Day 311 - Voice of God

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 313

         

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 love the stories in the Bible of our Good Shepherd.  I think our lack of knowledge and insights into shepherds and sheep greatly hinders our fellowship with Christ.  Our Good Shepherd is speaking to us, His sheep, all the time.  What is our response?

Day 311 

Voice of God

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. --John 10:27

I have found that there are two primary reasons that believers are not hearing God. First, imagine a mother looking out the front window of a house watching her children play in the yard, where she has told them to stay. As long as the children are in the yard, do they hear from the mother? No! They do hear her voice if they move to the sidewalk, and they feel the mother’s force as they move into the street. When the children hear nothing, it is proof that they are in the will of the mother. Often the silence believers experience is due merely to being in the will of the Father.

Second, if we are not hearing from God it is important to ask whether we did the last thing that He told us. God often speaks concerning our hearts, the direction of our lives, matters of forgiveness, or anything relating to Matthew 5-7. If we neglected the last thing that we heard from Him, that may be the reason we are not hearing anything new. We simply need to ask the Good Shepherd if we acted on the last bit of instruction; He is more than happy to point it out once again. Be aware, though, to discern whether later the enemy picks up the banner and begins badgering us over our disregard of God’s communication. The enemy’s voice is harsh, critical, condemning, judgmental, and he will often try to bring up past failures of which we have already repented.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

How about those two points from Michael!  Hear nothing…it can be we are IN the will of the Father, OR we may not have done the last thing He told us. 

Let me ask you something really important: have you ever done any extensive studying of the interaction day by day of shepherds and their flocks of sheep?  The connection between the shepherd and his sheep is incredible.  To know this real life activity turns Psalm 23 and John 10 into two of the most fascinating and encouraging passages in many new ways for those who have become very familiar with the actual fellowship of real-life shepherds and sheep.  No wonder our Good Shepherd spoke so much of this intimate fellowship, and so specifically.

We can live life in a more vigorous manner when we become more knowledgeable of life in the pasture, and to-and-from-and-in the sheepfold.  The care our Good Shepherd gives us is more meaningful to us when we can “see” how He compared His “spiritual” sheep and His Shepherding to that of the many examples in the fields all around where He walked.

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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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

Day 307 - Uncovering Your Brother's Sins

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 312

         

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.

Personal discipline and church discipline are two things very rarely discussed in the arena of Christian fellowships these days.  Yet God has given specific instruction on how to handle such.  Michael gives us a good look at this issue and points us toward God’s Truth.

DAY 307

Uncovering Your Brother’s Sins

Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was populated. Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brothers.” --Genesis 9:18-25

There is a lesson for us. Are we to uncover the nakedness of our brother? Many believe it is their job to find the sins of others and then expose them to everyone. Not only is this contrary to Matthew 18, but it will bring a curse upon the fault-finder insofar as he is complicit with the enemy, who accuses the brethren before our God day and night (Revelation 12:10). Let God deal with a man's nakedness. I know a pastor who discovered a hidden sin that another pastor committed some thirty years ago, and out of spiritual jealousy he made sure that everyone found out about it. Is this how we treat the people of God? Yes, if we want to be like Ham. Should we not rather prefer to be like the other two brothers, backing up with the Blood that covers and not publicizing the failures?

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

It is remarkable that many Christian fellowships will not follow God’s uncomplicated directives for handling discipline among its membership.  Very clearly, all discipline begins with the individual accused of some infraction (self-discipline).  If self-discipline were followed by each, no other discipline would be necessary.

If there is cause, one person (the “accuser”) is to go to that brother (the “accused), and the accused has a choice to “hear” the accuser, and change his ways, OR to not change.  A change ENDS all discussion.  Goes no further.  Goes to no one else.

Only if the accused brother does not “hear” and “change,” is the one accuser to go to a couple more who go with the accuser to the “offending” brother.  Once more, the accused can “hear” and change, OR not.  A change ENDS all discussion.  Goes no further.  Goes to no one else.  Finally, IF necessary, the accused is to be taken to the Fellowship with the same process.

It is incumbent on brethren to do as God directs, and take no action to the contrary.  Otherwise, as Michael points out, the fault-finder(s) become complicit with the enemy, and ultimately God will deal with them.

May we all be found to act as Shem and Japheth did, and never like Ham.  The end result is not good.

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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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

Day 306 - Two Tracks

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 311

         

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.

A favorite thought of mine is that life can be complex but does not need to be complicated.  The Natural mind likes to complicate things.  The Mind of Christ can handle complex things in an uncomplicated way.  Michael points us to God’s way of thinking (His Mind) that can give us peace while on two tracks!

