Recap & Exhortation

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 67

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

Last week’s writing brought to a conclusion our “study” through SIW.  It has been a wonderful journey.  It is my heartfelt desire for every Christian to own and read (more than once!) Sidetracked In The Wilderness.  So, today I want to share some thoughts to move us on to enjoying the Life of Christ in us.

RECAP & EXHORTATION

Why possess a copy of SIW?

Whether it be for one’s own personal good, or to have as a resource to share the truths with others…it is one book that can help defeated Christians to get out of the wilderness walk, better than most any ever written. 

Why read it more than once?

None of us get ALL that is in a book from reading it just once.  Some books don’t need to be read more times.  SIW will benefit you and I EVERY time we read it.  I have read it several times, and I get something each time.  It’s like reading the Bible over and over…each time God shows us something that we didn’t “see” the other times.

Recommend SIW to your family and friends

Have you ever noticed the “Suggested Reading” lists that are usually on one of the last pages of a book (near the back cover)?  Yes…there is one in SIW!  Why?  Because it is good to read as much as we can about something as important as the subject of these books.  Don’t you want your family and friends to know and apply these truths?

Buy several copies of SIW and give them to family and friends

We like to claim “we can’t outgive the Lord.”  Well, try it with this book.  See how many different ways God will bless you…give back to you for your generosity in giving someone a copy of SIW who could use its truths. 

Continue to look for future emails…

God is at work moving me into a different phase of ministry.  I expect to be writing examples, updates, and other insights relative to the material Michael Wells has given me and you in Sidetracked In The Wilderness.  Look for future contact via this resource, although it won’t be on a consistent weekly basis as for the last 16 months.

Contact me if you like…

I have always given my mailing address, phone number, and other contact info for anyone who wants to comment, ask questions, or share life’s experiences with me.  I will still enjoy the communication as I have from folks all over the world.

Praise the Lord…

for Betty Wells, Michael’s widow, giving me permission and the opportunity to write these weekly thoughts and to copy portions of SIW into the writings.  My wife, Barbara, and I met Betty the same time we first met Michael.  She is one sweet Saint!  I am grateful for God having let us meet, know, and even host Michael in one of the churches I pastored.  The various times we went to see him speak elsewhere, be with him at a retreat, or get to “visit” on the phone or by email…each was a gift from God to two hearts seeking all the indwelling Christ could give us.  Christ in us, our hope…Michael brought that to our attention and cultivated it in a huge way.  Well, amen!

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  

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   This weekly writing continues today with a different “day” of the book being looked at and enjoyed.  It, too, can be purchased from ALMI.

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

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

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

Lie # 9 - We Need Not Work

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 66

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

The last lie of the enemy that Michael exposes and expounds upon is one that I have witnessed in the past from some who talked a good game, but were as “tinkling brass” in their life as a Christian.  The very life of God that indwells every Believer longs to flow through each one, and it is an absolute denial of His existence in oneself to be one who declares “we need not work” and slinks into passivity.

Lie #9 – WE NEED NOT WORK

excerpt from pages 187-188 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 189-191 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

If we have worked so hard in the past to gain victory, the enemy would now have us doing nothing at all.  The life of faith is a life of activity, although there is an immense difference in work that is an expression of our faith and work that is trying to produce faith.  The life of Christ within us is always active.  “My father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” (John 5:17)  As we allow this life to flow, we will be very active.  Those who live in passivity, never allowing the life of Christ to be expressed through them, are simply not abiding.

…for the abiding Christian…there will be extended periods in which no activity is overtly seen, but in the deepest parts of his being he is being strengthened for the day when life within is made apparent in fruit for those around him.  Let me remind you, too, that God does not intend to resolve every manifestation of the flesh through a quick answer…we will allow the Lord as much time as He sees fit to make us mighty oaks.  However, the passive believer who never shows manifestations of life is not abiding, no matter how spiritual he may sound.  True faith cannot help but produce work; it is inevitable and cannot be blocked, for faith is from God and possesses His power.

