Day 361 - Why Sacrifice Jesus?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 344

         

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.

Why Jesus? Michael gives a sweet summary of the trail from Sinner to Saint, and Jesus’ part. And along the way Michael gives some powerful verses to meditate on.

DAY 361

Why Sacrifice Jesus?

For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. –Colossians 1:16, 17

Jesus is the glue that holds all created things together. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36). Whether we are believers or unbelievers, when we invite sin into our being, Jesus (the glue) is made to bear the sin. Sin is imposed on Life, Life withdraws, and death begins to fill the vacuum; sin and death are dwelling where Life should have been. “But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me” (Romans 7:20). This result of inviting in sin--Life's withdrawal, sin and death's filling the vacuum--demands a sacrifice. Why? First, so we will understand that sin is not doing wrong, it is losing life. This explains the variety of sacrifices that we find in the Old Testament. Why would we be called to sacrifice two innocent doves? A dove’s life represents many things: the evening song, loyalty in lifelong oneness, peace, the freedom to fly, and more. All of this is lost when sin is invited in. Second, innocent blood is shed. Darkness moves in where light withdraws. Death moves in where Life has withdrawn. We have the tendency to think only of how we suffer the penalty of our sin; the Divine Glue has suffered it all along. Third, innocent bloodshed and Life slain returns us to the place of origin, God. Receiving back Life stays the hand of God. He gave Life to all things created and jealously guards it, for it is precious to Him. Life is the Word; it is Jesus. He is angry when it is abused. He wants it all back, and when He gets some back it satisfies Him. “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood, and never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease'” (Isaiah 25:6). These sacrifices did not take away sin or its damage; at best, in a sense, they just covered the whole mess up. Continued abuse of the Life in man brought God to a point where He was not even interested in such sacrifices. Isaiah 1:11, “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats!” In the Old Testament there never was a demand for a human sacrifice, but sin and death had reached such a level of offense that no animal sacrifice could cover it up; a human sacrifice would seem to be the next logical step, but there was a problem. An innocent dove for a minor sin or a lamb for a moderate sin could easily be found, but where would be found an innocent man? “There are none righteous! No not one!” “You were dead in your transgressions and sins!” (Romans 3:10 and Ephesians 2:1) For a major sin there was no sacrifice; there was only a judgment. Death! Death did not appease God, it did not cover up the sin, and it really did not help man. Death through the Law was an attempt to keep the whole mess from spreading. It was the best to do in a bad situation. Jesus appears! He is perfect innocence. He is perfect LIFE! He is the Man! Remember that in the Old Testament when a man made a sacrifice, it represented how much of the image of TRUE LIFE he had really lost. Man’s loss of God’s glory is equal to the sacrifice. How far had mankind sunk when Jesus was sacrificed? What had they lost by the time He was put on the cross? On the cross hung pure LIFE. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” II Corinthians 5:21. The true Lamb of God came in the fullness of time. Man had lost everything pertaining to true LIFE. There were so many sins in the Old Testament for which there was no sacrifice but only judgment. This sacrifice was so great that it not only covered every sin, but it could also take AWAY sins of the whole world! When the blood and Life left this Son of Man, it was a pleasing aroma to God of pure, innocent LIFE! LIFE returned to God not in measure but in fullness. “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven,” Colossians 1:19, 20. This gives God peace, for Jesus is God’s peace and proof that one man was able to live on the earth without ever making LIFE withdraw, and He did it through weakness and complete dependence on God. The man who did everything proclaims that He did nothing, for it was the Father doing it through Him. His reward was to go and dwell in as many as He liked, making more sons like Him!

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

I suppose the one thing that gives God so much peace is that it was He that was the One who hung on His Cross for mankind. Jesus was God. God did all that Jesus did.

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

(website) www.leemccm.wixsite.com/lmcm    

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

Day 360 - Why Does God Play in the Dust?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 343

         

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 very interesting perspective on just how dependent each one of us is. Think about that as you read today’s writing…

DAY 360

Why Does God Play in the Dust?

On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness, whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. --I Corinthians 12:22-25

The weakest creature is the one that needs the most support. The river can live without man, but man cannot live without the river. In fact, the whole earth can exist without man, but man cannot live without the earth. Everything on the earth, in this sense, is greater than man. Man is made of dust, not dirt or soil that have nutrients in them; dust has nothing to offer. From the beginning God made everything to support the weakest and most precious thing to Him: man! 