DAY 306

Two Tracks

Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. --Matthew 10:34

There are times in life when we would like everything to run on one track, and, as with every issue, there can be both the legitimate and the illegitimate side. For example, because of a vocational change a man is asked to move, which will make him miss his friends immensely. He would like God either to take away his yearning for his friends or allow him to stay put. He wants life on one track. Mourning for the loss of relationships speaks well of the man; however, to be undone and refuse the move does not. 

Running on one track and forcing everything to fit within the one theme can be destructive. A woman visiting me proclaimed, “I am a terrible Christian. The Bible says, ‘In everything give thanks,’ but my husband recently died and I cannot stop crying.” True, the Bible does say that. It also gives accounts of many men of God as they tore their clothes in anguish at the news of the death of a loved one. It is legitimate to weep but may be illegitimate to weep for years. We need to accept that in our Christian life there are more tracks than one that run parallel concurrently.    

Unbelieving man wants to systematize God so that everything is on one track. This order would alleviate the unknown and relieve us of the necessity to exercise our faith. God has never been, nor can He be, systematized. We are not Muslims who base their lives in teaching and creed. Rather, our lives center around a person, a relationship. This leads to situations such as being urged to honor father and mother, and yet at the same time being warned to reject father and mother if they get in the way of following Christ. In a relationship with Christ both truths are possible, for in Him we can love and honor the parents, but Him comes before them, and so if parents want to come before Christ they are not covered by Matthew 15:4 but are under the command of Matthew 10:37.

           

I am not saying that the Christian life is one of balance; that would be Taoism. We are not attempting to find the middle ground. Instead, every issue in life is a coin with two sides, and it takes both sides, though they can be opposing, to make up the coin. Whether one side is legitimate and the other is illegitimate depends upon the Lord’s leading in the situation.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Relationship and fellowship with God are two sides of the Christian coin that are not opposing one another.  Michael points out that our lives center around Christ, and not anything or anyone else.  Complex sometimes, but never complicated.  His Mind keeps “complication” at bay.  Christ’s Word always takes us to Him.  What could be any more uncomplicated?

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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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

Day 305 - Twenty-Something, Bored and Scared

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 310

         

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.

Many of Michael’s writings are more general in nature…they cover life from a broad perspective and not narrowed down to a specific time in a person’s life.  This one is different.  Aimed at those in the “twenty-something” age group.  Therefore, Michael gives us some important particulars for younger people to consider.

However, as Michael points out, those who live long enough will face the inevitable challenges of older age.  Look closely at what he points out will carry anyone through from their twenties to the end.

DAY 305

Twenty-Something, Bored and Scared

Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. --Jonah 1:10

A large segment of the twenty-something crowd feels both bored and scared about the future, with fear of working a dead-end job, doing the eight-to-five routine, preparing for retirement, and finally ending up sipping liquefied Jello from a straw in a nursing home. They shrink from commitment. Many have come from broken homes and from the time of their youth experienced the fear that comes from believing that a family breakup is imminent. The knot in the stomach from hearing the fighting, seeing the drinking, and hearing the accusations made them miserable. We cannot blame them; they have witnessed firsthand marriage as something to be avoided. Fear has created an unbelievably aloof and boring generation with their attempt to live life and yet avoid life by engaging in the same old safe things: reliable relationships, secure jobs, lack of risk, and avoidance of pain. Yet all the while they feel more and more bored and self-centered. 

There is hope for those in this generation, for there is nothing that the nearness of Jesus will not cure, no, not one thing. The normal progression of life cannot be avoided without a person’s imploding. Man is meant to grow up, leave home, become self-sufficient, work a job, get married, have kids, become too old to work, and yes, one day die. It is the normal way of things. It is not boring, but it is only truly exciting if a normal life is lived with Jesus. Do not think that Jesus, God Himself, was bored helping to raise his brothers and sisters, taking care of his mother, living in a small village, and making furniture. We see in Him that the normal progression of life coupled with the progression of walking with the Father blended perfectly together, making it all exciting. My own life has been anything but boring, and I really thank God for everything that comes with, and everything He accomplished in me through, “normal life.” I have never been bored. In every situation it is exciting to see what the Lord is going to do. Jumping into the middle of normal life with Jesus grants the discovery of a great adventure!

Again, why does the twenty-something crowd feel lost? They are avoiding the normal progression of things out of fear. They have seen the worst end result of marriage and children and are avoiding it. Therefore, they are moved to act like adolescents well into their late twenties.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

The story of Jonah has always been a very intriguing account to me.  The thoughts and actions of the sailors Jonah was with, who clearly were not that “connected” to God, give indication that even “outsiders” recognize the power of God.  They were upset simply because they “knew” what Jonah was up to and how that impacted them.  Interesting.  I’ve known long-time Christians who didn’t acknowledge God’s power in some of the most evident situations of a disobedient or disconnected brother or sister in Christ.

