is a lot to take in.  But when we grasp this, we will never take another breath the same as before that moment of revelation.

I remember “that moment” for me way back in 1980…Romans 8:11, “But if the spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.”  I just about exploded!  It was no longer the “old I,” apart from Christ.  It was no longer just me in my flesh.  It is me with His Spirit a part of me that “quickens my mortal body” as I allow Him to.  Wow!  This is Pauline living!!!

But, stop and think about the beauty of it that Michael points out as to Jesus being the “remnant” in us that allows God to overlook so much, pleases God so much, and prohibits God from withdrawing from us.  All that we fret so much about is not even a bother to God.  He is the One who made us a “new creation,” complete in Christ, with some of the “fretful stuff” still hanging around.  Did He make a mistake?  No!  Absolutely not!  And another beautiful thing is how Michael puts it: “Our flesh will never affect Jesus, but Jesus will continue to have an influence on our flesh.”  Beautiful!  Amen! 

Growing in grace (His doing through us) as we abide, The Remnant in us.  This is one of the major privileges of being a Christian in this life.  Now wrap your pea-picking heart around this: at salvation, Christ did kill the “old man,” the “old me.”  The same happened to you if you are a Born Again Believer!  The “new man,” the “new me,” is Him.  That is why God doesn’t call His kids “sinners,” but He calls us “saints.”  Hallelujah!

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

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

Day 161 - Impossibility Versus Accomplishment

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 176

         

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. 

“Are you so foolish?”   Paul, after being a pastor for several years expresses that frustration.  However, even though the New Testament is a plain and clear testimony that Christianity is all about Christ, and not about us...we go and make it about us way too much.

DAY 161

Impossibility Versus Accomplishment

           

Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? . . . Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” –Galatians 3:3, 11

Many aspects of the believer's life have been made out to be nearly impossible to accomplish. We are given reams of material on how to be a good parent, partner, and child of God. There seems to be so much information that we must know. How can we take it all in? How can we always do the right thing? And those who present to us the much needed information seem so much more spiritual than we are; they have done the right things all along, and they even have degrees in how to be successful. However, Scripture does not indicate that being a brother or sister in Christ, a parent, or a mate is all that difficult. In fact, there is very little in Scripture concerning what to do, but much about basic attitudes to have. “And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against any one; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (Colossians 3:12, 13). The Christian life is as simple as loving our wives, respecting our husbands, forgiving our enemies, not provoking our children, obeying parents, and working as unto the Lord. This is our long-term plan. In keeping it day by day we will see ups and downs, reversals, and the inevitable Christian hiccups, but we should never, never allow those daily things to sidetrack us from our long-term plan, which will reap its own reward in the fullness of time.

Often in our quest for immediate relief we see in others (and they see in us) things to change to bring instant comfort. Therefore, we set out to covertly or overtly change those around us through more control and more role-playing of God. Let me point out that if God believed a change in another person's behavior were as important as we believe it to be, He would already have changed it! A change in the behavior of Job’s friends would not have lessened his plight one bit. It was Job’s trust in God and the long-term result of faith that kept him. The whole test was calculated to clean up Job, not to change others. Others actually played very little into the scenario. God's role was primary, Job's secondary, and others' somewhere far behind.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Is that an incredible truth, or what…”there is very little in Scripture about what to do, but much about basic attitudes to have.”

Chosen of God, holy (God says so), accepted in the beloved, living in the Spirit…life is all taken care of by our Lord.  Do we believe that”  “God’s role was primary, Job’s (ours) secondary, and others’ somewhere far behind.”  Well, amen!

I can let Him accomplish what only He can accomplish, and I can just relax and live by 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

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

Day 152 - "I Hate My Church!"

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 175

         

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. 

Michael travelled all over the world and saw all kinds of churches, with all kinds of people in those churches.  And he saw something that few have ever seen…

DAY 152 

“I Hate My Church!”