When I use this example at the end of a conference, I follow with the question, "Who is the weakest person here?" I answer my own question, "The person who needed the most support to be here! Who is that person? Mike! I needed people to donate money to buy my plane ticket, others to organize, several interpreters, electricity, artists, editors, drivers, an audience, food, and more." It takes so much to support this little bit of dust that I am left with nothing to boast in save Christ. I then ask the people to pray that night, not for the speaker who is dust, but for all those who support the dust. It is a great revelation for all of us.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Michael never forgot those who supported his going. He knew how important each support person/equipment/event/etc. is to each of us being where we are today. It would do each of us some good to stop and thank God for all He has provided in the years He has given us. We are much weaker than pride wants us to acknowledge.

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

(website) www.leemccm.wixsite.com/lmcm    

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

Day 358 - Why Does a God Of Love Kill So Many?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 342

         

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.

Michael points out one of the most crucial issues facing Christianity today…one that is barely known, and less addressed: humanism. So many Believers live in humanism that they miss God at almost every turn.

DAY 358

Why Does a God Of Love Kill So Many?

Then the Lord said to Job, “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.” --Job 40:1 & 2

Why did the God of love kill so many in the Old Testament? The answer is hard to believe, because we have been so indoctrinated by humanism, but the answer is quite simple: He did it for love. How could God’s actions not be consistent with His love? Everything He does is an expression of His character. If there were an option better than the loving act of killing, God would have taken it. I personally have seen people so given over to sin that they were at the point at which death would have been a welcomed relief as an escape from the bondage. Once the heart is revealed and there is no desire for repentance, each day remaining in sin on earth only adds to the judgment to come. Would it not be gracious of a heavenly Father to take this life and stop the sin? Sin is unnatural and makes man miserable. God can stop our misery by having us turn to Him, and He can also stop our misery by taking our earthly life. We must ask ourselves an important question: What is the purpose of life if it is lived in sin? Is a life lived in sin really life? Love, love, love, God is truly love. 

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

When a Believer lives in humanism, the actions of God are missed, mistaken, or misunderstood.  Therefore, it is easy to see how so many question the love of God when it comes to some actions He takes that they don’t think  (since they are thinking as they are god, humanism) God could or would do something like kill.

Michael gives us the perfect answer: Everything God does is an expression of His character.  He is Love.  He cannot act apart from Himself/Love.  Well, amen.

And Michael brings this “Old Testament issue” to real life today.  It will do all Believers well to soak on what Michael shows us about things he has seen and tried to show many.

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

(website) www.leemccm.wixsite.com/lmcm    

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

Day 357 - Why Did God Create Alcohol?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 341

         

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.

This day’s writing enters a realm where few even tread. And the pros and cons are as numerous as the shells on any seashore. I will let you read and decide whether you change your position on “alcohol and the Christian,” one way or the other…

DAY 357

Why Did God Create Alcohol?

Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine. --Genesis 27:28

Solomon, with all his wisdom, took a long hard look at the topic of alcohol and experimented with its use.   Ecclesiastes 2:3, “I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.” He drank wine in an attempt to discover its benefits. As the topic of alcohol is examined, the first thing to establish is the fact that God did create it. Often the argument is made that fallen man, attempting to feed the flesh, created alcohol, and indeed, there is specific testimony throughout the Bible as to the misuse of wine. Proverbs 23:20 sums it up, “Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine.”    Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.” The New Testament gives injunctions concerning those that are addicted to wine. Within the context of this argument against God’s involvement in the creation of alcohol, the point is made that God created grape juice, or new wine, but never created alcohol. However, Scriptures do not support such a distinction. Judges 9:13, “But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?’” I cannot see how grape juice cheers the heart. Also, Isaiah 25:6, “The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow.” The Lord is preparing a feast that includes aged wine! Then in Acts 2:13, “But others were mocking and saying, ‘They are full of sweet wine.’” Sweet wine, new wine, aged wine; all wine contains some alcoholic content. The fact that something is misused does not discount either its Creator or its original purpose. If this were true, what could be said of the sex drive, medications, and computers? God has created wine. In fact, God required the sacrifice of wine, a libation, along with the other things that He created.

Exodus 29:40, “and there shall be one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering with one lamb.” There are other interesting or perplexing passages. Remember, Scripture must be used to interpret and limit the meaning of other Scriptures, so a validation of wine is not an endorsement of drunkenness any more than the rightful institution of sex in marriage is an endorsement of wanton promiscuity.

Psalm 104:15, “And wine which makes man’s heart glad, so that he may make his face glisten with oil, and food which sustains man’s heart.”

 Proverbs 31:6, 7, “Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to him whose life is bitter. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more.” 

Ecclesiastes 9:7, “Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works!” 

Finally, we have Jesus turning water into wine. John 2:7, 8, “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the waterpots with water.’ So they filled them up to the brim. And He said^* to them, ‘Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.’ So they took it to him.” 