For someone like me, in my early 70’s and who did not KNOW Christ until my mid-30’s, I feel sad that the “twenty-somethings” of today are as “bored and scared” as they are.  That reveals how far our society has turned from God and the results of life in a culture mostly without God.  Life in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s was not “scary,” even for an Unbeliever. 

“Bored, scared, shrinking from commitment, attempting to live life and yet avoiding life, self-centered”…the picture of emptiness and exhaustion of life without Christ.  BUT (I call this a HOLY “but”), enter Christ and HOPE becomes reality.

Look again at the Life-giving recollection Michael brings us: There is hope for those in this generation, for there is nothing that the nearness of Jesus will not cure, no, not one thing…The normal progression of life cannot be avoided…It is not boring, but it is only truly exciting if a normal life is lived with Jesus…in Him that the normal progression of life coupled with the progression of walking with the Father blended perfectly together, making it all exciting…In every situation it is exciting to see what the Lord is going to do. Jumping into the middle of normal life with Jesus grants the discovery of a great adventure!

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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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

Day 304 - Trees

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 309

         

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 love the “earthly pictures” God gives us in Scripture to show us the “heavenly truths” He has for us.  And, that He has given us all we need to get His messages.

Michael compares God’s heavenly truth with an earthly picture he was shown…and God gave us the enlightenment He shared with Michael.  Well, amen!

DAY 304

Trees

           

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. --John 15:1

A certain tree farmer has taken the time to show me all the procedures involved in harvesting almonds. I have decided that the strenuous effort involved in bearing fruit does indeed rest on the shoulders of the gardener, whose job it is to prune, level the land, water, fertilize, mow, and out-and-out baby the trees in the hope that all conditions will be perfect for the trees to accomplish what they do naturally in God’s order, bear fruit! It is interesting to note that when the trees are laden with almonds, a steel arm grasps the trunk of the tree, an umbrella-type contraption is inverted under the tree, and the arm shakes the tree until it provides the gardener with his hard-earned fruit. 

           

God does it all. We need only attain to what believers do naturally as we are tended to, and sometimes God must shake us to get the fruit that is His.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

My wife, Barbara, is a gardener and plant enthusiast.  Wow!  What strenuous efforts she pours forth day after day, but what beautiful accomplishments grace our table naturally in God’s order due to her difficult work that she calls a labor of love.  We also have flowers and trees that show forth Barbara’s efforts and God’s “fruit.”

Stop and think…Michael reminds us this is exactly what happens in our life as a Christian as God Himself, our “gardener”/”vinedresser,” pours forth day after day into our being.  And look at His fruit from all His laboring!

Our “job” is to start looking more closely to see His pruning, how He does it, who or what He does it with.  Life as a Christian becomes much more exciting as we see God working to give us more of His abundant Life.

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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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

Day 301 - Three Kingdoms

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 308

         

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.

One of the most remarkable things about Christians today is the enormous focus on “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” and very few “looks” at “the Tree of Life.” (from Genesis 2:9)

Enjoy Michael’s clear distinguishing between the two trees, and the impact of each.

DAY 301

Three Kingdoms

Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.” --Matthew 21:31

There are three kingdoms to which one can belong, the kingdom of good, the kingdom of evil, and the kingdom of God. The kingdoms of good and evil have much in common. Both are fortresses with folks inside attempting to get out and others outside attempting to get in. Inhabitants are kept inside through threats, punishment, intimidation, and the fear of death. Wars are mounted and men enlisted to expand both. The comparisons are endless, for they come from the same tree. Interestingly, a good kingdom delivered Europe from an evil kingdom, and when it was all over, Europe became post-Christian. Conversely, think of all the pockets of the Kingdom of God that can be found in countries long ruled by evil kingdoms, where no good kingdom stepped in to deliver the people. Both the kingdom of good and the kingdom of evil are enemies of the Kingdom of God. Good is the enemy of the best, and though moralism is an enemy of Christianity, many persist in seeing Christianity merely as the kingdom of good as they exert effort toward changing the world system to agree with it. We are all suffering fatigue from the world’s presentation of what it portrays as compassion. Pictures are shown of some injustice somewhere in the world from dolphins in tuna nets to stolen aid for the hungry. Unfortunately, such images only stir up those who would never do such things to begin with; they do nothing to change the behavior of the people who participate in the atrocities. It could be concluded that “good” people only point out the behavior of bad people to make themselves look and feel better. “Good” people feel they have done something by throwing words at a problem; they want to project to others an image of doing something valuable to resolve the world’s problems, to raise money for the organization that discovered the bad thing, or to blindly assist in the way they think is right.