Just as a tree, by the power of its life, can break in two a mighty boulder beside which it is planted, so faith is the power within you which will overcome all obstacles.  It is not from you but from Him.  Therefore, if you possess faith, it will be manifested.  We will not allow the enemy to stifle our faith through the deception of inactivity.

One of the worst thoughts I have ever heard expressed is that “those who teach ‘abiding’ are teaching passivity.”  I am not sure whether that comes from one who is misguided about what abiding is, or whether it comes from one who is mad at God about something…perhaps both.  Since abiding in Christ is being so connected to Him that His life can, and will, flow through me…it is inevitable that “my life” will be an active life, but it is not me, but Him.

I summarize the most outstanding points for me as such:

·         The life of faith is a life of activity.

·         The life of Christ within us is always active.

·         As we allow this life to flow, we will be very active.

·         True faith cannot help but produce work.

·         Faith is from God and possesses His power.

·         Faith is the power within you which will overcome all obstacles.

·         It is not from you but from Him.

·         If you possess faith, it will be manifested.

And then, as Michael concludes, “We (I) will not allow the enemy to stifle our faith through the deception of inactivity.”  Well, amen!

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  

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

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

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

Lie # 8 - It Doesn't Work

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 65

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

Michael gives us a great look at the proverbial “it.”  Always the same story, isn’t it?  lol!

Lie #8 – IT DOESN’T WORK

excerpt from pages 186-187 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 188-191 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

Often we believe that abiding and walking by faith will bring harmony in every area of our lives.  It will, in fact, bring great peace within; however, be assured that the flesh opposes the Spirit.  Having this battle resolved within through applying the moment-by-moment cross does not assure that the battle is resolved without.  For if we decide to walk after the Spirit, and those with whom we have the most dealings (mates, partners, children, coworkers in the church, and those in our places of employment) are walking after the flesh, there will still be clashes.  (I have often observed that marriage partners get along better when both are walking after the flesh than when one decides to walk after the Spirit.)  The enemy will use this situation to beat the spiritual believer down and bring him to the place where he feels that it is no longer worth the effort to walk in the Spirit.  With this experience comes the thought that it doesn’t work.  However, the proof that it does work is the fact that there is a battle between the flesh and the Spirit.  Conflict is being created through contrast.

By walking in the Spirit, you are exercising pressure on those around you, like salt that burns in an open wound.  Don’t give in to the enemy; the Lord is using you in a mighty way.  Allow your life to continue to be leaven to those around you, for what you have has proven itself throughout the centuries to be contagious!

We must also be on guard against judging those who we now can easily see are living a life after the flesh.  It is always easy to forget from where we have come and how miserable an existence we were leading.  The enemy does not want us to stick it out with others, giving to them what the Lord has given to us.  We will, however, by His grace, resist all temptations to turn away from any believer, not being satisfied until we see them raised to victory in Christ.  “…Freely you received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

IT never works…HE always does.  Well, amen. 

Whenever there is a battle between the “flesh” and the “Spirit” there is a battle between “it” and “Him.”  What a contrast!!!  If we read what Paul wrote in Galatians ch.5, we get a vivid picture of that contrast.

No matter how much the enemy tries to beat us down and bring us to the place where we could feel we can no longer acknowledge the worth of the effort to walk in the Spirit, we must resist and remember: “There is nothing the nearness of Christ cannot overcome.”  AMEN!  Come, Lord Jesus, and be my “all” in resisting the enemy’s efforts to take me out of walking in the Spirit.

And Michael draws us to another perspective: “judging those who we now can easily see are living a life after the flesh.”  Oh, Lord Jesus, please help me to remember “from where I have come and how miserable an existence I was leading.”  And to always be alert to the fact that I couldn’t see anything about living life in the flesh or Spirit UNTIL Christ became my life at salvation!  I should never be judging others who are not seeing this.

Thank you, Lord, that You always make the “Spirit walk” WORK!