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Well, what do you think?

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

(website) www.leemccm.wixsite.com/lmcm    

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

Day 355 - Why Are Unbelievers Happy?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 340

         

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.

Michael always said “we rise and fall with our definitions.” I totally agree. 100%. Words have meaning, but the exact meaning one gives can differ from another’s. It is imperative to have God’s meaning, and not some man’s.

Notice how Michael sticks (no pun intended, re: his first definition) to God’s Word for his definitions. Amen.

DAY 355

Why Are Unbelievers Happy?

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. –Matthew 5:44, 45

First, take a brief look at three definitions.

The Divine Glue:

Jesus is the invisible Divine Glue that holds all things together. “Yet for us there is {but} one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we {exist} for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we {exist} through Him” (I Corinthians 8:6). This does not mean that every person is born again or that creation is to be worshipped. It does mean that Christ is in every created thing holding it together. “For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring’” (Acts 17:28). When I refer to the Divine Glue, I am referring to the person of Jesus Christ.

Sin:

The natural is holy. Why? It is because the Holy One holds it together. “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19). Why? Because the sons of God will see that the God who holds them together holds the world together and will therefore treat it with more respect. One unavoidable aspect of sin is that it invites something anti-Christ into one’s natural being that is held together by Christ. It is to invite a solvent into one’s being, causing him to come apart. On this level, then, sin and punishment are one and the same. The punishment for sin is immediate! Every sinner punishes himself. Sin is like that, as though through it man has a go at his own body with a hammer and chisel! “They exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural . . . and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (Romans 1:26, 27).

The Glory of God and Worship:

“And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, {be} blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever’” (Revelation 5:13). I was in Tonga with my brother when we decided to go to the only movie theatre in the nation. My brother disappeared and returned to invite me to go upstairs and look at the projector. I was fascinated with what I saw. The projector had two carbon rods that fed from ninety-degree angles, and there was a blinding spark where the two met, creating enough light to project the image onto a large screen. Every created thing has in it the one rod, the Divine Glue, that, when it meets with the rod, or Divine Glue, in another created thing, gives a spark of recognition, a light. One day everyone who has Jesus dwelling within (born again) will stand before the Jesus on the throne. There will be such a spark of life and light that all will fall down and worship. Even now, if it were not for the fact that God has stayed them for our faith’s sake, the trees would shout to us, “Glory to God!” For now they are only allowed to whisper! “Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy” (Psalm 96:12).

Those are the definitions; now to answer the question of why unbelievers are happy, for some are, though they do not have joy, which is the fruit of the Spirit. I would like to offer only one opinion; you may have another, and to that I say amen! Have you ever been walking in the mountains, turned a corner, saw a beautiful sight, and just sat there saying, “Praise God”? Though not born again, the unbeliever has the Divine Glue holding him together, this same Divine Glue that is also holding all other created things together. When the glory of God in one comes in contact with the glory of God in the other, there is a small spark called happiness. Christ is not abiding in the unbeliever but is holding him together. If the unbeliever limits contact with the rest of the created world, he will have less happiness. Hence the unbeliever under self-confinement to his house will appear to be a recluse with no happiness. The unbeliever who has more interaction with creation via nature, humanism, social activities, and human compassion will naturally have a greater experience of the Divine Glue as it holds him together witnessing to the Divine Glue without, and therefore will have proportionately more happiness.

The above brings some insight into what hell is. “They shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). Why is hell such a place of torment? During the days of the unbeliever’s life, the glory of the Divine Glue holding him together has witnessed to the Divine Glue holding all creation together. This has produced a measure of wonder and happiness. The unbeliever might have thought it was his perception that caused the happiness, but it was not. Even on the darkest night, in the loneliest place, in the worst of situations, there was like calling to like. There was hope! For where Christ meets Christ, there will always be hope. This is God’s secret work in every person. God is witnessing to Himself through the natural to get the unbeliever’s attention until his death. The frightening thing about hell is that it gives the unbeliever what he always said he wanted! Hell is remarkably full of God’s absence; He leaves those within alone. After death there is no more witness! The Divine spark is seen no more! There is nothing to stir the unbeliever to hope or happiness. There can be no excitement or sensations, and it is a bleak new experience. For the first time God has truly left alone the unbeliever, who has entered a void. On earth darkness is held together by the Divine Glue, but hell is not darkness, it is an abyss. Hell is the granting of an unbeliever’s wish, an empty separation from God.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Leave it to Michael to jump right into the deep! For some things it will take the backstroke. For some things it will take the breaststroke. For some things it will take the sidestroke. For some things it will take the butterfly stroke.