For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. --Matthew 7:14

“I am the only one at my church with the revelation that Jesus is my life and is everything! Where can I go to find a good church?” This is a common question and a valid complaint, for there are churches that do not mention a word about Jesus, that operate entirely in the flesh and manipulate to build numbers of members and quantities of coffers. Those types of churches do exist, as we can read in Revelation. I will not, through guilt, manipulate someone to stay in such a place unless he has the peace of God to stay. He may be the only one there loving Jesus above all else, and much is said in Scripture about the principle of the few. There simply are not enough of them, and, after all, it does not take much leaven to raise the whole lump. Being a lone voice in the wilderness is sharing in His sufferings.

A woman prayed me into her church, and I mean that sincerely; she prayed me in. I do not think anyone could have stopped me from being there. It took ten years of prayer, but she never wavered. I was so encouraged when I heard another woman, from a different church, talking to her at the break, saying, “I would love to have the Abiding Life conference in our church, but the elders would never hear of it.” My friend responded, “Oh, I believed the same thing, and look at what God is doing! It took ten years of prayer, but I did not give up. It may take you ten years, but do not give up! The Lord will open a door that no man can shut.”

A believer is where he is for a reason. If someone does come to see he is in Christ, and Christ is in him, do not expect him to stay around for long. The few are rarely allowed to bunch up. This is what makes special gatherings, retreats, and conferences so precious to me; the fellowship with like-minded believers is so refreshing. 

Remember, though, that the few do not have something that other believers do not possess. The few, by faith, have simply recognized and believed what they have freely been given by the Lord. The few are not better or exclusive; in fact, they are more acquainted with suffering.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Not very many people want to be a “lone voice.”  Most want to be a part of something big.  Big is counted as something special, and oftentimes “spiritual.”  Yet, Jesus was not into “big.”  Why?  He knew what was in most men.

Michael gives us a very profound truth when he states: “A believer is where he is for a reason.”  God is always at work in each and every believer’s life, and God has each believer in a place where God can work the work He wants to accomplish.  The most interesting thing is to come to realize what Michael tells us next: “The few are rarely allowed to bunch up.”  Wow!  The many rarely ever see that.

It is so startling to recognize and believe the spiritual things that have been given by the Lord, and then to experience that acquaintance with Christ’s sufferings.

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

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

Day 159 - Ignore Your Plan

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 174 

         

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. 

Michael gives us a very definitive statement about “man” and “man’s plans”…and how man should “ignore, or destroy, his plans.”  And Michael gives us such a way…  This is a very important and helpful writing!

DAY 159

Ignore Your Plan

But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. --Psalm 81:11, 12

Sometimes I start a discipleship session with a question, “So what is your plan?” People generally are not sitting around waiting for advice on what to do. Before they ever step through my office door, they have decided exactly what course they are going to follow and are merely seeking counsel that agrees with their decision. Many times I talk to a husband or wife who has already decided that the way to fix their marital problem is to split up. Others decide the best way to correct their situation is to run, and some others believe that if the people around them would change, the predicament would then resolve itself. Our plan is not His plan, and experience will confirm that assessment. Our plans are often devised out of frustration, anger, disappointment, and hopelessness; and since they are anti-Sermon-on-the-Mount/Life-on-the-Mount, they include no love, no Spirit, no Christ, no brokenness, no laying down of our lives. The solution is not to correct our plan to make it something we can more comfortably live with; that would still only be our plan in different clothing. As Corrie Ten Boom said, “Just because there is a mouse in the cookie jar, that does not make it a cookie.” Often we are in a state of so much emotional disruption that we just cannot think “spiritually.” We are too consumed with the morbid satisfaction that comes from contemplating how we will get even with someone or make him pay for something he did or said. So we must have a plan for destroying the plan that will destroy us. Here is just such a plan: When entertaining any scheme that is anti-Christ, simply pray before falling off to sleep each night, “Father, please do not give me over to the stubbornness of my heart; do not let me walk in my own devices.” Pray even when you cannot yet really mean it. God hears even idle words. He will hear, and He will answer!

