Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Working To Reveal vs Working To Become

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 39
         
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

The LIFE OF CHRIST begins to flow like a tsunami from these pages forward in Michael’s book!  Line after line, paragraph after paragraph, page after page, chapter after chapter…hang onto your seats!  You are in for the ride of your life…His life (Colossians 3:4 tells us His life is our life!). 


WORKING TO REVEAL vs WORKING TO BECOME

excerpt from pages 109-112 of SIW (5th printing, March 1998)
excerpt from pages 106-109 of SIW (14th printing, March 2012)
                   (used with permission from ALMI):



…behavior cannot change what we are.  We are what we are by birth, and to change we must be born again.  Again, Christian growth is simply accepting what we have always been from the first day we accepted Christ.  The word grow teaches this very thing, as it means to expand what already exists…either we are growing in bondage to Adam’s life or growing in the freedom of Christ’s life.

…If you are born again, your old Adam-life has been put to death and replaced with Christ’s very life…if we know who we are, then the doing is natural.

…this is true salvation – to be free from the old identity and unholy trinity…the carnal believer walks after the flesh and then makes attempts to walk after the Spirit, never knowing which fits best…

Throw away those old garments of sin, failure, and defeat, and put on Christ.



It is one of the most dynamic truths of the New Testament: a Christian’s old Adam-life has been put to death and replaced with Christ’s very life.  Unbelievably, far too many cannot accept that.  Accepting what we have always been from the first day we accepted Christ is really impossible IF we cannot accept our old Adam-life has been put to death and replaced with Christ’s very life.  Simple.  Short.  Succinct.  The focus never leaves the old Adam-life.  The efforts continue to be those of trying to change and “clean up” the old life, instead of walking in the REST of knowing our life is Christ’s life.

How nice it is to live wanting to reveal the new me, instead of working to become something I could never attain.  No wonder that was a sickening life!

How nice it is to know that growing in Christ is simply accepting what we have always been from the first day I accepted Christ.  Boy, that takes a load off.  And wow…it is so relaxing to grow by “accepting” instead of “working”!!!


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  

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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

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