Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Unseen Areas of Our Life

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 14
         
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 Getting Out of the Wilderness.  Why a blog?  So that multitudes can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.  In the event you sign up to receive the weekly emails (see info at bottom) and then sometime in the future stop getting the emails, please remember you can go to the BLOGSITE and read each posting each week.  Then let me know (my email address below), and I will work to correct the problem.


“Mountaintop experience”…aaahhh, the buzz-word for Christians living in the flesh seeking for that “plus 6” life, as Michael calls it.  Notice what Michael describes as the “supernatural” life, and then the end result of those seeking the “mountaintop” all the time…

THE UNSEEN AREAS OF OUR LIFE

excerpt from pages 35-37 of SIW (5th printing, March 1998)
excerpt from pages 28-31 of SIW (14th printing, March 2012)
                   (used with permission from ALMI):

The supernatural life is manifested in the small, often unseen areas of our lives in such things as peace, mercy, and lack of condemnation when wronged.  The first few miracles that Moses performed were duplicated by Pharoah’s magicians.  In the same way, Satan can duplicate the large, spectacular signs and visions by which many judge spirituality.  We must remember that we have a relationship with our God.  But many have made this relationship out to be one continual mountaintop experience after another, and the drive to continue to duplicate these experiences has exposed them to all kinds of deceptions, not to mention a general dissatisfaction with their own lives.

most of us have never learned to rest in a relationship with the Lord when it is calm and quiet…This is all the more compounded in the groups that only give glowing, spectacular reports about what the Lord is doing and what great things they are hearing.  These people have come to believe that our relationship with the Lord is to be a continuous climactic arena, and they cannot rest and enjoy the simple aspects of their relationship with the Creator.

This becomes particularly confusing when it comes to knowing the will of God, which many strain for years trying to discern.  The problem is that they are waiting for
confirmation in their emotions, some vision, a dream, or a loud, distinct voice.  Here is a great secret: When we are in the perfect will of God, we hear and feel nothing.

…In chapter 2 we learned that the evil we did brought misery, discomfort, and defeat; but in this chapter we learned that all the maneuvers instigated in the attempt to do good have brought an equal amount of misery, discomfort, and defeat.  Most important, neither route requires faith.  If you can see these things, you are ready for the next chapter.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory


 The mountaintop experience is a dangerous deception…it sounds, looks, and feels so appealing and spiritual, but Michael points out the most dangerous aspect: no faith required.  And God has simply told His kids: live by faith…not experiences.  So, the thing to do is to look for and desire the “unseen.”  And truthfully, when all else fails, don’t we really want peace, mercy, joy, love, faith, longsuffering, self-control, no condemnation, and lack of being offended…all fruit of the Holy Spirit…by the grace of God (His working in our life).  Not one experience, not one circumstance can bring those.  Well, amen.

And then think about the end result of chasing the deception: misery, discomfort, and defeat.  When will we learn to seek Him, and not an experience?


Note: if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books, please contact ALMI (www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!



To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Getting Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com  

If you desire to get a weekly email of this blog, look to the top right hand side of the web page, enter your email address in the box under “Follow,” then click on SUBMIT.  You will receive a “confirmation email,” and when you click on the link and “confirm,” you will receive all new posts via email.

NOTICE:  another blog on Michael Wells’ book, My Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  You can access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com



Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
leemccm@gmail.com

1737 CR 2051    Nacogdoches, Tx 75965                                               936-559-5696

No comments:

Post a Comment