Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 65
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
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 (5th printing,
March 1998)
excerpt
from pages 188-191 of SIW (14th 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
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2051 Nacogdoches, Tx 75965 936-559-5696
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