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

How about this…”a plan for destroying the plan that will destroy us.”  Abandoning our plans to God and asking Him to not allow us to be given over to the stubbornness of our heart & not letting us walk in our own devices.  Well, amen.

Why is this an issue in the first place?  Well, look at ALL the ways Michael describes the lives of too many Christians making “anti-Christ” decisions.  WHEN will life as a Christian have none of the sad testimony so mentioned???

And, then why do Christians make a plan that “is not His plan”?  Oh, wow!  God tells us WHY in the 81^st Psalm quoted at first of Michael’s writing: “But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me.  So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices.”  This life that is in essence behind our making anti-Christ plans is the result of our stubborn heart!

With a “stubborn heart” against God, man can look forward to a life like Michael describes and “schemes that are anti-Christ.”  SO…we MUST USE the plan Michael gives us: “pray before falling off to sleep each night, ‘Father, please do not give me over to the stubbornness of my heart, do not let me walk in my own devices.’ “

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

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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

Day 162 - In The Mode Of Doing

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 173

         

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. 

This is the 173^rd blog entry…if you are not signed up on the website to receive these weekly blogs, I encourage you to do so right now.   The blogsite enables you to go back and look at all the previous blogs (and the ones to come).  Click on the link below and in the top right hand corner of the blog there is a space where you can enter your email address and get these weekly blog entries.  But you can at any time during any week go to the blogsite and go to all entries and read Michael’s writings.

THIS DAY’S WRITING gives one of the most critical truths the Scriptures reveal to us…believing must precede faith, and then action.  Soak on the scripture from Romans in Michael’s last sentence…notice the sequence of the three things I just mentioned in Abraham’s life.  Well, amen, as Michael used to say!

DAY 162

In The Mode Of Doing

That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. –Colossians 2:2 & 3

           

There is a story told of a man who gave seminars all over the world on what a Christian must do to be a success.  The man died and went to heaven. The first day in heaven he decided to put on one of his seminars on doing. He scheduled a large room and thousands came to hear him. While he was speaking he noticed that Jesus was seated on the front row taking one page of notes after another, and this puzzled the man. At the break the man ran to Jesus and asked why He, of all people, would be taking so many notes. Jesus replied, “You see, this is the first time I have heard any of this Myself!” Doing makes the Christian life far too difficult! It is not the doing that must come first but the believing. Doing emphasizes immediate results and will not see us through to the end. However, believing will see us through to the very end as it did every person of faith in Scripture. God has given every believer in every conceivable situation absolute attitudes to be kept. If we maintain those we will see the fulfillment in God’s fullness of time. Continue to love, to submit, and to train; we may not directly see the positive from our attitude, but remember, this is our long-term plan, and in the midst of the ups and downs our spirits will remain calm.

Now what has been said previously centers in this one simple Scripture. "But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (II Corinthians 11:3). Is the Christian life simple? Is the answer to living alone, living with others, raising children, not having children, and every other struggle simple? Yes, yes, and yes again! In order for the Christian life to be one of simplicity, we must first realize that God does not give answers to every situation, but rather reveals attitudes for every situation, and second, that if these attitudes are maintained, we will not be free from the day-by-day ups and downs, but we will see the fulfillment of the promises in God’s fullness of time. All of this promotes faith! “Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform" (Romans 4:20, 21). 

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

What we perceive in the Scriptures, we believe.  What we believe of what God has said, we can then be given His faith to solidify our belief to where it turns into action in our lives.  Michael has shown that to be the “mode of doing” that God wants in our lives. 

Why do we start out trying to “do” something without having that “true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, IN WHOM ARE HIDDEN ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE”…and we continue to “do” more to try and get the results of the “Christian life” that we want.  Egads!  How long does that have to lead to failure until we change?!?

Michael always turns us away from “doing” first TO believing God and trusting Him to be the One who actually “does” His work through 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

(twitter) @bleemc67    (email) leemccm@gmail.com

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