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  

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

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

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

Lie # 7 - The Deception of Lying Emotions

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 64

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

The “emotional hook” that the enemy gets in a Believer is one of the biggest tools he uses to keep one in constant turmoil or defeat.  Read today’s “lie” and see if you, or someone you know, suffers from this battle.  If so, there is hope in the Lord…you can find victory from all that is shared on this page.

Lie #7 – THE DECEPTION OF LYING EMOTIONS

excerpt from pages 185-186 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 187-188 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

As we begin to experience the abiding life, our emotions will take their proper place under the influence of the Spirit.  They will begin to express the life of Christ within and will no longer exercise their influence from without, changing our perspective of ourselves and the Lord from one moment to the next.  This situation is not pleasing to the enemy, for in dealing with the defeated, he likes to use emotions to get them into the condition of feeling out of fellowship with God, in the hope that with time such false feelings can lead the believers to an ordeal of actually being out of fellowship.  The enemy also knows that it is much easier to perpetuate a lie in the emotions than in the mind.

Therefore, it stands to reason that as the emotions are brought under the control of the Spirit, the enemy will work in quiet, hidden, unnoticed ways to bring them back under his influence.  To do this, he uses what I like to call “jumping time,” which is when our minds return to past events that caused turmoil and our emotions are stirred afresh and applied to the present.

For example, when one is riding along in the automobile and his mind wanders to an event in the past that caused great pain, embarrassment, or loss.  As the event is vividly remembered, the emotional turmoil associated with the occurrence also returns, and soon he finds himself feeling today about an incident that took place years earlier.  All of a sudden he is depressed and cannot discern why, for his mind has by then moved on to another thought, but the emotions stirred by the past experience have remained.

Many who have suffered emotional hurts in the past are susceptible to this type of attack from the enemy.  It is important to remember that if our emotions are not based upon something specific that we can pinpoint the very moment that we are experiencing them, they are to be rejected.

I’d like to highlight several points from what Michael tells us:

1. our minds and our emotions are two different parts of us that have great input

    and influence in our daily lives.

2. our mind can make one “decision” and our emotions can make “another.”

3. our mind can “move on” while our emotions “stay put.”

4. the enemy is wise to all this…and he loves to work in that part of our life that is

    our emotions.  (for far too long Christians have been ignorant of this critical aspect of

    dealing with “the past”)

5. the “emotional hook” that the enemy sinks deep into one’s inner being is easily

    jerked by him to remind and return us to that spot of hurt, pain, and suffering.

6. it is tragic that many in Christianity still have emotional hurts which render

    them susceptible to attacks from the enemy…that could  have been eliminated

    many years prior.

“Getting Past The Past” is one of the most important ministries where Christian leaders can help brothers and sisters in the Lord get the victory that is duly theirs in Christ.  It is a matter of believing and receiving the “healing” of damaged emotions, and not just thinking time will heal them.  Time never does.  God can and will.

I would be happy to share some further insights into God’s healing of emotions with anyone who wants this.  Email me (address is below).

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  

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

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

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

Lie # 6 - We Have Spiritually Arrived

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 63

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

Lie #6 is not only appealing to one’s flesh, but it does more devastation than we can begin to realize apart from what Michael shares in this section of SIW.  Read the pieces I have shared here very carefully and prayerfully…his writing can be very helpful.  Of course…it is best if you have one of these books and read it over and over!

Lie #6 – WE HAVE SPIRITUALLY ARRIVED

excerpt from pages 183-185 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 185-187 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

As I have emphasized over and over, we are to live our lives moment by moment.  Therefore, spirituality is something that is possessed only in the present moment of abiding.  The subtle deception of the enemy is that he uses a new truth, freeing though it may be, to make us think that we have at long last arrived at the culmination of Christian maturity.  The danger in such thinking is that as we abide we continue to expand, while such a deception does not allow for expansion, but will subtly cause us to become dormant.  Teachers who take one truth and camp there for very long will, with the passing of time, find themselves living a carnal existence.  The explanation for this happening is really quite simple: Our experiences of the past begin to suffice for life today…

There is another difficulty with the enemy’s persuading us that we have arrived.  As soon as we come to the point where we believe we have THE teaching, often we are no longer open to any further teachings or the manifestations of Christ-given gifts in others.  An unteachable man is a carnal one.

