Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 47
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.
We pick up where we left off last time by
reminding ourselves of “trust, rest, release control.” All that God allows to come into our lives
God is orchestrating all to “keep us ever near His side.” Let’s see where Michael takes us now…
LIVING
MOMENT BY MOMENT – Part 2
excerpt
from pages 135-139 of SIW (5th printing,
March 1998)
excerpt
from pages 134-138 of SIW (14th printing,
March 2012)
(used with permission from
ALMI):
…the
only thing that Satan must accomplish to defeat us is to steal the moment,
which he does by reminding us about the past or nudging our fears about the
future.
…Many
Christians have allowed an incident in the past to continue to steal abundant
life from them in moments that stretch into days and then years. One allows this to happen in dancing with the
devil, whose plan is to steal not just one moment, but the whole life!
…At
any given moment one is either in the flesh or in the Spirit, tapped into
eternal defeat or eternal victory.
…What
opens the door (to Christ’s life) is humility, saying that one has
nothing or, “I can’t!” What closes the
door is pride, which says, “I can.” God
has so structured things that victory will only be moment by moment as we abide
in Him.
…Is
the baggage and residue Satan’s stronghold to destroy you or God’s stronghold
to bless and give you abundant life? It
is God’s stronghold! The very thing that
you have been begging God to take away, which you believed would allow you full
and unhindered service and fellowship with the King, is the very assurance God
has that you will continue to fellowship with and serve Him. Praise God, His ways are not man’s ways!
…For
some reason that we need not know, the majority of Christians are satisfied to
walk away from the Lord; God allows it, but is not content until He calls them
back to Himself. Anyone who wants to go
from the room called “Carnal” to the suite named “Spiritual” must take the only
doorway, named “Trouble, Suffering, and Defeat.” And so it is with all who are called to
return to Him; they must pass through that doorway!
…The
Lord spends considerable time teaching us to recognize the baggage and residue
when it surfaces. Those old things
(depression, unbelief, desire to do drugs) are flashing red lights informing us
that the door is closed. And here is a
secret: the more baggage that one has, the more flashing red lights he has, and
the more he will be aware of his need to abide.
…Paul
was given a frailty that made him say, “I can’t,” which opened the door to
Christ’s life and caused His power to be released. The more weakness, the more power released;
therefore, he would be proud of his limitations.
…God
is never, I repeat, never outdone by Satan.
Don’t lament over your past failures, hurts, and identity; they have all
been crucified, and their remembrance is but God’s stronghold.
When
Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, he is not describing
what he would have the Galatians imitate, which would simply produce artificial
fruit with no substance or value.
Rather, Paul is describing what a believer manifests when the door to
Christ’s life is open. If you are
naturally manifesting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and so on, you are
enjoying life in the Spirit. However, if
these are not present, you can be sure that the door has been closed.
…If
you would experience abundant life, it must be embraced moment by moment!
“steal
the moment”…that is Satan’s goal. Right
now…this moment…Christ’s life, or the door closed to Him.
I
have had “garbage and baggage services” in churches before…I have helped folks
to “reclaim the ground” given to Satan…
It is amazing how many live exactly where Michael speaks of: reminded of
the past, or fearing the future. It is
time for Christians to be taught and helped to know, understand, reckon, and
appropriate the Truth in their lives.
Who Christ is in us, and who we are in Christ. Get away from the defeated foe!
It
is a monumental moment for a Christian to realize the difference between the
garbage and residue from the past NOT being Satan’s stronghold, but God’s
stronghold! Is it because Christians
seem to be taught to focus on their sin and deficiencies and trying to get a
victory over those, instead of focusing on who they are in Christ…and who He is
in them?
I
watch sporting events all the time…I have NEVER seen the winning team drop
their heads, cover their heads with towels, droop their shoulders, and head to
the locker room with no shouting, no slapping of hands, no bumping of chests…you
know the picture. So how can we be “overcomers”
and “victors” IN CHRIST, and look & act like “losers”? Aaaah…the lack of teaching of “the power of
the Cross”!
That’s
NEXT in SIW…
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
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
leemccm@gmail.com
1737 CR
2051 Nacogdoches, Tx 75965 936-559-5696
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