I will leave it to God to speak to what is of interest to you…

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

(website) www.leemccm.wixsite.com/lmcm    

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

Day 354 - Why Are Christians In So Much Defeat?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 339

         

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 circled two sentences in my book from this Day’s writing. Can you guess which two?

DAY 354

Why Are Christians In So Much Defeat?

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. --Romans 7:24, 25

Why are Christians in so much defeat? Do not think I am a heretic; just let me say this thought through to the end. Christianity as a religion has failed. Christianity as a moral system has failed. The Bible as a source of power has failed. Truth is not only preached but also demonstrated. Christian seminaries have failed and could be sued for false advertising; they have not created leaders or spiritual men. Christianity as a teaching is the best option; it has a better book and higher standards. But what does that lead to? Visit churches at the level at which I see them and you will find that covert, self-righteous deeds of the flesh and covert, unrighteous deeds of the flesh abound. Very little can be found of loving an enemy, allowing another to wound, or blessing those that curse. Some of the rudest people I have met are Bible professors who know so very much. We must admit Christianity has failed. We have the same rate of divorce as the unbelieving world. Why? Because Christianity has schools but is not a school, it has a book but is not a book, it has a philosophy of living but is not a philosophy, and it has doctrines but is not a doctrine. Christianity is Christ, period; it was never meant to be another religion but was always about a relationship with the living Christ. The legalists--those who have attained their own form of righteousness--would like to rip two passages from the Bible: “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is these that bear witness of Me” (John 5:39), and “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Man is created to be connected to the Vine, Jesus, not to imitate Him, but to participate in His life. I am not a heretic, but I cannot believe how much trouble I get into by saying that Jesus is all we need.

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

Jesus is all I have. Jesus is all I want. Jesus is all I need. 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

(website) www.leemccm.wixsite.com/lmcm    

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

Day 353 - Why Am I So Fat?

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength (Vol. 1) - # 338

         

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.

Before you get upset at the title and think Michael is getting too “personal,” read the whole day’s writing…some very interesting and provocative thoughts that may lead to someone realizing something about “weight loss” that they have never thought of.

For me, I love his mentioning of the spirit, soul, & body…the trichotomy of humans. The big issue is for us to know just exactly what is “our mind” and “our emotions.”

DAY 353

Why Am I So Fat?

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 4:19

“Why am I so fat?” It is a question asked often in many places, so people can relate to it. A person who needs to lose twenty pounds will be able to sympathize with the person that needs to lose two hundred pounds, because after all, if a person has not been able to lose the twenty, what chance would he have of losing two hundred? The world's approach to a problem always starts from the outside in, so the idea would be to start with the body, look in the mirror to get disgusted, and determine with the will to do something about it, to follow some program. What if we recognized a different approach that started with the Spirit? After all, man was made out of the dust of the earth (body), and God breathed in His spirit to make man a living soul, capable of being alive in body, soul, and spirit. First, a believer must be comfortable with who he is as a child of God, whether fat or skinny. Some are only kings when on a throne, while others know they are kings even if placed in a dungeon. Is our identity fixed in Jesus or in the world? Are we more comfortable in a crowd when we are good-looking? If so, we are on the wrong track and there is a deeper root issue with which to deal. I believe more and more that obese people are often those with the greatest craving for God. I have talked before about our soul’s being like a baby that needs pure milk. Our mind wants the wisdom of God, not the world’s knowledge. Our emotions want the peace of God, not happiness. The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, where for forty days His soul fed on God. When Satan came with the temptation to turn rocks into bread, He said, “No!” His soul was full. I have had more than one person (and my own experiences have taught me the same) say they lose their appetite when they are in fellowship with Jesus. For myself, I lose nearly twenty pounds each trip because I am not hungry when I am ministering. I get home and eat from boredom. How could I be bored if I am in fellowship with Him? The answer is obvious! I am not in fellowship with Him on the same level. When ministering I am so mindful of my need for Him in my weakness. However, I feel stronger at home and do not draw near in complete dependence. I must be weak at home, also. Hungry people are craving something, but what? Perhaps an inner hunger they attempt to satisfy with outer feeding? As we begin to eat the very thing that we should not, we should stop and ask why. Eating is one place in life where we need that precious ten seconds to say no. As our spirit is full, the temptation to overeat is not nearly so great. The peace of God should always be ruling. I know when I am eating and should not be. Therefore, it is becoming an obedience issue with the peace of God. 

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

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

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

What did you think when reading this? Easiest weight-loss program? Easiest steps to “peace of God” process? Refocus on starting from the inside out?

Every reader gets something important from reading this day’s writing of Michael Wells. Well, amen.

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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

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