…As I have mentioned previously, those who enter into true faith no longer find a compelling need to systematize God…

…I do not want to go through all the gymnastics and gyrations that theologians do to change the meaning of a Scripture verse so it will fit into their systems of belief.  Nor do I want to attempt to be clever; I am only stating that I do not know all, I do not know the mind of God, and I am not the teacher.  Christ alone is the Teacher, and whatever He says I believe, whether I can systematize it or not.

The enemy has persuaded many…to choose one…(causing divisions), and in so doing, they suffer, for they stagnate.  We want to be of those who moment by moment look to the Holy Spirit to reveal what we need for life right then, not what we think we need for our minds.  We want life, not knowledge.  When this is our attitude, God will reveal what we need to know when we need to know it, and with the knowledge will come life and power.

Every Christian wants to be recognized as being “spiritual.”  After all, in the minds of the church what is the opposite?  That’s something none want to be (or, at least be recognized as)!  So, to “arrive” is the goal of today’s church discipleship.  Imagine that…the church is aiding the enemy!

Michael gives us a couple of things to be very aware of:

1. the deception of “arriving” does not allow for expansion and will subtly cause us to become dormant.

2. teachers (and it seems students as well) camping at one truth very long will find themselves living a carnal existence.

3. an unteachable man is a carnal one.

And experience has shown us that possessing true faith moves us away from having to systematize God.  That’s a huge blessing, isn’t it!

So, a big question for every believer is this: Are we going to believe the lie of the enemy, or trust Christ our Teacher?  And ditch all the gymnastics and gyrations…and unbelief?

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  

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

twitter: @bleemc67    email: leemccm@gmail.com

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

Lie # 5 - Total Surrender Will Bring Pain and Loss

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 62

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

Just the word “surrender” seems to mean “losing” to many…but there are different uses of that word, and Michael shows us the “best” meaning of “surrender” in this unmasking of another of the devil’s lies.  Get the victory with surrendering self as Michael points out!

Lie #5 – TOTAL SURRENDER WILL BRING PAIN AND LOSS

excerpt from pages 180-183 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 182-185 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

Will total surrender bring pain and loss? Actually, the opposite is true: The lack of total surrender will bring pain and loss!  The enemy invests great energy in this lie.  It is whispered continually to the growing believer who has given up all but one thing to serve the Lord, that one thing which is coveted, which has brought pleasure, which allows independence, and that allows the enemy to maintain a foothold in the believer’s life.  What is this one thing?  It differs among Christians but will generally have to do with some right which we believe we should have: a right to be in control, not to forgive, to keep that one idol, or to have some kind of worldly possession or pleasure.

…So it is with this one small thing; it never quite allows us to enjoy all that God has given because of its nagging presence…

…When it comes to taking up the cross and denying self-life residue, the lies will take this form: “You must wait for others to die to self-life and abide before you do.”  “If you deny yourself you will not be happy.”…Since you have heard the message of abiding, you are to be the first to deny self and, therefore, the first to experience the blessing.

…The kind of forgiveness, love, submission, and respect toward others which the Lord requires of us will never come if based on their actions.  The Lord makes such demands on the basis of how He has treated us, not how others have acted.  We are commanded to love because of the intensity with which He has loved us…Giving up all brought Him great joy…

As we give up all, we, too, will find great joy, not pain and loss.  Do not allow the enemy to have this foothold; right now with your mouth give up that one thing which is allowing him to steal joy that is rightfully yours…

Isn’t it just like the devil to take and twist a meaning of a word to make it a negative instead of a positive!  And of course he uses words like “rights” to further confuse and confound life.  All the while to keep us from participating in and being free in Christ.

When will we Christians learn to believe and trust Scripture?!?  It is God’s words to our pathway to the abundant life of Christ.

