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