Is it not interesting that Jesus, in the midst of the Roman system, said nothing about it? In the midst of slavery, abortion, taxation, the annihilation of cultures, and unjust government, He said nothing. Instead, He emphasized the Kingdom of God. He was not fighting evil with good. In fact, He equally resisted evil and good (Pharaseeism) with the Kingdom of God. We must decide how we will live, and that, in turn, will determine that to which we will respond and make our life's goal. We can live in the evil kingdom and return good with evil. We can live in the good kingdom and make sure evil is punished with evil, or we can live in the Kingdom of God, returning evil with good. 

Jesus could see clearly the Invisible Kingdom, and He has given us the capacity to see the same. When we see what He sees, our priorities change. We cannot be bothered by (if it is true) the depleting ozone layer to the extent that it would take us from our mission that has eternal significance. It can be annoying to turn on the television and be told by the unbelieving world what needs to be of utmost significance to us, when their whole outlook revolves around such things as gun control, freedom of speech, freedom from religion, equality, expressions of discrimination, whales, and more. Then there are the methods that are guaranteed to fix all the problems: education, understanding, ribbons, walks, and money. Well, amen. It is said that earth is as close to hell as a believer will ever come and as close to heaven as an unbeliever will ever come. This has caused me to change my attitude and lower my frustration, for this world is all the unbelievers have. If they want to keep it nice, improve it to suit themselves, and throw their lives into working for what is ineffective, they should. I was told of a South American politician who stole one billion dollars. I responded, “Is that all? Since he is going to hell anyway, he really should have taken more!” Jesus is the issue, and everything else is a non-issue, for it will cease to exist on the day that every knee bows. Nothing else will matter. However, we are not to be frustrated with the world when it loves the world; the world loves itself and its own, and that is all the world has, for the world has nothing in Him nor He in it.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

We can appreciate Michael pointing out the three (3) kingdoms.  Those are important powers we Believers should constantly stay aware of.  And Michael points to a most incredible power that we Believers have…Jesus could see clearly the Invisible Kingdom, and He has given us the capacity to see the same.  Holy Spirit in us is the essence of our participating in the unfathomable riches of God.

Michael gives us the simple Truth: Jesus is the issue.  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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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

Day 299 - The World

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 307

         

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 can remember being a “humanist.”  Basically, I believed everything the world had to say.  Finances, religion, lifestyle, business, and social issues.  Wow!  Michael gives us a complete unveiling of the Religion of Humanism and God’s victory over its lies.

DAY 299

The World

When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. --John 16:13

I was asked, “If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanists eat?” Humanism, which through such vehicles as the U.N. and EU (European Union) has taken hold of so many developing countries, is an attempt to wrestle moral authority away from the Church. It is nonsense on several levels. First of all, humanists present their objecting messages to people who would not act a certain way anyway. They show pictures of dolphins swimming in industrial waste, which enrages the people who would not be irresponsible with the waste anyway and leaves those who are fouling the water unaffected. Such activities throw words at a problem and accomplish nothing. Second, humanists define a problem that does not exist, set out to fix it, and by so doing create a real problem that is greater than the imaginary one. Third, there is no basis for certain moral statements made. Humanism has a moral foundation vaguely familiar to what is seen in Christianity, and yet it denies Christ and His power. Fourth, it is filled with compromise. One compromises to someone who is already compromised. It is compromise compromised, so loose in the end that it is ridiculous. Yet the humanists push away through the U.N. and other groups in nearly every developing country in which I work to spread their merely man-centered wisdom of the world. If Christ had not opened my eyes, I would probably be on the front row listening; I do not have any illusions about finding substance in my own flesh. One persecuted Christian was telling me about other believers who had compromised with the cruel government. I said, "That would be me!" He said, "You would not!" I said, "I would. There is nothing good in my flesh. I own it and now look to the Lord to keep me.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Allow me to reiterate a couple of key points from Michael and insert a couple of personal illustrations.

As a pastor for many years I have seen the day in America where the once-called “Moral Majority” is no longer the moral majority.  I have been saying that for almost 30 years.  Just look around, even around the world, and see what “morals” the majority of people are living by.

Humanism denies Christ and His power.  Period.  But, sadly, so do way too many Believers.

Humanism is filled with compromise.  Yes, and that word, “compromise,” is NOT in God’s vocabulary.  Period.  And anyone who uses that word, or is willing to act on that word when it comes to Truth, is not walking with God.

But, Hallelujah!  Almost 40 years ago, my wife, Barbara, and I experienced what Michael experienced… If Christ had not opened my eyes, I would probably be on the front row listening.  That happened to us in Pastor Morgan’s office on May 20, 1980.  It is an incredible experience to “see” with the eyes of Christ.

Flesh is flesh, but the unfathomable riches of God are ours as Believers in Christ Jesus.  There is no way to defeat flesh but by the grace (God’s work in our life) of God…totally undeserved.

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

(email) leemccm@gmail.com

(blog) www.leemccmviews.blogspot.com  

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