And must we be reminded that the Lord’s way is 99 times out of 100 the complete opposite of the world’s way…let us not be led by the world’s thoughts and ways.

Just the word “loss” brings shivers to too many…we could lose everything except Christ (and we can never lose Him once we are one of God’s kids!) and still be the Victor!

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  

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

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

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

Lie # 4 - The Confusion Over Where The True Battle Is

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 61

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

The devil’s deceit takes on many faces.  Some are so subtle that apart from Holy Spirit’s leadership, including His giving us counsel from those who have been on the battlefield for years (like Michael Wells was), we would never see where the true battle is.  “Lie #4” is one of those subtleties that escapes us more than it is recognized.

As a pastoral thought, I was taught years ago: there is usually someone “behind the one doing the speaking and writing” that is the instigator in church battles.  Many battles won by knowing who the “real enemy” was!

Lie #4 - THE CONFUSION OVER WHERE THE TRUE BATTLE IS

excerpt from pages 179-180 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 181-182 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

The enemy would never have us fighting the battle where the front lines actually exist; he will always bring something to our attention that has nothing to do with the real issue…in so doing, the believer will more often than not be fighting a person rather than the enemy who inspires the false thoughts that are emanating from the person.

…In the midst of spiritual battle, take time with God; allow the realization of your being “seated with Him in the heavenlies”; let Him show you where the proper battle lines are, so that knowing the position of the enemy you will no longer be wasting your energies.

There is another problem with not fighting the battle on the proper line: We can unknowingly aid the enemy in his work to destroy other believers.  When someone is acting in a way that is unpleasing to the Lord, and we continue to bring it to his attention, what are we doing?  We intensify the problem by helping the enemy place the person’s eyes on something other than the solution…The only hope that we have is to place their eyes on the Savior who can deliver them from vexing behavior.  None will find deliverance anywhere else save in Christ.

As we choose to fight the battle on the proper battle line, we recognize that the problems we see around us are manifestations of life void (at least in the present moment) of abiding.  We will then join the struggle to see those around us abide, and in this way the problems will disappear.

Do we see ourselves giving “intensity to the problem” instead of “placing someone’s eyes on the solution”?  Wow!  What a beautiful perspective that Michael has given to all of us Christians who want to help someone dealing with an issue.  And which of us have had someone who has come asking for help to whom we have given them more of the problem to think about instead of focusing on the solution?

I love Michael’s statement: “the problems we see around us are manifestations of life void (at least in the present moment) of abiding.”  I immediately thought of Michael standing there showing me his 2 hands!  “On my left hand is my problem.  On my right hand is Jesus.  If I place my left hand in front of my right hand…all I can see is my problem.  If I place my right hand in front of my left hand…all I can see is Jesus!  What’s my problem?  Which hand I am looking at!”  Well, amen.

Boy, howdy, do we ever need to get a grip on which hand to always look to first!!!

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  

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

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

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

Lie # 3 - To Possess I Must Experience

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 60

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

Michael gives us great counsel against this subtle lie of the devil.  Every Born Again Believer must POSSESS based on what God has told us, not by the enemy’s definitions, our emotions, any experiences, or any other qualifiers.

Lie #3 - TO POSSESS I MUST EXPERIENCE

excerpt from pages 177-179 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 179-181 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

Many are working to have oneness or one in their marriages, when in fact oneness is something that is given, not worked for.  Experience must come out of faith, which is the “conviction of things not yet seen.”  Because we have not experienced all does not mean that we do not possess all.  If the experience never comes, still we believe what He has spoken.  The other side of this problem is that the enemy would like to define for us what the experience should be and have us believe that until we have those feelings he specifies, we do not possess what God has given us.

Take, for example, the whole issue of knowing whether a person is going to heaven.  Many have allowed the enemy to define for them what this assurance will feel like, such as a great emotional release, visions, appointments, the list being as varied as are the believers.  We must remember that our assurance is based on what God tells us, not anything else…

There are those who are so governed by emotion that the worst thing the Lord could do for them upon first accepting Him would be to give them an emotional experience, for in so doing, God would be encouraging them to continue to be led by emotion.  For this type of person it would be important t have no emotional experience and to learn to walk by faith without feeling.  The experience that God gives each individual will always be just the one needed.

We must also be careful to allow all experiences to transpire without trying to force them, because the enemy (sometimes by way of other believers) may have defined a particular experience as our assurance.  Know this, that one sure sign of assurance is questioning the fact of being born again.

We must be careful to allow only God to define what is ours in Christ, and not allow the enemy to add qualifiers.  We also must not allow the enemy to define what a successful believer is, because it will so often have to do with accomplishing something great for the Lord; his logic is characteristically, “If I can do something great for the Lord, then He will be pleased, and I will gain His favor and acceptance.”  Such a thought has its roots in hell, for it denies the Christian’s standing before the Father by faith in Christ’s work, not his own.  Nowhere are we commended for doing the great thing; rather, the emphasis is on faithfulness in the smallest of things: for the child, in such as obedience; for the wife, simple respect for her husband; and for the husband, loving his wife.  Successful Christianity involves forgiving, loving the unlovable, giving instead of storing up treasures on earth, and abiding in Him.  We must always allow God to specify what Christianity is, and we will find that it is rarely what we think it is.

Isn’t it beautiful what all God has done for every believer, what all God has given every believer…all simply because of who we are in Christ.  Well, amen!

Michael clearly gives us two great truths to live by:

1. We believe what GOD has spoken, therefore possessing because HE has said so.  It is only sad if we don’t experience what we possess, but never an indication we don’t possess.

2. We live based on GOD’s definition of what an experience should be.  Again, it is only sad if we don’t experience an experience exactly as God has prescribed, but we cannot let the enemy re-define or add qualifiers to change God’s definition.

I so appreciate Michael telling us what “successful Christianity involves," and also his telling us to “always allow God to specify what Christianity IS.”  We must not let “what we think it is” rule our living as a Christian.

Thank You, Lord, that You have given us Yourself to live in us, so that living life as a Christian is merely living the life that is Christ.  Hallelujah!

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  

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

Lie # 2 - I Must Work To Be What God Says I Am By Birth

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 59

         

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 many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

Every once in a while there comes the realization of a staggering reality from Scripture showing us how pitiful we can be in using all that God has given us to live the life He designed for us.  From Adam and Eve to us, Satan uses his weak, ridiculous, inept weapons to get us to be someone we already are…and we buy into his deceit like we have never heard anything so cunning and attractive.  Poor, pitiful man.

Lie #2 – I MUST WORK TO BE WHAT GOD SAYS I AM BY BIRTH

excerpt from pages 177 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 179 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

One of the Brazilian brothers pointed out to me that when Adam and Eve were tempted to be like God, they were already in the image of God.  In a like manner, Christ was tempted in the wilderness to prove that He was God, when in fact He was already God.  And so it is with us; the enemy will continue to tempt us to work to become what we already are.  Once we succumb to this temptation, we cast aside faith, along with walking as who God says we are, and give in to unbelief.

…The enemy will rarely give up on his attempts to brainwash the Christian.  He never wants us to realize who we are in Christ, for in so doing we will take an offensive position against him, entering into the battle to take from him those whom he has worked so hard to hold captive.  The truth is that believers never have to live a carnal life or place their will under his power; we can choose to abide in Christ.

In every walk of life the most critical issue for everyone is to determine what family, what team, what group we are a part of.  Once that is settled, we learn the colors, the sounds, the looks, the “plays,” the position we are to play.  When we learn that we are on the winning team, we begin to act like winners.  Michael dispels the enemy’s lie he keeps pounding man with: don’t believe and succumb to his tempting us to become what we already are…LIVE like the victor and overcomer we ARE due to being a part of the family of God.

And Michael gives us the key to living like who we really are: KNOW who we really are in Christ, and TAKE the offensive position against the enemy…instead of casting aside faith and walking as who God says we are, giving in to unbelief. 

It’s a choice, isn’t it?

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  

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